Deeper Roots Podcast

Should Christians Use Betting Apps?

• Impact Church Greensboro

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Your timeline is loud for a reason. One minute it’s World Cup edits, Messi lore, and the Ronaldo debate. The next minute it’s a flood of betting ads that don’t just want you to watch the game, they want you to stake your peace on it. We start with a quick praise report about new jobs and shifting schedules, then we ride the sports energy straight into a serious question: what are these thrills doing to our hearts and our money?

We talk about the rise of “culture betting,” where people can wager on almost anything, and why the marketing feels harmless while the long-term impact can be brutal. From budgeting and stewardship to self-control and maturity, we wrestle with the pull to chase quick wins instead of building a stable life. Along the way, we connect the dots between dopamine habits, micro spending, and the modern pressure to “treat yourself” even when it leaves you more restless than before.

The conversation gets personal as we dig into contentment, gratitude, and joy that holds up when the excitement fades. We pull wisdom from Joseph’s faithfulness through setbacks, Ecclesiastes’ honesty about vanity, and the deep truth that real joy is found in God’s presence, not in achievements or attention. If you’ve been asking, “Why am I still not satisfied?” this one gives language, conviction, and a better path forward.

Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with a friend who needs steady joy, and leave a review. What’s one “cheap thrill” you’re ready to stop feeding?

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Welcome And Praise Report

SPEAKER_00

This is the Deeper Roots podcast with two hosts. Talking about a range of topics from life to godliness. I got Chris, RJ, Pastor Jason, and myself, Zay. And first of all, praise report. Praise God. Yes, sir. Because both of the hosts in the last year were having job issues and job troubles. And today they are both out because they're working in their new blessing. Their jobs that they've been praying for, and they busy the day at work.

SPEAKER_01

Well, you came at it from a good angle. I'm gonna come at it from the side of they chose their job over us. You know what? Yours is a spiritual angle. I'm gonna come from the friendship angle. We've been at this for a while.

SPEAKER_00

I know.

SPEAKER_01

We were here when the job wasn't here. So they chose us when the job was. You know, no, I'm just kidding. Congratulations, RJ and Chris, man. You guys are working hard. Yes, absolutely. Definitely prioritize your job and your family uh over this podcast, but we do miss you guys.

SPEAKER_00

We do greatly, man. What's gonna what's the what's the deeper roots gonna look like in the future now? We're all busy. We gotta find new recording time or something, or I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what happens. Um, a lot of stuff happening in life

World Cup Hype Takes Over

SPEAKER_00

around. I don't know what channel your TV has been on lately, but mine has been World Cup coverage, yeah, talking about the World Cup, World Cup commentating. My whole algorithm has changed. I'm just getting like soccer edits and like different stuff. The World Cup final is finally here, and it is happening uh this week, next week.

SPEAKER_01

This Sunday.

SPEAKER_00

This Sunday. Yeah, um, we got one more uh semifinal game to decide who gets like second and third place between France and England to figure out who who gets that. But first place round holding up the trophy, yes, sir, Messi and the new kid, Lamin Yamal. Now, I don't know if you know the lore between Messi and Yamin Yamal.

SPEAKER_01

I've seen the picture floating around on social media.

SPEAKER_00

Like is it a commercial or I don't I don't know why that picture exists or what it is, but the fact that 20-year age different apart, yeah, Messi goes on to become one of the greatest. I mean, I'm putting my number two for me is Ronaldo number one. Wow. Yeah, Ronaldo's number one.

SPEAKER_01

Even without a World Cup?

SPEAKER_00

Even with that, yeah, okay. That's the only thing that y'all get to say. That's the only thing. I I'll touch on that in a second. But even Messi, and then years later, the baby that he was holding in the tub for whatever commercial or whatever that was is now facing off with him for the final to hold up the World Cup. That is a statistical anomaly.

SPEAKER_01

That's crazy. But that that's also pretty intimidating, too. Like you can think about it from the kids' standpoint. Like, there's a picture of you as a baby being bathed by the man. Like that, you can't go into that game with a lot of confidence. Like this man is for commercial exactly. He raised you. That's pretty intimidating. But that is crazy to think. Like at first, when I first saw it, I was like, this is AI. Right. It had to be somebody talking to him, somebody making it up. And then all the comments that I saw, everybody was like, it's a real photo.

SPEAKER_00

That is that is crazy. But yes, Ronaldo over Messi. Now, I will say, my stance will change.

Messi Vs Ronaldo Debate

SPEAKER_00

If Messi wins two World Cups, he might take the edge over Ronaldo.

SPEAKER_01

Now what do you have? What do you have for Ronaldo over Messi right now? Like, what are the things?

SPEAKER_00

I think if I want to be entertained, I watch Messi. Okay. If I want to be inspired, I watch Ronaldo. Talking about like his eight abs on both sides. That is his never have. Yeah, I don't. I don't just I love the way he plays. I love the way he attacks the game. I love his mindset. Like I put him up there with the greats of LeBron James and Justin Bieber. Like, these are the people that inspire me and I look up to, and he fits right into that category.

SPEAKER_01

I have never wanted RJ to be here so bad. But I'm gonna just channel. I'm sitting in the seat, I'm gonna just channel RJ. Your whole argument broke down when you brought in Justin Beaver and LeBron James.

SPEAKER_00

Come on, man. Greatness, real inspirational greatness that he is the most followed person on social media for a reason. We resonate with Ronaldo, and it is heartbreaking that he is now aged out of the World Cup. He probably, oh, he even said I'm retiring from the World Cup. Like I can't wait another four years and expect my body and mind to be ready for the game as I can. It's time for the new generation to come in. And he never, he he's literally won everything two to three times except for the World Cup. And that's heartbreaking. I ain't gonna lie, almost cried. Wow. When he got when he got exited out, I was like, man, because he you can he started crying and you can tell he wants it so bad. Like it is literally the only thing that he is now never going to be able to accomplish.

SPEAKER_01

While your biggest rival at 39 years old is on his second run, is running circles around people. I don't know enough about soccer to really go into the debates of you know, but to watch Messi in this World Cup, which I last World Cup, I think I told y'all before, last World Cup, I kind of got interested. I was involved around my family. We watched some of the games, especially the U.S. games, but this year it just felt different. Maybe it was the fact that it was on US soil, um, or it's just I don't know, just the game. I thought Fox has done a great, great job of build up to it, the commentated coverage, like all of that's been really, really good. Um, the people that they've uh that they have doing commentating, they're they're entertainers, like and they

Why US Hosting Feels Different

SPEAKER_01

they bring a lot to it.

SPEAKER_00

No, I found myself because like let's say the game starts at three. I find myself tuning in at two, like an hour before the game, just to get the lore and the entertainment and all that kind of because it's just as entertaining as the game actually is.

SPEAKER_01

The guy from France, oh sorry, go ahead, Thierry Henry, yeah. The guy, like he's provocative, Alexi Lawless, the provocative Slatan Eva Himovic, like hilarious. Thank you for pronouncing the name. I wasn't even gonna try. But like they they are like they they cover the game well, they know the game, but then also they just say well, it's pretty unfiltered, it pretty well, pretty much, and they say what's on their mind, uh, even if it's against you know their own country or countries that that they've played against before. I it feels very authentic, and and I've I've enjoyed the conversation.

