Well, there's so much attached to that when you think about it, right? It's like God is so disappointed in me. Who told you that? Or uh it's just a little compromise. It's not gonna affect me. Really? Who who told you that? Right? There's so much that's attached to that idea, that thought. When we get inside the word, we know the heart and the mind of God. So when we hear who told you that, or where did you get that, or where do you find that? We say we find that in the word of God.
SPEAKER_01Right?
SPEAKER_02So when it says, when somebody says, Well, I I can't move forward, right? My my past has defined me. Who told you that? Right? Um, there's a line inside of um our our pro life film, what is it? And it's you know, the enemy wants to define you by your scars, but your Lord wants to define you by his. Right? And so that's that's a return back to the simplicity that's found in Christ. Where did you get that? Where do you see that? Where do you get your information from? We have to say we get it from the word of God.
We're about to eat good food. Latest hit by Mark Spans. I owe you royalties for that, Mark.
SPEAKER_02Thank you.
SPEAKER_06I was overjoyed as you began to sing that because I was reminded we're gonna eat some Filipino foods. I love Filipino foods. So do I. Okay, let me tell you, our brother, Steve Gusto, who brings in this like massive feast fit for a king every Thanksgiving for us. He's coming again today.
SPEAKER_02You think he would go he would taper down a little bit? No, man.
SPEAKER_06It seems like more and more in just No, and it's one of the highlights of the year for me. Because it's like it's good stuff. It's so good. And we got to eat Filipino food in the Philippines more.
SPEAKER_03Speaking of that, he's supported the ministry for more than 30 years. Yeah, he's one of the originals.
SPEAKER_07Such a faithful brother. Coats. Speaking of that, I get to be in the Philippines for the first time in January. Oh, that's right.
SPEAKER_03What time in January?
SPEAKER_07Um, January 4th. I think we go the 14th.
SPEAKER_06I'm going to go to Australia. Oh, yeah, we're both gone at the same time.
SPEAKER_02We will celebrate. Ray, that coffee smells so good.
SPEAKER_06It is good.
SPEAKER_03You know why? I put four of those things on. Who taught you how to do that, right? Four of those.
SPEAKER_06Hazel creamers. Flavor coffee.
SPEAKER_03I love it. I'm so worried about it. I want to die happy.
SPEAKER_06Ray, I'm so proud of you.
SPEAKER_03Hey, can you a French vanilla?
SPEAKER_06No. French vanilla or hazelnut. Hazelnut's the best.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Whenever I think of nut, I think of easy.
SPEAKER_06And my eyes are hazel too. Listen from the New York Post. Would you use a garlic mouthwash? Scientists say it provides the freshest breath yet. Death to bad breath comes in cloves. Garlic, that pungent bulb-shaped veggie that gives food a kick and vampires of the egg, is now being crowned a possible cure for helitosis. No, it's not.
SPEAKER_03It just overwrots it because it's a worse smell.
SPEAKER_06Right. Garlic extract mouthwash showed comparable efficacy to chloroxidine, particularly at higher concentrations. Say that three times. Wrote study authors from the College of Dental Medicine University of Sharjaha in the United Arab Emirates. Leave it to an Arab to tell you to use garlic mouthwash. There's no way now is this serious?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, because sometimes these sort of things do work.
SPEAKER_06This is from the New York Post. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03This is the same thing. It's got to be true. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06I have a relative who pops garlic cloves like they're MMs. They're pr they're pretty healthy, actually, but this is a terrible idea. Bro, I I I don't I would rather okay. If you knew that you would add another five years on your life, if you ate cloves of garlic every day, like MMs. Every day? Five years on your life.
SPEAKER_03As a matter of fact, would you do it? No, I'd like him. I'd like friends.
SPEAKER_07I wouldn't do it. I would not.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, there's consequences.
SPEAKER_07I love it. Matter of fact, just the other day I was at a friend's house, um, Cammy and Eric, and they prepared a meal and they had fermented garlic cloves in like a spicy sauce. And I just took a bite of one just like that, and it was so good. Yeah, no, it is. I've done that accidentally as well. My mouth just started watering.
SPEAKER_02That's good. Have you eaten at the restaurant? It's the stinking rose. I don't think it's around anymore. Every item was garlic. The ice cream. Every item had garlic.
SPEAKER_06There was a there was a restaurant in La Merada when I worked out that years ago. It was called the something and then garlic something. I don't remember. Thanks for that. The something and the something. Something garlic. I just remember had garlic. Garlic? No, no. Okay, let me okay, let me be clear. I like some garlic flavoring. Okay. Um, but when people are popping, like they're chomping on. Oh, that grosses me up. Like garlic lip balm? Garlic deodorant. Uh, but I'm just saying, like, um, I hate the I hate the consequences of garlic. So I will like one of my favorite things is this um this lemon, garlic uh artichoke dip that the Lebanese make. It's like lemon, garlic, salt, and oil. It's always really good. It is like in my now my mouth is water. That's really good. It's so good. But I will sacrifice it if I know I'm gonna be close to close to people. Because it's horrible, man. When someone has garlic breath, it makes me mad.
SPEAKER_07By the way, Oscar, there's a new swarma place right down the street. And the garlic sauce they give is really good.
SPEAKER_06I never eat that stuff. My family, my family gets it by the pound of it. It makes me mad.
SPEAKER_02When I go out of town, my wife loves to go get anything and everything garlicky. Because you don't like garlic? Because I can't, well, I don't like the smell of it. It's so bad for me.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Oscar, wait, there's really new swarma place. I'll take you out. Nearby? I'll take you, take it, take it. Is it good? It's really good. We're talking as good as the place we went to in Greece. Oh no, no, no, no. But it's really good. Yeah. All right. I love shawarma. We'll go after our Filipino lunch. Um, yeah. Anyway. Yeah, France, for the second time.
We're in our new studio. Yo, we're good to go, go. I like the flow. Oh, oh, whoa. Just for everyone.
SPEAKER_07This 3,000 year old papyrus painting is from two weeks ago. I love it. I love it.
SPEAKER_02On the other side is the P52.
SPEAKER_06Ray, fog up your glasses. Can you still do it? That's the best. The best is the lookaway. Like I can't see anything. Just a little kid. You look like an adorable hamster, right?
SPEAKER_03With glasses. Man of God, sons of thunder. Adorable hamster.
