Faith With Intensity

Ever felt like faith got quiet while the world got loud? We lean into a bold idea—faith with intensity—by pairing the fire of old-school wrestling promos with the unflinching clarity of the prophet Isaiah. Not for shock value, but because Isaiah’s words cut through performance, call out empty rituals, and chart a path from judgment to grace with a force that still shakes hearts today.

We unpack Isaiah speaking truth to kings and nations, showing how God rejects hollow offerings and demands justice, mercy, and honest worship. From “stop bringing meaningless offerings” to “though your sins are like scarlet,” the book pairs a necessary sting with a healing promise. We explore how that pattern maps onto modern life: the subtle idols of distraction, the social media pull toward self-promotion, and the way convenience can hollow out conviction. Along the way, we talk courage—how ancient believers paid with their lives, and how our moment calls for integrity over performance, obedience over optics, and prayer over noise.

History adds bite to the message. Empires that enthroned pride and sidelined God flame out—Egypt, Babylon, Rome—and that storyline warns any nation tempted to worship power or novelty. We reflect on America’s cultural crossroads and argue for a return to first things: humility, wisdom, the defense of the vulnerable, and worship centered on the living God. If zeal feels far away, we offer simple starting points to reawaken it—Scripture before screens, small daily practices, honest self-examination that aligns the heart with truth.

Lean in for a charged, hope-filled conversation that refuses cynicism. If you’re longing for a faith that stands firm and loves deeply, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Transcript

Framing Faith With Intensity

SPEAKER_03 0:39

Welcome back again to the Growing Together podcast. This is Organic Church. I'm Nick Offholder, and I've got my good friend Dale Walker here again tonight as we are going to continue our adventure into what it means with confrontation versus obligation. But now we're going to spill right over into, you know, as we talked at the very end of the last episode, you know, a lot of times we we find it very, very difficult to have that confrontation with people when we feel we're obligated to spread the word or to talk about Jesus or give somebody good talking to. But we're going to talk about some guys tonight that absolutely have no problem confronting people about the word of God and what they should be doing and the things they should be laying down. And I chose to call this episode faith with intensity. So these are guys that they're just full of the word. They're they have the intensity and they don't mind standing up in front of a crowd and really shouting out the word of the Lord. And they do it in their own special way. They really have a way with words. And I was talking to Dale on the phone about this idea, and I always love it when you know Dale had his idea and he didn't know that I was thinking about this one. And I'm like, well, these pretty much go hand in hand. Like one will, you know, just yeah, just go right along with the other one. And I said, Well, I said, you might find this a little silly. I said, but how I got inspired on this episode was I just love old school pro wrestling. Like I can go on YouTube, I watch the old promos, the old matches, and I I still love it. Loved it since I've been a kid. And if you know anything about old school pro wrestling, those guys used to cut some pretty extreme promos. And we're talking about guys like the Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man Randy Savage, Rick Flair, Hulk Hogan. They really had a way with words, and man, they would get pumped up. And you could tell they were they were just they just, man, the intensity those guys had for their character and for what they felt they needed to say to the audience before they walked that aisle and went down to do battle with you know their adversary. It it's a lost art, I think. They don't really do it. Nope, they don't they don't do it like that these days. But you believed every word they said. Oh, yeah. And I sometimes I think like, how did these guys come up with this stuff? They said camera action, and these guys would just go into this intense sermon of how they were going to defeat their enemy, especially guys like the Ultimate Warrior. I mean, he's calling on the the god of the warriors, the warrior spirit. Just some of the I wish I could actually play some of it, but we'd probably get in trouble. We don't have the rights to do it. But you just like in awe of where'd he get this stuff?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, like just like I'm always talking about macho man, he's savage, how he's always like, oh good, yeah, just full of intensity, like all the time.

SPEAKER_03 3:55

I mean, it just like it's like no wonder you guys had heart attacks in your 50s. Right. But just to, you know, but I think if we could all have that kind of intensity about our faith in the Lord and and and his will and what he wants us to do, and how and speaking up for the Lord, my goodness, you know, there's nothing that could touch us.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Oh my gosh, no.

Meeting Isaiah: Voice To Kings And Nations

SPEAKER_03 4:22

So I you know, that that's what kind of inspired that. And I just love that when I have things that don't really have anything to do with each other, but you know, it just connects for me, and and it's like I can see that. I just you know, like I said, I grew up listening to those guys, and and there had to be something in that that gave me a sense of confidence about whatever it is I'm I'm gonna believe in, it's gonna be a hundred percent. Like I, you know, everybody, every I always tell people everybody's gotta have a little bit of the ultimate warrior in them to survive in this world. You know, you gotta be, you know, you gotta be willing to run down that aisle sometimes and just you know chase shirt, send your enemies fly. Yeah, yeah. You just you everybody's gotta have just a little bit of that in them. And so I thought about that, and I'm like, okay, so intensity, okay. So I'm looking, I'm looking in the Bible. I'm like, well, the Bible doesn't really say a lot about like it's not using that word intensity, but uh, I'm like, I know what I'm looking for. So you and I were talking about a little bit, and then I started doing a little searching, and I and I thought, Isaiah, this guy, he could have been a pro wrestler. He could have done the promos because if you get into the book of Isaiah, it's one long 40 verses or 40 plus verses of him just shouting out the word of God and how people have stopped believing, how people have started not only to not believe, but now they're worshiping other gods. They've totally turned their back on God, and they're choosing to worship these other gods, and he makes no mistake that these people you're gonna suffer. Like, like we're coming for you, God's coming for you, and when it goes down, you know, you guys are gonna be left in the dust. You're gonna be crumpled into pieces. And so it's quite something to read it. And he's he's this prophet that keep in mind, he's not just he's not just saying this to the lowly people of whether it be Israel or the Babylonians or all these other superpowers that surround him, and all these king, you know, all these he's saying it to these kings, you know, that think they have all the power. So he's speaking to the highest of the high in all of these places, and he's willing to stand up there and tell them exactly what he thinks and exactly what the will of God is, and there's no compromise whatsoever in what he says.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

