EP 45 The Sacrifice of a Servant

Back at it again at Bogg Springs with Jon Jacks! This week we are in 1 Peter Chapter 2 talking about the Living Stones. As a Child of the King we must sacrifice those things that are keeping us from serving Christ. Distractions can cause destruction, so the question is are you willing to sacrifice those things even if they make you happy?

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:10

Welcome to the Pick It Up Podcast, the podcast where we'll discuss what it means to pick up your cross and follow Christ. Living a life where Christ takes commitment, sacrifice, and ultimately being obedient to his word. Not only on Sundays, but every day. God's word says it, that settles it. So pray about it, practice it, and proclaim it. Let's get into it.

SPEAKER_08 0:37

Good morning for another week from the Bog Springs church camp. Good morning. What's up? Good morning. Good morning. How's everybody this morning? Have to have a roll call. John, last full day of church camp.

SPEAKER_06 0:54

Pretty strange. How's it feel? Dude, I was telling my wife last night. All right, so we do nine weeks of camp during the summer, you know? Nine weeks. We were wondering yet yesterday. But really it's ten because staffer get here early, but I I start like beginning of April. I'm wide open. But it's not a long time, but we we were sitting there and and we were both talking about how we we don't really know. We don't remember what it feels like tonight be doing camp. It's just a blur.

SPEAKER_08 1:23

Right.

SPEAKER_06 1:23

It's like I don't even know the feeling. Like it wasn't that long ago we went doing camp. But I don't even remember the feeling. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:30

Going through going through life without camp.

SPEAKER_06 1:32

Yeah, just having normal schedules and stuff. But no, it's it's kind of a bittersweet. It'll be nice, but it's sad. Well, it's been a Is it sad? It is, believe it or not. I didn't I thought I would be so just like oh but you know.

SPEAKER_08 1:49

Lord gets you through it. But uh yeah, it's been a good past two weeks. We are at kids camp this week, or this half week, kids camp's two sessions, but uh we're at kids camp this week and kids have had a blast. A lot of decisions have been made thus far. Praying for some more. Yep. But uh we got a we got a table full, we got a crew full like we did last week. And uh we're just gonna kind of get into the word. I know I thought about laying in bed last night, laying in the bunk last night, knowing what preacher was preaching on Sunday. Uh, but last week we kind of talked about the heart of a servant. And we kind of talked about this topic, but we kind of just went all the way around. But anyway, that is the sacrifice of a servant. And and what it means to sacrifice, you know, what you're going through. I know this week at Kids Camp, the main theme is dream team. And it's talking about mostly the disciples, you know, and what the disciples had to sacrifice, what they had to leave, what they had to, um, the pill they had to swallow to, you know, ultimately follow Jesus and obediently follow him. Um but I know, preacher, you're talking about 1 Peter chapter 3, chapter 2, verses uh 4, 5, and 6, right? That is correct.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Talking about the living stones. Yep, lively. This King James said lively stones. I can't hear myself. Y'all hear me? I hear you, old buddy. I hear you. Good to do. You can't hear him.

SPEAKER_06 3:19

Turn him up. It'd be good if you put it on your ears. Yeah. Well then I can't hear nothing. Why can't you hear nothing?

SPEAKER_01 3:27

I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 3:28

Lane. You should.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Oh, I can hear nothing. You gotta turn it on, right? There you go. No, I am in uh yeah, 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 4, 5, and 6. The famous part of that text is where Jesus is referenced again as the cornerstone. How God is gonna build us up into a spiritual house, a temple. But that's upcoming. I don't know if we all want to hear all that or not.

SPEAKER_08 4:00

Well, I mean, that's the reason I brought it up. Oh. There's a reason to that because of what it says there in verse 5 the sacrifices, but a spiritual sacrifice. You know, that's our whole deal this morning. The sacrifice of a servant.

SPEAKER_04 4:14

Yeah, sacrifice of a servant. A sacrifice getting up this morning coming over. Yeah. Who's with the NLT? With the swollen foot. Oh, yeah. B's got filled up yesterday. Bumblebee got me at the pool. Oh, got when I was finna get in there.

SPEAKER_08 4:36

He's walked up. Ain't nobody been stumbled by Bumblebee. Oh, yeah, Philip. You just dumb by one last day.

SPEAKER_04 4:40

I was finna get in the pool. I was getting rid of it. I walk around. I was like, I'm finna jump in here. Right on the side of my piggy toe. That's like a hurt. I couldn't get it off quick enough.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

Oh, he latched on, huh? He latched on. Bumblebee St. Philip comes and said, mm-hmm. I got a habit dumbass. I really couldn't tell.

SPEAKER_04 5:04

I really couldn't tell what it was. It was wet as a black, wet bumblebee. That's like a hurt. I stole somebody's crop and killed it.

SPEAKER_08 5:12

I'm gonna hurt a hornet. Wasn't a hornet, was it? No. Once again, the sacrifices of a servant. You take your week off of work, Philip, and you come over here and get stoned by a bumblebee.

SPEAKER_04 5:22

I enjoy it though. Yeah. It's a good time. I missed coming to kids' camp.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Yep. I'm curious if uh get off the bumblebee for a minute. If uh the the NLT says the same. Who's got an NLT?

SPEAKER_06 5:35

Which one? Now where you at? Verse five. I got an NIV, it may be a good one.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

NIV, yeah, what does it say?

SPEAKER_06 5:40

All right, verse five. What chapter? Oh, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

First Peter chapter two.

SPEAKER_06 5:43

All right, first Peter chapter two, verse five.

SPEAKER_04 5:46

Well, they said three.

SPEAKER_06 5:47

Chapter two. First Peter chapter two, verse five. All right. You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Amen. Word for word.

SPEAKER_08 6:06

Okay. I got the NLT, Logan? Logan got NLT.

