The Living Waters Podcast
Enjoy the ride with this hilarious new Podcast as hosts (Ray Comfort, Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne, Mark Spence, and Oscar Navarro) and special guests explore the pressing questions of our day with sound theology and apologetics! We would love to hear from you. How has the podcast encouraged you? Are there any subjects you’d like the guys to cover or questions you’d like them to answer? Email us at Podcast@LivingWaters.com and you may hear your feedback and questions quoted on the next episode!
The Living Waters Podcast
Ep. 393 - What It Looks Like to Be a Kingdom-Minded Believer
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The kingdom of God stands in direct opposition to a world consumed by personal ambition. Ray, E.Z., Mark, and Oscar explore what it truly means to live with a kingdom mindset and why selfishness is one of the greatest obstacles to faithful Christian living. They explain that kingdom-mindedness means living under God’s rule, reign, and authority rather than building a personal kingdom centered on recognition or control. True freedom comes when believers stop striving to make a name for themselves and instead focus on the glory of God and the good of His kingdom. The cross itself represents a complete transfer of allegiance, with every area of life falling under the authority of Christ.
The guys point to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as the perfect example of surrender to the Father’s will. Even in anguish, Jesus submitted Himself completely, showing that suffering and obedience are not incompatible. They also reflect on David’s life, whose continual repentance and worship revealed a heart shaped by the kingdom of God. Kingdom-mindedness produces humility, worship, and a desire to be searched and refined by the Lord. The guys emphasize that believers often become distracted by earthly concerns, preventing them from simply resting in God’s presence and delighting in Him.
The conversation then turns to how kingdom living shapes daily priorities and relationships. The kingdom of God is marked by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, fostering a new disposition toward sin, obedience, and community. The guys explain that Christians are not meant to live in isolation but in fellowship, learning from those who have walked faithfully before them. God has given His people resources, wisdom, and testimonies of His faithfulness to strengthen them through every season. Kingdom-minded believers recognize that their lives are not their own and that every opportunity exists for God’s glory.
Finally, the guys discuss the importance of resting in God’s kingdom rather than being consumed by the world's noise and anxiety. Modern life is full of distractions that constantly pull attention away from God, making silence and stillness increasingly rare. The guys encourage believers to slow down, seek God first, and recognize His care in both Scripture and creation. Kingdom-mindedness means fully trusting the King, knowing that He provides, sustains, and rules with perfect goodness. In the end, believers are reminded that their ultimate inheritance is not found in earthly success but in belonging to Christ and awaiting the King’s return.
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Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.
Ray Comfort
Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne
Mark Spence
Oscar Navarro
Kingdom Teaser And Opening Banter
SPEAKER_03That's the kingdom, man. His rule, his reign, him being priority. I love that, Oscar, that attention speaks affection, right? Dictates affection. Dictates affection. And that's what we want. We want to seek him first above all else. Remembering he's always with us, being united with other believers who are a part of that kingdom, walking in love, being excited about the kingdom to come in its fullness, looking for the return of the king. You know, all of that, friends, is a part of what we as believers have as our inheritance as his redeemed children in his kingdom.
Songs, Tangents, And Inside Jokes
SPEAKER_03Back, back, back by popular demand. Cause there's so much we've been through. Nope, not necessary. But there's nothing I would not do. If only I can have just one more moment with you. You're turning me off, right? Mute. Can we remember that song? Human resources. But I wrote it for Rachel years ago, and she got she took a fence. We were just celebrating our 30th anniversary. She took a fence from someone's yard. She uh, yeah, she said, That sounds like you say I'm gonna die of something. One more moment with you. But I sang it to her on her own.
SPEAKER_06So you wrote that song. Yeah, that's why I felt sick. Was it? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03One more. One more. Ray, okay. I'll I'll make it simple. It's a gong show. I'll leave this. Remember the gong shows. Boom. Okay, Ray, I'll make it simple on you. Okay? No, don't do that one. No, no, no. It's either that or in the grip of my face. In the sweetness of his embrace. I'm living in sync with my father's face. In the grip of my father's face.
SPEAKER_00Calgon, take me away.
SPEAKER_06Oh, that's that's the worst. Rachel agrees with me. That's the worst song. I was so excited when I wrote that song.
SPEAKER_03This was about 27 years ago.
SPEAKER_06Look, look, go over to the Strait of Humus. They will open it the second you start.
SPEAKER_03I was reading a book called In the Grip of Grace, and I just I wrote that song, and I was so excited. It's not a song. Ray hated it. What about in the late 70s? In the late 70s, God very graciously opened up to me.
SPEAKER_00You like that one, right? It's a small world.
SPEAKER_03It's a small world.
SPEAKER_00Ray won't be able to get it out of his mind. Oh, poor Ray.
Dogs, Treats, And Speaking Bark
SPEAKER_06Dogs. I'd like to talk about dogs from my dogs. Mark, what were you saying about your dog? It just goes crazy when you're gonna give it a treat.
SPEAKER_00If I'm gonna give it a treat, it begins to shake. Wow. And the drool starts to come down.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's amazing. Um, I don't know if I've told you guys mention lunch and Ray doesn't. I I don't know if I've ever told you guys this, but I've I've learned bark. I'm not talking about the composer. I years ago figured it's easier for me to learn the language of a dog than for a dog to learn English. So I've always taught my dogs to come on a bark. By that I mean, seriously. And it's so easy to teach a dog, you can do it probably two minutes with treats. When I want my dog to come, I just go anywhere around the yard, she'll immediately be there within five seconds. Because she knows she's gonna get a treat. So it means I don't have to go out in the dark and yell out, Lucy, come inside now, and annoy the neighbors. And so learn buck with your dog and have the dog come instantly.
SPEAKER_03It'd be nice if you can find it to your dog, but you do this in airports when dogs walk by. Seriously, obviously, and people are like, What in the world? And the dog you do speak dog, right? You cuss in dog.
SPEAKER_06It's not it's not cussing. No, when I want to insult a dog, I don't have to cuss it, actually just say cat lover. I wonder though.
SPEAKER_03There is a way to decipher, are there meanings to bark?
SPEAKER_06Oh, there is. Obviously, yeah. I just like I can tell when my dog sees a certain dog, it'll respond with a certain bark. But when another dog is no no barking.
SPEAKER_00Did you see somebody else do this? No. Or you came up with it yourself.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Pride.
SPEAKER_03It was the composer bark, bark, mark, that started it. Yeah. Before
The Pinky Story
SPEAKER_03we move on, I I just have to say something I have been wanting to say for a long time and I haven't. I should have. Oh, thank you. Mark, you have the most disgusting pinky I have ever seen in my life.