SPEAKER_00

Here's my thing for FIFA: you can't wait another 30 years to have it back in the US. Wow. I I think the US surprised the world to be like, we have the infrastructure, we have the stadiums, we have the coverage, we are the media capital of the world. The US is, in my opinion, as far as like entertainment goes. You can't wait another 30 years for the World Cup to be back in the US.

SPEAKER_01

Do you uh you know more about this than I do? Do you think that that so our involvement and our engagement engagement with it is not just because it's we're Americans, but do you think obviously from what you said, what's the benefit of of having it in these stadiums with this type of coverage? What do we get in here that we normally don't get?

SPEAKER_00

I I think I think anybody can do it. England can do it, Dubai can do it, Australia can do it, possibly. But it's the the level of shock and awe that we bring as American culture. Everything, the proportions are different, the sizing of everything is different, the the the the fanfare is different. Like we might not have the fan base and the the deep rooted, what feels like ancestry following that some of the other countries have. But the spectacle, yeah, the entertainment is what sells the game. It's kind of like how you know UFC at one point was just boring brawls, yeah, and then do went in there and was like, well, we need to create a spectacle, and now the UFC is what it is. Yeah, and it's like for for us to be like, okay, we're the ones with the spotlight, we're gonna show y'all how to bring an entertaining show. The World Cup is the World Cup regardless. But the fact that people are literally tuning in an hour before the game begins, yeah, the the the amount of uh, if you want to talk about bars and just places to go to watch the game, that's not the stadium. Uh, for example, uh, even like the convenience of our stadiums, there were so many foreigners that are like, the fact that you guys have air-conditioned open air stadiums is crazy. Yeah, they're like, your practice fields are our stadiums. Wow. Yeah, your stadiums are our O2 venues in the London. Like, you know what I mean? Like, we got 17 O2 arena style stuff, and they're for college teams. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like, I don't I don't know. I feel like spectacle-wise, they're like, oh, okay, this makes sense. This makes a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and obviously, they went all over the country, like, and I think that's the the beauty of, like you said, um, our country and and some of the emphasis that we put on entertainment, the emphasis that we put on sports, even and from the west to the even Canada, and then a few in Mexico too. Like it was uh, I I I've enjoyed it. Like, yeah, and I think Rosetta and I were talking too, like, and she's watched it with me. She's engaged as as much as she can. Um, so it's been fun to watch that as a family. Our kids have watched, especially like

MLS Interest After The Tournament

SPEAKER_01

the three o'clock games. Yeah, those are perfect. Get them home from camp and we're cooking dinner. That yeah, it's on the TV, those have been perfect for us, so they didn't have to stay up late, but our whole family's involved. And Rosetta asked, She was like, tell me about the the major league soccer in America. Because like she wants to continue to engage with soccer. Yeah. And I I mean, I told her some of the players who played who come over here now because they're getting paid more. Um, but I didn't, you know, the best soccer was in the premier Premier League and other things of that nature was telling her about timing and scheduling, but it was enough to at least spark the question for her that she's interested in what this would look like to continue to engage with soccer. And our daughter is really enjoys it as well. So we want to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00

That's adorable. No, now now that you know the World Cup is ending, I'm starting to see more commercials for is it MLS? That's the US League. Um, I'm starting to see more commercials for that popping up. And I'm telling you, I'm going to Charlotte and I'm watching the game. I'm going to Atlanta to continue to watch Messi. Like, I'm going to start traveling to these places. It it spiked such a big attention spotlight to the sport in the US. And I think in a couple of years from now, we can be the Spains and Portugal's and all that kind of stuff. We're going to have to win.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

We got to win the trophy for it to get there. But like I said, the entertainment value in the pushes, even like non-game hour entertainment. Like the fact that we have so many global celebrities in one spot and they're all making side content to the content of the World Cup. Like that doesn't happen anywhere else. Like you don't turn on your TV and see Lil Wayne, Drake, Tom Brady, and some random billionaire in the same booth. And they're making content. We have we have the streamers. That's like another form of content. Anyway, I can keep going on and on and on about this.

SPEAKER_01

I think I think one of the beautiful things, too, to your point, is not only with Major League Soccer being close, like there's some of these players that I learned about that I will watch when they play for Man, uh Manchester United or Man City, all those things. Like I'll engage with them because I'm I'm now a fan of them. Like Erlen Holland is one of those guys. Story.

SPEAKER_00

The story is.

SPEAKER_01

He is a character. I enjoy following him on social media now. Made him through the World Cup and I'll engage with uh the guy from Spain. I'm not gonna pronounce his name, but the guy from Spain. I've been I've enjoyed all of that. Yeah, and I'll I'll follow with them uh even beyond some of the you know top one or two games.

SPEAKER_00

With your with your with your knowledge of the World Cup and where you've been so far. Don't do this. Argentina and Spain. Oh what who do you think? Is it Yamin Yamal from Spain? Or is it Messi from Argentina? Who are you thinking is gonna come out on top?

SPEAKER_01

There's been about four games that I just knew Argentina was gonna lose. I just knew they were gonna lose. And this last one was one of them. Like I just expected them to lose. And again, the little bit that I know about it, I don't know enough, but I was just like, ah, they're gonna get tired, they're older, yeah, they're gonna wear down. Yeah, and they just keep like turning it and Messi predominantly, like just turning it on when he needs to, making the one or two plays that he needs to make and kind of preserving himself into the right moment. So I'm I'm not gonna I'm not gonna go against Messi. I think Spain has a better team, but I can't go against Messi.

SPEAKER_00

I can't I can't cheer for Messi. Nothing in me can cheer for Argentina. I just can't. I think I think they they got some voodoo magic that gave them the schedule that they have. I think FIFA caters to them. I think the refs catered to them. I think the players are terrible individuals on the pitch, of course. Terrible. Like they get away with all sorts of calls. Messi said you had a red card in the group stage and he never got it. I think there's favoritism. I can never cheer for Argentina.

SPEAKER_03

Really?

SPEAKER_00

However, if he does pull it off and gets two of them things, yeah, that's a tough one. That's a tough one.

SPEAKER_01

I I didn't even know I came across some things on social media about just about Argentina as a nation. Like, and I don't want to make it. Come on now, talk about it. Again, these are speculations. I've I've watched three videos and read one article, so I don't have the uh all the background on it, but like there was some shocking claims that were made. Um and they they seem to evidence and and back it up with some proof and things like that. So I'll leave that. Never be me.

SPEAKER_00

Can never cheer for Argentina.

SPEAKER_01

But Messi seems like the most humble.