SPEAKER_05 6:10

It says, and you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What's more? You are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Offering something up to God. Spiritual sacrifice. Not just sacrifices, spiritual sacrifices. Really, it's worship. Bottom line. If you look up the words, and I don't remember the Greek words, but I do remember that that's basically what he's talking about. And then uh, of course, uh he'd bring up that subject, worship, man. You can go you can go all over the place with that one. But there's so many different ways and avenues that we can approach God. But uh the the why, the reason. You know, Peter gives a reason there. This is why. This is why you're living stones, this is why I sent Jesus, why I put you on this earth. It's for me to offer unto me. So we're here for the Lord. And whatever we do with our lives ought to be motivated by that. Really, that's I think that's the key. He is using that type of language to motivate these folks who are in exile, strangers, you know. Those y'all listened to me the last few weeks, I think you probably remember some of that. Uh but uh yeah, we're pilgrims and strangers, peculiar people to those around us because we live different and act different, right? And so when he brings up that uh idea of the stones, man, the cool aspect of that, I was trying to figure out how to do it. I know we outlawed YouTube at our at our place, but I'd love to be able to show you. We outlawed the download of YouTube. Yeah. I I we had some issues. Anyway, that picture of a coral reef. And uh the fact that uh, you know, in the ocean, a coral reef is is a living, it's an organism, and it's uh it's a protector of the shores around it. And uh I mean uh I think it's I don't know what percentage it is, but a percentage of all marine life live in and around those coral reefs. And uh that's that's the picture here he's trying to paint as living stones. You know, we aren't a bunch of bricks, we aren't buildings, we ain't rocks, we're living rocks, right? Of course he told Peter in Matthew 16, I'm gonna build my church upon this rock, Peter. And uh so that's the idea. Y'all follow me on that one? And so it's not a bunch of dead, dead bricks, but yet living stones. Building. He's building a spiritual temple, I think. NLT said temple, uh spiritual house. And another thing of that, another aspect of that is it's it's togetherness, it's us, it's not individuals. A big point I'll make probably this coming Sunday is, you know, you think you hear it all the time. I've heard it a lot. Well, I I can worship God to lake. I can worship God anywhere. I don't have to be at church, I don't have to be da da da, you know, excuses. Yeah. But uh clearly uh together is a is a big deal. That's that's where we can ultimately offer the God, offer unto God a sacrifice which is acceptable unto him when we are playing our part in the bigger structure. You a bunch of stones put together. And of course we're alive in Christ. Yeah, I'm not gonna sit here and write a lot more. I got this in my head and it's just gonna come out, but well, let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_06 9:32

John John done flipped somewhere. He done found something. Well, I've just I'm taking, you know, listening today. Taking it all in. Well, the you know, he's bringing out the point, uh that we are living stones, you know. There's an effect to what we do. Yeah.

unknown 9:48

Right.

SPEAKER_06 9:49

And it made me just think about, you know, Acts 2, fellowships of uh fellowship of believers, and how, you know, together you know, we have great effect um when we're unified and and it says devote themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with the awe of many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together in everything in common. And then it goes on and on and on, but uh together unified, just like the stones being built into something greater than themselves. You know, that's how it works. That's the plan. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Yeah, and it's alive. You always hear the description of the church as a living organism, not an organization or organism, just like that coral reef. It's alive. That's the amazing thing about it. And it's stout, it's strong.

SPEAKER_08 10:43

Well, I think that's the cool thing about it. In order to have that living organism in the church, there must be spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. Not just one person, not just one spiritual sacrifice, but it says sacrifice is. So everyone must bring in spiritual sacrifice in order for that holy temple, that holy house to be built. You know, and that's why I told our kids that yesterday during our just our short church time we have together. Uh you know, we we have a saying around our church, uh, life is better together. You know, we do life together. Majority of our church, I I say on a lot of our church does life together. Not only that, our kids do life together. We see they sh they see that in their parents' life. But it's not it's not outside the church, it's inside the church that they see how much we grow together. And how that spiritual household is growing, you know, how it's being built before their eyes.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

It's about design, divine design.

SPEAKER_06 11:44

Divine design, divine design. Is that an alliteration whenever it comes when it's the same person?

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Two cups of coffee this morning. Divine design.

SPEAKER_08 11:56

Well, let's talk about that acceptable sacrifice. What is an acceptable sacrifice to give unto the Lord? Obedience.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

Well, it is obedience. I want to keep it in context, though. And what I mean by this is I understand if you take the flow of a book in the Bible, Ryan knows this, just from years of experience, you can get a better idea of what God intended. You ask the question, what do they mean by that? Well, these people were scattered, right? Yeah. These people weren't living in Jerusalem, they weren't in their homeland, they've been moved, they've been persecuted, they're scattered. Uh and he's saying, look, guys, only the only hope you have, the only chance you have to survive, and the only chance you have to thrive while you are in this position is this. Here's how to do it. And of course, right before that, he talks about the word of God. The significance of that. Verse 1, he says, lay aside all these sins that just gonna get in the way, and then desire the word of God, as babies desire the milk of the mother, you know. We already talked about that. And then he goes, So if you you take it in context, you have a better understanding of what he's talking about. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_09 13:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

I don't want to rattle on that one, but so you ask the question, what is this, what's what's acceptable unto God? I think it's that. My body. We are the body, we are the body of Christ. So there are no Lone Rangers in the church, it's that significant. And you take the example here at at Bioch Springs. I mean, you could put two people in this building and worship the Lord, not out about it. But you put 800 in here. You know? What's more acceptable unto God, you know? Either one, but y'all y'all get what I'm saying. And it's uh it's encouraging, it's inspiring, it's motivating when you see others around you that are living the same, striving to live the same life you're living. If others desire the Bible as you desire the Bible, you know, those kind of things. I'm rattling again. I told you I need to get this microphone to you. You're doing exactly what I needed you to do. I think I'll you just want me to take up time.

SPEAKER_06 13:54

No, talk about well, I ain't even there no more. What does it say? A couple or a few verses after that talks about two different types of stones. Uh yes, the well, it's one the one that uh well it talks about um a stone that can cause others to stumble, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Yeah, you don't want to be a stumbling block for sure. Yeah, that's it. Verse eight. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them that stumble at the word, being disobedient, wherein to also they are appointed. But you verse says there's nine, you are a chosen priesthood, a royal uh chosen generation, a royal priesthood. Um peculiar. I like the word peculiar. That you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into this marvelous light. It just rolls right on. You gotta have a plan. We gotta have a plan. God had a plan. You know, obviously, when he made all this, when he sent Jesus, he had a plan. But that's what we ought to be focused on trying to get in on. What God done, not what we're doing. We want God to bless our plan. Well, let's quit trying to do all that and get in on the plan that God's had all along. Let's do that. Make it simple. Make it simple.

SPEAKER_08 15:13

I'm listening out of it.

SPEAKER_06 15:14

Make it acceptable. Make it acceptable.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

There you go.

SPEAKER_06 15:18

I like it. What you got over there?

SPEAKER_01 15:21

There you go. How'd you like verse three? Read verse three, John. Reverse three. Hold on. Y'all needed a way to get started.

SPEAKER_06 15:30

1 Peter chapter 2, verse 3, right? Alright. Now that you have tasted the Lord and it's good.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Woo! What would you say about the word taste? Your boy talk about that. Y'all like the taste of stuff? No, sometimes I don't.

SPEAKER_08 15:49

Hey, I will say, I tell my wife, I have one of the best palates as far as being able to taste food. Yeah. I'm telling you, I do.

SPEAKER_01 15:57

Mountain Dew. Well, you need to be one of them.