SPEAKER_00What are you talking about?
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Show the world your pinky, Mark.
SPEAKER_06Oh where did you get that pinky? Don't moth god's creation. I actually have to hit it in the middle to get it to because it pops up. So easy for those who listen to the podcast and don't see it. Could you describe what you're looking at?
SPEAKER_03They don't see it. Yeah. What is it, Mark? Is that an extra joint?
SPEAKER_00No, I I heard it playing football. Oh, sorry, Mark. My glory days. How much you want to bet I can throw this football over that mountain in our colour Rico?
SPEAKER_03It looks like Picasso drew a hot dog. Yeah. Wheater schnitzles. All right, one a second.
SPEAKER_02Don't listen easy. The Lord created you, informed you from your mother's womb, and he gave you that pink.
SPEAKER_03He caused you to break it in football. Discipline. You missed it up. I didn't have any money to fix it, okay? Time for a cool classy comment. Easy.
SPEAKER_06Easy. Yeah. Pass that pinky over here, I'll fix it.
SPEAKER_03I've seen this on television. Just one kick, quick pull. Mark, it never ceases to shock me. How many times have I seen it every time? It can be fit away.
SPEAKER_00Honestly, I just could never I could never afford to get it fixed.
SPEAKER_06So it's just like what do you mean afford to get it fixed? Is it pinky fixes?
SPEAKER_00No, they would they would have tightened something.
SPEAKER_03Why? At least it's entertainment value. That's what's good about it. All right. Time
Listener Encouragement And Quality Questions
SPEAKER_03for a cool glassy comment. This is from Beccaru 19. Subject. Love you guys. You guys are so funny, but I love and appreciate the Christ-centered gospel, truth, focus, and wisdom shared in this podcast. Where's that? By Easy Alone. I have seen the Lord greatly strengthen and challenge me in evangelism over the last couple of years, and you guys have been a great comfort. No pun intended. Thank you also for the three free resources. Praying for your ministry for the glory of God. Thank you. Thank you, Buckaroo. What a blessing. Beccaroo's name? Becca. I think Becca. Becca. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Get ready for our special segment, Quality Questions. This one's for Oscar Navarro. Hi there. As a lover of history, I looked up the Marshall Shelley book, Church History in Plain Language. I was disappointed to see that it had a poor review on Christianbook.com. Seems to be specifically about the fifth edition of the book. Is this the edition you all were referencing? Would love your feedback. Thank you, Lee Ann Barrett. Mmm. Do you remember Oscar? The edition?
SPEAKER_02I do have the fifth edition book. I think I have the second or third edition as well. I will say, I think it's important. I don't, I'm not really sure what uh negative feedback when fits the internet, probably not always the most helpful place to find feedback. I will say though, uh being someone who's affectionate towards books written by historians, even Christian historians, they often write with um with uh educational vigor rather than theological conviction. So sometimes when you're reading a historical book, even if it's being faithful to uh what we what we know is true from the scriptures, it'll approach it with a vigor according to what you would imagine in an educational setting. And that book is used in an educational setting. And so it could be that. And what I mean by that is again, theological vigor. Okay, so like a theological conviction is like Jesus died and rose from the dead. Theological conviction that is that is true, truer than true. Uh, educational vigor might say it might position it as um, you know, Jesus' followers, including his own family, um, believed he rose from the dead. Now, I prefer the first one, theological conviction, but when I read a historical account, I understand that I'm reading something by a historian and it's gonna be written a little bit differently. So it's possible that that's what's happening in 15 years.
SPEAKER_03I wonder too, because I mean Shelley definitely writes from the Evangelical Christian perspective, and it could be maybe it's you know Catholics or others of other persuasion that don't like it, but I think it's phenomenal. It's a great uh overview. It's not deep detail, but it gives you a big picture. Yeah, I agree.
SPEAKER_06I love history. There seems to be more around than there used to be. I sure like it. Is that original? Yeah. No, I just wrote it. So you it that is original? Not really. I got it from Aunt B and A. Griffith's show. Pride! Yes.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. All right, friends.
Rankings, Mountains, And The USB
SPEAKER_03Podcast ranking shout out, number 13 top Christian podcast in Switzerland. Woo! We went Switzerland.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_03We're number number 23 of all religions, number 13 in Switzerland. I love Switzerland.
SPEAKER_00Switzerland reminds me of Yosemite on steroids. Switzerland is beautiful. It's Rachel's dream, actually, to go to Switzerland.
SPEAKER_06Beautiful mountains there, but how tall is a mountain if you count how far it goes down?
SPEAKER_03Totally. That's all I gotta say about that.
SPEAKER_06Is that original?
SPEAKER_02How deep does a mountain go?
SPEAKER_06Seriously, think about it.
SPEAKER_02You know the Mount Everest is not the tallest mountain? This is true. This is not a joke. Like the head of the ocean, you're saying? There's yeah, the tallest mountain is one of the mountains in Hawaii if you s if you go from the beginning of it, which is down in the ocean, all the way to the peak. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06You could take it from the under the bottom of the ocean.
SPEAKER_03Under the bottom, what are those? It's a little yeah.
SPEAKER_06You could do that with Everest, actually. You just have to go right back to some coastline. And what was the tallest mountain before Everest was? It was always Everest. It's always Everest. Always the tallest. Mount Cook is one, two, three, four, nine feet high. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03It's in Isaiah Land. Is it really? Cook straight. Cook's uh what they tell is the roughest patch of water.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, very rough.
SPEAKER_03Every country wants to claim the. How many people do you think tuned in today to hear about mountains? Trillions and billions and zillions, quadrillions. And now a radically revolutionary resources podcast is prizing. The ultimate. Uzb. Uzb. USB. The ultimate USB. Mark Smith, tell us about it.
SPEAKER_00The ultimate USB, yes, that was designed uh to have quick answers to tough questions out on the street. What do you mean? So I I like the way it is now. It has you can plug it right into your phone, a USB-C, whether that's a Droid or Mac. And uh then it has the regular USB. You can plug that into your laptop if need be, but it is uh filled with apologetical answers and questions and sermons and videos. Uh it's in English and it's in Spanish.
SPEAKER_03Oh, no que sean portando lo que no poncos, Simon. Was that anything, Oscar? That was absolutely nothing. Perfect. I hit Michael. Don't forget it. Check it out, friends. Don't forget the Living Waters mug. They want to study Bible, Living Waters TV, all at LivingWaters.com. Whoa, that was a nice whisper. And don't
What Kingdom-Mindedness Means
SPEAKER_03forget the podcast YouTube channel. All right, friends, today we're talking about what it looks like to be a kingdom-minded believer. Selfishness reigns supreme. And honestly, guys, when I contemplate kingdom-mindedness, I can't help but think of its greatest enemy being selfishness. What are you got something going on? Your nostrils are on the brink of on the brink.