And he's intense in a place where you don't think you shouldn't be daring to be intense, and he makes no bones about it. He's like, Yeah, this is the word of the Lord, and I'm here to bring it, and you're in your line, and this is this is the consequences for such. Yeah. And I'm like, whoa.

Empty Rituals Versus True Obedience

SPEAKER_03 7:37

Yeah, yeah. And like I said, it's it's a hard read because, as I said, you are just reading this sermon that goes on and on and on. It's one big promo that just keeps on going. And the first part of it, now don't get me wrong, the first part of it is yes, like he's he's I want to say he's condemning these people, but he he's putting them on notice of what's gonna happen when he hits the ring. This is what's gonna happen, you know. But he does, he does follow it up by talking about Jesus Christ, the coming of Jesus, and the grace that that can be had through God and through Jesus Christ. So it's not all gloom and doom. He's it's like his his approach is to, okay, you know, I'm not mints and words with you people. This is God is in complete control. There's nothing you can do to sway him, there's nothing you can do to get out of it. You either, and we talked about this a little bit on the last episode. I think Isaiah goes through quite a bit of sins here, is what he's talking about. But the biggest thing that bothers him is that are that people have turned their back on God and no longer believe, and they've chosen to look at other gods, to look at other forms of worship. He does talk a lot. It sounds like he's talking about quite a bit of witchcraft here. Oh, yeah, worshiping the moon and the stars and all these other kind of things. And so you could tell he's like, he he's he's taking notice of how people are worshiping, and it's all these different things that are foreign to what God wants. So he's putting these people on notice how it's going to be. But he is going to follow that up with, you know, he is going to, and of course, this is Old Testament. So he's he's letting everybody know that they're the Savior is coming. You know, there is the Savior and He will be coming soon. There will be grace for people who believe and who follow. And so it's again, it's not all gloom and doom. There's still there's still an opportunity here to turn back and and and to do to do what needs to be done. Absolutely. But yeah, but he's not he's not easing anybody in.

SPEAKER_00 9:57

And I I think a lot of what he what he says in the beginning, he's just kind of laying the groundwork.

unknown 10:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Because when he comes in with all the the bluster and all the the energy and not necessarily condemnation, but just very fiery about this this should not be happening, and there are consequences for it. And then after that, after he's laid the groundwork and they understand that we see what you're saying, then he lets them know, then he the he begins to give this is the grace, this is the love that can be had by following the father. But right now, you guys you're not doing it.

SPEAKER_03 10:50

So I'm gonna have to yeah, yeah. I'm just don't don't shoot the messenger, pretty much, but I'm gonna give it to you straight. And we can't we can't read all of this, but I just I wanted to read the just the first part of it, the first how this starts out. Because again, it does remind me of a macho man ultimate warrior promo that, like, wow, this is this is intense. So he says, Hear, O heavens, listen, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey, his owner's manger, but Israel does not know. My people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption, they have forsaken the Lord, they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. Why should you be beaten any more? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart is afflicted, from the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness, only wounds and welts and open sores, and cleansed or bandaged or sued with oil. Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire, your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom, listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. The multitude of your sacrifices, what are they to me, says the Lord? I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals. I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my cords? Stop bringing meaningless offerings. Your incense is a detestable to me. New moons, Sabbaths, and convocations, I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your new moon festivals and your appointed feast my soul hates. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. When you this is the last part I'll read. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. Even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my stock, out of my sight. Stop doing wrong, learn to do right, seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us reason together. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land. But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

That's pretty that's pretty macho man stuff right there.

SPEAKER_03 14:19

If I could do it like that, I would, but I don't I don't have it in me. No. No. I I admire it, but it's not me. I can't do it.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

But uh it's um very it's very straightforward what he's trying to to dictate to them. He's like, there's been you've done no good thing. There's no redeeming quality left here. Exactly. You you you've done you've done nothing to to acquit yourself to God where he's gonna say, you know, yeah, that's that's the way you should be doing it. And he's letting them know there is, you know, turn it what it w as some some preachers will say, turn or burn. And it's it's just um there's no mistake in what he's trying to what he's trying to do.

