Philippians 3&4

Sir Brian brings all the friends to finish our journey thru Philippians. So much fun being with our brothers and studying the scriptures. Hope you all are enjoying as much as we are. If any are interested in seeing what we are doing at the Gathering check out our Facebook page The Gathering Outreach Mission.

Transcript

1:15

Which, if you say it wrong, makes them very gassy. But yeah, they would intentionally walk around beating themselves with like cat or nine tails and like whips and thorns and thought it was what they deserved. That's the sort of thing it was. Stand brown books over your own shelf over there. We are well-versed around here, that's for sure. I don't know if that's well-versed or just keeping it out of the public's grasp. Really? There are a couple books at the gathering that I have to put away so nobody can take that. Philippians three and four. Three and four, since there's only two left. This has my favorite verses in it. So welcome back. We are Faith in the Streets, a bunch of gentlemen sitting around with a Bible reading it and recording it and seeing what we get out of it. And then we share it with you, and hopefully you're getting something from it. Uh, this is Tommy, as always, uh, our gracious reader, Deacon Sir Brian. He's gonna have a whole next time next year. Well, we also have wrongus Steve III, that's always somewhere in the room. Um introduce yourself, gentlemen. All right, hey, I'm Nathan. I'm Rob. I'm Scott, doing stuff. I'm Jacob. Sorry for uh my voice, it's it's a little different, but uh it's always kind of annoying. He's finally hitting puberty. Yeah, exactly. I may have to edit that one out. I may leave it in there too. Yeah, leave it. Yeah, uh leave this in there, actually. We uh me and Brian started Philippians one and two. Uh we're gonna go with three and four. Uh, but let's uh find out how everybody's doing this week. Have we had a good week? Everybody in good spirits, anything exciting happened? We like to make sure we add a personal touch to it. Nate can carry three people's backpacks at once. I found out. He is like just standing up. One on the front, one on the back. Yes. That's yes. Unfortunately, the the the majority of us in this room. The majority of us in this room are going to go on a hiking trip soon and hopefully we survive. Uh yeah. Based on the backpack weights of carrying your your kids' stuff, I'm very much looking forward to it. Yeah, yeah. We only hiked like two miles, and I was like, dang, this is heavy. Well, we're probably carrying about twice as much as what we will be carrying in. Also, it was 36 degrees in the night. That was great. Very cold. Our wonderful weather here in Ohio. Ohio's a simulation, man. I think it wasn't right. Birds are real man. You shovel the snow in the morning, in the afternoon, you're plastic. You're mowing your grass. Yeah. Which is also plastic. Snow's not real man. Yeah, it might not be. There was a video where the guy was melting it. That caught on caught on fire. Snow's not supposed to catch on fire. And if it does, it should melt. That snow didn't. Well, yeah. Yellow snow. Fire snow. But yeah, I think it's been a good week. They had uh four or five baptisms last night at Gather and Celebrate. Wow. That's great. They reached out to me and asked me if the water was good, and I was like, yep, I've been taking care of it. It's clean and ready to get it. You don't get to eat off the first three layers of your massive. Well, after five baptisms, I may need to go and empty it out and refill it. I'd say. Yeah, center's black at the bottom. We have to clean it out. I don't know if the water was warm or cold. That one's cold. Well, no, it's got a heater, and they had it plugged in yesterday. Yeah. I don't know if the heater's still working or not. I haven't seen that yet. Make sure it's unplugged when I step in. Right. So yeah, that's an exciting thing to do. Praise God. Yeah, always. We had five last week here at Cross Point, then five last night at the gather to celebrate. God is definitely working in our little town here. I agree. Absolutely. We had a very uh uh eventful taco Tuesday, last Tuesday. Uh lots of guests, lots of people. Um the trivia was fantastic because, of course, I'm the one that does the trivia. I'll admit it. Humble brag. Humble brag, humble brag. I think if you took a pole. I think if you took a pole, you might find otherwise. But it worked. Hey, you know, we had fun, we had tacos. Um we had an issue with the food process, it wasn't enough of it, but as always, the loaves and the fishes, me and Deacon Sir Bryan see it all the time at the gathering. He always provides. Um, they went and got some pizzas, and when they got to pizzas, they said it's on us. So Jesus literally paid it all. Jesus paid it all. Jesus provided us with six large pepperoni pizzas from Pizza Hut, so shout out to Pizza Hut for sponsor. Yes, not really like one. But right never know. No, no, no. No, no, no. We have to do legal ease. We do not take money from any of these organizations in these lower line states. Brian will not have it, and it's not real. This is fantasy. He did that really well. And it's like not even spiritual. All right. Let's get uh get into chapter three of Philippians, Mr. Dinkins, or Brian. Okay, the eighth. