Not Doubting Thomas/What about the Nephalem

Today I'm joined by my good friend and ministry partner Thomas to have a talk about what God is doing in our lives.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey guys. Today I'm joined by my special guest, Not Doubting Thomas. I'm very excited to have this conversation with him today. We delve into a lot of stuff and we end up talking for over an hour. The only things that I cut out were a couple of jokes that Thomas and I made, and we were like, I don't know if that one's gonna fly well, but I hope you guys enjoy it. My name's Daniel, and for the longest time I thought I was just an ordinary dad, but this is my journey to see the extra in my ordinary life. So I guess I'm gonna start just I'm gonna let you guys know that I'm here with my friend Thomas that you heard about on the last podcast, or the podcast before. I think it was the last one. But we're gonna have a little talk today. We've already been talking, so we already got all the good stuff out, so you guys get the uh what's leftovers. The leftovers. The leftovers of the podcast. You guys get yesterday's meatloaf. But so what's been going on?

SPEAKER_04 0:52

Nothing, man. Uh appreciate you having me on. Pastor Daniel or Pastor Denial. Pastor Denial. Nah, man. I appreciate you having me on, but when he was talking the other day, it was just so cool listening to the podcast because how it connected with denying, right? And then the struggles and stuff of being coming, I'd be like, hey, no, you a pastor now, right? So I I just found I even got Lincoln to listen to it, and it was like a really good, I was like, man, he's he's on to something with that right here because just the just the connections that you was made. Um, but no, I appreciate you having me on. Uh got worship and service tonight. So that's always exciting.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

So if you guys don't know who Thomas is, Thomas, who I called Not Doubting Thomas, is going to be or is our worship leader for the middle school ministry, and he's done a phenomenal job. Since he's been doing it, he's actually incorporated some of the middle school kids in, and we've got like a student-led worship team, and they're growing closer to Jesus. It's really cool to see. Not gate negating anything that was done before, but it's like when we made that shift and everybody got right where they were supposed to be, God started moving in ways that we hadn't seen him move in a while, and it was really, really cool to witness.

SPEAKER_04 2:08

Yeah, it definitely took off. Um, and like I said, there's nothing I've done. Um, it's all God. You know what I mean? And I'm just so grateful to be where God has led me. Because if you like I said, if you would have told me six months ago, even that recent, that I would be helping lead worship in a building full of middle schoolers, I would have said, No, you are out of your mind.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Um not a middle school man.

SPEAKER_04 2:34

Yeah, and uh, but no, God has I'm so grateful, so blessed to be able to be a part of the people that's there too, the volunteers and the parents and the pastors and everything that's there. Um, you, uh Pastor Jim Bob and them. It's it's definitely a very, very humbling experience to be able to go where God has led me to go, because it's one of them pray, pray, pray, and then you end up where God says, Hey, if you're gonna pray about it, I'm gonna put you exactly where you're praying to be, right? Even if you don't really want to go to Nineveh, you're gonna end up in Nineveh.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Well, it's cool how it becomes not about titles. Uh my friend Dustin, he he became a youth pastor. He goes up north and he messed me the other day. He's like, So what are you doing now? Are you you a youth pastor? And I was like, bruh, not to brag, but I'm the unpaid assistant middle school pastor at my church. So I was like the white shirt.

SPEAKER_04 3:25

It's like I'm the assistant to the manager.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

I was like, we we got something going on, but I I never for a million years would have thought that middle school ministry would be something I would fall in love with, and I love them. I tell everybody they need deodorant and Jesus, and you're set. Exactly. You get those two things, they're good.

SPEAKER_04 3:42

But like I said, you're thriving too. You know what I'm saying? It's and it's like nothing that you're obeying, right? And with your obedience, God is laying foundations down for you. You know what I'm saying? And it's opening up so many doors because I haven't even been coming to the church that long. And I'm not trying to say it in a bad way or anything like that.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

But I've been to the church a week, they're gonna be worship and look at me now.

SPEAKER_04 4:05

But uh no, I I really uh I I just started coming for about maybe a year, and God moved so quickly that it was really hard to leave where I was, you know, with my grandfather and stuff like that. Um, but I was telling my wife, I said I just gotta obey God. And the first time I came here, Pastor Timmy, you know, gave a message that I'm just like, yeah, that's that's good, you know. I felt like, you know, when God created earth, he said this is good. I was sitting in the sermon, I'm like, this is good. And so I started coming and coming and coming. And uh, because I said Caribbean's been coming here for a while. And I just never want to leave my grandfather and his church and everything. And as soon as I listened to God and said, Hey, maybe there is something that I am called to do differently, he opened up so many doors very, very quickly too. Um, and I tried I tried shutting them too. I'm like, no, no, no, no, it's fine. I don't I don't need to be doing none of that, blah, blah, blah. And so when I was asked to, so let me tell my story real quick. Yeah. On how I became not doubting Thomas, right? Um, and I can't say that, you know, the but it's so I was born a pastor's grandson, right? And so you always hear about the pastor's children. Not so much about pastors' grandchildren, and I was raised in church, I was raised the right way, I was I was so blessed beyond measures of the family that I was born into, and my grandfather being a very good pastor at that, you know, I'm not saying all pastors are bad, but a very good leading pastor, and he was the same way as a grandfather, right? So the way that he got it my life growing up is the same way he was in church, like they were the same exact people in and out aside of church. Now, did I see different things? Absolutely, you know, like I said, we talk about pastors, like they're just dudes, right? Yeah, they're still guys loving Jesus. Did I get whipped? Yeah, you know what I mean? And I'm sitting there, I'm like, you wouldn't do that inside the church, and he would, but um He did, and he did, and so you know, I I was very blessed and fortunate to be able to uh be raised the way I was raised. That did not mean I was a Christian, and that did not mean I gave my life to God from the beginning because I didn't, and you know, people say well if I could change stuff I wouldn't. And we're like, no, I absolutely would. I would go back and I would find Jesus the moment that it clicked, right? And so I ran, man. You know, I I I got with the wrong crowds and stuff, and you know, growing up, started hanging out with people that wasn't the people I should have been hanging out with. Um no like hardcore stuff or anything like that, but I'd go out and party and I'd drink and stuff like that, and like I told you before, growing up, I knew of God, but I didn't know him. And there was one day I was 20 Man, I don't want to get it wrong. I was like 23, I think. I was helping my grandfather with a revival at New River, and I'd go with him to these revivals, and you know, he'd go to Tennessee and stuff, and I always go and I play the guitar and sing for him, you know, I'd help him out. And he was doing revival, it might have been a little bit younger then, but he was doing a revival at New River, and I went up there and sang and everything, and usually when I got done singing, I'd walk to the very back and sit down. It's just I always sit in the back, right? Well, I sit up front this time because there was really no room. So I sit up front in the very first pew, and he started preaching, and he said a word, and I cannot remember what the word was, but he said something, and I just zoned out, right? And I started just crying. No reason why.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Now, was this like New River Church or New River the prison?

SPEAKER_04 8:06

Church over the other prison.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:08

Okay, I was wondering if it's in prison. So my grandfather was in jail and that could have been a prison ministry.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

I'm just like I'm in my mind, I just saw you like crying in front of a bunch of prisoners.