SPEAKER_00

I think it's like the bubble that surrounds him isn't actually him. Yeah, like as a person and a personality. Of course, everybody got a little dog in them when that whistle blows, but I don't know. He's cool, my boy. I would love to meet Messi and get a signed jersey. Don't, don't, don't get me wrong about that. Um, switching topics

The Rise Of Culture Betting

SPEAKER_00

here. Yes, sir. Speaking of culture and sports, I don't know about you, but every single time I open up my phone and my algorithm or the commercials, it's all about sports betting. Like there is so much of it. But then there's been this shift where it's no longer sports betting, now it's culture betting.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. I'm 43 years old. You gotta explain. Okay, okay. We gotta bring it down.

SPEAKER_00

Explain that to me. So culture betting is like you can now wage bets on anything. Yeah. Anything. It doesn't have to be just sports. Is that like the couchy thing? Couchy. Okay, polymarket. Yeah, all these things. So it's like, you know, um, I'm trying to think of one like will we are not sponsored, but if you not sponsored, not sponsored at all. Um, but let let's say uh there's a farmer that's a really popular oh no, how about this? Tyson chicken. No. I'll try to make it easier. Uh uh two chocolate brands. So let's say Hershey Chocolate and what's another chocolate brand?

SPEAKER_02

Nestle.

SPEAKER_00

Nestle. Okay. Who's gonna put out their next product first?

SPEAKER_01

What?

SPEAKER_00

Yes, it's micro betting on culture. Um, will the Gatorade be blue or yellow? You know, when they when they celebrate culture. Will uh the president start a war with this country or this country first?

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_00

Culture. Um, will the Emmy go to this person or this person? Like now it's just we're betting on anything at any moment, any time. And even you, as the user can go up there and create a this or that bet.

SPEAKER_01

And we're actually real money, or is this like a game tokens or real money?

SPEAKER_00

Money. Wow. So this is why you see so many Calci commercials, yeah, with you know, uh, one of my favorite actors of all time sitting in there. Um, and this is why you see so many polymarket commercials with all these celebrities and stuff because they're they're funneling people. This this is this is this is how they do it. And I think it's a little deceptive. They're like, you make decisions in life anyway. Yeah, put your money where your mouth is.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know what kind of amount of money I need to have to be okay losing some of it over the color of Gatorade. That's just like and I'm not there yet. Like, I don't I don't know what that level is. I don't know what kind of safety or security I and my family would need to have for me to be okay with doing that. But I I could not go home and with a straight face say I lost the Gatorade was perfect. Oh whatever that is. Like I and and again, I I may I grew up in in a really strong uh Christian, which I'm thankful for, Christian tradition. And so betting was always off limits. I've never bet on anything in my life and real money. Um my brother-in-law's got me to play poker a few times over some like quarters, but that's even then I felt like I was betraying my grandfather. Uh no, but I've so I've never bet on anything.

SPEAKER_00

So I don't, you know for me, for me, I see it as such a push because I'll I'll I'm really big into social media stuff, as you guys know. So I'll get on my wife's uh in uh algorithm on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, everything like that, and I'll scroll through and I'll notice she doesn't get the same ads as I do just because she's a woman. While every man that I have ever come in contact with scroll into his algorithm, he hits a betting one.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Some kind of uh uh gambling or gambling is another trigger word, it's betting or decision market is what they're calling it now, um, just to give us some different shades. But every male that I see, there is like this, I'm gonna say it, agenda to get us to spend money on our decisions, put our money where

Stewardship, Budgeting, And Self-Control

SPEAKER_00

our mouth is, and do that. But the question then becomes pastor, can we not have fun?

SPEAKER_01

First of all, let's let's put this in two different categories for my like okay, I'm I'm all for having fun, but I want to hear your opinion on betting. Okay. What is your what is your thought on betting and gambling? Is that something you engage with or something you feel? What are your feelings on it? Is is obviously again your your generation is different, things you're exposed to is much more accepted now than it was before.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. Uh Isaiah does not have any sports betting or Calci or Polymarket on his phone. Never had an account, never did any of that stuff. Because I'm poor. All right. I don't got money to be throwing around like that. But the promise of $10, $5, all you need is a dollar. All you need is $5, and you can get $20. Yeah. And then they they trick you with like the um the potential of the amount that you can win. Or these apps, as a first-time person getting in, we'll just give you $200 of house money to bet on. But when I look at the actual longevity and trajectory, I just don't, it's not an investment to me.

SPEAKER_02

Come on.

SPEAKER_00

It's throw away fun money.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I cannot participate right now because I got a wedding to pay for. And I got these other things to pay for. And also, too, Isaiah, let's say Isaiah in 2016, when all this stuff was kind of bubbling, and I think a year ago or two years ago, North Carolina got the contract to be able to do sports betting like that, and all this kind of stuff. Isaiah didn't budget. If you don't, this strong statement, if you don't budget, but you're betting. I don't think I don't think we're gonna get the results that we're thinking we're gonna get. You can't manage your money. This is where like stewardship comes in comes into play as like, how are you are you stewarding your money enough where you can you know toss $150 a week on all this kind of stuff? But the people that I know personally that are doing this, they also have a little money issues. Yeah, and they're using the betting and the sporting and stuff to try, and oh, and then they'll pair it with like AI. Like they'll use AI and all the stats and statistics or the news and all this kind of stuff to try to figure out yo, how can I how can I gimmick the world and play the game to get an extra twelve hundred dollars out of this? You know what I mean? And there's so much I mean my control, yeah, that I think is very tempting to get into this kind of world to then pull out a benefit for myself. Yeah, and I think it's a slippery road. Yes, sir, that that that can be a little now. If you are mature enough to do it, go for it. You know what I mean? Like, if you can drink a little alcohol, cool, that's good for you. Don't get drunk. If you can bet a little bit and not have to come to the pastor's office and be like, well, we need some rent now. Can the church help? Like, okay, cool. If that if that's good for you to do, you can do that. You know, I've I've had little small one dollar or less bets with my friends sometimes when we're uh playing a game. First of all, I don't like to bet on things that are out of my control. Yeah, I like to bet on things that I can control. Yeah, so like if we're playing chess or checkers, I could put a little one dollar bet on myself because I'm doing it. But to bet on somebody else's ability to give me my benefit, I'm a little apprehensive.

SPEAKER_01

The reason they advertise it to men is because of the men's personalities and because of how addictive this stuff can be. Yeah. Um, and I think that's purposeful. You're exactly right. I agree with you. Like, there's a um the feeling of you know, it's fun. That's why I wanted to break it. Up from that category because I'm all for Christians having fun and joy in life, that is priority. Um, but uh like this doesn't seem like we used to have the saying when it comes to like uh casinos and things, the house always wins. Of course. The the only reason these companies are able to put all these commercials uh online anyway is because they're making them a lot of money. Yeah, and so they don't have the they don't have the mindset, oh, let me do something good for civilization.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Their mindset is how much money can I make? Yeah, and you can make money on it, they can make money on it. Um, so that's that's why they want to engage and invite um to be a part of it because they're gonna they're they're we're consuming a pro a uh a product and they're making profit, and that's their whole purpose. And they're always, you know, there could be one or two, you might have a story, and they came out really, you know, on top. They came out and they made some off of it, but you've also probably got another 200 stories that are like their whole family fell apart because they yeah got addicted to it and associated with it. So, you know, it's in moderation. I like the way you said that, compared it to drinking, that's good. It's you know, not a weak conscience to the point where you know, not gonna say you can't do it, but there's just a lot of wisdom that's that's needed and required, maturity that's required around that.