SPEAKER_06Oh man. All right, France. Time for a cool, classy comment. This is from Bethany V. Dear Easy, Mark, Ray, and Oscar. I want to thank you all so much for your dedication and love for the Lord. Ever since my friend recommended your podcast to me, it has become an invaluable part of my weekend life. It can be so difficult to find anything worth listening to on the internet, let alone something so solid and rooted in the word as living waters. Your testimonies and wisdom encourage me so much, and your podcast gives me wonderful nuggets of truth to think about during my day and convict me to live righteously before the Lord. Thank you for standing firm in the faith and for fighting the good fight with vigilance and truth. May our God and Father bless you richly and continue to use you mightily for his kingdom. In Christ, Bethany V. P. S. P. S. A funny little story. I'd been struggling recently with spending too much time on my phone when I had a dream that I met Mark Spence and he told me to get my dad the block apps on my phone and set timers. Although I don't put much stock in my subconscious craziness, I did find it hilarious and also convicting. And yes, I did indeed do what he suggested. You're welcome. So thank you for that, Mark. Excuse me, Matt.
SPEAKER_03Do you know this woman?
SPEAKER_06Are you appearing in a dream? Appearing in dreams? Yeah, that's fine. Apparitions of Mark.
SPEAKER_07That sounds like a nightmare in it. Nighttime.
SPEAKER_06It reminds me of a lady. Your spirit visited my spirit. It stayed put right where it was. Thank you so much for that, Bethany. Praise God. You know, when people say stuff like it comes to mind through my day, you know, and I get Kim beloved. That's wonderful.
SPEAKER_03She's got a real discerning spirit, that lady.
SPEAKER_06She does. Wonderful, Bethany. Yes. Thank you so much. And now our radically revolutionary resource. This podcast is my team. The SOB textbook and online course. Why a hundred? Why a hundred and one? That's Lens doing. Why? Why? No, no, but that's a common thing. It is.
SPEAKER_03It's it's just scratch. It's more than a hundred.
SPEAKER_02Because we had like 120, 125 lessons.
SPEAKER_03That was remember we did a cartoon of uh a whole lot of cowboys being chased by Indians. All right.
SPEAKER_02That's not in that's an inappropriate now, right?
SPEAKER_03It's inappropriate. Yeah, those poor cowboys. Um yeah, we were doing the we were doing the School of Biblical Evangelism lessons, and people were ordering it and doing the school, and we hadn't finished. And we're up to like 75, and they're up to like 65. More, we've got to go faster.
SPEAKER_02Doing multiple lessons in a day.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_07Speaking of 101, I'm actually working on a children's book. What'd you say? How'd you start with that? 101, speaking of?
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_07Of 101. Uh, I've been working on a children's book. And just totally original idea. I'm thinking like, imagine like a family that has like 101 dogs, but they get stolen. Wait, like Dalmatians. Dalmatians. I was thinking Dalmatians. Spot on. Spot on. How's it in? Yeah, yeah. Uh, I haven't gotten there yet. The witch, dil witch, throw a witch in there.
SPEAKER_06Horrible lady. Yeah, yeah. I love the schism. I love that ism, but Asuka here really loves plagiarism. Oh my god. Oh, yeah. My little name. All right, friends, and don't forget, yeah, oh, 101 lessons. So you can get it online. You get the textbook, of which Mark Spence is a co-author with a cover and girlfriend.
SPEAKER_03It's the size of a phone book. It's huge.
SPEAKER_06I like the new cover, though. Mark, you like the new cover?
SPEAKER_03New cover?
SPEAKER_06Remember the old one? It was like this colorful. Oh, yes. It was orange.
SPEAKER_03I don't like orange.
SPEAKER_07So just for everyone born in this century, what's a phone book? Yeah, I was gonna say that.
SPEAKER_06Phone book, man. Remember when those muscle dudes would be like. I was about to say.
SPEAKER_03Do you know I tried to rip a magazine that was filthy in a in the square in front of a crowd and I couldn't do it. It's not as easy. So I got down and cut the middle and cut the so it wouldn't be seen and went shh like that.
SPEAKER_06Oh man. Unterrible tract. We have an unterrible tract.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Terrible. So get it, friends. Don't forget Living Waters Mug, having a study Bible, Living Waters TV, all that. Living Waters. And don't forget the podcast YouTube channel. So you could channel us. You can see us on there. Yeah. Channel us. No, I didn't mean that one. With your Chris. What I meant was after you do what I was meaning was. All right, free. You guys are insane. Just imagine the first time listener.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Like listener. Yeah, give you a middle.
SPEAKER_06Or listener. Don't worry, it gets worse. I'll tell you, uh, I came across something yesterday online of this um just this kind of talk show thing. And it I felt so I thought, thank you, Lord, that we don't have a boring, you know, like, okay. I was pretty good. Was that good? Yeah. Anyway, today we're talking
about discernment in the age of infinite voices. Yeah. Discernment, guys. Boy, infinite voices. I was who was I talking to? The voices in my head. I was just talking to someone about the things that were not an issue back in the day. You know, oh yeah, we were talking last night at home, and Rachel and I were discussing this, and it's like the stuff that we just didn't deal with. Like self-inadults. Oh no, that's what we were talking about. We were talking about uh locations, so how you can know where your friends are and how much trouble that causes for teenagers. Why don't you guys invite me? You guys did this, what were you doing there?
SPEAKER_03Whatever. That caused me trouble yesterday. What? Remember, we went and had a meal with a local pastor with my son, and I got lost going there. And I got lost coming back. And it was humiliating. Is that the news, right? No, but when when I went, I was almost there without getting lost and humiliating myself, and some guy stood in front of me wearing a Knott's berry hat and went that way. And he sent me down this under this tunnel, come out the other side, and Daniel says, Oh, you're in the parking lot. So $60 a day.
SPEAKER_04Wow.
SPEAKER_03I was only going there for lunch, wasn't even going into the park. So I made my way back, a guy let me through, which is wonderful. And as I went to leave, um, I spoke to Siri and she didn't hear properly. Uh-huh. And she sent me to the wrong place. And um, yeah, so Sue was following me and she's called me. And as soon as the phone rang, I answered and I said, I know, I know, I'm heading the wrong direction. She could see my little dot heading towards New York or somewhere else.
SPEAKER_06Seriously, but Ray, that that that's good for someone to have that on you because you need direction. You hold the Lord's anointed.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and the other humiliating thing is easy, you destroyed my prayer time last night.
SPEAKER_06Was it two in the morning?