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware are the evil workers, beware of the mean mutilation. For we are the circumcision who worship in the Spirit of the God, and boast in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I feel far more circumcised the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as the law, sorry, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as laws for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be laws because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the laws of all things, and count them but rubbish, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering, being conformed to his death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. The thing that jumps out at me first and foremost, um, we've had a lot of things going on um with some changes at the gathering, okay, and I've been kind of fighting the system to say. Because I don't understand it. I don't it's not something that I am used to. Uh I'm very much what God called me to do, that's what I'm going to do. But these first few verses, reading it now, I'm like, oh, this is why we're doing those things. Right? This is why we're having these policies made and having these organizations and finding this stuff out, is because beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of mutilations. Agreed. I I I hadn't thought of that. You know, it says the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. And that that blew me away just now. And how how damaging can a simple misconception be? It's it's troubling, brother. It really is. Yeah, and we had it not too long ago, we had to take action. Agreed. And I I seen how upset you were because of the jeopardy that had put us in there. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but again, it's not something that we want to be allowing or to be known for. And we've done uh a lot of steps with God, with the help of God, to change things there, to make things better. To help a lot more people than before. So yeah, I I it it's just again, Philippians always surprises me. There's always something in it that I find that I didn't see before. And in this season of my life, those first three first or first two verses are like, oh I need to stop fighting against this stuff so much. I need to be more vigilant, be more aware of what's going on. You can destroy with one word uh someone's life. Yes, and it may never be corrected. Yeah. Like you can't take it back. And that's why all those are in place. And we learned in James about how damaging the tongue can be and how hard it is to tame the tongue. It's made of hellfire. Well, agree. And and and I think, okay, so from from my vantage point too, I I began to think about uh self-preservation, right? And and and uh I I've said it so many times. I I I was an angry person, I was a violent person. When I started thinking about how I was, you know, whether I had the right to defend myself or whatever else, and then the extent that I would put out that if I were to punch somebody, I could kill them. That's always a possibility. It's a it's a possibility in this in the the fighting sports. People die, they die in the ring. Yeah. And and and what weight does that does that put on you? So uh so I started to think about uh uh defending myself differently. So uh because I'm just like do I do want to do that? Do I do I want to accidentally kill some? No, no, I don't want to do that anymore. There was actually a case just recently that I saw that it was like a one-punch deal and it ended up killing the guy. Yes, like it was like nobody would have guessed that that would have happened, but it did. It just happened to hit him in the right place. And as a CCW guy, I had to go through the thought process of do I how do I live with myself if I were to use it? Right. You know, it's like and they teach you that when you go to a proper CCW class. And and you need to be in the right mindset and you need to understand that in that situation the whole guilty until proven innocent kind of goes away. Both parties that are involved are kind of guilty. So you kind of have to be mindful of that. But then, and I've seen this from my police buddies, they have to go through a psych evaluation after they have an incident like that. It's it's it's not an easy thing to also get criminally investigated just like you and I would. Yeah, yeah, exactly. They have to make sure that it was a right. Awful use of force. Yeah, exactly. So um, yeah, like that's one of the reasons why I'm very I'm very God aware if I'm gonna carry my pistol