SPEAKER_08 15:59

I get that word from which I I don't even want to say the show I watch because it's not a very good show. But anyway. Come on, brother Lane. I like watching cookie shows, you know.

SPEAKER_06 16:14

What's some of his catchphrases? You got any?

SPEAKER_08 16:19

That's his uh Australian language. I can't get to it. He gets a little excited. He gets excited.

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Just think about what he's saying there, taste it and see if you've tasted it. Of course, I represent salvation. He's saying, You've been saved, then hey, you've tasted the goodness of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God. And uh man, you can't get that taste out of your mouth. And for me, at this place, you know, it's 1976. I'm ancient, I know that. 1976 when I come to know the Lord at Bog Springs Church camp. That's a long time ago. So I can say that's where I I really tasted. Of course, I, you know, that kind of fell away, it fell out of my my life for a while, but it was always there, you know, and and it was it was, I guess, revived in me through experiences being with other people and other Christians. Yep. It motivated me to want to do more, to want to offer up a sacrifice unto God that was acceptable unto him. So let me ask you this.

SPEAKER_08 17:17

You know, do we only remember the taste of the good things that happened in our life? You said you just brought up your salvation, you're you're you're being saved in 1976. You know, you tasted it then, but how many times in between have you not doubted, but necessarily went through the fire?

SPEAKER_01 17:38

And you still like, hey, I still get that taste in my mouth, and I'm still If you look back at it, if I look back at it, if I take it personally, then uh there are some pretty, pretty what I call low moments. Yeah, you know, in my life, especially in adulthood. Well, even in teenage years, you know, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I was a child of God, but I wasn't right a good example. The way I was living was not acceptable to God, put it that way. So there are some taught hard times I went through, but each and every time his mercy, his grace has has brought me back, right? Yeah. It's like David wrote, I sought the Lord and he heard him and delivered me from all my fears. There you go. Yeah. Well, if you go two verses down there in chapter 34 of Psalms, he said, Taste and see that the Lord is good. You see that again.

SPEAKER_09 18:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Now look at that in the context. This old boy was in, that was that cave experience. That's where he was being pursued by Saul. He he had the idea, look, Lord, I'm just trying to live for you. Yeah, I done killed the giant, I done fought all these wars, I done led all these armies, and you allow me to get into this state. That was his first frame of mind. But whenever, whenever he changed his perspective, then that taste come back. And that's when he started hollering it. I just love it. You know, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, magnify the Lord with me. That's verse three. Magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together. I saw the Lord heard me, delivered me all of my fear. Da-da-da-da-da. But uh his circumstances were the same. He was still being hunted, he was still being pursued, he was still in a bad spot. What changed was his perspective.

SPEAKER_08 19:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

And that and he keyed in on that. I know. I done tasted this.

SPEAKER_08 19:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

I I know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_08 19:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

And I'm here, I'm just testifying.

SPEAKER_08 19:12

Well, the reason I asked that question, because my wife's gonna laugh whenever she hears this, like, she'll cook something, I'm like, man, dude, that's freaking good. And I've already tasted it, so I know my expectations. But then she'll cook it again, and like she might add something or change something. I'm like, ooh. That's not what I originally tasted, you know? Yeah. But yet I know I know it's still good. I know it's, you know. Yeah. All right. But it changes. I got something about that taste.

SPEAKER_06 19:36

All right. You really? All right. Then we're gonna get these other boys talking here. Hebrews 6. That's where I'm that's what I'm gonna read from, right? It says something I uh talk about in in 1 Peter 6. Back up uh a couple verses and it talks about the the spiritual milk, you know, of salvation. But are we supposed to stay just drinking on that milk? We're supposed to move on. All right, so verse Hebrews 6, 1. It says, Therefore, let us move beyond the elementary teachings of Christ and be taken forward into maturity, not laying again the foundations of repentance from acts that lead to death. And the faith of God, instructions about cleansing rites and laying on the hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment, and God permitting, we will do so. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away to be brought back to repentance. I'm getting him fired up. Look at this. To their to their loss, they are they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Anyways, I keep going on and on. Tasted the good word of God. Yes, but that's that's the we're to move on from the elementary teachings of Christ, which is interesting, right?

SPEAKER_01 21:05

You say you open up a can of worms, come on now.

SPEAKER_06 21:08

What are you gonna do next? That's the that's the that's the the the uh teen camp. What's next? That's right.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

Yeah, you gotta move. I mean that's what this whole thing is about. Now let's go to Timothy. Oh gosh. All scriptures give a best pressure to God, right? Yeah. Taste it. And uh Paul's telling him, he said, Son, look here. This this is what's gonna benefit you most in life, and it's the word of God. That's what's gonna make the difference. And once you've once you've got that, you know, and you ought to have a desire to move beyond just the basics, just the milk, as John's saying. And get to the point where you growing. Then we're those little stones that can be built in the sun. Yeah, it's that whole context. If it's talking about, and people use that verse of scripture right there, those who who believe in the doctrine of losing your salvation, you know, we're once they'd always save people, but this right here says. Fall away, they'll fall away. Well, no, you can't fall away. God's gonna keep you. Once you got it. Once you saved you, you got you. They never tasted it in the first place. That's right. Right? They were never saved to begin with. Because once you've experienced that and tasted that, then there's gonna be, as verse 9 says of Hebrews chapter 6, there's gonna be things that accompany salvation. Here's the evidence. Yeah. There's gonna be marks. People want to take issue, issue with that. I say it all the time. I said, there's gonna be evidence. There's gonna be fruit in your life of uh the fact that you are God's and you are a child of God. I believe that. Because I believe it because the Bible teaches it. I'm rambling again, boy.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

You know, I I think of those how many that has not tasted it. You know. And I know we're not supposed to go to a a ball game and and be judgmental or anything like that, but I can't help but but every razorback game I go to or and I'm looking at 70 something thousand people and and a lot of times it's on a Saturday. Um I can't help but think how many of these people are gonna be in church tomorrow, how many people of these uh are saved.

SPEAKER_08 23:13

Um Especially in them darn razorbacks, gosh, no.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

You know, there was a guy out here with a Mississippi State uh shirt. I we may ought to buy him a race back shirt. Easy. You know, the past the past two weeks uh I've preached a a series.

SPEAKER_08 23:29

Uh feel up make you feel it'll make you come comfortable once it might.

SPEAKER_02 23:34

Uh one Sunday I preached uh place called Hell. Uh then I followed up that the next Sunday with a place called Heaven. Uh and I use John 14 uh where Jesus said, Let your heart not be troubled. Uh ye believe in God, believe also in me, and my father's house are many mansions, and if it were not so, I would have told you. Now, there's gonna be a lot of people that's never tasted salvation, they probably won't ever experience heaven, you know. Sad. And a lot of across the country, based on, you know, we don't base salvation on church attendance, but based on church attendance across the country, you know, heaven may not be overcrowded.