SPEAKER_03I was up praying and you started texting me, and you told the pastor to what can you say what you said?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I said that the pastor, I said, I guarantee you You did this in writing as a text. I wrote it in a text. I said, Ray is gonna, when he orders, he's gonna say, I'll have what either the pastor's having or Daniel's having, because Daniel went with you, and then he'll eat a few bites and then he'll take it home. I said, watch for that. So afterwards he goes, Yes! That's what he did. Exactly. So I told Ray that's what he was gonna do. And then we went back and forth. And you said, uh, you said, Oh, I invited the pastor to our uh Christmas party. Yeah, which you said I would. I said, Yeah, I told the pastor that that's what you would do too.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_06And then this is this is all real. I have it all intact.
SPEAKER_03This is where you wrecked my prayer time because you made me laugh so much.
SPEAKER_06So then I texted him and I said, It must drive you crazy that I can predict everything you're gonna do, right?
SPEAKER_03No, was there a dot, dot, dot, or was there?
SPEAKER_06No, just type, period, that's all I sent, right? So then he responds with, um, he says, No, you can't. I just went up on the roof, I played the backpipes, I did this and that. He did this whole thing. What I had done though, that he didn't know is when I typed, doesn't drive you crazy that I can predict everything you're gonna do. I also typed, including the fact that now you're gonna send me a text telling me all these crazy things that you did that you didn't do. I took a screenshot of it and then erased all that below that. And then after he sent me that, I sent that to him. That ripped my prayer time.
SPEAKER_03That's funny. It made me laugh because I didn't. I know, it's absolutely sickening. It's just something it's not right. And it was really good what I was. I was on the top of the roof in the middle of the night playing bagpipes, and you've never produced it.
SPEAKER_06I didn't know that's what's coming. He's gonna create this crazy scenario. That's funny. Yeah. So, anyhow, all that to say, and oh, people need to use discernment when they're listening to us talk like that. Big discernment. But but guys, really, um, infinite voices, it feels like that, doesn't it, Oscar? Like in a day and age where I call it just noise, incessant, constant noise, whether it's from social media or it's texts or it's emails or it's constant input, media, you know, news, things always come in our ways, and we need discernment.
SPEAKER_07Truly. It's more now than ever, perhaps, because and I think really this is ultimately a discipleship issue with the local church. We need to figure out how to subvert what's happening because you you mentioned infinite voices. There's never been a time in history in which you are so plugged into other people's opinions and views of the world through podcast and YouTube. And I mean, we are you add up the hours of the amount of content that we consume on a regular basis that are being driven by an algorithm that's shoving us into some sort of a pipeline of uh echo chamberism, and and you you come to realize like it's really a discipleship issue because now more than ever, other people are speaking into your lives. And if you're not careful, here's what happens is that you think you're a good Christian because you show up to church for an hour and a half on a Sunday, and then you spend the next 60 hours of consumption time in your week on your drives at the gym, cleaning the house, downloading and listening to podcasts, YouTube videos, et cetera, et cetera. Ultimately, here's the takeaway you are being catechized by whatever it is you consume.
SPEAKER_02You're always being discipled. Right. You're always being discipled. Choose your uh discipler well. Choose the person who's discipling you well.
SPEAKER_03Who you are what you eat spiritually.
SPEAKER_06Well that that's why I've told people, like when, for example, music is involved, and I'm not talking about necessarily just listening to Christian Christian music, there's secular music that's worthwhile, but there's a lot that's not, that's filthy, that's ridiculous. And people that say, Oh, I just listen to it for the music. I I don't care about the lyrics. Really? Think about how many times in the course of a person's life they might listen to a s one song. Like some thousands for sure. I mean, uh, you know, a movie you might watch it five times if it's a good one, maybe ten, twenty, it's like you're a fanatic. But a song thousands of times. There's messages. You it the lyrics do affect you. If if nothing else, they will de if they're filthy and wicked, they'll desensitize you. That's dangerous.
SPEAKER_03And think of how much they pay for a 30-second Super Bowl advertisement because they know it. And I think that's a good point, right?
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's huge. And and I I've told you guys before, one of the things that frustrates me more than anything about the day and age we're living in is in a sense, I've lost my awe and wonder. Because I used to watch a video and go, man, that was crazy. Now I watch one, I'm like, it's probably fake. Yeah. It's probably AI. Who? Right now. Yeah. Well, what do you mean mean started glitching? Yeah, just checking. But you guys know what I'm talking about? Just checking. It it it drives me nuts. I don't, I do, I hardly know what's real anymore. And it's taken the wonder out of life for me. So that's what's happened to you. Yeah, that's what was it?
SPEAKER_02Is it live or is it memoricks? Is that what it was? What was that? Remember from the 80s? Max Max Max Headroom?
SPEAKER_06Max Headroom. Max Head. That was like major technology back then. Max Max Max Headroom. Didn't you do like Coke commercials too? I have no idea what you guys are talking about. You don't know Max Headroom? Ray, you know Max Headroom? It sounds sounds familiar. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02How do you explain him, Mark? He was uh he actually was Yeah, how would you do it? It was it was the idea of you don't know what's live or what's a recording. That was the whole purpose, right? So there was this technology for um I I just said it was the cassette tape.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, but they had him, I his head would be in a TV. He was all digital and digital. Anyway, it
was crazy.
SPEAKER_07Well, thanks for explaining that so clearly. Yeah, that's great.
SPEAKER_06I love you. Yeah, you know, um, I just uh this happened to me a few days ago. I felt like such an idiot. Um I uh echo that thing I sent I sent my family this picture of these guys who are dressed like sheep. Well they were black sheep? They were caught. Oh, I sent it to you, Ray. Yes, three guys, they showed them in a truck, they snuck into Spain from some Arab country and dressed like sheep with a bunch of other sheep. And I got it, I'm like, this is I sent it to my family, then I'm like, wait a minute. And I went on snopes and the whole thing's fake. Of course. And it's just like, oh, you know, but Rachel and I had a good laugh because I did it when I was at the Bible B, I get back home, and we were dying in the kitchen. It was like 11 years old.
SPEAKER_02You don't send it to us.
SPEAKER_06Well, I I know I should have, but I did send it to Ray. Important people, yeah. Um anyway, I just don't know what's real anymore. First of all, the answers are.
SPEAKER_03In Genesis. Answers in Genesis. I like what's happening right now over here.
SPEAKER_07What's going on? Ray has got something he's really excited about. See, I'm worried that Mark's gonna read it. So he's got his hand covering this little baby. Do it before Mark Baker.
SPEAKER_03It's a quote from Charles, right? He said, discern is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong, rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right. And almost right. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's almost right. And I think that's a just such brilliance. And it was absolutely destroyed by Mark.