SPEAKER_00

Self-control. Yeah, all that's like even even just spending money in general. See, I'm about to go on a different tangent. Spending money in general at 30 years old, you know, starting a family, me and wifey talking about kids in the future and all this kind of stuff. And I'm looking at the the the content of my life and the content of my family's life, and I'm looking at this and I'm like, there are so many other places where I'm dropping micro payments to things that don't actually matter. For example, I download a game on my phone, and it's like, I don't have games on my phone. Well, I'm playing this game right now on my phone, it's pretty fun, pretty mindless. It's a nice little brain break. And then it says, Want a break from the ads? Yeah, and it's like two dollars, okay, cool. Or you want this power up or this gem? And I'm like, I have been stuck on this level for like three days, you know what I mean? Maybe I can put it in a little bit here. Or Netflix is like, hey, we're we're now upgrading our subscription, so now you can play games on your TV now. You can listen to these podcasts, and it's like, okay, I might spend a little bit here, or you know, you're out with your friends and they're like, Man, I bet you $20, you can't run there and back in X amount of time. And it's like, okay, cool, bet. And it's like all these little micro things, like these little foxes that spoiled the vineyard of my bank account.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I'm like, I'm becoming more conscious on how my money is spent. And for me personally, right now, betting just doesn't fit in that category for me because I be looking up real estate videos on YouTube, and I can't bet and want this five-bedroom house on a hundred acres. Come on, it don't work. And a lot of things too. I think men, my my question to men, matter of fact, I'll make it me. My question to me is are you betting or building? Great. There's a there's a difference here. Am I just placing bets and trying to get lucky and trying to get money quick and trying to put it out there, or am I actually doing the work of the builder to build a better life for myself? So good.

SPEAKER_01

Broader, broader concept. I would think, not knowing the science behind it, but I would think the same dopamine that someone gets off of like social media or feeding themselves through that, it's probably the same thrill that someone gets from betting and and the the desire for excitement. So of course, I agree with you on priorities and values, steward in anything, but especially in money, there has to be a um a list of the this is what's important, this is what's next important, and this is how it flows. And depending on seasons of life, how that fits in. But then secondly, I think it it comes down to if that is your excitement in life, there probably are some things that are lacking. You know, there's purpose that's lacking probably. There's, you know, uh things that God has called you to, things that that you should be prioritizing that is not there. This does seem like a very carnal attempt to add a thrill of excitement and enjoyment, uh, rather than finding that in places that are that are much more consistent. You know, of course, I mentioned, you know, calling, walking with the Lord, those things, and then, you know, the family, jobs, things that you feel purpose in that you don't. I've had to check myself a few times. And this is in a broader, even around sports, I think for me, there's been times where I feel my whole mood change when there's a good game that's coming on tonight. And and like I know it's a small thing, and I and the Holy Spirit deals with me, but like that I don't want too much of my emotional life to be based in a thrill of man, the Golden State Warriors are playing tonight. Or you know, and and I love all of that stuff. Like, I really, really enjoy it, but I don't want my my life to be up and down where I need, and and I think mainly I I know me well enough to know that I think if my life is built on thrills, I'm never gonna be satisfied. Like it's I'm gonna get it, I'm gonna enjoy it, and then I'm gonna I'm gonna not be grateful for it or waste it away. And I just think life is supposed to be lived at a much more uh enjoyable pace, consistent pace of like I get to wake up today, God's good. I got my white.

SPEAKER_00

But Pastor, Pastor, I hear you. That sounds good, and that sounds great and all. But I deserve, I worked all week. I deserve a little sweet treat. I've worked all week. The game is something I have looking forward to. That's where I pull from. That's where I that's where I get my joy from. Why, why can't I do a little sports, but it's my paycheck? I should be ten dollars. You should.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and you can. I didn't want to deal with the one that you just mentioned too about food, but that's another one for me, too. A sweet treat. Sweet treatment, man. Good gracious. If I know I got like last night, I had a key lime pie in the in the in the refrigerator. I knew and my whole excitement for when the kids went down the bed before I get to get this key lime pie. Um, no, it's I I everything within moderation. Life is meant to be enjoyed. So I'm not I'm not taking away from any of that. Like there are things that God has in our life for us to enjoy, enjoy them. We we preached a few weeks ago about God's instruction to, you know, around joy, he said around to Nehemiah. He said, eat and share and eat the good food. There should be a festivity, I think, around our lives as believers, because we have a reason to be glad, a reason to be happy, a reason to be joy-filled. Um, and but I would encourage, especially for men, not to have a thrill-seeking mentality. And that's kind of what I feel sometimes with with me, like I I can fall into chasing a thrill. Yeah, and and the Holy Spirit just pulls me back. Hey, yeah, you you read a scripture this morning, you could be really excited about the fact that all things are working together for your good, too.

SPEAKER_00

I I I real moment, real moment right here.

Cheap Thrills Versus Real Contentment

SPEAKER_00

This week I've had I've two of the days this week was really emotionally rough for me. I was like, wife was sleep, I'm sitting up in my bed, like just sitting there. Like it was mentally rough for me, and it revolved around contentment. Am I content with what I have currently right now? There's a running joke right now of like, you know, after the World Cup is over, what are we supposed to do?

SPEAKER_03

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00

Like I'm my day has been filled with two to three hours of soccer every day. It's something I look forward to. My conversations are around this, but when it leaves, what what do I do now? I got I like I like my little sweet treat of going to get my lifesaver collision gummies. But when that bag is is I look forward to doing it and I get it, and I sit in my car before I walk in the house, eat the whole bag. First of all, because I can't let my wife see me eating this bag. This is the third one this week.

SPEAKER_01

She heard you like geez, she's gonna watch this.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And then when the bag is done, yeah, my contentment is also finished. Yeah, like it doesn't, it doesn't last, it doesn't go the distance. So this week, sitting in my bed, I'm like thinking about everything, all the dreams, all the goals, all the things I said I wanted to do before I hit 30. And I was like, it was just so emotionally draining to think about everything at once. And I felt myself getting irritable. And then I had played pickleball with my friends earlier that day, and I just walked away and didn't even say bye to anybody. It was just, it was, it was terrible. It was like every little thing was annoying me. And that's like I feel a little inadequate, I feel a little this, a little that, and I find myself filling it with thrills, cheap thrills, or filling it with something else because Isaiah is not as content as he should be. Yeah, that's a struggle for me.