SPEAKER_06 24:15

Yep. Gotta take it to them.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

Mm-hmm. That's right.

SPEAKER_08 24:21

So, how does that line up as far as you know, you you take it, you take these spiritual sacrifices. What can I do? What can we, what can a believer do to ultimately one, we can't make anybody taste it. But yet, well, how do we put that forth? You know, you have the disciples we've been talking about all week here at kids camp, that Jesus calls, Jesus and says, you know, says, follow me, leave everything you have, follow me. But yet, once Peter grasps that, hey, this is what you have, this is the spirit of God you have, this is the word of God, now go and spread it. But ultimately, how do you spread it? How do you get someone to taste what you have encountered? That makes sense. I mean, we're a living stone, we're here to build up a spiritual house, but how do you get someone to taste it?

SPEAKER_00 25:10

So I can't help but read the NLT of 1 Peter 2, what he was talking about. The end of verse 1 and coming into verse 2, you must crave pure spiritual milk that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. We've been studying, we're talking about this dream team. We're reading Peter's letter, we're reading first John's letter. I'm in 1 John. We've been going through 1 John in Sunday school. 1 John chapter 2. Uh John is writing this letter to these to these believers, and he's writing to, I guess, 1 John chapter 2, 12 through 16, and he references God's, he references little children, he references spiritual young men, and he references fathers. And I think uh, and we've talked about this, and you have those little children, and he says, I've written to you who are little children because uh this is verse 13. It says, Young in the faith, because you have won your battle with the evil one. It's like you've tasted, they've tasted that the Lord's kindness. They've won that battle with the evil one. They know Abba Father, and they call out to him, like daddy, and I think about church camp when you have this experience and you see like you see the mercy and the grace of the Lord, and you're drawn to it. And it's like you you want you've tasted that, so you want more of it. But you're you're kind of dependent on somebody feeding you that milk, and that's where the young men and the fathers come in, is because those little children are dependent on those young men and fathers to feed them that milk, to feed them the word. And then as you get fed the word, then you become stronger in that, and that's where he talks about. I've written to you, you who are young men in the faith. This is the end of verse 14. I've written to you who are young men in the faith because you are strong. God's word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one. So they've been dependent on somebody feeding them that word until they get it, and they start to understand the knowledge of it. And when they start to understand the knowledge of what God is teaching them, what God is training them to do, they get stronger at fighting off the evil one.

SPEAKER_08 27:23

So it's almost like, I mean, we all have kids in here, ever since the last one of us. Bark you get quite a bit of them. But once that kid, once that baby tastes that food and the nutrients that's coming from that food, other than that milk, well, it's almost like a light bulb. You can see that light bulb switch. You know, I can I'm very close to it. And Logan, you're probably already there, you know, a uh a new uh a baby tasting that food for the first time, but you can see like, ooh, that's good, you know. It's almost the same way with the eating.

SPEAKER_06 27:54

That's right. Camp wouldn't be the same without you guys, you know, right wanting to help feed, you know, the milk.

SPEAKER_08 28:04

Well, I asked a question the first night of uh this week, you know, Wednesday night, we get in our bunks and we got all of our our boys over there. And I say, you know, guys, there's a lot of people at this camp this week, even our church that's probably asking a question, what are we even doing here? You know, why are we why are we even here? What's all these people doing? You know, they're seeing this for the first time, they're tasting this for the first time. And so I was like, look, this is where you can step in. This is where you can step in, even as a second grader, a third, fourth, fifth, sixth grader, whatever, and allow them to see how what you have tasted, what you have seen, what you have encountered, and man, what doesn't grow from there, you know. You're on the dream team. Dream team. Theme of the week. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 28:47

Yeah, it's pretty cool. Um I think about conviction too. Yep. Uh how every one of you men are convicted to be here and uh to share the gospel and and do everything you do. Brother David preaches on Sunday morning and John John does what he does, and and uh, you know, from sermon preparation to, you know, sometimes we're we're that one that you know nobody else may have been uh in that position to share the gospel with somebody. And and I think a lot of things have been eliminated uh over you know decades and years in church. And you we can go back to when we were kids. Uh I know Brother David probably could, and some of y'all. I found out I was the oldest one in the cabin last night. Man, I did too.

SPEAKER_08 29:37

I was like, oh, that's my bad.

SPEAKER_02 29:41

But we can think about some of those things and and how they've kind of gone away, but you know what? Uh conviction hadn't. Yeah. And uh, you know, I'm talking about things like dinners on the ground when we were kids and had all of it out, you know, on the church ground and just things like that. But some of those things kind of go away, but conviction, you know, we may be that one that the Lord led us into that moment. Right. Uh so church camp, you know, we we don't ever need to let that go away. Yep. Because there's a lot of good that comes from it. Yep. Uh people get saved, and and uh he can't help it. Look at it. Had it not been going on.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

I just gotta share one story. It happened last night. And then a man came up to me, uh, his name's Jason, and uh he went back tonight, let's see, like 93-94. Uh, and he named the two men, Gary Schneider and James Weehunt. Y'all don't remember those guys from Adam, but they were a part of Shady Grove Church back in the early 90s. And uh Jason made mention to me that you three guys made the difference in my life. And I have a clue. And so you never know. Yeah, 40 years can go by and somebody come up to you and reference this week. Yeah. And a difference that you you come up on while I bunk. You know, when I when I I needed it, I need somebody. You don't have any idea of the impact you're making. But yet it you're making a difference.

SPEAKER_08 31:13

That's how sure it's a good thing. No, that's good.

SPEAKER_06 31:15

Faithfulness. That's what we're called to, to be faithful. Yep. Not to have it all figured out.

SPEAKER_08 31:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Even the the sponsors, the boys' sponsors. Yeah. You got Steele and you got Creighton. I mean, I can remember when when those those they're young men now, but I can remember when they were third graders, you know. That's right. Third graders coming up to Iwana. And those those awana leaders that were there on Wednesday night and and building them up and bringing them along, and then they've turned into spiritual young men who are here trying to lead. And I think that's what when you're talking about those spiritual sacrifices to build each other up. It's as you journey, as you know, individually you journey in that spiritual growth, then you collectively come together to build up the unity of the body.