SPEAKER_06Just decimated.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. It was the manly voice. 70 times seven. Yeah, it's brilliant. Um A.W. Toza said that the most dangerous trap, the most dangerous trap is just living and forgetting that God exists. Oh wow. Now, when I read that, that thought horrified me. I'll tell you why. Imagine me waking up in the morning and not being conscious of God and his presence and his will and the Bible and what Jesus did on the cross. Just going about my own thing, doing my own little thing. That terrifies me to forget about the cross and eternity. So I think the greatest discernment is the realization that the pleasures of this world are absolute profanity. Amen. That's that's when you get that discernment, that's godly maturity. Everything in the world is just transient, it's chasing the wind, it's about a vapor that appears for a moment and vanishes away.
SPEAKER_06That that's so good, right? Because that's what's happening, isn't it? Like when somebody gives in to sin. You know, someone this morning again sent me uh sent me something about these guys that just oh, I think they're called the the skit guys or something. Anyway, they're really well known. They're comedy guys, Christian. AI. And uh one of them, what's that? AI. Probably one of them, you know, just went into immorality of some sort, but well, that wouldn't be AI. Yeah. But you know, the thing is, is that um what's happening at that moment is you're being deceived into thinking this pleasure is everything. Yeah, versus like you said, right? It's vanity. No, this is everything right now. Yeah, and then people go headlong into it. It's a discernment.
SPEAKER_03I think I think the discernment comes not only the world being vanity, but but what we have in Christ. Treasure in earthen vessels. This happened 50 years ago. Pretty new Christian. Well, it wasn't pretty, but I was a new Christian. I remember praying in the shower, Lord, make things happen to me that I can use in preaching and in teaching.
SPEAKER_06I remember before I knew you, I heard you say that in a sermon. Oh, really? And then and you went on to talk about all these things that keep happening to you.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and I remember the same morning I was driving my car and I looked out my right side, and on the sidewalk there was a dog walking along with a red purse in its mouth. And I thought, there's a dog with a purse in its mouth. And I thought, this is weird. What am I supposed to do? Stop and arrest the thing? It's obviously stolen, it's a thief. So I pulled my car up, I go up to it, and the dog stopped, put the purse down, so I thought, I'll put my foot on the purse, and it had money in it. And the second I put my foot on that accelerator, on that purse, the dog went like that. And then I pulled it back and I did it again, and the dog growled again. Then a woman ran up behind me, she's a an elderly woman, she said, That's my dog, that's his purse. It does have money
in it, and when I give him the purse, he's a good dog. What? And I thought, What in the world? Hold fast to that which you've got. Let no man take your crown. When anyone tries to take from you what you have in Christ, rell with all your heart because you have treasure in earthen vessels.
SPEAKER_06Wow. That's that's really good, Ray.
SPEAKER_03And it was one of those dogs that it looks like a mop without a handle. It was just my back. Wow. So weird things have happened to me incessantly since the day I prayed that prayer.
SPEAKER_06Where do I fit into your life as an illustration?
SPEAKER_03The weirdest thing that happens to be a good thing.
SPEAKER_07I keep using that now. What's that? Oh no.
SPEAKER_03It's gonna ruin your marriage. It is.
SPEAKER_07Oh no, I hope not. Uh no, Mark Zuckerberg in 2011. Zuckerberg? Zuckerberg? Zuckerberg. Mark Zuckerberg in 2011 uh coined the phrase frictionless. And the application of that is to social media. You have these frictionless encounters, these frictionless conversations, these frictionless friends, right? They're superficial. They're superficial. That's well, that's the thing, is he said as at a positive. Yeah. But actually, the scripture reminds us that we need friction. Iron sharpens iron. We need embodied relationships to help us with wisdom. I've said before in the past, and I'm borrowing from uh Brett McCracken's book Um on Wisdom Pyramid, I think is what it's called. Right. But he says uh he says that we are knowledge in this day and age with social media, with AI, we are knowledge rich, but wisdom poor. We we have all the information we could ever ask for, more than any we can pull up any subject and get any fine detail on anything in the world, like no one has ever had, you know, you'd have to be in the library of Alexandria, spend eight months finding the right book to get the right piece of fact that you would want. And you can just get it with the tap of your fingers or calling up Siri, and yet more than ever, we lack wisdom. And the counter to that, I think that you know, getting back into this, how do we raise up discernment? How do we raise up wisdom? We can't do it online. We we don't need a frictionless discipling experience. We need friction, we need iron sharpening iron. We need men and women women sitting across the coffee table from one another, reading a book written by a Puritan, engaging in conversation about getting to know each other one-on-one. These are moments that God dwells in and means to refine you, that you just cannot substitute by watching a YouTube video. Yeah. You need friction in your life.
SPEAKER_06That's so good. I love the fact that you brought up knowledge versus wisdom. Uh, you guys know the saying that says that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. I love that. Uh, and and there is that that importance because I think, Oscar, to your point, what what a lot of people don't do is they don't digest knowledge. And when you don't digest knowledge, it doesn't assimilate. It just becomes these little bite-sized sound bites that just become sort of trite sayings that you throw around versus like, no, that it's become a part of me. You know, like you talk about sitting with a book and like soaking it in. That's what we've lost today. It's meditation. Like, even pausing long enough to think, like, if I paused long enough on that thing with the sheep and these guys in a truck, I would have concluded this at the very least, this might not be real. Let me check it out before I make a fool of myself and send it around, you know. So, so yeah, it's it's just that constant go, go, go, go, go, and not listening. You were gonna go to Genesis. Yeah. Well, I was gonna say, you know, I I love how God when Eve heard something, I I mean, this is like the first, I think it's the first question asked in the Bible. Don't quote me on that. Make sure, make sure I'm telling the truth. Um, but when um when Eve or when Adam said he was naked and hid himself, and God asked, Who told you that you were naked?
SPEAKER_02It's not it's not one of information, right? It's more of one of influence, right? Who's influencing you? Yeah, where are you getting your information from? Right? It's like when Adam and Eve were inside the garden and and they hid themselves, and God said, Where are you? It wasn't one of information, right? It's not like he didn't know where they were at. Yeah, like where are you? It's more like, look where you're at. Look where in it, and that's not original, right? Look where you're at, look where your sin has led you. Yeah, look who you've been listening to. It's led you to this point. We're always listening, yeah. But who are you listening to?
SPEAKER_06Well, and you think about it. What did the serpent do? What's Satan do before that? He questioned God's voice. Has God indeed said? Did he really? And then God said, Who told you that? I mean, again, how many times have we said it? It goes back to authority, you know, and again, how often do people say, Satan told me? Okay, I not that I endorse that kind of phraseology, but Satan told me. Okay, so you're telling me you know who told you? What's his name? Oh, the father of lies. Oh, and you know his name. And what? Oh, you're believing it?