SPEAKER_01

As I I mean, the reason I shared mine is because I think that's a that's a struggle for most men. I overgeneralize it a little bit. I think that's a struggle for most men and humans in general. Like, and I think that's a temptation that the enemy uh throws, is that you need this little extra. And you know, and then it could I and you mentioned the word the fruit of the spirit, self-control. Yeah, and and I I think that's such a a gift that walking in the spirit provides for us is that we can enjoy things and those things never have control of us, never have dominion over us. And so again, uh a sweet treat, uh, a thrill of an excitement, being able to enjoy those things, but not having to be dependent upon those things. Yeah, I think we've talked about it before too, like why I think fasting is so important. Like it's is it required to be saved? No, but to live a life of self-control, like telling your flesh you're not in charge. Um, and I think there are moments that that that's so necessary. It's just just tell your appetites and desires. No, I I tell you what to want, when I and and put that in a restriction, in a boundary. Um, and I'm not saying I've I've I felt at that a million times, I have felt it a million times, but I think that's the that's the power of the Holy Spirit. The the beauty of walking in the Spirit is that He gives us control uh to be able to say, hey, you know, a little bit of that might be good, but that's starting to be the thing that your mind thinks about as soon as you wake up in the morning. Yeah, that's the first thing that pops in your mind when you wake up in the morning. That's the that's the thing. Well, you smiling about that and you weren't smiling when you saw your wife. Like these are the things that that the Holy Spirit deals with me about. It's like irritable is is one of the things that I I deal with too. Um kind of the moodiness of of you know, just uh the mundane. Yeah, but I I gratitude is is I oh I beat this drum so much. Gratitude is is the number one weapon in my spiritual life that brings about contentment. And I just think there's um the enemy he it's like it the enemy just feeds off of the discontentment. Wherever there is discontentment, you're gonna see him coming in. Kind of like in Genesis where the Bible says that sin was uh crouching at the door. And wherever there's discontentment, you you know the enemy is just sitting back there. Now, how can I he's frustrated at this part of life or he's frustrated at this, but how can I provide a thrill that takes his attention off that, yeah, but I get him entrapped in this right here. And so the thing that keeps us from sin, having that uh authority to to come in a door that he's not invited is contentment fills up the room and he's not allowed and welcomed in at that point.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, we're in a we're in a sermon series a little bit right now around joy, and um, that's really convicted and challenged me a little bit as far as my contentment and my gratitude and looking for cheap thrills and all this

Joseph, Joy In Trials, And Purpose

SPEAKER_00

kind of stuff. And in my personal Bible study time, I've been looking and studying the life of Joseph.

SPEAKER_03

Come on.

SPEAKER_00

You want to talk about somebody that had to operate in some contentment, had to operate in some stewardship in every up and down. Like I feel like for me, the lie was you should enjoy everything you're doing all the time. And if you're not enjoying everything you're doing all the time, you shouldn't be there. It's time to, it's time to jump ship. Yeah, it's time to move on. I love this person, I like this person, they're giving me everything, but the moment they they they take my joy away and they're not the thing I need anymore, it's time to jump ship onto the next girl, onto next friend group, onto the next church, onto the next whatever. And it's like that long suffering to stay in a season that you don't feel like being in, but still operate in joy and gratitude, is something that I don't do very well. So when studying Joseph, Joseph had dreams and his family rejected him. Then he gets to the pit, then he goes to the palace, and then he has to remember the word of the Lord to not fall into lust, defeated every day, then he gets thrown in prison. But everywhere he went, the part that stands out to me is God says people were blessed because he was there. So good. But Joseph was there in a pit, but he still kept his stewardship. Joseph was there in a prison and he still kept his stewardship. He was even gamefully employed. Yeah, but he was a prisoner of the state. Like you're you're captured, you are in slavery, you're doing a great job. But the Pharaoh's house was blessed because Joseph was there. Um, even when he when he got thrown to prison and he had dreams, the Bible talks about how the guard in the prison was doing better because Joseph kept his stewardship, kept his joy, kept his contentment, and everyone benefited from where he was there. Then he gets out of prison and has to go save his brothers that sold him off there. They benefited from his contentment, his joy the whole time. And I'm looking at Joseph's life, and I was like, could never be me. Could never the moment, let's go all the way back to his daddy. When his daddy would told me, and my daddy were telling me, Hey, bro, you're dreaming too big, but you need to sit down somewhere right off, writing off the whole family. I y'all don't need y'all, I don't need nothing from y'all. I'll dolo by myself, and then God is showing me like, do you see the level of contentment and joy and and gratitude and satisfaction Joseph had to keep and his life, he elevated in every single area of his life while still being what I would deem a failure. You failed. You got you got enslaved, you failed. You're in a pit, you failed. You you got you got caught up in allegations and all this stuff because the wife wanted you, you failed. You you befriended people in prison, they left and never went back for you. You failed. And then it's like, what is the standard that I deem as failure?

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Anyway, I was a little rant right there.

SPEAKER_01

So good, man. And I my mind went too as you were talking, like, and I just wanted to make sure I quoted it right. But uh, a way of studying scripture, uh it was in the 1600s, this one was written, but it's called like like catechisms, like um, so an idea, like a short thought, a short question. And so uh in the Westminster shorter catechism in 1647, the uh these leader, these bishops came to this conclusion that man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. To glore man's chief end or the greatest purpose that humanity could ever live is to glorify God, which all of us, if you're a Christian, like, yeah, yeah, of course. But the enjoy him forever part, I think that's a part that the large majority of Christians do not have a reality in. We can quote all the scriptures from Philippians, uh writing it from a jail cell. We can quote the sermons, but the enjoy him forever. We're we're yeah, yeah, I want to bring God glory, I want to bring God glory, but the way that we bring God glory is to enjoy him, yeah. Not what he does, not what he gives, not what the beauty of or the perfection of our circumstances. Speaking of Joseph, is the fact that that we have a relationship with God, that God loves us, and that is the reward. That is the that's the highest pinnacle. We sing the song What a God. That's the highest pinnacle of life is to hear one word, to know that we're loved by him. And if we were to do and be anything else, then it would be a step down. If if if he loves me, there's nothing else in life that can meet that need. Yeah, everything else is added on, but it's not the core part of who I am. And I say that not from a place of achieving that. Like I'm still like that, I keep that in the front of my mind a lot, even this sermon series is to actually enjoy for Joseph. No, but I I know what God said. Yeah. When your parents, your family said, no, no, no, no, but I know what God said. Yeah, and that was enough for uh the writer of Hebrews. Uh I I'll just make a point. I don't I don't think this will come out in a sermon, but I would make a point. As much as I've studied joy over the last month or so, there are very few times in the New Testament that you find an encouragement for joy that is not surrounded by the context of trials. It is always tribulation, suffering, trial. And you know, the the one that was coming to my mind is the book of Hebrews. It said, for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, speaking of Jesus. And there was joy set before him, but there was suffering. Count it all joy, James writes. Uh, when you fall into diverse temptations, the the trying of your faith, working patience. Yeah, that every time you see joy and instruction for joy, yeah, it is always surrounded by unfavorable circumstances. And I think that's the beauty of what the Holy Spirit offers us is that He offers us a gladness of heart in the middle of whatever we're facing. And and and I and I I know there's been a debate about happiness and joy, and I get that. I agree that that joy is not circumstantial, but I really feel like that there is a happiness. The first words that Jesus says, the Sermon on the Mount, the first words. So the Old Testament closes with a cursing. Yeah, that that I'm gonna curse unless you, you know, the hearts of the fathers turn back to the children, hearts of the children turn back to the fathers. And the last words we hear are cursing. And the first words we hear from Matthew chapter five, a declaration of the words of Jesus is we uh translate it blessed, but it the Greek word would mean happy. Happy is the people, yeah, and it goes down that list of those who are poor in spirit, those who are mourning, those who are uh persecuted, those who are ridiculed. Blessed are those people they shall inherit the kingdom of God, they shall be sons of God. Yeah, the people that are overlooked, that people uh God comes to bring happiness to because it was never about our circumstances that temporarily satisfy anyway, that he comes to supply something that's greater. And I think in a practical sense, like that's something that that uh I want to keep in front of my mind a lot, is is the fact that this situation might not be going right? Okay, all right, I didn't I didn't get this right, this person rejected this situation, didn't go well. Am I saved? Does God still love me? And I want those to be the number one things in my life and everything else to be added to. Does God still say that all things are working together for my good? Yes, that's what he says. Is he and if if everything were to fall apart, what's the worst thing that could happen is I die? Has God created a plan for my death? Yes, he does. Okay, I got a reason to be glad and happy today.