Warning And Hope: Judgment Then Grace

SPEAKER_03 15:16

And you know, and he's like, Look, I don't care. You you can you can have this big show with all these sacrifices, all these offerings, all this stuff, and make make it look like you know, you've you know, you means nothing to me now. I know this is no longer what I'm requesting of you. Stop worrying about all these, you know, your incense.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Yeah, you're you're oh this is a this is a full moon or whatever, we need to make tribute to it.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

Stop with the big show. Yeah, let's just get down to doing what we're supposed to be doing. And yeah, let's get let's get back to worshiping God the way we're supposed to, instead of all this other, you know, these this big uh, you know, all these fireworks and all this all this stuff that doesn't really mean anything to me. It's like you're not even trying as as the Lord God was so happy that Solomon just wanted to find wisdom when God said you can have anything, when Solomon just said I just I just want to have that wisdom, that's what pleased God. You know, because Solomon could have asked for anything and and and received it. And I think it was the same with David, you know, it's just like he he was in search of the Lord's heart. Yeah, but I just want to do right. Yeah, so that's that's what I think what Isaiah is trying to tell them is you know, stop with this big production, stop with all these flashpoints and just give the Lord what he truly wants.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

And that's your your obedience and your seek him.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

He just wants you to seek him, not not seek all these other gods and and and pretend you know you're this or that. And in the meantime, you that he knows you don't you don't really care about the offerings that you give. There's no heart in it whatsoever. You're not trying to find any wisdom when you do it, you're just doing it so hopefully you don't get wiped away. Yeah, yeah. So I think he's just being very clear that you know you you people are no longer seeking God whatsoever, but just the the colorful Yeah, just the and it goes, like I said, it goes on. I like I said, I could read passage after passage, like this guy just keeps going. Yeah, and he starts hitting, you know, he he's gonna start hitting Jerusalem. He's he's gonna uh every every foreign country, just anybody within his purview, yeah. Yeah, he he's letting he's putting them on notice. So it's just uh like I said, he's really he's really gonna upset some people. But it doesn't seem like he's too worried about it.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

I I would say he's not worried at all. Yeah. Um and I I think he's not not like a lot of the other men of the Bible where they've they've had a concern or two about, you know, should I do this? Or tried to tried to put uh honey on on the on the sermon, and he's like, I'm not him and James. If you read the book of James, James is very forward and very accusatory in his speak speaking as well. And they're just unapologetic for what they're saying because you have to understand the people that are being bold at this time, it was it wasn't a time to be bold as a Christian. It we live we live in a time where there's still, you know, there's still some trial or whatever, but in this country you can pretty much Yeah, there's a good amount of safety. Yeah, there's there's way more safety than there was back then. You start mentioning any any other authority other than what they prescribe, and there are there are a lot of very harsh consequences. Pastor always talks about how he likes liking the part about putting heads on pikes and stuff like that. They it did not play around. So for him to be speaking this way and have no, you know, no drawback, no question as to what he is saying and whether he should be saying it or whether he's gonna back down at all. There was there was no back down in him. He was definitely the the wrestler in the room. He was like, I'm gonna drop the people's elbow, you're gonna this is what's gonna happen. And you have to you just have to accept it and turn from what you're doing, and if you do, then there's there's the reward of there is the reward of heaven, there's the reward of God blessing your life. But until you do that, these are the things that are gonna occur for you. And he and he wasn't he wasn't that nice about it. He was he was loud and boisterous about it.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

Well, you know, and we were kids, you know, Hulk Hogan was the prayers, the training, and the vitamins. Yeah, and so that was a good, you know, we of course we learn as we get older that Hulk Hogan was a very complex individual, not a perfect, perfect man by any means, but growing up as a kid and having somebody of that stature with that intensity tell you to say your prayers was a big deal. It was a big deal because you don't you don't get that anymore. No, no, like young kids that how I grew up at nine, ten years old, you don't have anybody telling you that now. To me, that was a big deal, and I still think that is was a very very important for that time in our lives.

Courage Under Threat And Martyr Legacy

SPEAKER_00 21:19

It's lost on kids nowadays because more or less, uh not all kids are this way, because we try not to raise our our daughter that way or anything, but a lot of kids get left in front of their devices or left that's their babysitter, yeah, yeah, or left with whatever they they do this thing and it annoys me, unbelievably. This whole six, seven and I don't even know what that is.

SPEAKER_03 21:50

I've heard about it, but I don't know what it is.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

I don't either. And so it's just it's just a thing. And my point about that is it's just whatever's whatever's thrown at them, they're latching onto it. And we're not giving them any kind of Isaiah-like fire. We're not giving them anything that uh ignites. There's no other example. Exactly. There's nothing that's that they're saying, well, well, you got to offer that you know, this is at least this. I uh I understand what they're saying. What are you saying? And then you're like, well, I here, play with your this. So we're not giving them anything that they can. latch on to like this because he's he's coming at him and like you like you said it's that wrestler type mentality we hate to keep going back to the wrestler but it's the only axiom that that actually if we use it in their time it's that gladiator mentality yeah it it absolutely fits because it would be the same as if like like you said like a gladiator comes into the arena it's like I am Spartacus and everybody in the crowd is fired up ready to go it's the same thing they've latched on to what they latch on to what he's saying they they take what he's saying for truth and so when you have Hulk Hogan or you have anybody like you know say your prayers eat your vitamins and you know all that stuff it carries weight it carry it carried weight with me I was looking oh yeah I watched them it was Saturday I think it was Saturday afternoons and and there they were big as life and they were running around the ring and dropping elbows and jumping off the top rope and all of that but as much as I paid attention to that I paid attention to what they said what they said before before and after because they always had something like when once Hulk Hogan won they gave him the mic and it's telling you to say your prayers eat your vitamins like I'm gonna do if you believe in the commandments and you know yeah he really gave you something to believe in to get behind.