SPEAKER_06No.
SPEAKER_03They're brinking there.
SPEAKER_06To be kingdom-minded means to have the king on the throne. That's all there's to it. Finish podcast. Thank.
SPEAKER_03Next time.
SPEAKER_00Have you heard the term to be so heavenly minded you're not going to be of any earthly good? Oh yeah. Very famous. Is that like I mean, legit to that? I mean, I don't even understand how that would work out.
SPEAKER_06If you are kingdom-minded, you will be earthly of earthly use. That's all there is to it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_06I think that was originally put up by Mr. S.A. 10. Oh, I met him. I've met him.
SPEAKER_03I knew him in high school, my history teacher. Yeah. Uncle. Sometimes as people are talking to me about what Satan told them, I start, I can't help but begin to grin because I connect that with you're telling me you know who told you that, who's the father of lies who only speaks from his very nature, and you're believing it. I mean, we all fall victim to unclear screw tape. Ooh, screw tape. That's brilliant. Yeah. Tell people about that, right? That's a good good idea.
SPEAKER_06CS Lewis, screw tape letters. It's arguments between demons as to how they're going to deceive Christians. Would that be right? I haven't read it for about 400 years.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a great, it is. So to expand on that, it is a older demon. And older. An older demon. This is fiction, obviously. And he is writing to a younger demon, teaching them how to get a Christian follower to turn away from God. And one of the great moments is like the younger demon writes, the older demon is like, I'm trying to get him to hate God, but he just won't. And the older demon writes at back, goes, No, no, no, no, you got it wrong. Get him bored with the church. That's where you start. And so just little things, little moments like that in that book make it really powerful.
SPEAKER_03That's really brilliantly written. Because you're you're you're peeking in on a dialogue, a conversation that's going back and forth, you know, the letters.
SPEAKER_06So screw type was the top demon?
SPEAKER_03Yes, sir. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06And what was the lower demon? I'm screwed.
SPEAKER_03Mark.
unknownMark.
SPEAKER_03So, guys, let's talk kingdom of God because I think sometimes there's there's a misunderstanding. Obviously, there is a place and connection and relation to the kingdom of God that's an aspect of it. But when we talk kingdom of God, we're talking about God's reign, God's rule, God's authority that extends across every square inch of the entire universe. And when I I mentioned selfishness, and Mark, actually this morning in in our executive meeting, you mentioned this, and it's something we saw recently, in fact, in the office of a district attorney friend of ours. And and it was it it's amazing how much can get done when no one cares who gets the credit. And I think that's the epitome of kingdom-mindedness. Like God's reign, God's rule, God's authority is so massive, which has connected to it his will and and his providence over the universe. It's so massive, it's so big. It doesn't matter what I do or say or or what what accolades I get or who acknowledges me, all that I care is to be in line with that and to help further it. Does that make sense? 100%, yeah. So so what what are and I'd love for us to go around, what are some of the things that impede Christians from being kingdom-minded?
SPEAKER_00Try to make a name for themselves.
SPEAKER_03Ooh.
SPEAKER_00Right. That's scary, man. The me monster. See, the only time, and I I wrote this inside uh our latest article that we did for The Chronicle, you know, that the only time I want to stop talking about me and my name and my accomplishments is when I can hear you talk about me and my name and my accomplishments. You know, the the we're we're all like that. Our favorite picture is a mirror, right? That that that isn't agreeable. Easy would be mirrors. Plural.
SPEAKER_05Plurals.
SPEAKER_00You know, so I I think that the idea is that uh it's it's not thinking less of ourselves, it's not thinking of ourselves is how we move forward, right? And you and what was your question again, Easy? About number one.
SPEAKER_03Oh, what what are the things that impede Christians from being kingdom minded?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, yeah, when we begin to think that uh this meeting, wherever I'm at, that it's about me, that I'm the main character in this, that as you guys are talking about whatever subject you're talking about, that what I'm about ready to share is more important than what anything anybody else has to share. I I talk inside my house, I say, if if there's a disagreement going on, if you begin to over talk somebody before they're done talking, um, you've lost the discussion. You know, you you have not esteemed that person greater than yourself. You need to allow them to finish. And when you're just trying to get them to stop talking so that you can talk, you don't care what the other person is even saying. All right. So we we need to be careful with that. It's that me monster that I'm first. I know better than you do.
SPEAKER_03I I really clued into that recently. I was listening to a news broadcast, and they had people with opposing views on there. And I it was so crazy because you could see the tactic. Each kept talking at the same time, trying to over talk the other and going and going. And that's such really the epitome of building your own kingdom, trying to advance yourself, trying to, you know. But there's something really powerful when someone does not interrupt, doesn't cut off, and then the personal feeling they go, You finished? Yes. And then they just they come with truth.
SPEAKER_06You've got such great insight, because I'm the same. I I look at I watch a certain interrupted or something. Anyway, um, I absolutely love it when a when a host who's interviewing someone doesn't interrupt them. He lets them talk so you can hear what's going on. And I hate it when they continue to interrupt and over talk each other because you can't figure out what's going on. It's confusing. Why are you guys so quiet?
SPEAKER_03We're living out with preaching, right? Yeah, I'm surrounded by idiots. Yeah, it is, it is uh it is bizarre. Mark, you when you said that, I had a visceral reaction, you know, trying to know what that means. Visceral, it's like intense. It's like uh you know, trying to promote our own name. And then in connection with that, the thought of building our own kingdom. Like that that really makes me tremble.
SPEAKER_06You know, could I just say something here because I think it's relevant? Last Saturday we're at um, yeah, I was there too. I think it was last Saturday. The guy said to me after I shared the gospel with him, what's your name? And I was a bit embarrassed to say my name, so I just no idea.
SPEAKER_03For we are many.
SPEAKER_06So I kind of mumbled, I says, Ray Comfort, and he says, Ray Cannibal?
SPEAKER_03That'll do.
SPEAKER_06We've got it on camera, but I've never used it. But I thought that's interesting.
SPEAKER_03It's like when I spoke uh at a university years ago and they were introducing me for chapel. Before I got up to speak, I said, Lord, please don't let anyone remember my name. They said, We have with us today Emmanuel Zane. Thank you, Lord. Immediate answer to prayer. They don't even know my name. That's funny. Yeah. So, so yeah, so so this whole notion of being kingdom-minded, what do you guys think in terms of what impedes it, Oscar? I'd love to hear from you.