SPEAKER_04 8:17

It felt like it, it felt like it felt like uh Paul. I felt like Paul Mosylus there for a minute, but um, so I'm just crying, man, and everything got quiet, right? Everything zoned out. It was just me and God. And I started telling him, I'm sorry, right? I've ran long enough, I've done too much bad things for me to just continue this life. I'm sorry, man. And I got up, he's still in the middle of preaching, right? I get up and I go to the altar, and I said, I'm gonna lay down everything I got, and I'm not gonna pick it back up. Because I I feel like that's what we do a lot of times, is when we go to the altar, we lay our stuff down. But when we get up, we'll grab a couple things and go back out the door with it, right? And God's like, no, lay it all at my feet, right? So I'm gonna lay it down. Everything that I have is yours. My wife, my kids, my house, everything is yours. I don't deserve none of this. This is yours. And the Holy Spirit, and this is the first time, you know, like I said, I knew of God, but I didn't know God. This is the first time that I opened, He He was knocking, and I opened up the door and I completely let him in. And when I let him in, man, you know that feeling that you get whenever the Holy Spirit just enters in. And it's just that such a this is why I always go back to Matthew 4 on the Sermon on the Mount where he said, Bless those that are mourned, for they will be comforted, right? That feeling of comfort and that warm blanket that the Spirit just wraps around you, and he's like, You're good here, right? I got your back. And so I gave my life to God and I haven't turned back since. As there's been struggles, absolutely, man. We ain't gonna go a day where everything perfectly aligns the way we wanted to go. But that day, man, is when I I surrendered and I fully gave it to him, and that's when I knew God. I didn't know of him, but now I knew him. And ever since that day, it's just been a different, I've been a different person. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, we hear the good news. What is it? Hey, you gotta turn away from your sins, right? We gotta lay them down, turn away from them, repent, give your life to God. Salvation is right there. You just need to go it's a free gift. He's he's I want you to take it. We gotta go get it, right? And when I was like, all right, I want that, you know. And so many times you could say, like, oh, I'm a Christian, but aren't you? Right? And then that day I was like, I feel peace. You know, it's not like I'm putting on a an act anymore, or I'm trying to be this modest pastor's grandson, or you know, I'm not trying to look the image, yeah, right. And I feel like that's a whole topic in itself, the image part, right? And it was such a good day, you know. I mean, or it was night, but it was such a good day that I still remember it vividly, the feeling, right? And like I don't remember anything that happened prior to that. I don't remember singing, I don't remember what he was preaching on. I wish I did remember what he's preaching on, because I'd have been like, hey, good job.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Like run that one back, do it again.

SPEAKER_04 11:25

Every time I'm here, I want you to run it. Um, but that day, man, I was I was a new person, right? I was I I was that's what the Bible specifically tells you what it feels like and what it is. And I was a new person, so that's kind of like my my history on it. And ever since then, you know, like I said, I've struggled and stuff, but growing up, you know, I've always gone to his church, I've always did everything for him. He got really, really sick um a couple years back, and he needed somebody to stand in. And I was like, I'm never that guy. Song, I got you, but speaking, I can't do it. And he went in a hospital for weeks, I think it was actually a couple months, and I I didn't know if he was even gonna come back out, it was that bad. And I'm like, I got him, right? This is what I'm here for. I'm I'm I got you. So I started, and that was kind of God's way of getting me into speaking to people and getting me truly into the word itself, you know, because it's like, yeah, I read the Bible, but I didn't get deep into the word and stuff like that. And so when I left, so I did that for a while, and then when I started coming here, that was the that was the hang up because he's old, man, you know, and he's still he's still trying, you know, he's in a lecture scooter preaching and stuff, and I feel so bad. But I came here because the way that Carrie Beth came here was for the kids, you know. CFT has just an amazing youth program, they care so much about the children, and I know one of the driving patterns that's bringing us home too.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Like, other than God calling us home, like and I knew God wanted me here, that was what made it easy to be like, my kids are gonna be fed.

SPEAKER_04 13:01

Exactly, you know, and I it it's the whole church, man. It literally moves as a body, right? And so she started coming here, and I'm like, You're not tired of my grandfather's church, but I am, right? And then I came here listening to a sermon that Pastor Timmy brought, and I was like, Man, I gotta have a tough talk with my grandfather now because I feel led here, right? And you always feel that leading.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Was that a tough talk, or was it like one of those, because like you it's tough on your end, but then you go to him, he's like, Are you being obedient? Like that moment, yeah, man. I did that with Pastor David when I was getting in ministry training, and I thought about it, and I was like, I want to go beg him and just let him know, like, hey, I want to be in ministry training. If you see it, and I'm just like, I want to be a ministry training, he's like, Okay.

SPEAKER_04 13:48

Bro, I was stressing, right? I'm like, dude, my he's about to just kick me out, you know, he's never gonna love me again, you know. What is he gonna say? And um disown me. And so I dude, I had to get the courage up. Like I was stressing, and my granny was always easier to talk to. So I kind of ran it by her first, and I was like, because they seen I wasn't I haven't been to church in a few weeks. They're like, Where you been? I was like, I've just been following God, you know, he's been leading me places, doing things. So I finally I was like, I think Caribbean's like, you just gotta go over there and talk to him. I'm like, I can't. She's like, You're a grown man. Go talk to your grandfather. I'm like, I can't, I'm scared of him, but I can't do it. That's like he's got God on his side.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

That scooter rolls fast, Jason comes out.

SPEAKER_04 14:35

It's like, oh, you put in a high power? I can't outrun that, especially downhill. Um, so I was like, okay, let me go do that. So I went over there and I told him, I said, Look, I'm scared to death to tell y'all this, but I'm feeling led to go to another church. And my granny, like, sits there, she starts like, she has a smirk on her face, and I'm like, all right, I don't know if this is good or bad. My grandfather, he's just sitting like this. And I was like, I'm feeling called to be there. I got a lot of things going on right now with our baseball. You know, we're we got a Christian travel ball team, and we're trying to instill the word of God into kids through baseball and stuff like that, showing that, like, hey, loving Jesus and being a servant of him is not a bad thing, right? Because I feel like the world we live in tries to show kids of like, oh, you can't do this, you can't do that, you gotta, it's a strict thing. And look, yeah, the road's narrow, but that doesn't mean you gotta live in constant fear of stuff, right? So we're trying to do that. So I told her, you know, I was like, I'm trying to do, you know, the ministry there, and then I said, I'm having a calling to go somewhere, and they're like, Go. I was like, What? And he was like, and and and Papa, he was like, I'm sure gonna miss you, you know, like trying to give me the you know, the guilt trip and stuff. He's like, Granny's like, baby, you go. If God's calling you, you go. She's like, I had to go. Your grandfather had to go, we all had to do our own things, and you know, God's gonna lead you exactly where you need. Fast forward, we got worship tonight, we got sermon tonight, and when I came to this church, man, I had no intention of that. I just wanted to sit in the back, be quiet, listen to this amazing preaching, listen to the you know, amazing people around me, the amazing singing we got and stuff. And it started with day by day. You know, I had Mark come in and ask me, Can you help me over here? And I was like, Yeah, yeah, you know, I'll be there, I can help what I can, blah, blah, blah. And then when Trevor and Jamie Lee moved on to do what God is calling them to do, and they're doing an amazing job at that, too. And like, dude, good for them, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 16:38

Like it, but you know, it's cool when you see people like when they move to do something, and then God just takes it off.

SPEAKER_04 16:44

Yeah, and it's so cool. And and then you see them growing, and you're like, you're cheering for them, you know what I mean? Yeah, like you're in the back, like, that's my ball. They're talking to big kids. I'm so happy for them. I'm gonna talk to little kids, you know, and so it's it's one of the things of like, man, just seeing the growth that God has put in my life as in growing more mature with him, growing more mature with y'all and everything, and y'all being leaders too. So that's the other thing. Shout out to y'all, like, you know, what y'all do, you and Pastor Jim Bob, brother Pat, Sister Kathy, all brother Timmy. I mean, the the list goes on of just how amazing the people are around here. You know, Pastor Brandon's doing his thing, you know, and uh it's a body and it's literally moving like it. So I'm like, I don't want to be the grab my strong hand guy, right? You know, I mean, I don't want to, I don't want to, you know. So I was super scared when I was asked to go over there. You know, Trevor's like, you mind?

SPEAKER_01 17:36

I was like, I'll give it a shot.

SPEAKER_04 17:39

Well, first I was like, let me pray on it.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Let me try and talk God out of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give me a little bit trying to get God to say no.

SPEAKER_04 17:45

And like I said, when you try to run from Nineveh, you're gonna end up there, right?

SPEAKER_02 17:49

Am I saying that right? Yeah, okay. John was running from Nineveh.

SPEAKER_04 17:53

Yeah, and so he ended up somewhere stinky and wet. Exactly. And I, you know, that's your other option. If you don't listen, because you're still gonna end up there. Oh, yeah, but it's your path getting there, and so I was so scared. And dude, the the opening love that y'all had for me, because y'all didn't have to do that, y'all didn't know who I was. You know what I mean? Like, y'all probably seen me a couple times hanging out with my kids and stuff. Y'all didn't know me. Pastor Jim Bott didn't know who I was, and I come in there first day, and I was like, Hey, I think I'm your new guy that's gonna be singing to these kids, and they're like, Welcome in, you know, and from what it was, and even right now, it has been so amazing to see the kids. Like I said, this is this ain't about me. You know what I mean? Like, like I said, y'all came in there, this ain't about me, bro. Like, this is about the kids and what they're doing, and I have watched these kids week by week grow in faith, grow in worship, grow in just the obedience of lifting your hands. Because I feel like as middle schoolers, that's a hard thing.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Them getting engaged was a big thing.