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Yeah made you feel bigger than life.

Modern Idols, Distraction, And Self-Examination

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Oh yeah yeah and and it made you feel almost like a part of it. Yeah what you know and it's it's the same way with how Isaiah is speaking to the people he is trying to let them know you need to be part of God. You need to do those things that are pleasing in his sight you need to stop doing what you're doing. All this all this playing around that you're doing is not pleasing to him this is not what he wants he wants the fragrance of your praise he wants you to be doing those things that uplift him that exalt him so there's a there's a choice to be made and he's basically saying this is the dividing line. It's like you can do what God wants you to do you can be that servant of God that he wants you to be or you can suffer the consequences of being your own person and doing these ritualistic things that they were doing that absolutely well he even says he says it infuriated him he said I hate that and so when you got God saying I hate that I should probably stop doing that. So you should reconsider and so Isaiah was making it clear because God doesn't mean to work and so Isaiah was coming in pretty much the same way. He's like if my God doesn't mean to work why should I why should I because I represent him so as his representation this is what needs to be said this is what I'm saying take it or leave it there's no 5050 it's 100 or nothing. Yeah and it's it's just yeah I just think I always I don't know if I told you before but whenever I read the Bible I take the people and I try to replace them with me. Like if they if I were reading a story about Samson or whatever I I I fill myself in that spot. What would I be doing? How would I be responding? That's why I find some of these people because they were much to people's dismay they were actual people they they were you and I and so to to be in a situation like Samson I'm like what would I be doing? How would I deal in this situation or that situation if I were David and I was standing in front of the Goliath do I pick up the five smooth stones or do I it's like God I I I know you got this but this guy is huge. I'm sure you didn't make a mistake here like just rethink this just a little so yeah and you have to you have to put yourself in that spot and understand that what he did for them he'll do for you. I mean we we have songs about all the time I may not face Goliath but I've got my own giants so you have to understand that God is God is ready to put to to help you out in any situation. And it's like and you have to first things first you have to do like Isaiah was saying in here and yes he was saying it harshly and you know with a little bit of venom to what he was saying but it's no less true it's like God is God is all there is and you're either exalting him and giving him his praise he inhabits the praise of his people so you give him those praises and then everything else is secondary because he's going to move in your life and do those things that that uplift not only uplift him but they uplift you because when he when he is exalted he brings you along with him and so but you can't you can't do it until you you get into it and start doing serving him the way you should serve him.

Nations, Pride, And Historical Downfalls

SPEAKER_03 29:14

Yeah and because and there in in Isaiah they are not doing it correctly and he's and and he's not just talking he's talking to generations because he's realized he's talking to the Israelites who have a long history of not getting it right of being in being out being in being out you know just always always doubting always asking for more always wanting to change the script so he he knows who he's talking to and he's not just talking to the people in front of him but he's talking about past generations he's talking about the generations to come he's talking to you and me and he knows that so he knows his words have to count. You know he can't just go out there and say come on guys it's it's it's not this obvious you know it's not it's not that bad. You know you know he just knows that at this point in time which is we're getting close to the coming of the Messiah when this is like 750 700 BC when this is all when he's prophesizing. So we're getting close so and he knows that which is of course why he's gonna he's gonna go into that part of it but even even though he knows this he it's people still have to be accountable you know even though Jesus is going to come forgive us for our sins you know take the you know take the ultimate sacrifice for us that doesn't mean that we're we're off the hook like we can just act like a bunch of banshees and just do whatever we want to do and you know that wrath is this wrath is and and you kind of feel like this it's like God's wrath being built up like it's been penned up so long and you just watch these people continuously find any other way to live life and to give thanks and and to give glory to anything but God. Anything we're like saying oh now we'll start worshiping the stars. Even though God made the stars we're going to count them as a separate entity and we're just gonna start worshiping them you know and just he starts talking about all this sorcery and stuff and so you could just tell he's looking at people that are choosing to find any other way to give glory for for whatever they feel is exhaust idolatry and everything. Yeah yeah they're just they're worshiping themselves basically and you know just again Isaiah's putting it all on the line and there was there's another little part of this that I highlighted which I thought was very interesting because he's talking to the ultimate enemy in this little passage. He's talking to I believe he's talking to Satan himself and this is in Isaiah 1412 when he says how you have fallen from heaven O morning star, son of the dawn you have been cast down to earth you who once laid low the nations you said in your heart I will ascend to heaven I will raise my throne above the stars of God I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain I will ascend above the tops of the clouds I will make myself like the most high but you brought down to the grave to the depths of the pit so there he's talking about oh you think you're going to put yourself above God eh well how'd that work out how did that work out for the most high of angels you know so don't think that you know the most high angel was brought down to the pit of the earth and he doesn't say his name but it's pretty clear who he's talking about that look yeah you're you're not this is not something you're not gonna get the advantage here.