SPEAKER_02I think I think it's the not realizing that what Jesus did on the cross necessarily means regime change. In other words, what we do right now is kingdom-mindedness is recognizing that we are God's people living in God's place under God's rule. Um, I love, you know, I'm a big fan of Lord of the Rings, the books and the movies, and in the books at least, there's this incredible space between good defeating evil and the coronation of King Aragon later on. And the space
Living Under A New King
SPEAKER_02between that, those people in the book are living in a sort of here, not yet. Evil has been defeated. And in the book, it talks about people planting gardens joyfully, they're cleaning up their front yards, they're enjoying each other's company. Like there's this new air about the world because death, or I should say, evil has been defeated, and the king, the good king, now not yet. Well, he reigns, but they're also waiting for the actual coronation. But what ends up happening is they live their lives according to the new ruler of the world. And in many ways, we live in a sort of here and not yet. On the cross, Jesus took up his throne. And yet, his coronation, his second coming has not yet come. And so we work like the kingdom mindiness is working, living in the space between those two realities. It's seeing every part of life as a celebration, as a heralding of the good news of the gospel. That's what it means to write to be an evangelist, to witness, is to herald. That's what we do. We herald, we are proclaimers of this good news that there is a new kingdom on earth. Uh, and it is the kingdom that we see in heaven. And so I think kingdom mindedness affects how we live, how we treat our wives, how we raise children, how we go about. About planting gardens, caring for the sick and the needy, it affects every aspect of our lives.
SPEAKER_00Oh, go ahead, Mark. I was just one line. I was just gonna say the kingdom-minded believer lives with one aim. It's his will, not my will. He must increase, I must decrease.
SPEAKER_03Jesus really gave us a glimpse into that. You know, you think of Gethsemane and what was going on in there. And I love I love Gethsemane because it gives me this sort of relief that the perfect son of God dealt with distress and sorrow. He said, unto death. He was in anguish. It gives me that that consolation that wow, like when I do that, I'm not necessarily in sin, right? You could be. It depends on where you're at in terms of your trust in the Lord and such. But but then you know, you you see, um, you see his his heart manifested there, you know, and that he asked the father that if there's any way the cup could pass from him. But I mean he did that three times. Like, if there's any way, I mean, this is Christ, right? Who was born to die. He knew his mission. It wasn't like, oh, you know, but but but I but I think divinely God was kind of demonstrating to us ultimately where our hearts need to be with what he ended up saying, yet not my will but yours be done. Like as much anguish as this causes me, as distressing as this is, as hard as it is, my aim is your will. Because Ray, Jesus always did that which pleased the Father.
SPEAKER_06Always. Yeah. I love the word Gethsemane. It sounds like the sort of thing you'd say when someone sneezes. Anyway.
SPEAKER_03Gesuntai, uh Gethsemane. It wouldn't be weird if that's what we did say, but yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Um I've been parked on 1 Kings, we're reading it recently, and I'm so surprised. Well, I'm not surprised because I knew it was coming, but when it names a certain king who does evil, and then it says he was not like his father David, who was perfect. And I think, no, David wasn't perfect, he made a mess of so much. So how could that be? And it wasn't just once, it's like many times it says the same phrase, it wasn't perfect like David. And I think it was because David knew how to repent, he knew how to get rid of his sin in God's eyes. And as we touched on other times, so epitomized by Psalm 51. So if you want to be great in the kingdom, know your place. It's at the foot of the cross.
SPEAKER_00Can I comment on that? I heard somebody respond about David's relationship with God, you know, and we see that David is a man after God's own heart. And there was an objector that came up and said, Oh, how can David be a man after God's own heart when he had committed adultery at Bathsheba? He had the people uh numbered, uh, he had Uriah killed. What what in the world? What what part of this is a man after God's own heart? And the pastor responded back and said, Well, let's just examine the overarching life of David. He was a hymn writer, he was a singer, he was a worshiper, he was a meditator, he was and he started going through all these different aspects of of David, how he, yes, he sinned, he blew it royally, but let's talk about now, let's compare, uh, put on a scale. Are you worshiping the Lord? Are is it from deep within you desire to sing a new song onto the Lord? Does your heart, when you have that moment to just pause, are you gravitating towards, oh Lord, be glorified inside my life? Search me and try me and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting, Lord, whatever it takes, no matter the cost at all costs, right? Does our hearts, does our minds do what David does? That's good. And does it go to that place? Because what do we focus in on? What we focus in on, we focus in on our sins, and God were to focus in on, no, as far as the east is from the west. Like, what are you what are you talking about right now? But remember when I did that dastardly deed, I don't know what you're talking about. What are you referring to? And we get so caught up on things that we're doing wrong that it hinders our worship of writing poetry to the Lord, sitting with the Lord, you know, having that sensitive heart when we see something and bouncing our eyes away when we shouldn't look upon that. I came up with this really uh neat acronym. It's called Nope. A lawsuit. Did you come up with that, EZ?
SPEAKER_06No, stop it, man. It's brilliant. Did I? That's from that's from Easy's book called Uh Fright Like a Man. It's a wonderful, wonderful.
SPEAKER_00Eating a can of spam with Jackie Channing.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh man, if you guys knew how many people harassed me on that. Good. Really?
SPEAKER_06Oh good, good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Fight like a man. Wonderful book.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Ray, I I'd love you to speak to this aspect of God's kingdom that we often don't think about. Romans uh 14, 17. Um it says, For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Where where does joy come into our place as citizens in the kingdom of God?
SPEAKER_06Thank you, right? Thank you. Um Love Romans 14. Righteousness, the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. And often the war, if you follow uh sex and religions, not S-E-C-T-X and religions. I wrote a book with that in the title, and I had to. I did, yeah. Cults, sex and religions was the title of the book. And people on radios would say, Ray, you wrote a book called Cult, Sex and Religions. No, this isn't sounding right. Anyway, um Yeah, they're all about eating and drinking. That's what that's that's how you please God. It's how you live your life outwardly. The Bible says, no, no, no. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. And if you have righteousness, the Bible says righteousness delivers from death. That's where your peace comes from, what Jesus did on the cross, and that should produce joy in your heart. Jesus said, Rejoice not because demons are subject to you, but rejoice because your name is written in heaven, all because of that righteousness that's given to us through Christ.