SPEAKER_04 18:58

100%.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

We they started raising their hands, and we're all me and Pat are in the back, like, look at that, look at that.

SPEAKER_04 19:02

So you know, wiping tears out your eyes. I'm so proud of these kids right now. And and like I said, nothing to do with me. This is all God just saying, like, you're in the right spot. Do what you're called to do, and that's why the whole pastor denial. Hey, look, I understand like a title is hard sometimes. We talked about titles earlier, but you're a pastor. Take that with pride, you know, and show them that, like, hey, I'm a leader, I'm a pastor, and I'm gonna get y'all as much as I can on the right direction. And you do an amazing job. I mean, hats off to you. The sermons that I go to with you speaking is just they're so they're good. They're just so good. And you do such a great job with them kids and everything. And like I said, you're exactly where you need to be.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

You know, everybody I feel God is like I always brag on the bridge because I'm always like the bridge has the best volunteers in the world. And I say it to people, I don't even think about it, I'm saying it to people who volunteer in other areas of the church. Right. So I'm basically being like, you guys are like second place because I mean you're not the bridge. Yeah, you're not over the bridge. You can join us on the bridge, maybe, maybe one day.

SPEAKER_04 20:08

Well, and maybe, and that's the thing, man. It's even like when we had that Sunday Night Sing, I was so like, it was your idea to say, hey, you should have the kids sing over there. And it's like, I was like, I don't know if they'll do it or not. And they were like, Yeah, we'll do it. And they nailed it, but it's showing that because there was a saying about they're the future, right? And I'm like, nah, these are the present, man. This is the church of the day.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

These are the thing they are.

SPEAKER_04 20:37

Absolutely. And like you said it, I don't know if it was you or brother Pat, but we was talking about somebody if it's real good, we'll say it was Pat. Yeah, we'll give Pat credit. And they were like, Well, that that kid could be the bridge to their parents. And I was like, No pun intended. He's like, pun intended, you know what I mean? But and it's true, it's like we look at kids, we do, we just had a whole conversation about, and you know, Matthew, where he's talking about be converted as a children, right? And it's like these kids are the president of this church, they are the church right now, and it's like their parents are dropping them off to come to church on Wednesdays. Who's not to say that they're going to be the bridge for their parents to become, you know, fully to God? They're already, I feel like they're already a lot there if they're like, I wanted my kid to go to church, right? And then now the kids are like, Won't you come to church with me Sunday? Or won't you come to the you know, you could go to the main, or you could even sit in the bridge. Look, it's y'all's building, but I'm all for if a kid wants their parent to come to church and they're like, Well, I just want to sit in the bridge with my child, absolutely. Yeah, we will welcome you in open arms. You're gonna see Pastor Daniel like playing a slap clap. You can drop some kind of game. But it's it's one of them things of like, yeah, man, like it's super important with these kids. It's it's like I feel like these kids are a main priority.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

Well, and that's something I took for granted. Because I did I got saved when I was 16. And I I talk about the vivid day. I've talked about it on the podcast like multiple times. I remember Eddie. But I I used to be nervous coming to church because I was 16. I was like, bro, all these other kids go to church with their parents. All their families are there. And I'm just driving up here showing up. Because I didn't start coming to church till I was driving. And now that I'm in ministry and in children's church, their parents will show up with like curling irons in their head, pajamas, and they're like, hey, what time do I come back to pick my kids up? When y'all gonna be done? And like if I knew that then that there are tons of kids who are just showing up and like they're the person in their family who is learning about God and representing God in their house, like all that nervousness would have been out. So if you're a kid and you're listening, just come to church. There's a lot of people whose parents don't come to church here. Yeah. Like I didn't realize it until and I immediately started serving in children's ministry and I just had that wrong assumption for years. Right. Until I started look paying attention to the parents, and I'm like, wait a minute. They've come back in late because the restaurant wasn't done with their food yet.

SPEAKER_04 22:56

Exactly. And and I'm not trying to say nothing bad about them because at least they're bringing the children. At least you're getting the kid here. But it's like if you want that same thing for your kid, you need to get it too. Because don't you want to be in heaven with your kid? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 23:12

Like it's one thing to say I was able to get my kid somewhere where they were able to go to heaven. It's another thing to say I went with them. Exactly. It goes back to the Pat Hot. And we brought, we have this, oh so okay. So we just got this gymnasium, the flex building, and we have this big banner on the wall. And it says, What's the most important thing? Going to heaven. What's the second most important thing? Bringing somebody with you. And me and Thomas were talking about getting like a piece of duct tape or getting some other says like Pat Hodges. I told Pat that the other day, and he was like, No, don't do that. I would hate that. Don't don't give me credit for that. But that's something Pat says all the time is a question, but it really is the most important thing.

SPEAKER_04 23:46

Absolutely. And it's like bring somebody with you. It's like, why wouldn't you want your family to go? You know, and that salvation is there for you, you know, and and I don't want people missing out on something that is free to them. And you know, it it Satan is going to try to detour everything. And it makes it a big distraction. And he makes it, you know, one of the biggest things about churches, I believe, man, is excuses. Right? I believe excuses drives people to make their excuse sound good, right? If I can make it sound good to me, I should be good, right? And I did that for a long time. That's actually what my very first sermon was on was excuses. Because I didn't know no better, man. I'm like, man, I gotta help my grandfather out and stuff. And I was like, what can I speak on? And like God just gave it to me. He's like, excuses. I'm like, no, yeah. He's like, no, think about it. And and and seriously think about it. It's like I can't go to church today because of, or I can't go serve because of, you know, and you can insert it, and that's why people that's like, I can't stand it. I really can't, and I'm probably gonna hurt some people's feelings on this, and I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry, but you know, um this whole I can make it to heaven without going to church thing, let me explain something to you. Is it true? Sure. You're right. Can you do all the work yourself? Maybe. But here's my biggest thing about it, Pastor Daniel. If I have a Bible in my hand and I'm at the house, okay, and it's Sunday, and football games are on, and I'm sitting here with a Bible open and my team's playing, how much of the game am I watching versus how much of the Bible am I reading? Or if I'm at the house and I need to clean the garage out, or if I need to work on the car, and I'm and I'm saying all these things because I just don't want to go to a building where people that love me and want the exact same thing, hopefully, as I do. Dude, we all come on one accord, right? And you're at the house by yourself where it says directly in the Bible, where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there also, right? You're at the house by yourself because of what? You just don't feel like getting up and going and getting dressed or going to church, or why wouldn't you want to go to church if you are truly in the word of God?

SPEAKER_01 26:11

Or there's some kind of church hurt or something that you're heaving out. Because I heard somebody talking about that the other day. They're like, people quit going to church because they say they got church hurt, but they never made anybody with McDonald's hurt. And McDonald's messes up a lot more than church does. I like that.

SPEAKER_04 26:23

Yeah. Yeah, their frosty machine's always down. Always down.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_04 26:26

And you know who's never down? God. God.

SPEAKER_01 26:29

Well, I mean, I I'm the product of that. I've and I love my parents and I respect them and honor my parents, but that was one thing I remember them saying as when we were kids is that we can we can raise better Christians outside the church than we could in. Yeah. And they were wrong. Yeah. I can say it and I love them. Absolutely. I I really do love them, and I don't want to be like, because I I believe in honoring your mother and father, and I don't want to be like they were wrong. But in that aspect, even if if I say that as a parent, I'm wrong. Yeah, yeah. Because I see these kids now that are being raised like with their families in church, and I'm like, oh yeah, that's the way it's supposed to be. Or I told the kids the other day, like, if you want your parents to get saved, the best way to do that is for you to get on fire for Jesus. Amen. You get on fire and run as fast towards Jesus as you can, and people in your family are gonna get saved. Amen. As a parent, we're supposed to be doing that. Yeah. And it's not our kids' responsibility to try and save us. Yeah. It's our like last night I sat in bed with Winnie at bedtime because she has a perfectly fine bed and wants to sleep in my spine. And I was like, what do you think God has for you when you grow up? She's like, I don't know. I want to do all the jobs. I don't know what God has for me yet, so I'm just gonna do them all. But like having those conversations with my kids, those are things that we didn't have growing up.