SPEAKER_00 33:26

You know it's only a matter of time and it's amazing how we give so much power to him when you can see just by this passage that if we just take the bull by the horns he's got he's got no power because you can i if he can talk to him like that it's just people sometimes let their circumstances let things that go wrong in your life and that you you think you can't overcome or whatever they let a take away the power of your voice the power of your prayers because prayer is our prayer is our sword because whatever's going whatever's going wrong in your life whatever's you know bothering you the enemy he lucifer has to fall when got when when you put the name of God and name of Jesus on it he's got to go and so Isaiah was once again making no bones about it. He was like you you got no place here. It's like you think you were great but you were you were not great. You came against the greatest you came against Almighty God. So what do you think you're going to accomplish here?

SPEAKER_03 34:53

Yeah you have you have no ground to stand on the way I look at it he he's bringing facts into this oh yeah he's not just preaching with nothing to back it up. I mean he's he's not just saying all these big words with nothing to back it up he's like look we took the most high angel that thought he was going to a seed God that he was going to go above and you know no yeah he did like you did brought a little history to see yeah it's like like you said he he comes in with facts he's not he's not just spouting words off and hoping everybody will tremble he's like no he he's got you know you can show him right here that yeah Satan himself thought he could outdo God and have his own kingdom where he could look down on God. He's like no and that's he's basically telling look you're doing you you're on the path to doing the same thing as what you people are doing. You have made this mental decision to turn away and you're the way you're going to exercise this is like you still you still want to be looked at as worshiping people. No you don't want anybody to think that you're not that you don't worship that you're not you know that you're not you don't have religion but guess what it's just again it's all show it's all for show you know so he's pointing that out to them like you might be fooling everybody else with this but you're not fooling me. Exactly and you're not fooling God so you know better put an end to it and he's pretty much telling him yep all the success of all all these countries he goes we're gonna lay low every single one of them you know all you kings all you you know countries that you know every single one of you will be laid low in your own time in God's time so whatever power that you think you have once again you know you're gonna be you're gonna be brought low you know so your pride your pride which I think he talks about in here he's like your pride is going to be your your downfall what else you got you got anything else that I know I got a I got some more stuff in here but I I guess it happened I'm like glancing through and just the amount of just he was very particular.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

He he didn't miss like he didn't miss a nation. He didn't miss like a kingdom. He pointed all of them out and and was very thorough in what was you know what they were what sin they were committing and was because as like I said as I'm going through I'm like he has uh prophecies against Babylon and Egyptian and the Egyptians and it goes yeah so he's he's on the attack against all the nations that are doing whatever it is they're they're doing that's not pleasing to God.

America At A Crossroads

SPEAKER_03 38:22

And it's like but it's obvious though the one and and I and I and I draw this line you know he talks about Egypt. Well if you know anything about Egypt yeah they were the most powerful empire the first human civilization to grow into this superpower and where are they now? It's gone. It's an ancient civilization the Romans gone so everything that's written in the Bible happens like Egypt's gone Rome's gone Babylonians are gone anybody of any power is gone and why I don't think again we can take we can take sin personal sin what we all struggle with every single day in our lives but what we're talking about here is as the Egyptians like they're worshiping other gods the Romans are worshiping another god you have Babylonians worshiping another god so there's no coming back from as I said in the last episode there's no coming back from that one you know you cannot succeed as a person as a state as a country as a superpower on a continent you know you you you're you think your hand reaches from from one end of the continent to the other and you can have all this power but you can't have any of it with without without worshiping the true God. And that's what happens to all and that's what happens to all of them. And I think as Americans we are walking that thin line once again we are we are making some decisions in this country as to okay what are we going to do here or are the things that we do and the way that we choose to run our government and our civilization are we looking to what God wants or are we going to veer off in this whole other direction to where we start ignoring him and let's face it in the sake of things like kindness and all inclusive and we can talk about a lot of things but I say this all the time kindness is wonderful. It's a wonderful thing but don't forget where it comes from it comes from Jesus Christ. Doesn't come from any other source because during this time the world's a before Jesus comes it's a cruel dark place. It is a lot of the things that we understand as love and kindness now didn't exist back then. It's only through his love that we we see that kind of thing. So we can't take that for granted and so as Americans we're starting to go down that slippery slope and we're only 250 years old this year. You know a lot Egypt thousands of years Rome thousands of years you know we're just a baby we're an infant compared to these superpowers. So we cannot be so confident that we can never be wiped out because we're the United States of America.

SPEAKER_00 41:19

For for being as young a country as we are we're very cocky. Yeah it's like we almost feel like we have the right to go where we want to do what we want with no reverence for the other we can do things without the counsel of God. Exactly and no humility no no prayerfulness no no resolve to see the things of God come to pass.