SPEAKER_03That's so good. Yeah, you know, I I've been reading through uh Deuteronomy lately. Or rather, uh yeah, I finished reading, I'm listening to as well now. And um and so hard to think, isn't it? Trying to put together two words. What have I done to deserve this? Um the singing, yeah. Uh that's true. You're right. It's not without cause. But one of the things it was talking about in terms of the king's the king's conduct, it talked about him loving righteousness and talked about him being careful not to lift himself above his brethren, and and spoke about having the law and reading it regularly so he doesn't lift himself above his brethren. But Oscar, righteousness within the kingdom of God. Like there's something in us that that should love that, right? Because every kingdom that would be a real healthy and vibrant kingdom has to have righteousness as a part of it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, going back to the uh metaphor that I used earlier, if the kingdom of God is recognizing that a new king is on the throne, then you would naturally live as a citizen to that new kingdom, right? If a king, if you were, you know, if imagine emancipation, like a new king comes in and emancipates all the slaves, you don't expect the slaves to continue to live as slaves. In that same way, if you live under the rule and reign of Lord Jesus, then why would you still act as slaves to your sin? And there is an in in what you're talking about, which is righteousness, right living in according to who God is and what he has done, to be able to reflect his character in all areas of our lives. Will we always get it right? Absolutely not. Just listen to our last podcast. But but but we we have a new disposition, a new view in the of the world, a new view of ourselves. Uh, and that should call us towards a kind of righteous living. And that, like I think when we talk about kingdom-mindedness, we're talking about a lot of tensions. I talked earlier about the here and the not yet. I talked earlier about the here and not yet. Um, there's also the personal and the public. The personal and the public. The public is what you do out in the world according to this new kingdom. That's the proclamation of the gospel, that's loving and serving and helping those who can't, uh, you know, meeting the needs of the people, caring for uh creation care, as one theologian put it. Uh, but the personal is really important as well. Your personal devotion, the time that you spend reflecting on God's goodness and then um adopting his character. I think about Nehemiah, right? Like Nehemiah, it took him 52 days to rebuild the walls of Israel, Jerusalem. It took him four months of prayer before that. What that tells us is that Nehemiah spends more time on his personal devotion. In other words, Nehemiah recognized God has to do a work in me before he does a work through me. And there is our that sanctifying process. So good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and and Mark, unity as it relates to the kingdom of God, right? Like kingdom causes those are opportunities for God's people to work together. But but do you see a disconnect sometimes in terms of like when we talk about building our own kingdom? That could be like a pride thing. I want attention and I want glory. But then do you do you see that there are times when we take it so far that we won't cooperate with other members of the kingdom because of issues that we shouldn't divide over, maybe?
SPEAKER_00Yeah,
Unity, Wisdom, And Life Together
SPEAKER_00yes, yeah. And let me let me kind of address it maybe in an angle you're not referring to here. But it's like uh there's many members of the body, and we're trying to carry out what somebody else's uh gifting perhaps is able to do, right? Uh the eye trying to perform what the ear is able to do. That God has created us as a unity, as one, to get tasks done, to really accomplish anything. I was sharing with um one of my daughters earlier in the week about how uh God think of this this battle, this Christian walk, like an escape room. And there's many different things that need to get accomplished in order to get out of there in time. You have an hour. And if everybody's kind of doing their part, you're gonna be able to get out of there in time. And there's a uh there's wisdom in talking to people that have gone before us in the Christian walk. That we don't want to have just friends that are our own peers, but people that have gone before us, they're able to look at our life and say, ah, okay, so I see what's going on. Listen, that's a trap. Okay, that that's a dead end. See that that where you're heading, that that clue that you have has nothing to do with the angle in which you're heading. You you want to do this with work, but I'm telling you, the wisest thing is to actually do this with work or with your finances. I get it, I get it. You love sushi, and that's only $20. But if you grab a hold of that $20 and you put that towards your Roth Ira, you realize that Oscar's gonna say that's gonna be worth $20 million by the time you turn 65, right? So this Christian walk, like in escape room, it's better, much better when we link arms with people. And if people have gone before us and have been inside the battles that we've that we're currently in, we don't need to worry. We don't need to stress out. You you how often do you see somebody who's walked with God for 40 years that is truly walked with God for 40 years, that is just stressed out? That that is worried about what you're worried about because they can look back and go, hey, I remember when uh my rent was $400 and I was making $350. It didn't seem to make sense. And I was tithing and I had all of these different things. And they are able to say, listen, just trust the processes. God is in control. So, yes, let's link arms. Let's realize that this thing that we're going through, it's not an issue. It's not really a trial as much as you think it is. It's just a stepping stone to get you to where you need to be. But do it with other people because you were not designed to go through this Christian walk alone by yourself.
SPEAKER_03Amen. Yeah, you know, this brought to mind an issue of resources, right? Because every kingdom has resources to draw from, right? You you hear, you know, about the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a as an example, right? They have oil resources to draw from. In fact, I I believe that there was kind of like a I think they call it a universal basic income or something where where people get a distribution from the kingdom because of what's present there. And I think oftentimes, Mark, that that man, what you said is so brilliant because it just reminded me that oftentimes we have within the king, oh brilliant, mark, mark, pride, pride, pride. Oh, that's a good jingle. Nope. Uh negatory. We you like that? Negatory? Yeah. We have we have available to us things we don't tap into. You you highlighted that in terms of like wisdom, right? John Piper said something recently. I think I sent it to you, Mark, where he talked about how much he loves getting old. And Ray, you're I think two or three years older than us. That's because he's not an athlete. Oh, not at least. Uh, you're about two or three years older than us.
SPEAKER_06Good thing about getting old is you lose your fear of dying young.
SPEAKER_03Oh.
SPEAKER_06That's a new twist. I think I picked it up somewhere. And there's other good things about it. You forget that you've got long-term memory loss or short-term memory loss. You think you remember everything, which is great, and you get to watch old black and white movies again for the first time. Which is wonderful. Have you done that, Ray?
SPEAKER_03Where you really did watch a movie and at the end realize I've done it.
SPEAKER_06Most movies we watch, so and I say at the end, haven't we seen this before?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, why?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, like what's it called again? Ben Hur?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we've seen this before. It'd be nice if the TV could tell you at that moment, you've seen this 34 times.
SPEAKER_06We watched Great Expectations by Charles Dickens last night. What incredible character development. Was it good? Oh, it's just, it'll have you just like a roller coaster of emotions. I was bawling my eyes out. Next thing you're fearful, hiding behind the couch. It's just quite amazing.
SPEAKER_03Is it black and white?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, yeah, it was black and white. It wouldn't work in colour because the whole thing was black. It was dark. There is something. What is it about black?
SPEAKER_03There's something about a black and white. Shadows, that's what it is. That I like. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_02It's like, oh, it leaves no room for gray areas.
SPEAKER_06Safety. I don't know. Sonia Dickens' characters were just incredible. Like guys with chins like just big round faces. They had so much character and deep voices. Scary. It's wonderful. Great expectation. Show it to your kids before they go to bed and they'll never sleep again.