SPEAKER_04 27:30

Right. And you're absolutely right about it. And you hit the nail on the head with it because there was a point where my mom was the same exact thing. It's like, you know, we got a lot going on and stuff like that. I'm just gonna sit at home and read the Bible. And it's like, nah, you're distracted at the house. When you come in here, you're not distracted. And guess what? That pastor about to say something that might hurt your feelings that you need to be said to you for you to understand it. And it's and what you was saying about the parents is like it goes back to what we was just talking about, and I feel like it's good enough to you know talk about it again, is that in Matthew where he says we need to be converted as children, right? But then he says right after, he says, But those that deceive these ones and lead them astray who believe in me, it'd be better for you to have a millstone wrapped around your neck and drown in the depths of the sea. And I told you how I feel about it. I feel like he's talking straight to the parents. You know, why do we let this kind of music in of cussing and murder and adultery and all these other things, and we just buy it off as that's just music, right? Or the movies that have the same exact thing. You got these women wearing nothing and they're cussing and murdering and doing all these things, and your children are sitting there watching that, be like, oh, this is fine, this is okay just because it's a movie, and then all of a sudden that becomes their life, right? And then it's like Jesus is like, You're deceiving them. You are you are literally letting them live in the world right now, and you're letting these worldly things come into their minds, and these little children do not know how to grasp it and say, This is just music or this is just TV, and then whenever you start making excuses again of like, no, don't do that because it's music, they're gonna be like, Well, why not? You're letting me listen into it. No, I believe that your household needs to be ran, like I said, with authority, but through authority of Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Well, like how many, how many kids witness their parents radically worship a sports team and don't witness them radically worship Jesus? So they grow up wearing the same team hat, wearing the same team shirt. Yeah. So you know it works. Exactly. Like if they see you be radical for the Gators, or radical for the Seminoles, or radical for the Bulldogs, sorry, we're in Northeast Florida that's like hitting the spots. The Rattlers. If they see you being radical for your team, and then they grow up and they're like, oh, this is our team. This is our family. How many kids? I mean, we in McClunny, like you're gonna see during football season, you got the three teams and somebody's got it, and they're on that team because their parents chair for that team or their grandparents chair for that team, and that's their family team. Absolutely. But then it shows up on Sunday and nobody's radically worshiping Jesus, and you question why your kids wonder when they're 19, 20, while they're out drinking, while they're out doing stuff, but they show up for the football games, they're there on Saturday night.

SPEAKER_04 30:09

I don't know if you remember, but one of the first things that I was because I don't talk much when I'm in the bridge, but when I speak, I feel like God's like, open your mouth. But one of the very first things I I told them, and I was like, When we go to these baseball games or we go to these football games, when y'all go, are y'all quiet and just sit there with your hands in your lap? I remember that night. And I'm like, your favorite team is out there on the field, and they run and they score a touchdown or hit a home run or something. What are you doing? You're jumping up, yelling at the top of your lungs, screaming and cheering for this team that you know nobody on. And guess what? Your team loses, right? Some more than others. I'm a Smittal fan, so we got a few years, some good years, some bad years. But I'm like, your team loses. But when we come inside of a church where a man that conquered death itself and he conquered the grave, he c dude, John 16, 33.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

The Buccaneers shoot a cannon off every time there's a touchdown. What if we did that when souls got saved?

SPEAKER_04 31:12

We got a cannon in the back of the church. But it's happening in heaven. I'm telling you, this is once the souls are saved, the angels are rejoicing.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

David and Timothy, if you're listening to this right now, our church has the budget for a cannon. We need a cannon. We can install a cannon on the roof of the church every time somebody gets saved. Just fire it off. And then people are like, somebody got saved today. The people block away in the trailbirds are like, just lock everything down to church ever today.

SPEAKER_04 31:36

Instead of a clock tower's chimney.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

Oh, Timmy early, Brian, somebody's getting saved today.

SPEAKER_04 31:41

Instead of church or uh uh clocks chiming every hour, his souls are being fired off. I'm all for it. I'm all for it. But I'm like, I'm like, your team loses, but we're coming to a place where we know we have victory, we know we can conquer. That's like John 16, 33 is my favorite verse in the Bible. I love the whole Bible. But 1633, man, and Jesus says, I pray that you find peace in me. For in this world you will find tribulation, right? You're gonna find heartache, you're gonna find uh battles, you're gonna find all these things. And he's like, But be of good cheer, for as I have overcome the world. He's victorious over everything. And when we come inside of church, we sit on our hands and knees, or on our hands in the pews, right? We we we we might worship or sing a little bit. No, no, no, man. Look, this is better than any football game. This is eternal life. You better be up at the top of your lungs, hands raised as high as you can, cheering on and worshiping our Lord and Savior. And I was telling them kids, I'm like, there is no reason in the world you should cheer for a team that loses and you know nobody on, and guess what? Them people are never gonna know who you are either. You're worshiping a false idol right now. They don't know who you are. Guess who does? Jesus Christ knows exactly who you are. He said, Before you was in the womb, I knew your name, right? He knows you, everything about you, and you're telling me you could cheer more. I just love how you how you brought that in because that is one of the biggest things I go to is like we had a baseball game with Lincoln, you know, and they'll he'll do good and I'm cheering, right? There'll be days where I gotta get on to myself where I'm sitting in church and like they're putting worship on, and I'm like, Oh, I've heard this song like four times this week. No, no, no, no. Well, I'm up.

SPEAKER_01 33:28

I get to worship, I get to worship today. Exactly. Because it's not about you, it's not about the song, it's about Jesus. It's like your kids. I mean, I've I played t-ball and I I keep hoping that Bear doesn't get into baseball because it's an everyday thing. But I I your kid will be on a team for like two months, and you have to bribe your kid with Skittles to get on the field. Yeah, but the parents will go and they'll be like, My kids on the blue jays, I need to find some blue jays shirts and a blue jays hat. But then you take them to church and you can't even say, Hey, what'd you learn about?

SPEAKER_04 33:52

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

Like you'll be out there bribing them with Skittles in a snow column so they'll play for 10 minutes, but you don't even like what'd you learn about in church today? How can we apply that to our lives? Exactly. And it's like, come on, guys. Priorities.

SPEAKER_04 34:03

Yeah, and I feel like that is the distinction between as in deceiving your children, you know, you're deceiving them with all these games, you're deceiving them with, you know, tell them it's okay to just take the day off, don't go to church. Carabeth gotta get how to get me sometimes, bro. I'm gonna be straight up with you. Like, there's days where it was like, I come in Saturday and I'm dog tired, man, and I'm like, you know, and I wake up the next day and I'm struggling, and I'm like, you just go on Sunday school and you know, I'll meet you there at Maine, or you know, you just go to church. I'll see and she'll look at me, she'll be like, You won't let the devil win already? And I'm like, Alright, I'll be in the car. I'll be like, I'll meet you out there in a minute. And and and I think that's a really good um thing about it is like having that person accountable holding you accountable for it and stuff. And there was a but the beginning of the day was what I was just about to talk about because I feel like that's another thing that um a lot of people uh there was a day where I had a children's nursery rhyme stuck in my head for like a week. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, right? And I'm going through the days and I cannot get this song out of my head. And I asked God finally, I'm like, No, Thomas is playing for Altercall tonight. Yeah, I gotta get Jake on board.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Yeah, down eyes clothes, guys. If you haven't been letting your light shine for Jesus, this little light of mine. This is your sign to let it shine.

SPEAKER_04 35:25

But I was I asked God, I'm like, why is this uh out of all these amazing worship songs? I'm singing this children's nursery rhyme, and then he was like, Let me reveal it to you. And I'm sitting there and he's like, Why do we let Satan dictate how our day is going to go at the beginning of the day? Before anything even happens, you wake up and you're in a bad mood, right? And you're like, Satan's already dimming that light, but it's already, you know, not shining as bright as it needs to be shining because you are allowing Satan in and let him have an effect on who you are. And there was this I feel like I talked to you about it, but there was you know, if you have a well, you have these little screws for the connectors for it, right? Oh yeah. Well, during the winter, what happens is these ants, there's a heat source for them, so these ants will go up into these wires, and what happens is they get electrocuted and they make a just a fried ball of ant bodies, right? And so when you turn your water on, it's not really flowing hard. It's really, really weak water, right? So you're like, great, my pump went out. Well, you gotta go out there, pull the cover off, and you gotta blow these ants off of your connectors.