SPEAKER_03 41:52

And the sad part is God has shown us once before he has you know he has shown us the error of our ways and you know me I'm a big civil war buff and he's shown us like the error of our sin you know we brought that on ourselves those 65000 plus lives that were lost in that four year period guess what that was the true reparation that's like that's that's even Lincoln says and if if every lash is is paid you know by the blood of our people then so be it. That's what it takes to do the will of the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

Absolutely you know and and that's and now it's like okay we're we're we're we're going down that slippery slope again like do we and I really feel like we're at that that crossroads yeah we're at another crossroads exactly where we we pick who we're going to be as a country. Yeah because right now everybody's opinion matters so much and it's like your opinion is it's not even your belief it's you just have to get it's your emotion. Yeah it's your emotion it's your temperature for the day yeah and that's the thing for the day and it's like today I'm feeling this and everyone else should feel that feel what I'm feeling I can't believe what I saw on TikTok you know and it's this is ridiculous.

SPEAKER_03 43:24

Well that's even a thing isn't it like you put like your name and then it says is feeling anxious today or is feeling angry today or so it's like are you asking people to join with you in this you know anxiety and anger and I saw that once somebody a friend of mine had that as like so and so's feeling blessed.

SPEAKER_00 43:44

Yeah and I I was like oh that's great. I I don't usually like put likes or anything to anything I see not just that particular thing but I looked at and in the corner it said you know like 30 likes or whatever and I'm like 30 likes that you're feeling blessed or 30 likes that you're you know in a mood and yeah I'm like we're so wrapped up in in ourselves. Self-promotion yeah and it's like I feel I feel this way feel this with me instead of saying you know did you take it to God first? Yeah as opposed to saying you know God what can I do to help me yeah to feel better to repres what can I do to represent At you because that's that's the goal, and that's that's what Isaiah is basically trying to tell us is like, look, stop stop looking for the likes and stop you know scrolling your life away, which is basically in that at that ancient time, that's what they're doing. They're the new movie.

SPEAKER_03 44:55

Yeah, it's it's their Facebook i yeah, their idol version Instagram, yeah.

Daily Worship, Public Faith, And Soft Christianity

SPEAKER_00 44:59

Yeah, that's that's their version. Yeah, as the Bible says, there's nothing new under the sun. Right, yeah, it's just a different it's just presented in a different way. Yeah. So that's what they were doing. That's what we're you know, we're doing and what we need to well and as you say, worshiping idols.

SPEAKER_03 45:16

I mean, we're more so than ever now.

SPEAKER_00 45:19

I mean, just uh Oh there's there's so much easier access to idols. Yeah. I mean, and that sounds silly to say that there's access to idols, but anything can become an idol so easily.

SPEAKER_03 45:34

Like showing even those that haven't earned it. Yeah. Well have haven't put any work in.

SPEAKER_00 45:40

Yeah. Like for example, I was showing my daughter, uh, Elsa. I have this thing. I I always watch these uh kitten videos, and there's Margie probably watches the same ones. Well, they're sitting there and they'll dance and they have this thing where they do that APT or whatever, and the cats talk or whatever. And I watch a lot of them. And if you're not careful as a person, things like that, and as silly as it sounds, things like that can become an idol because anything that subtracts from your attention or love of God is potentially an idol. And so if you see me, I'm sitting there scrolling, oh, this cat video's awesome. This and I've done it for let's say a half an hour, how much time could I have spent, you know, in the Word or getting God praise or being useful in some way? Yeah. And that's you know, I'm not saying don't enjoy, you know, don't enjoy the internet or things like that, but you have to be mindful because Satan uses all kinds of traps. And so if he says, Oh, he really he's really into this, so I'll just keep these in front of his face, and next thing you know, he's catted away his whole entire even using fluffy kittens. Yep, Satan using kittens. He don't he don't care. He's the father of lies, he'll use anything. So uh but but yeah, you just have to always be mindful, and it never hurts to reflect on things that are that are harsh, like things like Isaiah, things like James says, and for self-examination. Because that's that's when we see who we are, and that's when we realize whether we are or whether we're not quite serving God the way we should be. Because if you can't examine yourself on on at least a daily basis and say, is this the way you want me to go? Am I doing, am I doing enough? What could I do? You know, as well as giving him honor and glory and praise. You have you have to do those things that are are pleasing in his sight, and you have to self-examine and and look at what you're doing as a as a person, as a nation, because I I really don't think our nation is self-examining. No. I think we are just running it. We're I hate to say it, we're like lemmings right now.

SPEAKER_03 48:31

We're running on autopilot.