SPEAKER_03Anyway, back to the spiritual. So Piper was talking about how, yeah, he loves being old. I don't agree with you because it doesn't. Because he has so much to draw on in terms of the faithfulness of God. And he said, you know, some of you here have been saved, what, five, ten years? Like, I've been saved, you know, 60 years or whatever it was. And he said, I have so much to draw on in terms of the faithfulness of God.
SPEAKER_06Well, I've got a fourth thing that's good about getting old. That's great.
SPEAKER_03But Ray, honestly, though, the faithfulness of God, looking back on that and that heartening you to continue in the kingdom when things are tough.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I'm blown away when I I love when David goes through trials in scripture, the Psalms, he looks back on what God's done for him, which is what Piper's talking about, the faithfulness of God. Being a Christian, being in the kingdom means knowing the will of the king. I think that's the greatest revelation any Christian can have is that Jesus died so sinners wouldn't go to hell. That's why he came. He came to seek and save that which is lost. The reason I'm saying that is because I'm in a group text or sorry, group emails with about 25, 30 surfers from New Zealand that I used to surf with. My buddies from like 200 years ago. And they're all ungodly except for one female. Her name's Karen, and she once commended something I said, something spiritual. Anyway, about three years ago, I made a video down at Newport Beach of surfing, and I sent it to them, I'd all be interested. And back came the most disgusting, foul language, abuse and hatred from one guy. And that whole everyone saw what he wrote. And it just made me pull back and think, okay, New Zealand's not like America. People aren't kind of God-minded. It's like Australia, they're all criminals. And anyway, the other day, along came this email to everybody, including me, saying Eric's dying of cancer, and then John is dying of cancer because they're this age. And I thought, I've got to say something here. What can I say? It's gonna get abuse back. And then I noticed this lady Karen said, praying for Eric. And no one was offended. And I thought, that's what I needed. And so when I'm praying for Eric, also, this is a fearful thing, and this is what helped me more than anything else needgod.com. And I was able to put that, and nobody came back with a fence. So I'm gonna keep it going.
SPEAKER_02That story uh just stands out to me because I didn't realize New Zealand has internet.
SPEAKER_06We have shoes, we wear shoes, we have heard of the Beatles.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and guys, we have to remember too that you can't. You've been there, Oscar.
SPEAKER_06When you were there, why didn't you go and see the Lord of the Rings? I wanted to see the way close. It was in the North Island. We were in Christchurch in the middle of the South Island.
SPEAKER_03I looked it up because I was like, I will.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, you're about it was about 200 miles from Christchurch, I think. It was a bit more.
SPEAKER_03You think about retrospect, you know, because I think they took it all apart to some degree when they finished. Uh, and but imagine they kept it as it was fully, you know, and like thought ahead. Like, let's love to have a pretty epic. Yeah. Well, guys, you know, obviously you can't have a kingdom without a king. Yeah, right. And so I want to draw our hearts and minds toward that king. Uh Tozer said this. He said, The man who has God for his treasure has all things in one. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss. For having the source of all things, he has in one all satisfaction, all pleasure,
God As Your Treasure
SPEAKER_03all delight.
SPEAKER_06That's another good because that comes from a mature heart, Toza. I don't think he would have written that as a very young man, but looking back on his life, that's really what matters. That's all that matters.
SPEAKER_03That sense that you have that which you cannot lose, right? Elliot was it who said that? He is no fool finishing.
SPEAKER_00He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Yeah. That's so good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um to gain that which he cannot lose. Yeah, something like that. Yeah. Yeah. That's good. Pretty close. He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. That's what I said.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that that that thought of you know having Christ. I remember one time I was going on a ski trip. It was a one-day trip, going up to um Big Bear to ski up there. And I was excited about it, but then this kind of sense of depression set in on me, kind of like yeah, help me. Oh, scary. Kind of like it does when I'm eating taboo and it's a massive bowl, and I take my first bite and I realize it's gonna end.
SPEAKER_02This depression is it that way when I'm watching a good movie. Like that it's like the movie starts winding down, I get this feeling like anyway.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, I relate. It's the same thing. Yeah, I had great expectations that this movie would end. So, so as I as I'm going skiing, it's one of my favorite things to do in the world. I love, absolutely love skiing. So we're going, I'm so excited. And then this cloud came over me of the thought of oh, the day's gonna end. Like I'm gonna do my last run and it's gonna be over. And then, man, that's really how to ruin your whole life. Look at everything like that. But then, like, this this thought came to mind of like, but wait a minute. When I leave that mountain, the same Lord that goes with me there will go with me home and will never leave me nor forsake me. And it was like, it really just like, but it's it's interesting, and like what we read earlier of like, you know, even if you're losing something, it doesn't matter because you have all things in Him. Where was your faith?
SPEAKER_06You should have said that mountain, get a Yorinda.
SPEAKER_03Come to my home. But you know what I'm saying? It's like it changed everything for me because it was. Like, wait a minute. Yeah. If I go into everything enjoying the king, that never ends. That never ends. Like, you know, and again, there's so many instances. Like, you could think about, I'm thinking of those listening right now who are widowed as an example. You know, that thought of like losing losing your loved one, it's devastating. But if if you look at it as we are enjoying the king of kings together as a couple, one of us is going to go ahead to him, and then we're going to be together with him forever. You know, and it just helps you. Amen. You should start saying Amen, Ray. It just sounds more holy. I don't want to say Amen. Yeah, for those of you who don't understand what's going on, every time someone says no one understands. Forever, Ray has to say, Amen.
SPEAKER_06You know why, don't you?
SPEAKER_03Forever.
SPEAKER_06Amen.
SPEAKER_03Forever. Forever.
SPEAKER_06Infinitum. It's because when I was a kid, I said the Lord's Prayer every night for 10 years, which ends up with forever and ever. Amen. So I can never leave a forever without an Amen.
SPEAKER_03Forever. Amen. How long have we been doing this? So Oscar, speak to that. Loving the king, being in love with the king. Amen.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think what makes it it's I think it's hard for us, especially as Americans, to imagine what it's like to have a lovely king, you know, because we we don't have like we have we don't we don't have kings. Uh what else is there to say about that? Uh but I think about we want to get back to king. No, we don't let's reverse the revolution. No, no. You know what I was thinking about though is that what makes the king so lovely is that he loves us. Yeah. And what makes the king so lovely is that he lays aside his
The King Who Laid Aside Glory
SPEAKER_02throne for us. He is the king that first loved us. And so I think of, I think I've mentioned this before, but the story of King Edwards, um, which is years ago, there was this king, his name was Edward, obviously, King Edwards, and he meets this girl from New York. Is this a true story for those who don't know? Meets this girl for from New York. She's a divorcee. Her name, her last name is Simpson, and he falls in love with her.