SPEAKER_01 36:43

After you turn the power off.

unknown 36:44

No, you keep it on.

SPEAKER_04 36:46

And you gotta blow these ants off, and then your water back, your your water pressure comes back because what it's doing is diluting the connection between the wire and the port, right? And God's like, listen up. We are diluting the power from God and us when we let Satan be a fried antball on our connector. We have water still going, but it's not strong. You see what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 37:16

Yeah, there's all those little thoughts we don't take captive. There's no power, right?

SPEAKER_04 37:21

We have the power of God, but we are diluting it a lot. Oh, yeah, because we're letting Satan dim our light, right? So, what you gotta do? You gotta blow Satan away. Like, we got we have been given power to tell Satan to move. Come on, right? We have been given the authority to let Satan know this is God's property, right? I am property of God Himself. Yahweh is my father, you are a nobody, and you have no reign here, right? But when we let him come in and be able to dilute that power source, our like them's. And then when other people see us, they're like, Whew, man, I thought he was on fire for God, right? I thought he was, I thought he was him, but man, he's gonna be. We start becoming somebody else's excuse. Exactly. And we get all the way back to an excuse. And the excuse is you're letting Satan dictate some of your life. We need to let Satan know he has no power here.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

Because once we run out of our own excuses and we start running out of things in our life, we can use that excuse. We start looking at other people and use them as an excuse. Well, I mean, they're not there. They missed, they went to bedside assembly today. I can miss church. Amen. And it's like, and we we do. I don't know nothing about bedside assembly of God.

SPEAKER_04 38:31

And we we let people's life do that to us. Other people's lives. Why did they get that? Why did they get to have that? You know, we go to the same church, we we worship, you know.

SPEAKER_01 38:39

Oh, me and Amanda did that. I mean, because like we sit down and launch the business, and it's not easy launching a business, and we'll we'll have those conversations. We're like, why does it look so easy for everybody else? Why are you see somebody who's not living for God? Oh man, you let somebody who's not living for God be blessed. Look at Hollywood. And you're over here struggling, and you're in that season of life where you're like, We're gonna get this paid, and God always provides.

SPEAKER_04 39:00

Look at Hollywood right now. Shh, bruh. You want to talk about you wanna talk about all that? Hollywood is one of them ones that takes it to another level. It is so Satan driven out there and stuff that, and that's the thing, you know. Paul Rice, he said Satan is the god of this world, right? So Satan is gonna be doing these things as distractions and you know, pinpoints and things that he could dilute even more, right? And what better than to do it with somebody that your children watch or grow up and like and stuff like that? So you're like, I gotta shut that out.

SPEAKER_01 39:37

And me and Bear had a whole conversation about Hollywood Christians the other day. He's like, but I watched their movie and they said this. They said, they said, that guy's a Christian? Yeah, and I'm like, well, it's like, how do we how do we discuss this, son? Because I don't want to say, yeah, he's a Christian, go be just like him. Just be like just be like that.

SPEAKER_04 39:58

And then they pull up a movie and they're like, like this?

SPEAKER_01 40:00

Because that'll one clip will come on, they're like, God is real, and the next clip like, F this, and Bear's like, that guy?

SPEAKER_04 40:07

That guy. And that's why that's why I tell that's why my biggest thing with Lincoln is I tell him, I'm like, don't be a follower of people. That's where we get everything messed up. Pastors included and stuff. We come to be fed, absolutely. And I'm not taking nothing away from pastors, but we cannot be followers of people. We need to be fishermen of people, but we don't need to be followers of people. We need to follow one person, Jesus Christ. At the end of the day, to the point, had to put throw out a little plug there for our podcast, but Thomas Aaron's doing all.

unknown 40:41

To the point podcast.

SPEAKER_04 40:43

But it's it's don't be a follower of people. Don't be a follower of titles, too. That's another thing that I am big on right now, is that, dude, I don't care. Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic, all these titles, bro, they're made up.

SPEAKER_01 40:57

I'm probably gonna call you brother, whatever. Right. I'm not calling you apostle, I'm not calling you like if you're whatever you are, if you're like, that's not the right title, right? That I'm gonna be like, okay, brother Jim.

SPEAKER_04 41:07

Yeah. And and and another thing that you gotta go into is that you know, in Romans where he talks about being offended, right? And it's like he says that it's not the meat that destroys the kingdom of God, it's eating an offense, right? It's it's not it we gotta get away from these titles. Brandon said it the best. Pastor Brandon.

SPEAKER_01 41:25

Brandon Taylor, everybody.

SPEAKER_04 41:27

Shout out, love that guy.

SPEAKER_01 41:28

He hasn't been on the podcast yet, one day.

SPEAKER_04 41:30

Uh I try to go on mine, he probably likes you more. But we was talking one day and he said something he was and it just it stayed with me. And I don't even know if he remembers saying it, but it stayed with me. And he said that he said, Look, Jesus is coming for a spotless bride. That's the church, right? Why is there so much division in the churches? You know, I mean, why is church after church after church are going after each other and stuff? I don't know if you said it that way, but that's what I got out of it.

SPEAKER_01 41:58

And um Yeah, I can't wait to say that, but yeah, I just made it better. Yeah, yeah. I fixed it for you, Brandon.

SPEAKER_04 42:03

But it's like he's coming for a spotless bride, but yet we have so many spots on us because of, you know. We had it in with this guy before about dressing a certain way to come to church. And I'm like, you know, Jesus says, Come as you are. And he's like, it doesn't say that in the Bible. And I'm like, well, it says come to me who are weary and heavy burden, I will give you rest. But the scripture don't stop right there, it keeps going, right? He said, Come find my yoke, you will find that I am humble and lowly at heart. Right? He's telling you, Come to me the way that you are, come to me broken and battered and stuff. And this this guy was just going off and stuff, and uh, he's talking about a dress code. I'm like, there's not a dress code in heaven. I'm telling you right now, what if that was a person that works two jobs and they came inside of a church looking for and they're they're just filthy rags, right? Or a person, a homeless person that's trying to get off of drugs and everything, and they're trying to find a home, they're trying to find a place they could go feel welcomed and loved. And the first thing they're greeted with is, you know, you can't cut your hair if you're a woman, or you gotta keep your hair trimmed and tight and stuff. And I'm like, man, that's crazy that you're leading off with that and not the salvation of Jesus Christ that came and died for your sins, right? So that's that's just one of the things of like, man, we gotta get away from this whole You heard about the lady who came to church, not our church, but I've I've just heard this story in the past.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

But she she came to church and she wasn't dressed, she was like, wasn't dressed as modest as you could be. She's like borderline inappropriate. Right. So then the ladies in the church started talking about her. First week she was there, she's like, I can't believe she wore that at church. The next week they're like, I can't believe she wore that at church. After like three or four weeks, one of the ladies got super frustrated and she went to the store and she bought like modest clothing and took it to her. She's like, Hey, you need this. And the lady just broke down crying and she said, I've been praying for the past four weeks that God would give me something more modest to wear because I feel inappropriate, but I don't have any money to buy anything. This is all I have. Yeah. And then that lady who was bought that out of anger and bought that off for her was like.

unknown 44:00

Wow. My bad.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

But then God used her.

unknown 44:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

And it's so crazy how God did that.

SPEAKER_04 44:05

And and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that come the church. Oh, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, let's get that out of the way.

SPEAKER_01 44:12

Wear your clothes. We'll turn the AC down quick. Make you put some clothes on.