SPEAKER_08 32:01

Oh, you can see the the that they've tasted it this week. They've they've got to encounter, you know, leading someone to the Lord. I think it was Creighton telling me yesterday he said, it's unreal how how it happens. Like it's just it's easy, but like how God places it in the right time, perfect time, and whatever, you know, it's so cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 32:22

Yeah, I think it's uh it's pretty awesome to to see it over time. Um I got I get a I get a fun view of the whole summer. What am I? He's staring back there. Yeah. Hey uh but I get to see, you know, the whole nine weeks of but I'm it's it's I'm I'm in an interesting position because I don't really get to it's it's sad, but uh it's all right. I don't get to be a part of the like the the spiritual side of it.

SPEAKER_08 32:49

You know, I'm just Well you are, I'm well but it's not the services I'm not in it, but I get to see it.

SPEAKER_06 32:55

Yeah and and it's funny how over even in three days, three days ain't a lot of time. But how three days can you you can see it on somebody's face, how how change happens, how they taste and they see. Yeah. And dispositions change, worldviews change. I mean, it all changes. It's the power of God, right? Um it's a it's it's pretty cool. Just in the in the backseat, but it encourages my heart. You know, you you think Des said something about, you know, they had an impact a long time ago, he didn't even know. You know, you take a I mentioned a kid last week, you know, I'm just outside running around, and there's one kid, he's skipping church. Skipping church. He ain't supposed to be out there for nothing. And he's a kid, this this kid, two years ago, I've been watching him, two years ago, nine square, he was a menace at nine square. He was just dunking on everybody, just causing habit. Him and his buddies. So I come over there, they done broke the they done broke the nine square. So I was over there fixing it. This dude serves it as hard as he can square at my chest. Hits me in front of everybody. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Just just to just just to do it. Well, you're fixing it. Oh yeah, while I'm fixing it, just because he's tired of me fixing it, and he just served it straight in my chest. And you know, at that moment I about cleared, I cleared the red barn in the Oh yeah, that wasn't gonna happen. So I knew this kid, and every year I watched him and I think, uh, what you gonna do next? Because he cut he cost me happen. Well, anyway, long story short, he's out there wandering around and I thought, okay, I'm gonna watch him from a distance, and all of a sudden I see him and I think he's picking up trash. And and it's funny, I prayed for this kid before. A lot of times I don't even know who he is. But I I did not like the fact that I I had a certain feeling towards him. Yeah. Um, anyways, he's a he's out there picking up trash, so it's a great opportunity for us to connect in a better way. So I go up and I tell him thank you, and I start picking up trash, I start talking to him. Just having a little conversation. I don't know if if a little bit of Jesus got on him or what, but I like to taste and see how to do it. I like to think he he tasted. And he came outside and he could have been doing whatever he wanted to do, but he decided wasn't nobody looking, he's just gonna pick up trash. He and he was telling me, he's like, Man, you know, I was just a little overwhelmed in there, and you know, he just graduated high school trying to figure out his.

SPEAKER_08 35:11

So this is the guy you were talking about last week when he hear your speech.

SPEAKER_06 35:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the the what I if I if I if you said top three troublemakers, he trouble troublemaking. He's one of them, buddy. But it just it encouraged my heart. Um, and he didn't even intend to.

SPEAKER_08 35:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 35:26

And and just like, I don't know, I I like to think he he he tasted of the goodness and he just wanted to do something good, you know, even if it's just picking up trash, a little stupid thing. But that spiritually, what that did for me, it's just funny how it happens. You just never know.

SPEAKER_08 35:39

Well, let's go to that second part there, because I think we missed that concept. You know, we've been talking about the tasting part of it, but the seeing part of it, you know. Of course, we cannot see God, we can't see Jesus, but yet we can see the work at hand, we can see the word of God, we can see just like you saw that young man picking up trash, even though he's a top three trail maker of Bog Springs history, you know, Hall of Fame, but yet you've seen him, and it just he probably didn't even mean it for that reason, but you saw God in that. Now, we've tasted things, but have you ever seen God's work at hand? Whether through church camp, whether it they're at home, you know, kicking and screaming kids out and having a day, whatever, or at church. Have you ever seen it?

SPEAKER_06 36:25

I think it's one of those things you can miss pretty easy.

SPEAKER_08 36:29

You know. Big time.

SPEAKER_06 36:31

That's the that perspective we was talking about a minute ago, uh, or a little bit ago. If if not properly focused, it don't matter how much God's doing it, uh, you know, I may I may miss it all and be in my own world. It goes back to, you know, we were talking about um together how things happen. But that's that's when we look outside of ourselves, right? If we're if we're so focused on our own world and our own uh problems or or or or what we need to do, we're not gonna be disciplined anybody. We're not gonna be, you know, we're we're not gonna be faithful, and we're gonna miss all the other faithfulness that's around us, all the other blessings, you know, uh simply because we just decided to focus on the focus on the wrong thing.

SPEAKER_08 37:18

Focus on our life.

SPEAKER_06 37:19

All right, Josh, here we go. Rock and roll. Logan's on there, he raised his hand too. Here we go.

SPEAKER_03 37:23

Talking about seeing um me and my boy, we were at Galveston earlier this summer, you know, and he wanted to get up, go watch the sunrise on the beach. All I was thinking about was we're gonna go to the beach. I don't like the beach, but he wants to go, let's go. So we go to the beach, and when that sun started popping out, it hit me like a ton of bricks. That God made that. You know, staring out across there, looking at the beauty of it. And me and him just sat there for probably 15 minutes, just staring at the beauty of what God can do. So you're talking about being able to see it. Have you seen it? Yeah. You know, that made a big deal for that trip. You know, that's a standout moment for that trip. And it had nothing to do with being at the beach. It was all about God in that moment. Change the trajectory of who you were even probably going to be that day.

SPEAKER_06 38:15

You know what I mean? Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 38:16

Perspective. Perspective.

SPEAKER_05 38:18

You're talking about uh seeing. So we've actually been going over 1 John in the college class, and uh, we just finished the last half of uh chapter 2. And so 1 John chapter 2 and then verses 26. Uh it says, I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is right or what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true. It is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. So I always encourage the college kids to seek out the Holy Spirit. And one thing, one reason for that is to be identifiable. You know what I mean? Like when a Christian is seeking the Holy Spirit and he's working in God's power, it's identifiable. You can see it. Because earlier in this chapter, it's talking about Antichrist and how you can identify these little A antichrists throughout this world, and it's through their denial of the Son and the Father, and through our work as Christians, we can be identified through the Holy Spirit by doing God's work, our Father's work here on earth.