SPEAKER_06This is English history.
SPEAKER_02This is English history. And and so he goes to the royal family, he's like, This is who I want to marry, and they're like, Absolutely not, you cannot marry this woman. But he was emphatic.
SPEAKER_06She was divorced.
SPEAKER_02She was divorced from New York, yep. And um, and essentially, long story short, is that the king laid aside his throne. Uh, he gave up his rights to the throne to marry this woman. And if you were an American, it was a beautiful love story. But if you were an English person, it was considered a great scandal. He was he is not a he was not, I don't know if he is now, but he was not a respected person for doing this thing. But imagine that through the lens of Miss Simpson, that you meet this king and that he lays aside all of his rights to royalty and wealth and honor and praise to take up life with you. That is the kind of king that we delight in. A king that laid aside his throne, that did not consider it, well, that that basically came into human history, uh, took on human flesh, that he was born into poverty, that the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, think about this, as a baby, the first intake of breath he had was filled with the smell of cow manure. That he would go about experiencing sickness and death and mockery and ridicule, all of that, so that he can call us his bride. That is the king that we worship.
SPEAKER_03Oh man, that that just so stirs me and reminds me that man we are who was it? Was it Piper that says it? We're too we're too satisfied with our lives, you know, and and the way that they are, versus being dissatisfied to where we we yearn for him. You know, we we want him more than anything in the world, you know. I mean that's a powerful story. Like, I mean, he abdicated the throne, all of that. Um, and again, it depends on how you look at it. But wasn't that when King George was was in, I think, elevated. I think that's why when George took the throne. That was Elizabeth's dad.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Right?
SPEAKER_00That's who you're talking about.
SPEAKER_02No, no, Elizabeth's dad is the one that took the throne after Edwards abdicated, I believe. Oh, yes. Was it? Yeah, maybe. So it went Edwards, George, Elizabeth, and then whoever the guy is now.
SPEAKER_03I thought it was Elizabeth's dad. Yeah, yeah, because it was Elizabeth's dad. He's the one, yeah, I think it was George, he's the one that stuttered. Yes, uh, during the throne. During the war, yes. And so he didn't want it, but he took it. His brother abdicated, and that's right. That's right.
SPEAKER_06That's an amazing story. Yeah. I've seen a documentary on television, or maybe a movie. Is there a movie?
SPEAKER_02I don't know. The King's Speech?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, that's yeah, I think that's what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. That's more about the new the king that took on the throne. It it gets a little bit into the abdication of the throne, but it's mainly about the next one.
SPEAKER_06There's another one about the life of Churchill that gives me goosebumps, the movie that I watched years ago. Churchill. Yeah, where he where he goes onto a train to find the will of the people. Oh, I remember that. That was just so moving. That was yeah, because he's sitting on a train with all these commoners and they look over and this Winston Churchill, the prime minister, sitting on a train, and he just wanted to find out where people were aired.
SPEAKER_03That's before he made the decision, right? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I read a book called Winston, Churchill and God. Winston, Hitler, Churchill and God. It's a real book. Why are you laughing? But after that book, I named my dog Winston. That's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_03You know, Churchill, he had he had a speech impediment and he struggled with speeches, but he practiced so much that in fact he's practiced his impromptu speeches. Yeah, yeah, you mentioned that. Right? And and so he would do that. He would even practice the pauses and he would practice foibles too, like where he would mess up. Like he that was like intentional, crazy.
SPEAKER_06But it's the thing that I find inspiring is where in that speech he had to rally the people against Hitler. They needed to hear a clear, clear voice. And he said, We'll fight on the beaches, we'll fight on the shores, we will never surrender.
SPEAKER_00And that just is so, so, so stirring. Makes you want to enlist.
SPEAKER_02Now our best communicators are like, like and subscribe.
SPEAKER_03Boy, has the world changed. So so let's let's draw to a close with it's meaningless for a preacher. Ray, you've said that for years. Yeah, I love it. Which is a meaningless preacher statement. It's true, let's draw to a close. Oh boy. Every time you're building up to that, I'm getting ready. Because there's this, there's this that awkward silence, right, in between Ray saying that and then doing his thing, and people are like, uh, and then you better explain it.
SPEAKER_06I'd like to close with this thought.
SPEAKER_03Explain it.
SPEAKER_06And then I lean forward and put my hand on my nose. What am I laughing at myself for?
Seek First, Reject Worry, Find Quiet
SPEAKER_06And just think it, which is stupid to close with a thought. You want to close with words. And so I explained that.
SPEAKER_03Did that come to you like in the course of a sermon, or did you pre-plan it?
SPEAKER_06I'm scared to say how it came to me because of I won't say a thing. Okay, yeah, I just thought of it.
SPEAKER_03What?
unknownWhat?
SPEAKER_03Is there a story behind this?
SPEAKER_06No, no, I just thought I'd do this. So I did it, and I've never stopped.
SPEAKER_03And it's a little and it worked.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it worked. As you know, certain things work in the pulpit and you don't want to let them go.
SPEAKER_03Oh, when it's like that.
SPEAKER_06You love making people laugh.
SPEAKER_03They're so wonderful when they work. Yeah. Yeah. So nothing ever works for me in the pulpit.
SPEAKER_06A sermon without works is dead.
SPEAKER_03Oh. Ooh. So let's draw to another thought.
SPEAKER_06No, no, it's let's begin to draw to a close.
SPEAKER_03You're not gonna get the rest in the kingdom. Therefore, we're talking Matthew here, right? Therefore, Matthew 6, verse 31, do not worry saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
SPEAKER_00You know, I love it's it's the idea of do not put even a single thought in your head, is the way it's actually worded there. Not a single thought. You know, um you realize how much you lean on the world when there's silence. You know, when you need that commotion to just operate in the world, to to drive. And I've seen, you know, for my myself begin to get more and more sanctified as I drive. It's like I'm not craving music, nothing wrong with music. No, you know, not nothing wrong with podcasts, listen to the podcast. I don't know of one good podcast out there.
SPEAKER_03Including this one, including this one.
SPEAKER_00Um, but it's just so driving along and just solitude. And I would see like my nephews and my nieces when they get inside the car. It's just music. Turn on the music, turn it all the way up. All right, that's it. And it's like, can you just kind of pause? You know, one with God will be in the majority. You you realize when you come to the end of your rope and all you have is God. It's like all you need is God. You just kind of like be still and know that He is God. Cease your striving, let me show you that I'm God, in other words, right? Just kind of driving along and and being silent and being still and just kind of allowing your thoughts, you know, to be carried over into prayers and and and being okay with that. You know, it that is unheard of for me before I became a Christian. Because I needed noise, I needed commotion. I'm doing homework, right? I got Top Gun going on over here, I have catty shack going on over here because I need to have the noise, I need to have the commotion, you know, going on. But it's just not necessary anymore.