SPEAKER_04 44:15

Exactly. Um, and so I'm not saying that in a sense, but I'm saying that there don't need to be, so John 3.16 is such an amazing verse. Bible don't stop at your favorite scripture. John 3.17 says, For God sent his son not to condemn the world, but through him shall be saved. Right? We don't need to be condemning people. As as as as followers of Christ, as Christians that love people, right? We can love people, don't follow people, but love people, but we don't need to condemn people on what they look like or what they wear. My biggest thing to always go back to, and I know I'm talking a lot, but the biggest thing I always go back to, I'm like, in John 1, when he talks about John the Baptist, right, what did he wear? He wore camel hides, he ate like berries, and he lived in the wilderness. You would think when Jesus was baptized, it was gonna be by like a high official priest or somebody in the temple or something like that. But Isaiah 40, uh, yeah, chapter 40, verse 3, Isaiah prophesies, and he's like, There will be a man in the wilderness making straight the way of the Lord, right? So then here comes John, you know, a cousin of Jesus, living in the wilderness. And the the priests come to him and they're like, Are you him? And he's like, Nah. He's like, Well, are you a priest or something? He's like, Nah, I'm just a dude living in the wilderness, right? Look what I'm wearing.

SPEAKER_01 45:41

So we talk about all the time, just a real dude. Just a real dude. Just a real dude.

SPEAKER_04 45:43

He's like, I'm just living in the wilderness. I can, but I gotta make straight the way of the board. Serving God. And he ends up baptizing the son of God. You know what I mean? And if you would have taken two pictures of a high official in a temple and John the Baptist and sat down and said, Which one do you think baptized Jesus? We're gonna say that guy.

SPEAKER_01 46:03

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:03

A hundred times out of a hundred times, we're like, There's no way this guy did it. And guess who did it? The guy over there.

SPEAKER_01 46:08

The guy with the camel hides. Yeah. Dude, it's one of my favorite church stories. And I mean, you haven't been here forever, so you probably don't even know it. But it's one of Pastor Gary's, and he's like vulnerable about it too, and it's really cool. Is when we were in high school, it's probably my 11th grade year. We're getting ready to go to Centerfuge next week. But we're getting ready for our centrifuge trip, and like day before we leave, like night of kid moves to McCliny. His mom is like, Hey, I want to see him camp. Can you go to camp with y'all? Shows up to get on the bus with like a two-foot tall mohawk. Okay. And Pastor Gary, at first, yeah, you're like, like youth leader in you, you're like, okay. Okay. So Pastor Gary's like, hey, Josh, you can come with us, Josh Wiseman. Shout out to you. He's out there doing the golf thing right now. You follow him on Instagram. It's pretty cool. But uh Pastor Gary's like, you can come with us, but that mohawk's gotta come down, dude. Mohawk's gotta come down. Yeah. So we're we're there, we're at camp, we're we're a couple days in. And Pastor Gary, like, he's like, hey man, I was wrong. Put it up. Put it up. We're that mohawk, man. Put it up. And it just it goes back to that thing of just Christians are real, real people. That was a moment, and like Pastor Gary talks about it. It was it, he was a he's a real man doing the best he can to serve God. Right. And then those real men who serve God will admit, like, hey, I was wrong with this moment. Let's move from it together and let's grow closer to God together, and you just be who you are for God. And if he's got a problem with that, he's gonna change it, change it up. I'm not saying just live a sinful life, but I'm saying like come as you are and let God do the work. Yeah, he's gonna change it. And Josh is one of the most phenomenal drummers we've ever had at the church.

SPEAKER_04 47:41

He's gonna change you, man. There's a there's a story of a kid that he was like, he went up to the you probably heard it, but he went up to the pastor and he was like, hey, look, I'm trying to become a Christian. Do I gotta stop smoking weed? And he was like, No. Kid's like, what? He's like, got an older guy, probably don't get it. Marijuana, right? I gotta stop smoking marijuana or drinking and stuff. Pastor's like, nah, man, you good? Kid's like, I don't think you get it. He's like, no, you don't get it. And the pastor told the kid, he said, before you get in a shower, do you clean yourself up and then get in the shower? Kid's like, no, I get in the shower to get clean. He's like, Jesus is the same way. Don't try cleaning yourself up to come to Jesus. Come to Jesus to get clean. And you and him are gonna work it all out. So he'll clean you up. If if you're that guy that's just like, I don't want to wear button-ups and stuff, that's totally fine. Because when you come into the church, there might be a change in your heart to be like, Man, I do need to start looking good.

SPEAKER_01 48:39

Let God radically transform you. We did that in high school. It's my buddy Kenny. He would go to school with us, and he would always come like if I preached or something, or I we I did worship in common ground. And I I I I was I was Thomas back then, but I was I was leading worship, and Kenny would show up to church and I'd be like, doubting Thomas or not so doubting. Mix of both, mix of both in those ages of my life. But uh, like I'd be like, Kenny, did you get saved tonight? And he's like, Bro, I'm not ready. I got some things I need to work out, I got some stuff I got to do. And that was that mindset a lot of people have. You think like I gotta clean myself up before and the older I get, like it's you can't clean yourself up. God cleans you up. It's not an endorsement to go out and do these things, but it's saying, Hey, like you're not gonna be able to do it by yourself. If you try and do it by yourself, you're gonna relapse, you're gonna fail. Like with God, all things are possible. Exactly. Without God, you're just struggling.

SPEAKER_04 49:30

And it's not an endorsement to do it, it's an endorsement to come to him. And I sign off on it. Just come to him. And it's like, you know, there's so many parables you could go, you could go prodigal son, the 99 for the one, and all these things. And it's like, my biggest thing is that it says in the Bible, I stand at the door knocking. Whoever will open it, I will come in and sup with thee, right? You can be running as far as away as you can, as fast as you can. Kind of like I did with my grandfather growing up. I knew what was right, what was wrong. I ran from it. And God said, I'm here knocking, I ain't turning around. Another story, that'll probably be my last one for you because I know I'm talking a lot. Another story that was so amazing was there's a guy that died. He went to heaven, and he's looking back on his life. God's let him look at his life, right? And on it, he's singing up the footsteps, right? And he's singing two pairs of footsteps everywhere it went, right? That was him and Jesus walking together. And then all of a sudden we'll go to one pair of feet, right? Footprints. Then we'll go back to two, then one. So he asked me, he said, Man, how come in my hardest times, in my biggest trials, I was by myself. There was only one pair of footprints right there. You left me. He looked at me and said, Nah, I carried you. I picked you up. Them were my footprints, you see. I carried you through them battles. And then when we got out of it, I set you back down and you walked with me. And dude, I every time I, you know, that story is just it speaks.

SPEAKER_01 51:00

Jesus said, those are size 12s. Yeah, you were you a nine. But you look a nine and a half, though. You ain't got to be.

SPEAKER_04 51:06

Yeah, look at me. All right. And it's like, you know, you you get to a point of like surrender, give it to him. He ain't gonna forsake you. He ain't gonna give up on you. You will give up on yourself way more than God will give up on you. You will tell yourself I can't do it. You will tell yourself I ain't because guess what? We can't. You're gonna hurt a lot of people's feelings, and I'm gonna hurt a lot of y'all's feelings right now. Y'all are not smart enough, y'all are not good enough, y'all are not strong enough, y'all are nothing. You rags cannot do it. Yeah, you are rags, you fall short every single day. But the good news is that mercy and grace has come in, the salvation is there for you, and y'all you gotta do is just take it from him, and he's gonna carry you the rest of the way. You're not gonna be able to do it on your own. Daniel, I love you. You can't do it on your own, buddy. I can't do it. Nobody in this world is gonna be able to carry and do it theirself. You gotta give it up to him. And I think that's uh that's thinking that's one of the biggest problems for people is that ego, that pride.

SPEAKER_01 52:12

I can't let it go.

SPEAKER_04 52:13

I gotta do it myself. I'm a man, blah, blah, blah. Nah, you ain't nothing, dog.

SPEAKER_01 52:17

It's the guy with his arm stuck in the soda machine. You heard about that, right? Uh-huh. There's a guy stuck, he's got his arm stuck in the soda machine, he's crying, he can't get trying to steal a coke, can't get his arm out. Everybody's pulling on him, can't get it out. They call the fire department, they open the door to the soda machine. The guy's swinging with the door because it's open, and it's all because he's holding on to the can of coke, and he won't let the can of coke go. I like that. They're like, just let it go. He lets it go, and that's that freedom. That's that moment you talk about when your grandpa preached. That freedom, that real freedom of really letting things go and giving it to God. That freedom when you walk up front, that's what it's that's what it's about. Yeah. Freedom in Christ, not in ourselves, not anything we do. It's that freedom of surrendering to God. Yeah. And a real surrender of letting go, which is hard.