Isaiah’s Closing Fire And Enduring Promise

SPEAKER_00 48:33

Yeah, we're like lemmings. Yeah. Lemmings will run to the edge. You can see all them other lemmings going off the edge. And for some odd reason we are all more than willing more than willing to jump. Yeah. Instead of somebody just turning around going, okay, wait, wait, wait, wait, did we think this out? There's that a cliff or is that a hill? Or you know, what is down there? Yeah, yeah, what's down there? They're like, nope, let's just go. And you have to stop at some point and say, because I don't think anybody would disagree with me. This country needs amended. And there's no politician, there's no speaker, there's no event, there's no no action that can heal a nation. It's God. So I mean and that's that's all that any nation, not just not just America, because the world plenty of examples before us. Yeah, the world is struggling as well. It's not just it's not just America, but the world is struggling to try and, you know, figure out who they are and what the you know what power that they have and trying to take it from this person and and hold it for themselves and raise themselves up. And you're not gonna find out anything about yourself as a nation, as a person until you give it to God. Say, God, because that used to be when when I was little, that was that was the thing. We we uh went to church, we came home Sunday, and the rest of the rest of my week didn't feel right unless Sunday I had been in church. I couldn't I couldn't stay home Sunday and then feel like I had done what I was supposed to do. Because it was church and in practice and then all those other things. But all those other things were made better because I had attended church, my pastor filled me up, I go and I, you know, do my daily and uh it's almost like you're fueled because you've taken in the word of God. This country has kind of gotten away from that. We don't make our we don't make our kids go to chur go to church. We don't because my mom and dad drove.

SPEAKER_03 51:13

We've taken it out of the schools.

SPEAKER_00 51:15

Oh yeah, taking it out of schools, taking taking it out of libraries if you have they had that the the book, the Bible, sitting like a like a marble statue of it. Oh yeah removed. Yeah. I'm like, are you kidding me? And so the the trying to remove those remnants that you can see of God, that he's he's right there. Who knows? Somebody walks in there and reads those Ten Commandments that are you know open up in marble and reads them and goes, I'll I'll give him a shot. You know, I'll give him a try. But they've removed it, so he comes in or she comes in and it's not there. They walk in, they continue their life. Things like that matter as a country. And when you start removing removing God we we spoke about it on the last one. If you you know if you don't if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my father who is in heaven. And that's the same thing. Yeah. When you remove objects that reference our Lord and Savior, you are denying him.

SPEAKER_03 52:36

Yeah, you're making a cautious effort to say we don't we don't need him.

SPEAKER_00 52:39

Yeah, absolutely. It's like somebody we can do without you. Somebody said they were gonna take it.

SPEAKER_03 52:44

In fact, we think you're causing we think God, you're causing you're causing the conflict, so we need to remove it.

SPEAKER_00 52:50

Yeah. Somebody said they were gonna take, and I haven't seen a quarter for a while, but somebody said they were gonna take the quarter and how it says in God we trust and put it on the rim so that you can't see it.

SPEAKER_03 53:04

And then eventually Well, it's still there, but we just don't want anybody to focus on it anymore. It might offend somebody.

SPEAKER_00 53:10

Yeah, exactly. And then they said eventually they'll remove it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:14

I'm like one step at a time.

SPEAKER_00 53:16

Yeah. Um like you have to be very careful because those other those other nations, they found out. They found out they're not they're not what they were. Nope. Rome, like you said, Rome gone, Babylonia gone, Egypt were just gone.

SPEAKER_03 53:40

And they were to be feared and respected, and it it was their d way of doing business was to just lay waste to somebody, take everything they have, bring it back. That was business as usual for those people. Yeah, totally.

SPEAKER_00 53:58

Yeah, and it you have to, I think, admire. I I Isaiah has my favorite uh my favorite Bible verse is from Isaiah. It's uh Isaiah 54, 17. No weapon formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue that rises up in condemnation against me shall be proven wrong. But everything else uh around that, he's pretty toe the line. Toe the line, because it it's super important what God has for us. I mean, if you have any intentions of seeing, you know, seeing the other side and by seeing the other side I mean one side, not the other. If you intend on going to heaven and enjoying the fruits of God, you gotta put him first. If you don't put him first, he's a jealous God. He is no other gods before me. So if there's something you got something in front of him, better remove it.

Final Reflections, Flair Quote, And Prayer

SPEAKER_03 55:17

I wanted to read the last so this is actually this closes it out. Book of Isaiah. The hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes. See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind. He will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword, the Lord will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the Lord. As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me, declares the Lord, so will your name and your descendants endure. From one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me, and they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me. Their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be lonesome to all mankind. So I thought that last one was like, Well, that's that's tough.

SPEAKER_00 56:25

That's the exclamation point. Yeah. Yeah, that's right before he goes, go to the ring.

SPEAKER_03 56:29

You know, just yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:33

That's right before church.

SPEAKER_03 56:37

You know, like we're going to the ring.

SPEAKER_00 56:40

So it's like absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 56:42

Yeah, the trumpet sounds and on he goes. So yeah, I I just think uh, you know, like I said, I uh I don't know if I have it in me personally to be an Isaiah, but it's something to be respected, it's something to marvel. It is. I mean, and on a historical note, it does not say in the Bible how Isaiah dies, but I was looking this up a little bit because I had to know. And so I guess there's these other like historical Christian sources that have tried to figure this out. And and apparently one of these kings that he had upset and come come into confrontation with, eventually he's they say that Isaiah was sawed in two by king, I forget what starts with an M, like Mesessina or Messessiah or something like that. But yeah, so that's like I said, there's nothing in the Bible that says that, but these come from different biblical sources and you know, and studies that people have done and say yes, penitentiary tortures and treatments of the day to Yeah yeah, you know, and of course we we learn how some of the other prophets and disciples and that were, you know, tortured and executed in very various forms. So I guess yeah, it kind of falls in line with with that. So if if we believe that, if that in fact was you know his fate, then here's another guy that he dies for what he believes in. You know, nobody goes nobody goes to the table to be sawed in half. No. If you don't believe it.