SPEAKER_03You know, this is crazy. I've been thinking about this more than than ever recently, but it's crazy when when you mistake noise for silence. What do I mean by that? There are times I think I'm sitting in silence until the fridge refrigerator stops humming. And I'm like, what in the world? Like I really thought there was no sound, and then it turns off, and then you realize that was really annoying, but I got so used to it that I didn't even know it was going on. You know, recently I I took the battery out of the clock in my office because it was driving me crazy ticking.
SPEAKER_06So is that what happened?
SPEAKER_03Clocks. No, and is that what happens? Is that what you're crazy? I'm seriously thinking of getting rid of the fridge in my office because it makes the little mini fridge.
SPEAKER_06I'm doing the same thing with air in my room. I like that. There's just air and it's just an always.
SPEAKER_03No, but seriously, it makes us the sound, and then I'm I'm getting irritated, but I'm not realizing, and then it shuts off, and I'm like, that's silence. And I hear the clock ticking, and then I realize, no, it's still not silent.
SPEAKER_06How do you feel about us in the background? I don't like you.
SPEAKER_03I've been trying to mute you guys for almost 400 episodes. Uh but but yeah, Mark, good point. It's noise, it's constant. And I think that's that's what's happening. Like the noise of this world, this is my contribution in terms of impediments to pursuing the kingdom. It's the noise of the world, the demands, the fear, the providing, the working, the situations, the relational issues. All of that gets in the way. You don't like relational issues?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I love Seeky First, the kingdom of God. What builds up to it? Jesus said Solomon and all his glory was not arrayed like these flowers of the field. And there's a song that came out millions of years ago called Stop and Smell the Roses. Do you ever hear that song? Me neither. You heard it? No, it just says stop and smell the roses. But you need to stop, not only smell the roses, but look down into that rose. Absolutely breathtaking. Solomon in all his glory, and Solomon had glory, the queen of Sheba just was, she was her breath was taken away. She had no more spirit left within her because Solomon had clothed everything in gold. Probably tempted to clothe her in gold too. Is gold coming out of his ears. He really did. Everything was clothed in gold. But yeah, so stop. And and look at the birds of the air. I mean, I I don't see any overweight birds, I don't see any worried birds, don't see any demonstrating birds saying, We're not enough food to demonstrating birds. That all get taken care of by God. So how much more will he take care of us? So you have little faith.
SPEAKER_02Attention dictates affection. Yeah. Attention dictates affection. What I mean by that is what you guys are talking about. Like we get so distracted by all the noise around us that we don't even realize how loud it actually is. Uh, Kelly and I used to sail to Catalina once a year, and I know, you know, about 15 miles out, all of us all of a sudden there's just this deafening silence. Because you don't realize like all the cars, the engine of the airplanes, everything all of a sudden goes quiet. And the only thing you can hear is the splash of waves against the bow of the boat. And it is, it I can't think of another moment of silence in my life that that that that is in that kind of a way. But it's not just noise, it's you know, phones. Like the other day, um, I participated in a new spiritual practice in the mornings at your clock. In the mornings, right?
SPEAKER_03I seriously, clocks should not be made to tick and make noise. I hate it.
SPEAKER_02In the mornings, what I do now is after reading God's word, after reading my devotional, after praying, I just sit there and look out the window. I let the air hit me in the face, I open it up, and I just I just sit there and look out the window, and I just have a moment where all I can hear is the birds and there's no screen on or anything of that nature. And what I think ultimately what it does is it helps us recognize the voice of God because so often he whispers to us. I think back to when my kids were little, like we would be in a room full of people, and when my kids said mom or when they cried, my wife knew it was them. Where I was like, I don't know, it's just some kid crying for mom. Oh, that's my kid. You know what I mean? My wife knew that voice in that same kind of a way. Do you know the voice of your savior? Because when things get loud, you'll be able to hear it. But but in order to know it, we need to spend time with it.
SPEAKER_06It's funny you should say that because Sue and I are amazed. We've got, Mark knows this so it's easy. We've got a a window, a large window that I've put reflective glass on the outside or reflective tape or whatever you call it, so the birds can't see us, but we can see the birds. All they see is a mirror. So we continually see these birds come to eat, and we see these babies with their little wings saying, Mom, feed me now, and they're like teenagers. Now, now now that's what they're like. It's just a weird noise. But Sue says this how does the mother fly away into the trees and this little bird that looks exactly like every other bird find its mother? How do they come together again? Because it's just amazing, because the mother knows the voice of the child or the bird, baby bird, and the bird knows the mother intuitively.
SPEAKER_03You know, uh that's on steroids for me with with penguins. If you guys have ever seen like the whole penguin dynamic where the mom will or the dad will go, they'll take turns, right, with the baby. And there's like a million penguins, yeah, and they all look exactly the same. It's not like people, oh, he looked, no, they're like absolute reproductive, you know, photocopies. And they find their mate. That's because they've got numbers if you look closely. That's what it is. But but but that goes to show that like sometimes we we get this sense that like almost like we exist on accident. Like somehow we just randomly came into being. We're we were knit together in our mother's womb. God made each of us, he his fingerprint is upon us, and he knows us, and and we can know him and know his voice. And so, yeah, so that's the kingdom, man. His rule, his reign, him being priority. I love that, Oscar, that uh attention speaks affection, right? Dictates affection. Dictates affection. And and that's what we want. We want to seek him first above all else. Remembering he's always with us, being united with other believers who are a part of that kingdom, walking in love, being excited about the kingdom to come in its fullness, looking for the return of the king. You know, all of that, friends, is a part of what we as believers have as our inheritance as his redeemed children in his kingdom. Well, there you have it, friends. Don't forget the ultimate USB. Like, subscribe, share.
SPEAKER_06I'm feeling for you at the moment because we've talked about such lofty subjects. I know. And we're trying to end it on a high note. I know, but we can't go any higher. We need to subscribe.
SPEAKER_03That's why I'm trying to avoid my stupidity, too. It's unavoidable. It is unavoidable. So don't forget ultimate USB, likes, subscribe, share, podcast at LivingWaters.com with your thoughts and questions, please. We want to start answering questions on the podcast. Thank you for joining us, friends. We'll see you here next time on the Living Waters podcast, where we have no idea what we're doing.