SPEAKER_04 53:01

That's bars, man. That was good. It's hard to do. I like that.

SPEAKER_01 53:04

We're gonna run that back tonight in the bridge, guys. Amen, brother. Me and Thomas are gonna sit on the stage and be like, all right, guys, this is a new sermon for you.

SPEAKER_04 53:12

So, what about Nephilims? What about Nephilims? Lincoln was so scared one day. Uh, it was the day when I told him about Lincoln's uh the Phil Wilkham concert, which was an amazing, just an amazing experience. Um, and about Lincoln, you know, seeing and surrendering. And I was like, Thank you, Lord, for that. But I was telling Lincoln, I was like, I said I feel like I need to let the bridge know, man. And he was like, What do you mean? I was like, uh I'm gonna speak a little bit before I sing tonight. And he's like, Are you gonna talk about Nephilims? I was like, okay, I gotta quit talking about Nephilims around the house and bringing them up, and I'm sitting there giants, huh?

SPEAKER_01 53:52

Be like, what about it? So you can send us fan mail to the show if you have anything to say about Nephilims. I'll afford it to Thomas.

SPEAKER_04 53:57

A hundred percent. And I feel Genesis 6. If we go to it. Like, my wife is tired of hearing me talk about Nephilims. I'm like, just think about it.

SPEAKER_02 54:08

Just think about it. It makes perfect sense. God was tired of the fallen angels, so he created the flood. Thomas like Bigfoot was a Nephilim.

SPEAKER_04 54:17

Listen.

SPEAKER_01 54:18

Listen, I don't know how theologically sound that is. Somebody with their Bible's like, no, no, even saying it already.

SPEAKER_02 54:25

You were fine until minute 59. He talked talking about giants.

SPEAKER_04 54:28

Have you ever seen the under the or what was you uh the underground tunnels conspiracy?

SPEAKER_01 54:34

I don't have any tinfoil. We can make hats. And we that that's that's for the to the point podcast. To the point.

SPEAKER_04 54:42

Yeah, to the point podcast doing all it's coming. Nah, but yeah, man, I do appreciate you having me on. I know I rambled a lot. My wife hates it. She'll tell me I I could talk and talk and talk and that's the whole reason I got to my job.

SPEAKER_01 54:54

I was asking people, how do you know if you're good at your job? And they're like, well, if you want to do anything in mortgage or real estate, you have to be able to talk to a wall. And I was like, sign me up, dude. Sign me up. I get the wall gets started. I'm in there. Like, you don't know how many times my car got saved. Reach into the car.

SPEAKER_04 55:09

Hey, listen, some of my best uh messages I've ever given is in the shower to myself.

SPEAKER_01 55:15

Dude, back when I drove a semi, I'd be driving down the road, both hands up, praising like, oh, oh, hold on to that.

SPEAKER_04 55:20

It was just the other night I was headed, uh, Brandon. Shout out to Brandon again. He sent me a song, right? And there was a day I was not I was well say night, but two in the morning, headed to work, and nobody's ever on the road. And I pull up, I got windows down, music blaring, I'm sitting here, I'm just I'm I'm worshiping, bro. Guy pulls up, he's like, he looks at me, turns straight, he's like, it's two in the morning, this guy's drunk. And I'm like, oh the holy spirit, and I'm I'm sitting there worshiping. Hey, listen, I'm in tears, bro. I'm walking into work just, uh boys, let's get to work done today. Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 55:59

Man, but I'm telling you, but anybody need prayer before we get started, but just sinners.

SPEAKER_01 56:05

One year we used to always like, I always, I don't know why. We did the big Easter production here, and I would get the role, like, hey, you know what? This year you're gonna be the guy who's got a thousand demons. And then it was one year I was like, I'm Satan. And I was practicing my role for Satan, driving with my windows down, and didn't realize that. And I was at red light, being like, Oh, you thought you got me? It's always looking at me like, what are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 56:28

Eve eat this fruit.

SPEAKER_01 56:30

I'm like, oh man. Like, my bad, it's for Easter, guys.

SPEAKER_00 56:33

It's for Easter, it's fine, it's about you, it's for Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 56:37

Well, that's why I started out. I was gonna bring up about they needed to do a um Heaven Gates Hells Flame again.

SPEAKER_01 56:43

Dude, we used to do the biggest Easter production. I don't know if you ever came to it when it was here. Like, we would build a tomb and it was it was sick. Like uh Dusty Hodges would be Jesus, Dusty and Scott lines. Yeah, but Dusty was like, we're gonna beat you, Jesus. So like he would be walking down the aisle and Scott got to be like come out in the white robe. Yeah, but Dusty, they would like whip him down the down the aisle, like he'd be welted, and we'd run it like four nights.

SPEAKER_04 57:05

I get up and Jesus is like, good enough for one second.

SPEAKER_02 57:08

Like, four nights. We just kicked some down and starts whipping them. Like Jesus in a temple again. Somebody was like, I was hoping he would do that. I'm about to edit. But yeah, is this the message? This wasn't happened.

SPEAKER_04 57:24

But yeah, I was gonna bring up about doing because I I haven't seen somebody do it in forever. But remember the Heaven's Gates Hells Flames?

SPEAKER_01 57:29

Yeah, because we went to Evangel for a while.

SPEAKER_04 57:31

Yeah, so I want to I want to my children to see it. If they did a Heaven Gates Hells Flames here, who would be Satan? Who would be the devil?

SPEAKER_01 57:40

Mike. Big Mike. He was before. I had to play Satan before and he played Satan.

SPEAKER_04 57:45

I was about to say, boy, brother. Yeah. I feel like. Yeah. I'm not gonna say Brandon can pull it off. I'm not gonna say any names, but Brandon's a learner, you know.

SPEAKER_01 57:55

Yeah. Brandon can pull it off.

SPEAKER_04 57:57

Who would be Jesus?

SPEAKER_01 57:58

Scott, dude. Gotta run Scott lines with long hair. Timmy Anderson used to do it.

SPEAKER_04 58:02

Yeah, I think Scott's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 58:04

Timmy could do it too.

SPEAKER_04 58:05

Yeah. Yeah, but uh, I was I was sitting there thinking about it. But I mean, uh, it was something I would like Lincoln and them to see.

SPEAKER_01 58:11

You know, Dusty still gets his role of beating Jesus, though.

SPEAKER_04 58:13

Like I mean, uh like I said somebody's gotta take one for the team. Dude, it would be I I would die to see it. It just I'd be so funny.

SPEAKER_01 58:20

Dude, Jason Walker used to be behind them just whipping him? Yeah, dude. That was I can try to remember who the centurions were. Because obviously I didn't get the luxurious roles like that. I was the guy running down in the in the like ah, he was the sheep.

SPEAKER_02 58:33

Like, he's got a thousand demons.

SPEAKER_00 58:37

Oh, I'm possessed. Yeah, because I used to always boast I'm like, I'm the only guy who lives here. You actually went to acting school.

SPEAKER_04 58:43

And you're giving me the card of a thousand demons?

SPEAKER_02 58:46

You tell you calling me that up? Like, you're one role, you run down the aisle, you scream. Well, we just seen you the other day, you know, it seemed like you was angry about some things.

SPEAKER_04 58:53

We thought it'd be a role for you to do good in.

SPEAKER_01 58:55

It's good for you.

SPEAKER_04 58:56

Yeah, really.

SPEAKER_01 58:57

I remember those years there was one time me and Mike back when we were young, like we bought a IBC thing at root beers, and we we had Sunday's night service, like we would have choir practice at 4:30. So me and Mike got up here at like 4:20 with our glass root beers and sat in the choir loft while the old ladies were coming in and like started popping tops look at me in and they're like, What are you doing? Top of the morning to you his root beers, and they're like, you know what? You know, who's playing Satan and the guy?

SPEAKER_04 59:21

Yeah, we got you, buddy.

SPEAKER_01 59:22

Yeah, you're the thief, Legion and Satan, that's you guys.

SPEAKER_04 59:25

You're the thief on the cross. Yeah, the one that's got his eyes plugged out that way. That's you, you you ain't the one that's remembered, buddy. Good job, boys. You got the rules. Like, thanks. Thanks, I appreciate it. Would you like a soup of my root beer? That's funny, man.