SPEAKER_08 39:27

I go back to, you know, that's a good point. I go back to Brother Ryan's comment while ago, you know, being in a razor back game, thinking about all that, you know. How many people think about that, you know, whether it be at a football game or even at church, but seeing the work, seeing God's work at hand, but then yet seeing his glory. And knowing or even having a thought in their mind that this is God. This is this has got to be somebody that has just manifested this. This this ain't science, if that makes sense, you know. So how many people in this world, like Brother Ryan said a while ago, how many people in this world don't even have that perspective on that? Don't even have those percepts perspective on if there's all these people at 70,000 people at a game are saved.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

And a lot of the ones that have never tasted it, yeah, they still think they're right in their belief. And the society that we live in, a lot of this chaos that we see, a lot of these people are doing they think is right. You think about Jesus when they nailed him to the cross, when the religious leaders nailed him to the cross, they they thought they were doing the right thing, you know. Yep. And uh although we know, excuse me, we know the plan and and we know what took place, but uh even the Bible says that you know uh they did everything right in their in their eyes. And uh a lot of those people at those games and living out, you know, I I think of the the unconcerned uh I think of the ones that that wake up on Sunday morning and possibly never never even think about that today is the Lord's Day. Yeah. You know, that today's God's day, it's not my day, uh, it's not any extracurricular day, it's it's God's day.

SPEAKER_09 41:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:26

And and yeah, we're we we go to church on the Lord's Day, uh, but sometimes you know, I I think it's just an oversight of people, and they've never tasted that. Right. And I think uh it takes us to to share that with them.

SPEAKER_06 41:42

Being at the razor back game and being identifiable, you know, that's where you know we we we make sure our hearts are right with God, you know. And because when we're at that razorback game, and because when we're provoked or we're in a situation that isn't good and we react differently than the other 76,000 people, that's when God has the opportunity to do something. Right. And it's just simple faithfulness and you know, and simply letting um Christ-likeness flow out of us. Yep. You know. Um, but that's only gonna happen if we're um in a position of preparedness. Yep. That that peas in a position of preparedness. Yeah, prayed up. Prayed up.

SPEAKER_02 42:24

I do gotta say this there is no way that you could ever deny your dad. Oh no, no, it's like it's like many, many David Jackson.

SPEAKER_08 42:36

Oh man. Well, you think about that, and I made that comment too, you know, on Wednesday night when we first did our devotion, is all of us men, you know, we have different jobs, different professions, you know. Well, these kids, Logan, you said that a while ago, you know, being uh identifiable, but these kids saw they they started calling you delivery man on the way up here because they they know you as a UPS man, but now they see you as what you are in Christ. He's delivering the word of God. Yeah, he's delivering the word of God, you know. So how powerful that is when they taste that and they see it. I go back to where that word see, you know, when they see the work of God at hand, or they might be, they they might have gas in their yard, you know, and they see Josh pull up. Oh, there's Mr. Josh. Oh, hey, he was at the church camp, you know. Of course, they're gonna see me and Brother David, they're gonna know, hey, they're our pastors, they're our preachers, right? But the fact of the matter is, and I go back to that question, how do we show, how are we able to get someone to taste and see the Word of God? I think the Holy Spirit side, it's the tasting side, you know, putting it manifesting everything, the sun coming up, you know, seeing that guess God, you know, they can see that through us through our walk with him, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_05 43:54

You talk about uh them calling me delivery man. So last night. I was sitting there uh kind of getting all my stuff in order. And one of the boys, I can't remember his name, he walked up to me and he said, You ever delivered in crossing? I said, Oh yeah. He said, I'm pretty sure you were the one that played basketball with me. And I I got to thinking, I was like, probably so. Anytime I see kids out in the yard playing ball, basketball, whatever it is, I'll just take off and play with them for a little bit. And then he was like, You shot a three and then got back in the truck and took off.

SPEAKER_06 44:26

I was like, Did I make it? And then he was a good one. Yeah, that was definitely. If I made it, if it wasn't even if it was a coworker, yeah. That must have been somebody else. Yeah, that that 1 John 2 you were talking about, I was sitting here just reading it. Verse 3 says, But if anyone obeys his word, uh love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him. Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. In Christ likeness. If you claim it, you better show it. Right? Don't just say you are. Um we're called to do it.

SPEAKER_08 45:11

Man, first John, me and Logan were talking about just a little bit last night. First John, I know Park's in it too, is it's so practical. It's so, so practical. And honestly, he just kind of, I think you said it last night, Logan, he just kind of puts it the way it needs to be put. Well, how'd you how'd you word that last night?

SPEAKER_05 45:28

Well, I was telling you me and Park talked about it. Yeah. And it's it part brought it up. It's just so black and white.

SPEAKER_08 45:33

It's black and white, that's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 45:35

Plain and simple, as you read it, you take it as it is, uh and and apply it to your life. There is no translation, there is no, maybe I gotta think about it. John puts it out there like, hey, look, if you are of God, if the Holy Spirit dwells in you, there will be uh a result out of that. You know, there will be a a cause and effect.

SPEAKER_02 45:56

And so Yeah, I like how you say, you know, whatever it says, that that's you know, and Brother Lane mentions uh has mentioned a lot of times the Bible says if that settles it, you know. Uh I helped do an ordination uh with Brother David, and and you know, they go around to council and they got these young men sitting in there, and uh we counsel them, we ask them, you know, and usually what I say to the young men that's being ordained is whatever the Bible says, you stay with that. And as you said, it's black and white, is there it's um don't get into the the idea of well the Bible says this, but it really means that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 46:48

And then that's that's when trying to read in between the lines and yeah.

SPEAKER_06 46:53

I think the uh you know he makes it he's very good at communicating and making it simple. Well, how does he make it simple? He he knows it and he's prepared. He's he's took the time to to to know it well enough to make it simple. You know, there's I know me and my younger life and and you know you talk to people and they're scared to share the gospel, they're scared to talk, and yeah. Especially you take these young staffers like a student. Right. Um but if you take the time ahead of time to be prepared, and maybe it's just when you had to razor back game, right? But if you're prepared, God can use uh a willing man.

SPEAKER_08 47:32

You know, it you say that, and there's a man at this campus right now, I seen him yesterday, talked to him for just a second. He taught me in seminary, taught me uh homiletics in seminary. But uh he always said, hey, Sunday's always coming. No matter if you preach or not, Sunday's always coming. You better be prepared. And man, that that's just stuck with me. And I say that all the time when we walk around, you know, church, whatever, and it could be just something that we gotta get finished before Sunday. Sunday's always coming. You know, be prepared. And man, it's just there's so much truth to that. And you can see that in 1 John, you know. Dude was prepared. Dude was prepared, no doubt about it. You can see that throughout the whole Bible. They were prepared for every situation.

SPEAKER_05 48:13

And he talks, and you as you read it, it's so bold. You know what I mean? Like it just it grasps your attention because of how bold he is. When he's sitting there saying uh the last part of uh verse do do do do 27. But you have reached, so you have received the Holy Spirit and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true, but the Spirit teaches you everything.