SPEAKER_00

Man, that's that takes a lot of mental shifts. That takes a lot of like course correcting. I really, when he says count it all joy, you really have to pick it up off this side of the scale and purposely, intentionally place it over here. And I'm not good at that transfer. I'm not because the the thrill, the my thing is the shelf life of the things that I say is joyful will let me know whether it comes from God or the devil.

SPEAKER_02

Oh come on, man.

SPEAKER_00

Because there's a there's a short shelf life to certain things that I find enjoyable, that I find fun. Going going out is fun, but it's a temporary two-hour moment of a spike of a dopamine. Sometimes scrolling on my phone is fun. The little game that I downloaded on my phone, it's fun. But in the midnight hour, that game did not keep me in any sort of way that joy would have. The shelf life of the things of God are long-lasting and forever. And I find that it is much easier to take the fruit off the tree than it is to dwell under the shadow of the tree of life.

SPEAKER_02

Come on, man.

SPEAKER_00

And that I am, I am constantly trying to shift my focus of like it's almost like I the work doesn't bring me the value that I think I would get. So it's like the work that it takes to pick up my joy from this side and place it over here seems less daunting than me just going for my cheap thrill.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00

And it feels like that's more satisfying. And then I'll I'm if you want me to read my Bible, I'm gonna have to take time out of my day to go do that. Yes, sir. You want me to worship? I have to change my playlist. You know, you want me to go, you want me to go hang out with people who are actually light bearers. Well, then I have to give a schedule, which means I have to figure out where I have to go to work and all this kind of thing. It doesn't seem like it is, but there I can tell you right now, there have been times where me and my wife had had people over for dinner. Yeah, and it shifts shifts the entire mood of the marriage.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00

It shifts like there's been times where it's like, you know what, today I'm actually gonna get up, study, and hit the gym. And it sets up my month.

SPEAKER_02

Come on, man.

SPEAKER_00

The shelf life of that, of that working joy, that staying, like Adam wasn't just in the garden, just willy nilly talking to animals. He was working the whole time while maintaining his joy in the presence of the Lord. Then when he left the garden, he had to then put himself back in the presence and go back and till the field. Put him back in the presence and go and have his children that off the other one. And put him back. It was a constant, what am I doing to maintain my joy? And that transfer is hard for me.

SPEAKER_01

That's so good. Ecclesiastes, which is one of the driest, not dry, but uh saddest books in the whole Bible because it is maybe the wealthiest man in all of human history. Yeah, Solomon is asking, What is this all about? He's got money in it, he's got all the money you could ever want. He's got he's got wives and concubines and all the things. He had everything that you could ever desire and want. His conclusion in the book of Ecclesiastes is this is all vanity. This is it, it means nothing. And I Jim Carrey makes a statement, I quote it a lot. He said it at a speech. He said, I wish I could give everybody, I wish I could make everybody in this room wealthy so that you would know how unsatisfying being wealthy is. And for but for for all of us who are not wealthy, you know, try me. Try please, please give me that challenge. But but I it requires people like Solomon and people like Jim Carrey, yeah, to get to the end or the highest, the pinnacle of life, of wealth, of celebrity, to get to the end of it and say, I put my ladder against a building and I climbed to the top of it. Yeah, and there's nothing up here, but but there's nothing up here but vanity. Yeah. And I think that's why Solomon concludes, and that's why it's a righteous book, because that is the end of. There's nothing wrong with having fun and enjoying life and eating good food and enjoying friends and having playing games. And there's nothing wrong with those things. There's nothing evil and carnal about the uh you know, uh evil or demonic about those things at all. The only problem that arises is when those things become the full source of joy, and that's what Solomon says. Like I could have Solomon said, I could have all of this stuff. Yeah, and as long as this stuff doesn't have me, then I can be joyful with or without this, and it can be an additive and it can be in the right place in my life. But whenever it becomes the rock that I have to stand on, it's sinking sand and it's gonna let me down. Um, and same, and as I going back to fashion or going back to moments of setting our phone aside, telling our body, hey, uh, we're we're not gonna play this today. Yeah, we're gonna, we're gonna focus on this today. Yeah, what what is that reminding us? And I I and Solomon's, I think one of his purposes too for writing the book of Ecclesiastes was listen, these things are all temporal. So the the practic in practical reality, the reminders that a Christian has to make to place emphasis on things that are eternal and consider them more valuable than things that are temporary. Set your affection on things above, Paul says. Yeah. And your your when you pro because if you don't intentionally prioritize the eternal, the temporary will get your attention and it'll be it'll be your God. It'll be the thing that you focus on, that you concentrate on. It's all about it's all about how much money I can have, it's all about the next thrill, it's all about the next thing. But when your mind is on eternity, I can't take any of this stuff with me anyway.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

What am I doing to add value to someone else's life? What am I doing to draw closer to the one that that has saved me? Those things are eternal, where he, you know, Paul said, where he sits. Um, I set my affection on things above. And so that the focus of I can think around things, put my attention priority on things that are eternal, and then all these other things, they'll be added to me. Yes. I'll get to enjoy certain foods that I never thought I would be able to enjoy, and people that I never thought I'd be able to enjoy, blessings that I never thought, but they would never become, they'll be an additive rather than God.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. It's tough. I was talking to a friend of mine, and we've kind of gotten to a little bit of an argument, and he was like, Are you even living your dream? Like, I remember when we were younger, you said you was gonna do this, that, and the third, and you don't seem to be there right now. It's like we were having a legitimate argument. And in that moment it hurt a little bit because I was like, Man, he's right. I said I was gonna do these things and it didn't pan out that way. And I really started thinking about it, and I was like, but I'm content, bro. You really did say I was gonna be up in LA and New York and I was gonna be doing all these things, and my life didn't pan out that way. But I have somebody who loves me and my wife. I have an apartment, I have a car that's paid off and done. Like, like I there's blessings that I didn't account for when I was dreaming. Yes, this is why Psalms 34, 7 has been standing out this meet to this week to me so heavy. Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. The desires that I made up for myself were cheap thrills, they were based on everything else that I was seeing around me, and none of it came from God. Then the moment I started delighting in the Lord, and then he actually gave me the desire that I actually did want in life, whole life changed. I thought I wanted wealth, no, I wanted security.