SPEAKER_02Like, you know, we have to we can't stray from the simplicity found in Christ, like Paul told the Church of Corinth.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_02You think that's what happened with Adam and Eve. They they strayed from the simplicity of having a relationship with God the Father and just convoluted it with the noise of the world, with the with the commotion and the yapping of the time. Right. There's always an algorithm. Well, if you're on social media long enough, there's gonna be an algorithm that's gonna figure you out to keep you busy.
SPEAKER_06Yep. Wow. That's crazy. You know, when we talk about how things will pop up. Someone says, I was just talking about that two minutes ago, and it pops up in the ads. That's creepy. Guys, I have to be honest with you. During my prayer time, a lot of times I will put my phone under something.
SPEAKER_03I'm so creeped out right now. Like Yeah, last night I got creeped out. There was this guy who's texting me, predicting everything you do. That was just creepy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah, I I had this, I have like this the shoulder pain from throwing a whiffle ball too fast. I'll be okay, thank you. But then I saw an ad. There's an advert that came up, and it was like this ball attached with this wire and the stick, and it's for a shoulder relief. Oh. And it's shown up on anything and everything. And I never clicked on anything. So I told my wife, I said, Are you getting the same advert? It's shown up on everything. She's all no. And I go, Well, get it. I want it.
SPEAKER_06It works. It's terrible. Yeah.
That's funny. They know it works. Yeah. Ray, how how do we how do we cut through the noise?
SPEAKER_03Like, uh I think you finished the question?
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Okay. While we're on that subject. It's uh it's having a discernment according to the word of God. Um when I was a kid many years ago, uh what we used to do is we would get a package and do it up nicely like a like a gift and put it on the road with a piece of string to the side of the road, and then we'd hide in the bushes. And when a car would stop and see the package on the road, the driver would get out, walk round the back, and by that time we'd pulled it in so that they couldn't find it. So we just used to sit there and watch them getting under the car.
SPEAKER_07We used to do that too, we called it car fishing.
SPEAKER_03Really? Car fishing? Yeah. So wait, wait.
SPEAKER_06You put a package out.
SPEAKER_03It made it look really nice and it had string.
SPEAKER_06And so you would just but like a light box, basically.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, light box, and you would just and you pull it in and watch the driver. The driver would always stop, back up his car, and he'd look under the car because he thought, I did see it here, and we're in the bushes. But whenever you see a gift, in this world there are strings attached to it. Always. There's always strings attached. Someone wants to sell you something. You get a little sample at your door, they don't care about you having shampoo, they want to get the money out of your wallet. And I think we need discernment to realize the cults have always got strings attached to them. It's grace plus.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Always. And that's where we need discernment because the Bible says in the latter days there'll be false prophets and false gospels and false brethren. And we need discernment, particularly in that area, to know strings are attached to cults.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I came across an idea that really hit me hard. It's like what's sad in our day and age is that the loudest voices become the most influential, not the truest voices. And I love that. When I read that, I'm like, man, that's so true. It's like as if you can be loud, and not just loud, but if you can be ubiquitous everywhere, you know, you're showing up, you're popping up. What?
SPEAKER_03Ubiquitous.
SPEAKER_06Some say that and others say this, but I like to say ubiquitous. Oscar, you knew I was gonna run like every rapper has like a backup.
SPEAKER_03Okay, I just want to sanctify what I said before. Um, put a package on the side of the road and put gospel tracks in it.
SPEAKER_06Oh, and then take it away from them. Take the gospel away. No strings of text to them. We understand that.
SPEAKER_07And as they're dying, you preach the gospel to them.
SPEAKER_06That's the whole point. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So God has given us a filter to withstand the noise of the world.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And it's his word. Yo. You know, we sanctify them by your word, right? Um when we think of John 10 27, my sheep hear my voice. It's not the loudest voice, it's not the trendiest voice, it's his voice. And oftentimes sheep will be very noisy. And so God calls us away from the sheep to be with the shepherd. What are you doing, Ray?
SPEAKER_03I'm just looking at easy here.
SPEAKER_06That's kind of cool. What is it? Shunks. We're recording a podcast. Oh, what's that? I look like the Statue of Liberty. That's funny. How did you capture that? I don't know if you guys can zoom in. Well, is that all? I looked at you like that, but look.
SPEAKER_02From here, it actually looks like your hair. Oh, that's really funny. That's like Steve from 180. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_06Oh, that's really funny.
SPEAKER_02I want you. Please send me that.
SPEAKER_06Oh boy. I'd love it.
SPEAKER_07Where were we?
SPEAKER_02Uh who knows?
SPEAKER_07Well, so you mentioned cults, which is funny because I just finished this book uh by Amanda Montel called Cultish. And she's not a believer, but she observes cultural context. And she basically goes from like we understand cults as religious activity. And uh she points out that that modern day secular cults is not necessarily religious activity that we would experience, like even in the 80s, but it's now things that brands, organizations, and social media influencers use to get you to buy product. And so she points out like being a part of a secular cult is not because you're gullible. She points out that people become a part of secular cults because they're they're hungry for identity, belonging, purpose, transcendence, and forgiveness. And so she points out like we all have these secular cultish rituals. We experience product drops. We are part of streaming parties. Uh, we sit in long lines around blocks to eat at the best new sandwich shop. When it's not necessarily the best sandwich, we just want the experience of it because it's like this secular rituals. We watch two-hour-long keynotes for new products that are to come out with a certain organization. We take pilgrimages to music festivals. Um, she says we participate in terminologies to help us know. She said, one of the things about cults is that they develop terminology that help people understand who's in and who's out. And so, like when you talk about, you know, workout culture, like we know what amraps are, and that's like a way of knowing who's in and who's out. Coffee culture to talk about single or single origin pre-ferment or you know, fermented coffee beans. Like, if you're in coffee culture, you know what that means. And it's a signal that you're in or you're out. We all she points out that we all do this. So the reason why I'm bringing this up because you mentioned cults, it's so applicable today. What, let's be humble. What cult, whether it is commerce cult, social media influencer cult, political cult, what cult do we find ourselves in that's discipling us, that's tribalizing? I just made that up. That's tribalizing us.
SPEAKER_03Tribalization.
SPEAKER_07Tribalization.
SPEAKER_06Tribalizationism.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, tribalizationism. And then, and then to your point, and I love what you said. Let's get back to the word of God. Let's let's listen. Let's let God's word be our algorithm. Amen. Amen. Oh, and the algorithm Bible.
Oh it's just the Bible.
SPEAKER_06Algorithm Bible.