SPEAKER_01 59:39

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that I'm amazed that the church allows me to be in ministry. But there's a reason.

SPEAKER_04 59:45

There's a reason why I'm in there.

SPEAKER_01 59:47

The number of times that I've seen Pastor Gary specifically shake his head and be like, son, what are you doing? And now I I I was like, why does he always call me son? And now the middle schoolers do something like, what are you doing, son? And I'm like, there it is. I'm like, there it is right there. I'm like, I'm so sorry, Pastor Gary. I'm like, I should I should I start dictating a apology letter to him about once a week. I'm like, I'm so sorry for the year of 2006 through 2011.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:16

That is on me. I wasn't thinking now. It's like one of the things like when your parents tell you, like, you know, my dad used to tell me these things growing up, man. And I will catch myself telling my children the exact same thing, and I'm like, maybe he was right.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:32

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:33

Maybe he was absolutely right. It's like, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:36

My dad's best saying was if you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough. Exactly. And I was like, you know. Now I look at Barry and I'm like, well, we're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:44

I see a kid jumping off, like a son jumping off the roof, and I'm like, good for him. You better be you better be tough, buddy. Because that is pretty dumb.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:50

Amanda started looking like, oh no, I'm like, let him do it.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:53

Yeah, let him do it. Let him do it. And I feel like that's the relationship you need to have, is where it's like, I feel like I taught to you about like how I feel like Jesus and God work the same way that like you know, you and your wife should work. You know, like our our our youngest son fell the other day and she jumped up and just want to start running, and I grabbed her, I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. He's got it, he's gotta pick himself up, he'll learn from it, he'll be good. And then when you see him really get hurt, you're like, go get him. Yeah, go ahead, mama. You need you right now because if I run out, he's gonna be like, no, I need somebody to love me.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:25

I need a professional. I need my mom.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:28

Parents started choking on a piece of candy one time when we were at choir practice, like one of the ones that the security team keeping the thing. And all the people in the choir, there's nurses. Amanda's a nurse. He comes to me and he's like, I didn't know what to do. I just grabbed him and started beating his back, walking out of the church, and all of the choir ladies are like, Daniel snapped. Daniel snapped, like, it's finally had enough. It's happening. Bears hit the point where Daniel's had enough, and he is beating him in front of all of us. And then like we got to the door and he spit the candy out, and they're like, Okay, nope, nope, his kid was just dying. It's okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:59

We knew this was gonna happen and it finally came out. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:01

Finally, we hit that moment where he snapped. Oh dude, we're at like an hour and five minutes. Yeah, we did. We gotta wrap this thing up. Well, usually about 15 minutes, folks, but I can't stop once we start going.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:12

You should have heard it before.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:13

Oh, yeah. The you should hear the stuff before we got to the to the jokes. Well, maybe there's an Amazon com guy coming with a very heavy box. Do you know Jesus? He's I would say he's not delivering to the right spot. Maybe he needs to be delivered. But tonight I'm talking about the good shepherd, and I'm talking about John 10. Yeah. And it's cool because I get to relate all of the ways that he talks about himself as a shepherd to us except for one. Because the one thing he says in there that we can't be is he says that he's the gate. That's right. Like he's the doorway, and as shepherds and I mean I keep telling Thomas already he's gonna go through ministry training too. And as shepherds, it's our job to lead them to the gate. And we we are a shepherd in the same ways that God was until you get to that point at the gate because he's the only way to heaven. That's right. And that's that's the point that we get to.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:58

Yeah, well, that whole ministry change. I'm being pastor denial right now. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:03

Exactly. Just accept it. You'll be there.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:06

I'm excited for it. Yeah, the good shepherd is I'm excited for tonight. I feel like, and like I said, y'all are about to go on y'all's trip to fusion everything, and I'm praying for y'all.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:15

The mountain will not be the same without y'all there.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:16

Oh, yeah, it'd probably be better without us, buddy. He'll be good, he'll be fine.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:21

Yeah, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun though. Like, I can't wait till the year that y'all get to go though, till next year, and you get to you get to see these kids because it's different when they wake up in the morning and they worship, and we come back in the evening and we worship, and throughout the day they're learning about Jesus, and they come up to me at camp with their like expensive little coffee shop coffee that they bought with their money that their grandma sent with them, and they're like, I got coffee.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:42

Let me tell you what I've been learning.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:44

Yeah. And it's so cool seeing them invest in Jesus and spend a whole week with no phones, just Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:49

And like I said, wrap it back around, man. That's that's what it's about. These children, I mean like Brother Pat. The most important thing is making it to heaven. That's on you. That's you that's you and him. But the second most is bringing somebody with you. Yeah, and we gotta start with these children. And because they're they're more vulnerable to the world. And I'm not saying that like don't worry about the elders and don't worry about the older people and stuff. No, uh obviously, yeah. Worry about them. But as in children, we gotta make sure that we're directing them the right way, doing the right things, and leading by example. And I said huge, I'm praying for y'all. I hope everything goes amazingly. And like I said, even after that, we can still worship in the morning and worship in the evening, but to be able to go somewhere to where you're like Jesus on the bagel. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:39

You can have Jesus anytime. Anytime. Jesus in the morning, Jesus in the evening, Jesus at supper time. Oh, yeah, dude.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:48

Not a sponsor, not a sponsor. You're gonna get copyright. Yeah, but yeah, man, let's wrap it up, man. Once again, Pastor, Pastor, Pastor Daniel. Thank you for having me on here. I really do appreciate you for uh offering to have my time over here. And sorry for taking your time away from me.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:07

Dude, you're not taking my time, it's all God's time, anyways. That's right. It's all his time. Hey, do me a favor. Normally I pray for everybody when we go to leave. Pray for us.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:14

Amen. Hey, dear heavenly, gracious, loving father of mine. Hey, God, I thank you so much for this day. I thank you for everything that you have done. Father, as people listening to this and the ears that fall on it, Father, I want to tell them about the good news, God. I want to tell them about you sending your son to this earth to die for us, Father. That if we believe in him, that we shall not perish, but will have everlasting life. God, I ask that these people that are listening right now, even with me and Pastor Daniel sitting here, God, let us go a day without worshiping and thanking you for everything you've done. Father, I thank you for the love and just the protection and the grace and mercy that you have for us, God. I pray that people do come to you. I pray that people do stray away from their sins, God, and they give their life unto you, God, and let them know there is nothing wrong with serving the living. God. Father, I ask that you protect these people. I ask that you uh put your protection and your love and just everything on their families, God, from the top to the bottom, from the oldest to the youngest, God. Lead them, let direct them, Father, in your footsteps, God. And we love you. We thank you so much. Father, I pray for their fuge. I pray for their trip and their field trip, God. Uh, I pray that souls get saved. I pray that people come unto you. Father, I pray over the church tonight, the main uh day by day, the bridge. Father, I pray for people to give their life to their to God. I love you so much. I thank you so much. I'm so unworthy, but you call me and you say I am, so I thank you for that in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:39

Amen. Hey, quick shout out too. And a call out of my brother since he lives in Spain. But we I looked at stats the other day and we've been listened to in 44 countries and 333 cities as of earlier today. And the second most country that we're played in is Germany, not Spain, Adam. Not cool. You own it. Yeah. You live in Spain. You're our family. Listen to it more. Get your friends, but you're not going to catch Germany right now. I thought it was very cool that that was like the second most listened to country. So if you were sitting down to the podcast with a snitzerdoodle, I want to tell you thank you.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:13

One thing about Germany. My last name is my last name is Orans. Alright. I'm far German. That's where we come. So in Germany, shout out.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:25

Shout out Germany. I did a uh ancestry test because I was bragging about how I'm a melting pot, and I would have like every race in my blood. Straight Eastern European. Really? Straight up. I was bragging, I was like, you don't understand. We got everybody in our blood. And it came back and it was like Norway, Germany, and I was like, never mind.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:44

We had I had Germany, you know, this is Eastern Europe. But I did have 0.1% Cameroonian Africa, baby. Cameroon. Shout out to my Cameroonians.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:55

There you go. All right, guys. Hey, I love you. God loves you, and you should love you too. Let's listen next week, and I can't wait to be back. And next week's podcast will be from the mountain. All right. Thank you, Thomas.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:07

Thank you, bud.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:15

Thanks for listening, Thomas.