SPEAKER_02

Talk, man.

SPEAKER_00

I thought I wanted I thought I wanted attention. No, I actually wanted love. Yeah, I thought I wanted to be a great business person and go out here and do all this. No, I just wanted purpose.

SPEAKER_02

Come on.

SPEAKER_00

And so he actually gave me the real desire of my heart. And I'm able to look back at my friend and be like, no, I am living his dream. I'm living his dream. Thank God I did not live the dream that I thought I was gonna have. I would have gained the entire cheap thrill, the entire world, and would have been losing my mind and losing my soul in my bedroom alone. What kept me, what kept me last night when I was sitting up in my bed, swirling with all types of emotions was nothing that I ever dreamed.

SPEAKER_02

Come on, man.

SPEAKER_00

It was the purpose of God.

SPEAKER_02

Come on, man.

SPEAKER_00

That's what kept me. That's what that's what held me together. And at 30 years old, I feel like I should be doing all these things, I should be going these places, and I'm now I'm looking back and being like, you know what, God? I'm going to have to trust your plan in your life for me. I'm go if he is truly, truly, this is another thing I often think about. If he's truly God and I truly believe that there is a Yahweh being there, and then he gave me a book and he said, I inspired this book, I wrote this book. Remember, there is a God deity being. If that is 100% true, and he 100% wrote a book, then when he says the only place you will find strength is in my joy, then he has to be correct.

SPEAKER_01

And the only place that you'll find joy is at his right hand, it's in his presence. Yes. Bro, that was as that was as powerful. You clip that, and we need to repeat that every podcast. Like that needs to be the introduction and the closing for every podcast. Praise God.

SPEAKER_00

It's a real thing. Like this week, I don't know what it's been about this week, but it has stood out so much for me. And I'll be in that media booth listening to the sermon, and I'm like, this man's all in my pocket. It's like God really does have one voice and he's speaking. I'm looking at my friends and looking at the men in my life, and I'm like, you have no joy. Yeah, you only have your dreams. And that was never meant to keep you. Yes, sir. The the for me, the the fruit that I bit off the tree of knowledge and good and evil was shaped in a dream. Like that, that's what it was. If I dream it, I can achieve it.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00

If I'm young and I hustle, I'll get there. And that led to vanity, as Solomon said. It didn't lead me anywhere. And then when I took a step back and said, you know what, God, give me the life that you want from me. Come on. I thought I wanted acreages and land and all this kind of stuff. No, I actually I just wanted to be generous. Yeah. And I can only be generous if I get it from your hand. I can keep going on this.

SPEAKER_01

This is so good, man. I and to be 30 and to figure that out. Because I was thinking of Joseph as you were talking too. Like the the the novice part of Joseph when he first received the dream, it was just like, I'm I'm share, I'm telling everybody, I'm sharing everything. And I don't condemn him for that because you're God spoke to you. You had a dream, yeah. You you're gonna share it, somebody. Yeah, but I think his, I think the pride of his youth was like, Y'all gonna serve me, y'all gonna serve me. One day, y'all gonna bow down, y'all gonna bow. And I think that's what he saw in his mind. Like, y'all gonna serve me. But then at the end of his life, he tells the people that he in youth told them, You're gonna be serving me. He said, You meant it for my bad, but God meant it for my good. Yeah, come on, eat from a table. Yeah, and his heart then was not to have them bow down, he was God was using him to serve them, but his heart was, I don't want to do this without you. Come on. And I think his mentality different. And you can't you can't do that overnight. Nobody can lay hands on you and anoint you with contentment, yeah, or impart to you contentment. Yes, you process it and you go through it and you bear the fruit of patience, you bear the fruit of of peace and joy. Um, and I I'm in that same stage, man. There's there's so many things that that I see people in my world that I I'm so happy for them. Like, I man, I enjoy, I'm so happy. Yeah, and I had that same dream about 15 years ago. And I look around my house and I was like, I wouldn't not you could give me that a thousand times and I wouldn't trade it for what I have, and I never saw what I what I'm living in.

SPEAKER_00

There was a deeper value that I did not account for in my 20s. Yeah, I thought that I thought that the deeper value would come from achievements. Come on, man. It doesn't come from achievements. Yeah, there's so much like there is I I won't get into my next rant, but like when it comes to chasing achievements and chasing goals, it's void of relationships. Wow.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You know what I mean? Like get getting a certain amount of money or a certain amount of business, or your clientele isn't a relationship that you're having with people, they're just clients. And so there's something void there. Literally, the start of this podcast was the start of my hard work of really getting involved and building relationships with people, building community with people, finding real joy and not just happiness and short things. And there is so much more contentment. Yeah, there's so much more love. It's love, joy, peace. My peace is established because of the joy that I have in the Father.

SPEAKER_02

Come on, man.

SPEAKER_00

That's what brought me my peace. Yes, sir. Let me stop talking about that. So you preaching, man.

SPEAKER_01

Now that's power, and that's the reality of what Christ has uh promised us. And you will not find, we cannot find it in anything else. Yeah, we won't find it in

Godly Ambition And A Quiet Life

SPEAKER_01

anything else. And I these these are things that I think um, because I there's a there's a part, I think God has made us ambitious, He's made us, you know, dreamers, visionaries, you all those things. Those are gifts from God. Um, but when those things are are out of whack and you demonize the things that are actually the most valuable parts of life, and that's why I I know there's a lot of conversation, you know, even in the Christian world about you know destiny and things of that nature. Um, but Paul speaks things like that. I don't I don't know you can preach this in every church, but he said, desire to live a quiet life.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And that sounds like somebody who is giving up on life. That sounds like failure. It sounds like somebody's like, What do you mean live a quiet life? I come to change the world. That was my mantra in my 20s. Like, we're gonna change the world. Yeah, and I I don't think it wasn't, and I don't say that bad. Like, I but now I just like I want to live a quiet life. I want to, I want to be a light wherever God uh allows me to shine, and I wanna, if God gives me an opportunity to speak, I I I want to raise my family well. I want to, I want to, I want to my kids to know who Jesus is. Yeah, I I want those are the things that if I could do, what is changing the world? Like what is what is that changing? What does that look like? What kind of pride was that in somebody and and again, I'm not saying God can't do amazing things, and he can, he will. But my desires now are, and I want, I want, I want, I run out of this place. I you I was married to ministry, I was married to travel, I was married to, and I run out of this place to go home and pick my kids up. Yeah, like I and that's you know, to to see my wife, and that's um it you can call that to the to the world a failure, but um there's there's good sleep that happens. I'm failing then. I'm failing that's failure, I'm failing every day.