SPEAKER_02Boy, there's so much attached to that when you think about it, right? It's like, God is so disappointed in me. Who told you that? Or it's just a little compromise. It's not going to affect me. Really? Who told you that? Right? And there's so much that's attached to that idea, that thought. When we get inside the word, we know the heart and the mind of God. So when we hear who told you that, or where did you get that, or where do you find that? We say we find that in the word of God.
SPEAKER_01Right?
SPEAKER_02So when it says, when somebody says, Well, I can't move forward, right? My past has defined me. Who told you that? Right? Um, there's a line inside of um our our pro life film, What Is It? And it's you know, the enemy wants to define you by your scars, but your Lord wants to define you by his, right? And so that's that's a return back to the simplicity that's found in Christ. Where did you get that? Where do you see that? Where do you get your information from? We have to say we get it from the word of God.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Speaking of that, total change of subject, but I I love Brad Snow. He does our stuff. Remember, he gave a really good line for our movie uh Audacity. Audacity. Remember what the line was? Yeah, it's the guy says, give me the gun. The guy was robbing the thing. He says, Give me the gun. And the guy turns around and says, How about I give you the bullets? Instead. Yeah, instead.
SPEAKER_06I thought you were gonna say Brad gave us the uh interrupting starfish line. No, it's not. Yeah, who's there? Interruption. Yeah. Um yeah, well, Ray, how important is reading the word daily to recalibrate our minds so that we discern truth?
SPEAKER_03No, not important at all.
SPEAKER_06You know, okay, it's not the podcast. That's all we need. I've been setting him up for that line to ruin his life for years.
SPEAKER_03No Bible, no breakfast. I didn't say that originally. It's been tapped to me, but it's I just read it somewhere as a new Christian. No Bible, no breakfast, no read, no feed, and you can't go wrong. Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who meditates on the law of God both day and night, and he should be like a tree planted by rivers of water. You know, we need the Bible to give us discernment. That's what that's what discernment is, understanding what scripture says in the light of everything the world gives us. Yeah. You know, this this this he's got the picture of you on it. It's so funny.
SPEAKER_06Blackmail material in the Arab cherub. The Arab crazy statue of liberty. He replaces uh about me picture on the oh boy. Yeah. What are we saying?
SPEAKER_03Um reincarnation. Um reincarnation while we're on that subject. Seriously, that's where the the world's got no discernment. I speak to so many people. What do you think happens after someone dies? Or you get reincarnated. What do you get reincarnated as? Oh, probably a little butterfly. And I think how shallow and faultless is this to think you're gonna come back and a cat's gonna go, and then your life is over.
SPEAKER_02And what were they in a past life? It's all this prince or a king.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's gotta be a prince or a king. And then you say, do you realize this goes back through eternity? You kept coming back and coming back and coming back and coming back, and it's gonna reincarnation is from Hinduism and it's a hopeless spiral. It's an evil hopelessness. Yeah, it's just horrible. And so reincarnation's as big as your imagination.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03And it's just it shows me this particular Person isn't thinking. So often I go up to people and say, Would you like to come on YouTube? And they say, huh? And that shows me this person isn't very, but I usually witness to them rather than getting them on camera because I do love people and care about them.
SPEAKER_06You love people, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I do.
SPEAKER_06You know, I I have yet, I do, I really would love to meet a person who would tell me that they were like a mangy sewer rat in their former life. It's like turtles? It's never that, right? It's always cockroach. Yeah, it's a good thing.
SPEAKER_03Well, you could say to them, say, well, you were probably a mangy rat in the last life. Would that be right?
SPEAKER_06That's a good question. Yeah. So, you know, and look, discernment is you say that sentence again?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06Look, discernment is not an option, guys. I mean, scripturally, it's a command. First John 4 1, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is so important in the realm of faith, of course. On my way back from the Bible bee, I sat next to a gentleman who uh struck up a conversation. Uh, you know, I struck up a conversation with him and it went really well, shared the gospel, started to share the gospel with him, shared my testimony. And I could tell by his response that like something was there, like something was going on there. Um and so I asked- You mean he was resistant? No, he was open and very nice, but I could tell as he began to answer some of the questions I asked that he'd gone through something. I said, Let me ask you a question. Were you were you hurt in the church? And man, he just opened up his life to me. Oh, really? And this guy was a part of this crazy church where everything they did had to be approved by the by the leadership, by the pastor, by the wife. Yeah, he he told me he said, My, he said, my father had a stroke and we didn't get him to the hospital because we couldn't get a hold of the pastor to ask to get to get his permission. So his dad's his life was ruined. He said he he was not allowed to talk to his mom for 12 years because they said, No, we feel a spirit of Jezebel in you, and you just you can only write your mom questions. You can't talk to her. 12 years did not I I get so how did you unravel that on a plane ride? He just started open. He's like, you know what, man? He's like, I got nothing to lose. I'm gonna tell you my story. And and I noticed the one of the first things I noticed about him is like when he turned, he did this, he couldn't turn his neck. He goes, you know, he's like, you know, I can't turn my neck. He said, This is because I was beaten so bad by my dad. He said, and was overworked. He said, all they did, he used to work six days a week, like hours and hours for the church. They'd make him do all this stuff, paid him under minimum wage. Sounds like my job. Actually, okay, Oscar. This is Oscar's story. Oscar's the name. But it broke my heart, man. And he told me how he he he he planned an escape from this whole thing because you know he couldn't live on his own, so he had to save money. He and a group of young men from the from that church did that, and it just destroyed his life. But it was so cool to be able to tell him this is not Christ. You know, these are people that are deceiving you. And I'm glad he ended up with enough discernment to realize this is he said, but he said this to me. He said, I didn't know any better. I thought this was normal.
SPEAKER_03Did he read the Bible in that time?
SPEAKER_06Uh yeah, I think he did.