SPEAKER_01 48:39

That's good.

SPEAKER_05 48:41

You as uh Ryan was talking about, you know, trying to read between the lines, and I mean here John is saying the Holy Spirit is teaching you. You don't need to go to these other other people and and say, hey, I know it says this, but can I, or does it really, or none of that? No.

SPEAKER_08 48:59

So you know Quit playing devil's advocate and listen to what the word of God says. That's right. Just trust it.

SPEAKER_02 49:03

Sometimes trust it. Sometimes we find ourselves, what do you think? What do you think? Yeah, what do you think?

SPEAKER_05 49:09

Yeah. And and I get a bad habit of doing that too, because I I I have friends that are not bad. And I always ask them, like, you know, why do you believe this or what is this? And I do that, but I am prepared, right? I'm not asking for my own knowledge. I I do that as far as getting them to think, you know, you know, why do you believe this? Why are you thinking this? To get them to think. I I'm not asking these questions for my thought process. I already know what I believe. I I read the Bible, I study, and I I hope to bring that to them.

SPEAKER_06 49:42

Yep. That's good. So I got an interesting story. All right. You ready for it? Love it. So I used to be a pest control guy, used to run a route. I know what that I know what that route game's about. Um but uh one day uh at this time I was I was doing pest control and I was uh by vocational, I was uh youth pastor. Uh and I had some just a few high school kids and we were doing apologetics, we were just learning.

SPEAKER_08 50:10

Right.

SPEAKER_06 50:11

Because they were finna go to college and I thought it'd be good to to to talk about some hard questions and defense of the faith. Yeah, and just to understand. Uh let's ask the questions and let's talk about it in this environment. So when it comes, you know. Anyway, so I'm I'm out and about. Guy calls me, hey, I got termites in my house. All right, I'm gonna come out and look at them, right? Big old house. Um it's actually, you ever heard of Camp Winnemanka?

SPEAKER_08 50:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 50:35

Yeah, so this guy lived on the edge of that. Okay. He helped build it. He had a cool house. Anyways, he had some sure enough, had some termites. I roll up. I don't know him, it's a 70-something-year-old man. He's first thing he does is he spouts off a little bit of scripture. So I'm like, all right, we're finna have a fun time while we while we're doing this, right? So he spouts off. So I'm I'm over there looking and he and we kind of have some back and forth, but we're keep it professional. End of it said, all right, you know, you got termites, here's what we can do. Boom, contract, you know, money. And uh he said, okay. So let me think about it. He said, uh, he said, but I I I got something I want you to think about. And I said, what's that? And I'm 24 at this time, I think. 25 maybe. And and uh and uh he all of a sudden looks at me, he said, You know what I think? I said, What do you think? He said, I think you only believe what you believe because your parents believed it. He said, I don't think you believe it at all. Turns out this guy was a prosecuting attorney for 35 years. And he is a he's an atheist that is very prepared. And uh and I said, I'm sorry, sir. I said, but that's not true. And then he looked at me and he said, Prove it. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_08 51:51

I said, sign the contract first, then we'll talk about it.

SPEAKER_06 51:57

But it's so funny how how God works, you know, because here I am. I mean, I don't I I I grew up around it, but I honestly lived through my parents' faith a lot of the time when I got to college. I kind of developed my own, but but I was teaching apologetics here and I've been contemplating this and learning it, and I and I thought, all right, well, I actually have some ammo. So we started having a conversation for an hour.

SPEAKER_09 52:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 52:21

We we go through this, and he's hammering me with questions. He's ready. He he he I'm on the stand, buddy. You know. Um, but it came it came down to it was funny uh how it all played out. So I I I had a lot, I had a lot more than he thought. Um but uh it it came down to this. Uh we talk about you know being identifiable and these experiences that we have like a camp of things. But sometimes the experiences, you know, aren't positive. Uh so like I lost my first son, right? And uh the experience of that, because I I trusted God, I believe He could have He could have healed him, prayed for it, right? Believed with all my heart that that He He absolutely could change my situation. Yep. Yeah, them kidneys would have been there. Yeah. Um But they weren't and He died. Yeah. And uh and in that situation Jared and I both agree that we had peace. And the Bible talks about the peace passes all understanding, right? And I and I looked at him and I said, Hey, I said, I want you, you know, you want you want you want me to explain some things. I said, Explain this one to me. And I told him that. And you know what he did? He looked at me for about 10 seconds, and he got on his golf cart and he drove away. Couldn't handle it. Couldn't handle it. Called me back a week later, said he enjoyed the conversation, wanted another one. Did he sign the termite contract? He just let him eat him alive. I guess he didn't want me back. But he didn't he couldn't do nothing with it. And it's not like something I learned, nothing. It's it's it's it's the goodness I tasted something and I saw something, and and what were you gonna do with that? Yeah. It's real.

SPEAKER_08 53:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 53:59

Um, and and it's funny how even something as simple as that can be so very powerful.

SPEAKER_08 54:05

I think that was the the answer I was wanting a while back when I said, you know, have you ever had a bad taste of God? You know, yeah. And you probably had a little bad taste of that little little sour taste whenever, you know, you had that happened with baby Jay. You know, but yet now you see the peace from it. Yeah. I brought that up last night in our cabin, you know. We we read Ecclesiastes chapter three, there's a time and season for everything, you know, and that the end that that Solomon puts there is there's a time of war and a time of peace, a time of peace. That peace can only come from Jesus Christ, of course. But there's a time of war too. There's gonna be spiritual warfare in your life somewhere or another. Even at church camp. Is there warfare at church camp? Boy, every single week, right? Especially first days. But uh, man, just to understand that concept and for someone to taste and see the peace that you get from something that 90% of the world just be mad at God for.

SPEAKER_06 55:04

And that's the full circle, that's the the living stone. Living stone. That spirit moving, that's the that's the aliveness of who we are in Christ.

SPEAKER_08 55:14

Well, there's some living stones on this church camp. There's a bunch of them.

SPEAKER_06 55:17

Yeah, but that's a that'd be an interesting. That's that's a that's a podcast in and of itself. Living stones. Yep. And we just have some conversations.

SPEAKER_08 55:26

We've had a very good podcast, I feel like, this morning and good past two weeks. Old Philip back here. He's been a little quiet, but we've had a bunch of people talk, and man, it's just been awesome. Man, we're glad we brought the stuff over here to do it. But uh, we always end with a little bit of encouragement. We go around and brother David preacher uh preacher and Philip. I expect y'all do an encouragement too. So we'll uh we'll start with Josh. Josh, you want to start us off? Just a last bit of encouragement, words, scripture, something that's kind of just stuck with you for life, this week, whatever. I'll kind of put you on the spot here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 56:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 56:09

Um I guess for this week, the biggest thing we're talking about tasting and seeing is just remember, especially these little eyes, they're always watching. Always watching. So that's one thing that I try to keep in the forefront of my mind at all times.