SPEAKER_00

I think there's a difference, like to your point, there's a difference between ambition and godly ambition. Come on, they're two different paths, they go in opposite directions. Like, I don't know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Let me break that down for just and you tell me where too, because I think the only authority that we have as believers is in the assignment that God has given us. Yes. So, what has God called you to do and not just allow a dream that is fueled by pride to say this is what would be impressive to somebody, and then I'm gonna put God's name over top of it and say, God told me this when it was actually just a desire that that maybe we had because we wanted to be impressive to people. Yeah. But we have when God gives us an assignment, when God gives us this is where I want you to be, where I want you to plant, where I want you to give your life to, where I want you to pour for for the church, like like this is not fruit for me. This is my assignment. This is the place where God says, I want you to give your life to these people, and I want them to know you, and I want you to know them, and I want you to feed them as as well. And and I think when we don't have any authority outside of where we're assigned, and if God has assigned us somewhere, then the only thing that qualifies us for our next anyway is to be faithful over our present. And so if we're faithful where we are and God decides to open up a door, praise God for it, we'll be faithful in that door, and that door will not be will not be the thing that you know makes us or breaks us. It'll just be another door God opens and we'll attempt to be faithful over that.

SPEAKER_00

Amen to all of that, amen to all of that contentment, man. Um I'm the other day I had to literally on the way to get the candy I wasn't supposed to get, I came across an Instagram reel, and she was like, I'm 33 years old and my retirement is fully funded.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I was like, Ooh, yeah, I don't have that.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And I started comparing myself. Like, well, I I think I started putting away stuff, and this wedding is kind of uh and I was finding myself spiral out of contentment. Then she's like, and I have a course where you can do that. I was like, man, maybe I need that course. Maybe I maybe there's something that she knows that I don't, and I need to get her knowledge in order to fix my life. And then it was like, Isaiah, if you want wisdom, knowledge, and understanding for your life, the Bible says the Lord gives wisdom and from his mouth can knowledge and understanding. Yes, sir. And if you truly believe there's a God who truly inspired a book, then the only place it is a it is limited.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

My life is purposefully limited. My contentment only comes from one place. My joy is restricted. The only place that I can get wisdom, knowledge, and understanding is from him. It is a limited life. And then you look at you look at the serpent in Eve, Eve thought it was a prison to be limited. But he says, I own the cattle 1,000 years, uh-huh or thousand hills. I'm the one that's eternal. It's limited based on his eternity. His infinity is what's limited. So if I had to live a life that is that is that is small, that is supposedly meaningless, in order to be content to live that quiet life, there is infinitely more possibilities living a limited life than a broad road that leads to everything, and at the end it goes to destruction.

SPEAKER_01

And we use words like sacrifice and you know uh surrender, all those things. Those are biblical words, those are good words. But at the end of our life, a life lived like that will not sound like I sacrificed. What do you mean? I I didn't sacrifice. I got the I found the most important thing.

SPEAKER_00

I did the thing, yes.

SPEAKER_01

I that was the most what do you what do you mean I sacrificed? You mean you mean I didn't spend my life chasing paper that I'm I'm not gonna be able to take with me into eternity? You mean I spent my life, I didn't spend my life chasing somebody's impression where if I say one bad thing, they're gonna they're gonna start hating me now and they love me yesterday. You mean I didn't spend my life doing that? You found the most important thing. And I think that's what it is restricted to his presence. And I think God is so confident in who he is, you are not, he says you're not gonna find joy anywhere else but me. Yeah, so I'm telling you that that tree over there is not gonna bring you joy, right? That that walk, that that desire that is not gonna bring you. I am actually the one that would bring you joy. Yeah, and that's not uh um that's not him prohibiting us from joy, it's actually telling us where real joy comes from, what it really means. And found you've you've you have the way you're talking today, like you have found the most important part of life and everything else it it pills in comparison. My prayer is that more 30-year-olds understand the power of what you're you're grasping and what you're understanding. Um, I wasn't that young when I grasped it, I don't even know if I still grasp it yet. But there's a there's a beauty in I I have a he is he is the reward, he is the portion. What do you mean I could have a relationship? I have a relationship with the God who created everything. Yeah, and he cares about what I have to say to him. Yeah, and he in fact waits for me to talk to him and is jealous when I don't talk to him. And I'm mad that somebody that's using six percent of their brain that don't even know what they like, yeah, didn't give me the time I date it.

SPEAKER_00

And they went to AI to get half the information anyway.

unknown

What?

SPEAKER_01

I like the he and he is the reward. Like he is, yeah, he's he's the he's our portion. Yeah, he is the part, he is, he's he's everything we're changing.

SPEAKER_00

And I've I've had to pray, could you continue to pray for me because I I've really had to pray, God, help me stay in this moment. Yeah, help me to stay here. Yeah, because it is so easy to wake up in the morning and be like, I got I have to go get blank. Yeah, and it's like staying contentment, staying connected to this infinite God that wants to have a relationship with me and being satisfied in his garden.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

That it I boy, it knocked me off my block every Sunday when I look at my finances and I'm like, ooh, yeah, it knocked me off my block when I gotta go tithe. And he says, I'll be the one to determine when your money goes. Trusting it, trusting where it goes. I gotta renovate a house soon, and I don't know where the money's gonna come from for that. And it's like, okay, God, I'm going to have to trust a God to get this part of my life there. And it's difficult sometimes when the Bible says you're tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine and the little floxes, they're in the vineyard. Yeah, they're there. Yeah, the little leaven is there. Yeah, and to not fall into it and to stay content and stay on my block, y'all pray for me.

SPEAKER_01

You're doing great, man. Proud of you, bro. This is uh you're you're adding uh you know bricks to the wall of what you're building. And the more you surrender and and continue to sacrifice to say, you know, this is what's most important in my life, continue. And when you do that, the things that will be added to your life is gonna be immeasurable. Like amen. And and all of the it happens so many times. The things that you used to chase after, when you stop chasing after, God said, Okay, you can have it now because now it I know that you won't it won't take control over your life. Yeah, the majority, uh, a lot of people, I see it all the time. People pray for certain things, and then once they get to certain things, they their relationship with God is is uh is affected. Um, and so my prayer is that that he remains our portion, my reward, uh your reward, uh, those that are listening and watching, that whatever he adds to us, it could be it for a season, it could be for a time, it could be for a moment, but we steward those, circling back to the way the conversation started. We steward those. We don't own those. There they belong to him.

SPEAKER_00

Amen. I hope I got a Lambeau in heaven. I hope I hope these sacrifices we make and boy, I need a I need a hundred acres on the heavenly plains. Sorry, that's not that just ruined everything

Final Encouragement And Listener Prompt

SPEAKER_00

I said up until this point. We are not apprehended. We need to go ahead and end the body. Thank y'all so much for listening. We'll see you guys next time. Oh, and right into the podcast, we want to hear from you. How has this message hit you? Bring us some other topics. We've had a great two episodes in the last um before this one of you guys writing in and telling us what's happening. So appreciate y'all, love y'all, and live a content life.