SPEAKER_00 58:25

And that's that's that's something else that I've I've been listening to lately, is the the fate of a lot of the the believers of the time. Yeah is why I say we're we're in a soft period of Christianity.

SPEAKER_03 58:40

We have an episode about that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:42

We're in a soft period of Christianity in my book because I can go outside, I can go stand in Walmart parking lot and shout the the glories of God and pretty much be okay, you know, go home.

SPEAKER_03 58:59

Yeah, people are gonna drive by and be like, look at that loony too. That's about it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:04

But yeah, you know, get called a name here and there. I'm not gonna, you know, nobody's gonna say, grab him stop, you know. So we have to we have to understand that what they went through, there they were people just like us. And so to go to their grave knowing you're gonna get sawed in half or your skin is gonna be flayed, or all the different various tortures of the of the time, and still say he's king of kings and lord of lords, and not back off of that.

SPEAKER_03 59:41

Yeah, I'm not worshiping anything else here, guys.

SPEAKER_00 59:44

Or to say, or say, yes, I saw him or I saw him, you know, and not back off of it. Better get right because I'm telling you now, there is no way people will go to their grave like that for a lie.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:05

It's either it's it's the truth because I'll tell you right now, I'm not doing it. We got our first caller tonight. Yes, we do. I have not, I'm not doing it.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:19

It is just you do have a caller.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:26

I do have a caller.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:28

I went the wrong way. Only here, folks.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:35

Only here.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:36

That's all right.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:37

Hey, we're we're real, you know, we're not trying to, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:41

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:44

Shoot. And I guarantee you, she's probably still trying to call me. What is the answer?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:50

And I don't understand. Figure it out. She's trying to tell us, like, okay, guys.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:56

I cut her short.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:58

And there's plenty of other examples of this. I know Jeremiah follows up Isaiah, and you get more. He's another prophet that you can read into. So that's another interesting one. Maybe we could cover that one another time. But yeah, so there's plenty of examples of of men like Isaiah in the Bible, but he's definitely, I mean, to me, from the most colorful, the most just yeah, he just really just uh like I said, it's a long, long pro that's the thing. Just be in for it'll take you a while to get through it, but it's it's it's well worth it if you can if you can get through it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:34

Yeah, he's it's 54 chapters, but he's he's convincing, isn't he? Yeah, he is. Yeah. I say 54, but he's more than that. But yeah. Yeah, he's he's he's a read that's worth it. But I like James, but I like James for for several reasons.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:58

The the most of which is he's only f six chapters. Oh yeah, it's rather short. Yeah, so he's a he's a shorter version. Yes, he's the condensed version of Isaiah. Yeah, but Isaiah was the real deal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:15

So Isaiah on lunch. Yes. You got a lunchtime and yeah, you can cover it real quick if you need to. Yeah. Absolutely. All right, sir. Well, anything else? Any final thoughts? Smart remarks?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:32

Oh no. Say the smart remarks for my wife who called it. Yeah. I think that I know he did a lot of uh ragging on the country. But we are we're a smart country. Yeah, no, I'm not right. I mean, I I'm I love my country. And I I do too. And uh I get upset if something's like.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:06

As you said, you gotta self-examine.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:08

Yes. And so with that in mind, we are we are blessed to be in the nation we are in, doing the things we're allowed to do, and being able to put uh God to the forefront in everything we do, anything we do. If we're not doing it for the glory of God, that's why that's why we speak about self-examination, that's why we speak about uh people like Isaiah and and his energy and intensity. It's like because it matters, it's important. It's the it's the thing that that drives you. It should be intense. It should be it should be something that doesn't shake you up.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:01

You're doing it wrong. Yeah, yeah, there's exactly yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:04

If you don't if you don't love it, you leave it. Yeah. So so this if I But don't leave it, as Rick Flair said. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:14

If you don't like it, learn to love it. Because it's the best thing going today.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:17

There you go. That's probably what it knew I'd get that in there. That's what we should end on right there. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:24

Don't like it, learn to love it, because it's the best thing going today. Amen. So absolutely. Oh man. All right, I'll praise out. Lord, thank you for bringing Dale and I together once again uh to just talk about the glory that is you. Um thank you for giving us you know the wisdom of Isaiah to look at your word, to look at your leadership, uh, to look at the true and undenying fact that you are the one and true Lord, and the one that we should seek to follow every single day. Um any of those distractions, any of those desires, any of those things that lead us to maybe take a different path, to seek in a new form of worship or guidance, um will only in the end lead us to uh just unfortunate circumstance and a return to our true home, which we know is with you. Um I pray all of these things in your precious name. I pray that we have traveling verses as we head home, and I just pray that you help us continue uh to find new ways here uh to bring your word um and give it as much reach as we can possibly do here. I pray that all these things in your precious name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:57

Amen.