SPEAKER_05 56:24

Yep. Good device.

SPEAKER_08 56:26

Just uh Logan, what you got?

SPEAKER_05 56:28

I'm just gonna read uh 1 John chapter 2, verse 28. And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.

SPEAKER_08 56:42

You think about that? I I wanna hang on, Park. Think about that with Peter. Peter, you know, was kind of shrunk back in shame a little bit. You know, what he said, he said, Lord, I'm too sinful. You need I need I need to get away from you, you need to get away from me, right? Yeah. He's a little bit too sinful, but yet you gotta be confident. Have confidence in what you believe in. It's good stuff. I'm gonna get in front of you, Park.

SPEAKER_04 57:02

Go ahead. All right. So you just need to get uncomfortable, get ready to get uncomfortable. God's gonna get you uncomfortable and He's gonna put you in a position that you don't want to be in, but it's gonna fill your soul. So get ready to get uncomfortable and uh just have the ammo ready. Have it on your duty belt and get ready.

SPEAKER_08 57:23

Duty belt, son. 185 out. Have it on your duty belt, get ready, because uh you're gonna have to use it. 185107.

SPEAKER_00 57:32

I'm on the second that. Uh last night, Josh was preaching on the dream team, and he was he was talking about uh those fishermen that were in the boat with Jesus, and it never like I it was a different perspective because they went out on the boat, Jesus said we're gonna cross the cross the sea tonight, and those fishermen could have forecasted that storm that could have been coming. And that storm came up and caught them by surprise, and they were skilled fishermen, and so like what Phillip's talking about, like though there's gonna be storms that come up, and we gotta be prepared for that, those storms that come up.

SPEAKER_08 58:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:07

Be ready.

SPEAKER_06 58:08

Come on, Dave Bo.

SPEAKER_01 58:10

I'm on big D. Oh, I love it. I love listening to you guys um give testimony because it it's it's you see how authentic it is. You take Philip, for instance, you say, Well, that old boy don't know what he told me. The Bumblebee done got him. Before that, it was a brain bleed. There you go. With brain surgery. Just to be bankrupt to those, you just name it. A man knows what he's talking about. Yeah, so listen, because he's tasted. It's the truth. So there's a lot of people listen to this thing, I think, and probably they find themselves in a spot, in a hole. And I'll just take you back where this originally came from. Uh old David, you know, he said, Taste and see the Lord is good. Simple as that. Taste and see. And we need to try to get that in the mouth of these kids. There's a verse scripture. I'll end with this. Uh 2 Timothy. Uh Paul reminds Timothy, he says, Son, you you you've been tasting this. He said, from a child, you've known the scriptures. From your mother and your grandmother all the way down. And it's just continuing on now. You tasted it a long time ago. Just keep keep eating. Keep feeding on it. It just gets better. I'm out.

SPEAKER_06 59:26

Yeah. Don't don't lose hope. Don't lose hope. Yeah, because sometimes when you get in those situations, it's uh it's a struggle. But God is good and remember what you have tasted and seen. Um and have hope that it will be again. God ain't finished with you. He ain't finished with me, so let's keep on being faithful. That's good stuff.

SPEAKER_08 59:52

Brother Ryan or Carey, what you got?

SPEAKER_02 59:55

Uh I have a I have a good friend that's battling cancer, uh, a pastor friend. And one thing that he says is either way, it's gonna be okay. You know? And we put ourselves in that situation, could we say that? You know, uh, we got wife and kids, and and you know, we've got so much to live for, we're only in our 30s, and are you in your 30s yet? Okay. Our 30s and 40s and and uh 50s.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:27

And 60s, brother.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:30

But but you know, when a man can say, hey, either way, it's gonna be all right. And uh I think of the word plans. You know, we we have so many plans. Uh we have plans for retirement, we have plans for for church, how it is to be, how it was supposed to be. Um, and sometimes those plans don't pan out.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:56

And ain't that the truth, preacher?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:58

And you know, uh the Lord is still in control. That's right. And uh we I think when we come to that realization that, you know, it's nothing by our power that we can handle it or do it, uh, but we just gotta turn it over to Him. You know, there was there was three on the cross that day, you know, He was still in control. That's right. Jesus was still in control. That's right. Out of all the mob, Jesus was still in control. And he's still in control of our lives now. And sometimes we may deny it, we may try to forget about it, and we get down and discouraged, and maybe somebody uh listening to this that they, as John John mentioned, you know, they just they don't feel like they have a purpose, they have no hope.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:47

Um they got a bad taste of God or whatever. Whatever, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:50

Yeah, they may have a terminal illness, they may have, but at the end of the day, he's still there, he's still uncontrollable.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:56

That's right. So I think about this one of you with, I think about uh this week, and Josh has done this for a couple of years now since he's been coming. Josh brings a uh bottle of seasoning uh from Southern Boys Eatery or Southern Boys Outdoors or whatever it is. And I think about that. All the good food here at Box Springs, hey, you've been doing a good job of that. I've been full of we might be gonna get Street Talkers for lunch today, but anyway. I understand. Give me one way. I got you, I got you. But uh, I think about that, you know, putting that little bit, you tasted something bad, hey, put a little salt on it. And this is what it says in Mark chapter four, uh Mark chapter nine, verse fifty. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves and have peace with one another. Sure. And you know, have salt with you, have it out in the back pocket, you know. But have peace. Have peace that no matter what, bad situation, good situation, man, God's got it under control. He's gonna take care of it for sure. So I think every single one of us at this table could speak to that.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:56

And one more thing. Yep. Um have you ever thought of this? That you have so much peace, so much faith that you appear to the outside world as you don't care. Yeah. You ever thought of that? That they may think, well, he's just he don't even care, or or this woman don't care. But maybe they're carrying strong faith with them.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:20

Yep. You know. Yep. It's good stuff. Don't worry, be faithful. It's good stuff. Good stuff. Well, John, we uh we appreciate you, son.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:28

Yeah, last full day.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:29

Last full day. Let's rock and roll with it. Let's rock and roll with it. Uh part, you want to lead us in prayer this morning? I can. Close us in prayer.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:37

Heavenly Father, we love you. We give thanks for another day. Where we can lead others, where we can help others, where we can just lift one another up. I pray that you watch over us, you guide us and direct us. Thank you for the guise on this podcast, Lord, and the ministry that it is, Lord. Thank you for dying on that cross for our sins, Lord. We forgive you, we ask for forgiveness where we fall short. Watch over us, keep us safe. Guide us and direct us. Jesus' name I pray. Amen.