SPEAKER_03Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_02But can let me point out something here, easy. You've done it twice now since our last podcast, and then this podcast. It's something very contagious. It's something that I absolutely love. You shared your evangelistic stories on the plane, right? You shared it with a guy, you know, where you wanted, you gave him your book. Oh, yeah, yeah. Right. And then you you're sharing this story with a guy who has a life of misery on based on what the church did. And we talk about uh the steps of a righteous man being ordered by the Lord, but your stories, man, it it it it wells up inside of me. I want my own stories, I want my own encounters, I want to be used by God. And this is what I don't know if, listener, if you're catching that, but your evangelistic stories are contagious. Wow. The stuff and that your examples of what's happening to you, everything that's going, share this stuff. Yeah, it is absolutely contagious. Now, listen, and if you're a pastor and you want to get your congregation on board and sharing the gospel, sure you can invite them out to go door to door. Sure, you could do this, but I'll tell you what's going to get them. Share your stories from the pulpit on the regular, and people are gonna want to say, I want to share
my faith.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and Mark, I'll tell you, man, honestly, I can't tell you how many times I don't want to do that, how many times I don't want to share the gospel. I'm tired, man. You know, I just got done with this thing. I'm exhausted, I'm nervous, I'm whatever. But well, after you do, it's like, if I, and you know, and I I'm like, man, I I'm gonna love, I loved on that guy. Yeah. I didn't, you know, I had already shared the whole gospel beginning to end, but I could have started like, you know, hey man, you know, I shared a few things like this is not who God is. That this is, you know, because he had said to me, he's with a he's with a new woman. He had been with another woman who he said was narcissistic, crazy. And he had said to me before we got into all that, he said, you know, I said, Do you want to marry this girl? He's like, he's like, yeah, she's amazing. He's like, but you know, I'm just being careful. He's like, but I don't want what I experienced with that other woman to be put on this woman. And I was able to reference that. I said, you know how you said you didn't want to do that? I said, don't do that with God. You know, don't because I know that you went through that. I said, but that's I said, you know, there are healthy churches, there are godly people, there are people that are not like that. And I mean, he got vulnerable. He's like, Man, I get scared all the time. Like, am I gonna go to hell? Am I I mean he really came off as a tough strong guy.
SPEAKER_02He did not wake up saying, I'm wondering what heaven and hell is gonna be like.
SPEAKER_06I don't but open it up with a stranger's this is so God. And I said to him, I said, Man, you know, I said, you know, this wasn't an accident. And he's like, Yeah, man, you know, and it was just so, and and um, and I just said, I just loved on him. I said, I gave him my card, I said, hey, if you ever want to talk, you ever need anything, you know? And so, and and I thought, okay, if I went with my feelings, because I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to talk to the other guy who that I gave him my book, you know, but it's like, if I didn't do that, there goes a soul who didn't get the gospel. So at the end of the day, it's what? My feelings. I'm I'm gonna I'm going to outweigh my stupid feelings in place of someone being impacted for eternity.
SPEAKER_03This is what's known as plane evangelism, where you do evangelism on a plane and you deliberately sit in the middle. So if this guy's not open, this guy may be. Yeah. And if they get offended, you say there's the door leaf. But seriously, I've had like easy so many conversations on a plane because when do you sit that close to another human being and they're strapped in?
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03You know, you get you're like 10 inches from them and are able to say like intimate things about their eternal salvation.
SPEAKER_06And you know, it's amazing how much building a rapport, like at the outset, helps.
SPEAKER_03We should rent a 747 filled with Christians. And just have you fly around the country sharing the gospel.
SPEAKER_06But you know, like you know, I'll tell them about my dad, I'll show them pictures of my dad. I go, Oh yeah, my dad, you know, passed away a couple years ago. I'll say, but look at his age, and I'll show them the first picture says 104. And they'll go, Oh, what? 105? It's my favorite thing to do. And then I'll start going 105 when we were on six, 107.
SPEAKER_07When we were on the plane uh in our last trip, I was sitting next to one of the camera guys, and you were sitting there talking to people, and you hadn't pulled out your phone yet. And I looked over at him, kind of like you with Ray. And I go, I go watch within the next 90 seconds, he's gonna pull out his phone and show him pictures of his dad.
SPEAKER_06And sure enough, you're all I love it. And I saw you do the whole thing, but you know, it builds a rapport, it does, and they're just like, oh, okay, this guy, because you know, we don't know. You just talk to someone's this guy crazy, insane, but you just you crack some jokes, you laugh, you just show them some, like, you know, you're reasonable. And it's amazing how the wall break down, truly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So, but yeah, so anyway, all that to say you need those doors to be broken down because you look like this.
SPEAKER_06Yes, I need help. Um, but guys, the subtlety of deception. There you go. You know, 2 Corinthians 11 14, right? Satan, he disguises himself like an angel of the world.
SPEAKER_02He doesn't come right out and say, uh, there is no God. He says, No, there is a God. Yeah. And boy, listen, believer, he's angry with you, Christian. Yeah. You know, he he's fed up with you, Christian. Or there is a God, and listen, tomorrow.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03Here's a rhyme. The more voices the world multiplies, the more we will hear us hear Satan's lies. I fluffed that. Satan always saying, the more the world. Just let it die. Um the more voices the more voices the world multiplies, the more we will hear Satan's lies. And it's true. The more the more noise there is, there's more lies that are out there.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. You know, Mark, uh, we talk from time to time about Mormons. I was sharing this with someone the other day. Um I'm blown away by how many brilliant, intelligent Mormons there are. And like when I when I look at Mormonism, I just want to say, how can you not see that Jesus, the spirit brother of Lucifer? Yeah, crazy. Who's who's the son of a God who stands at six foot something that came from another planet who has a God from Do Mormons know that?
SPEAKER_03Are they aware of the crazy doctrine? They know that.
SPEAKER_02You know, I I my YouTube channel, I had posted my last video, is me sharing the gospel with a new convert to Mormonism. And all the comments, boy, Mormons came out of the woodworks to come inside there and just say, no, this guy's a paid actor. There's no way this guy's a Mormon. There's no way he's an actor, he's an actor. I go, no, that's how how crazy your theology actually sounds. He doesn't have it all figured out, of course. And I'm I'm gracious to him inside the video, you can see that. But no, your your theology is terrible theology.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, but uh, but I said that to make the point of like that even intelligent people can be deceived. Yeah, you know, there's so much attached to that, and we just get lured. That makes me nervous in because you're so intelligent. Thank you. You get lured in and sucked in, and then you're following this insanity, you know, and so discernment is so important to be able to test things.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, it goes back to Mark's point and reading God's word, because if you don't, because it's not about wisdom, it's about knowing the voice of God. And I can remember, you know, years ago, there's this loud, crowded room, kids everywhere. But the second one of my kids started crying, out of all of the noise, I knew right away that that was my kid. And in that same way, in the noise, if you know God's word, you will know when you hear it, you know, and it's it's also but in the opposite true, you will know the falsity of a voice that is not God's word. And it reminds me of the game that I played with my kids, which I've it's been a while that I've mentioned it. And I'll just say it again here because I do think it's a really helpful thing, which is we would teach our kids, uh, we had this game in our home called Find the, we they still play it today, called Find the Lie. And the point is, anytime the kids are watching a show, watching a movie, if they end up hearing something that is not gospel, they would raise their hand and say lie. And we'd pause the movie and say, What was the lie? And they would go, Well, that, you know, that the main character just said, I just need to follow my heart. Why is that a lie? Well, because if I follow my heart, my heart is deceitful, desperate mom. I need to follow Christ. That's exactly right. We'd hit play. They every time they find a lie, we'd give them a dollar. So the point is that my I went broke. And I kept watching another movie.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I want to watch another movie.