or not. If God says, hey, maybe you should take it, if I feel that Holy Spirit, you know, maybe. But otherwise, I kind of walked away from it. I don't want to do that. Like you, try to find a more peaceful way to subdue, you know, hold down or whatever until the proper authorities do get there. So yeah, I mean, you gotta think about that mentality of it, you know, what what it's gonna do to you. I mean, PTSD is real, and the military people, there's a lot of people military people that deal with that every day. I mean, even if you don't get PTSD with it, your conscience could absolutely just obliterate you because you're not prepared. Because once that bullet leaves the gun, they're gonna put it back. That's the truth. And if you're a decent shot, you're gonna put someone down. Oh, they teach you double tap. Yeah. You know, and that's a terrible thing to be, but we have people today that are on so many different chemicals that some of those things don't help. You know, like I've seen guys get tased like five, six times and still coming at the person. So, you know, yeah. Also, though, like verse two itself, like if you're the Philippians and you're hearing this and say somebody took a breath, that seems like a horror movie. Look out for the dogs, the evildoers, and those who mutilate the flesh. Yes. Just leave it there and you're like, yikes. Well, let's go ahead and talk about that because it's interesting that it is mutilation. That's one of those things where they're cutting their flesh for false gods, correct? This I believe is talking about the Judaizers who are saying you have to be circumcised to be saved. So they're calling circumcision. Paul's calling it mutilation. Okay. All right. Because I know we have incidents where in Isaiah. Yeah, by this time the the religions cutting themselves was not as prevalent, but this is specifically talking about the Judaizers and you have to be circumcised to be saved. That's why verse 3 says what we are. Yeah, and it talks about the circumcision of the flesh. Yeah, yeah. And that's I think that's still a point of issue today, isn't it? I mean, there are a lot of debates about that, and there are tribes, I think, that still cut themselves for whatever religious purposes. But and it's also a psychological problem, too, like cutting yourself. You know, some people do that because they're so numb to feel something, they cut themselves, but that's not not what Paul's hitting at here. But but you should be cognizant of those things. I agree. I've seen I've seen a lot of that also done as a as a means of uh self-discipline as well, too. So which is a silly notion as well. What do they used to call the monks, the de flagellators? Yes. Which if you say it wrong makes them very gassy. Um but yeah, they would intentionally walk around beating themselves with like cat or nine-tails and like whips and thorns, and thought it was what they deserved. Yeah. It was one of those Da Vinci Code movies where that got a lot of things. That's the sort of thing it was. Dan Brown books over on the shelf over there. We are well-versed around here, that's for sure. I don't know if that's well-versed or just keeping it out of the public's grasp. Really? There are a couple books at the gathering that I've put away so nobody can take this same. One of the things that I like in in this particular verbiage is the boast in Christ Jesus. I like that it says Christ Jesus. Me and Brian had a conversation about that once. Um uh Jesus the Christ or Christ Jesus. Makes him sound like his last name's Christ if you say Jesus Christ. Right. And for so many years I've thought that. You know, as a kid growing up, I mean, there's probably I mean, logically you would. I did too. Yeah, I mean, I'd say everybody does, but the age stands for hoopistank, and he's the reason. No, do you do you think genuinely, okay? So the age, right? Is is that is that not just where people have misconstrued uh herald be thy name? Yeah, probably. Probably. Yeah, it's like why then you have middle names back then, and Jesus has an H provincial. Yeah. I uh there's also a translation of the Bible, and I forget what it's called. It's it's like uh it might be called the Ebonics Bible, literally, and it's Jesus' last name is Davidson because he's in the line of Davidson. So Jesus Davidson was born to Joseph and Mary Davidson, and Jesus Davidson Christ showed up with his crew in Bethany, and it was like that. It's like, well, they're just giving him that last night. But I mean, I see why you would do that because that actually makes the family tree make sense. Well, now we know what the H is it's Harley. No, it's Uber's name. Jesus Harley Davidson. Oh my god. I can't believe you guys didn't see that coming. I don't think I wanted to. The weird we didn't see it is we weren't looking. Let's be honest, Jesus would have a Harley if he was here now. I don't think he would. I think I think he would walk. I've