SPEAKER_07Truly. Um, but I mean, gladly, like just I mean, a year or two, I paid out like $60 each kid. I have three kids, you know, it's why I stopped having kids. I couldn't afford more because of the game. No, but I I did it with absolute joy because what we're trying to do in that is to not only teach our kids what the voice of God sounds like, which is in his word, but also what false voices sounds like.
SPEAKER_06You're I could see your kids deceiving you. They're like, hey dad, can we watch this new Richard Dawkins movie? Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. Six thousand dollars. They try. Yeah. But you know, voices, like so many. Look, I'm just gonna put this on the table because it's it's it's big and it's everywhere.
SPEAKER_03It's lunch.
SPEAKER_06Oh, oh, you reminded me, Ray. I can't wait. Um Candace Owens. Okay. Um the stuff she's saying, and and and the reason for this is because you know, we know some of these people that she's talking about, and some of the things that she's saying that they've done, or you know, or whatever. Guys, we need to be discerning. We gotta be careful. We can't sensationalize everything. Listen, I'm saying this with love for Candace. Because we have to be careful as Christians when we when we point things out and we you know, we say stuff and and and it's like this this selfish amount of oh, the ridiculous, stupid. No, she's made in the image of God. I care about her. And and and so I'm saying this with tenderness and love, but we have to be discerning. You know, some of the stuff not you know from others. I don't know if she said negative stuff about him, but like the stuff people are saying about Frank Turek being involved in Charlie Kirk's death. Oh, he touched his hat. Oh, yeah, he did it. Frank Turk? He was mentoring Charlie Kirk, he loves the Lord. I'm not saying we don't question things and maybe examine things, but we get in this cycle of just like we everything. We take it all in. We we take it lock, stock, and barrel, you know. You know, you might be someone, you know, who watches conservative news as an example. We we all we're all conservative here, we'll watch news, but but like we'll take everything. And like, oh yeah, that must be true. Use discernment, learn to think.
SPEAKER_03Test all things, hold for hold fast that which is good. Um, I mentioned before, and I'll say it again because it's just so wonderful. When I was a brand new Christian, I remember having the Bible on my lap,
the great big family Bible, and I just said to myself, I want to conquer this. I don't want to know what's in it, I want to know what's not in it. What do you mean by that? Someone comes to me and says, uh, Jesus said this, I want to be able to say he did not say that. That's great. That that's a that's far bigger than knowing what's in the Bible. You know, Jesus wept, I know that's in the Bible. You don't need all knowledge to know that, but you need to know the whole Bible to know what's not in there. And that's why it's so important to study God's word to have that discernment to when a cult comes to you and says this, you say, No, that's not right.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Yeah. And and for us as believers too, uh, you know, Acts 17, 11, the Bereans. Wonderful. They were more noble-minded. You're laughing at yourself? How do you follow that up with noble-minded?
SPEAKER_04That's so good.
SPEAKER_06That's an oxymoron. Oxymond prediction. Those who are in Berea were more noble-minded than those who are in Thessalonica because now they don't they uh they not only received the word with great eagerness, but they also examined the scriptures to see if these things were so. And so being a Berean and searching and seeing if what is said is true. Is it agreeing with the word that is taught and heard by many cosplaying to sort and twist the scriptures to their own destruction? They don't follow my God's instruction. Yeah. Mic drop? Is that a mic drop? Mike, push my drop.
SPEAKER_03No, is that the end of the podcast?
SPEAKER_06Was that? That's the end. Yeah, no, but but but seriously, yes, being Bereans and searching and going back and examining the word, and it's like when they go on the streets and they ask people these questions that are not true, but they'll answer them like they are. The confirmation back.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, like you sent me a little video the other day that turned my stomach where a guy was saying to these pretty girls that went past, Jesus loves you. And there was, and it's it's just it's not biblical. You can't find a precedent for it in scripture. If you want to tell someone that Jesus loves them, back up and preach the cross, because there it is, the love of God illustrated. God commended his love toward us, and that while we're yet sinners, Christ died for us. And we don't know what sin is without the law. The law brings the knowledge of sin, it prepares the heart for grace. So God's love is manifest in that cross. And instead of saying, if someone Jesus loves you like water off a duck's back as they walk away, stop them and engage them and talk to them about sin, righteousness, and judgment to come because you're concerned for their salvation.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And to take it a step further, when when a non-Christian hears the words that Jesus loves them, they walk away thinking, Oh, of course, what's not to love? Right? And then they carry on with their sin and they think that they are a God's gift to God when they die.
SPEAKER_06Well, and and in that video, and I knew it was gonna rile Ray up. I'm like, oh, this is gonna get Ray going. But you know, that's all they were saying. They're like, hey, just want you know, Jesus loves you. And the girl goes, you know, and they look like they were, you know, up to no good. And she goes, Ah, I love Jesus. He goes, Yeah, amen, yeah. And I'm like, man. And but they're walking away thinking that's gospel preaching.
SPEAKER_07Oh man, you know. There's a great little book, uh, and it's now free in PDF format by D.A. Carson called The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. I highly recommend reading it. It it's a pretty easy read. I think it's maybe a hundred pages, but it's very much worth it. And it's on this subject. Uh, and maybe that's even a sermon for another time that we can go over the doctrine of the love of God and clarify what it means.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and look, guys, this is it shouldn't surprise us. First Timothy 4 1. Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heats to deceiving spirits and the doctrines of demons, right? Matthew 24, 4 through 5. Take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, right? Ultimately, and will deceive many. So we gotta be be careful of that. And I'll quote with that quote with this, close with this quote from John MacArthur. Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except it is more deceptive. So let's remember that. All right, friends, there you have it. Don't forget the Soby textbook and the online course. 101 lessons. Like, subscribe, share, and give us your thoughts, your comments, all that. Podcast at LivingWaters.com. Thank you for joining us, friends. What's you here next time? Living Waters.
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SPEAKER_06Why are you laughing, right?
SPEAKER_03I have never seen Oscar so funny as what he just did. He moused your words with a look on his face like goofy and Disney. It was it was exactly perfect timing.
SPEAKER_06Oscar, that is terrible.
SPEAKER_03Where are we having?
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