heard a lot of people actually think that it doesn't say hallowed be thy name, or they don't understand what hallowed is. Yeah. So they so they got so many stories on this from a class. Really, like actual people saying that? Yeah. Good. So I had a Bible class with a lady. She does not go to church here. Um, and it's no one in this room. And genuinely confused, it was like my third or fourth month being the senior minister here at Cross Point, and we were in class and we were talking about the Lord's Prayer, and this person was like, No, you're wrong, and I'm like, what? And she's like, It's how hollow be your name. Like, hollow. And I'm like, You mean hollow? No, hollow, like empty, yeah. So you're saying God's name empty, and then another guy pops in and he's like, or you know, Harold be thy name, or something like that. And it's like, Y'all, like, I just I've been to three gutter opens in a world fan. I ain't never heard nothing like that. You know, I'm from cold country, and and nobody in West Virginia said that stuff, and I'm just like, wait, I thought you I thought they were punking me for a minute. And I'm like, these people have been Christians longer than I've been alive. And one person thinks it says hollow be your name, and the other thinks God's name is Harold. Which is hilarious. Which it is hysterical, but then you have to be like, wait, are you joking? Like, right? Am I missing something? Am I it's like one of those situations where you're right, but the world makes you think you're wrong. You're like, Am I the crazy one? That's gaslighting. Maybe I'm the one that's gonna be a big thing. Maybe the colleges I went to got it wrong. It made sense to me because I'd heard it before come becoming uh Christian in in like uh uh horror movies and things of that nature. So you you you couldn't go to the church because it was hollowed ground, and I was like, oh, okay, so holy, I understand I understand that. So not hollow, it's not empty. It's just a hollow hollow herald. Hey Harry. Harold is not his name. That's the kind of thing that you pick up, like if you go back back through the Bible and you read it through very, very slowly, you're like, oh my gosh, I never noticed that. Like that's the kind of thing. Wow. No, I think if you reread and you were realized it was hallowed and you've been saying hallowed your whole life, that's when you're like, ooh, shh. I prayed every prayer to the wrong God. I feel like there's so much here in this first bit, like if you wanted to break down every kind of word and all those things, but I really love um verse 14 though. It's just something to keep in mind, and you know, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. And I don't know why, and maybe I'm hitting on the wrong thing, but Thomas Merton has a quote, and it is it's just sat with me so much since I first read it, and it is um, oh, how far do I have to go to be with you in whom I have already arrived? And it's kind of hitting on this note that I'm already, you know, God has already accepted. I'm already this, that, and the other forgiven, and I know him. I I but at the same time, I know him. I I have so far to go. I'm not I've not yet reached that reached that goal, and I'm not there yet. Well, I think that's we have a lot of God moments in our gathering, if you haven't listened before, where one person will talk and it'll be what someone else in the room is already thinking of and moving to that. It's very hollow. Harold's in the room. But to Jacob's point, verse 8, it says, More than that I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. I literally just highlighted that, copied it, and put it in my notes for my favorite version. It's interesting because that word, that knowing word, I'm gonna geek out real quick. It's the Greek word gnosis, G-N-O-S, G-N-O-S-I-S, and it's an active word. It's continuing. So you don't stop. It's something that you do every time. Like you're there's no point where we're ever gonna be like, I know God, period. Yeah, it's like I know. It's like I know God. I know God this far, but I'm gonna learn more. Or say Mike Colon, either. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. This passage hits me because it's my favorite verse, because when I first became a Christian and it was my first Easter, all my friends have moved away, my mom was out taking care of my sick grandparents. I was home alone, I went to church, and this was the scripture of the day, and I really felt this because I was really depressed. I had no friends, I had no one to spend. I was like, I finally have a proper Easter, you know, and I get it, and I'm all alone, and then I read this verse, and I'm like, oh, okay. It makes sense because now I look back, I lost all things, and it I it it really is. I had to lose everything and move away from everything I knew and all that to fully follow Jesus. Because if I didn't, I would go right back to the drugs and all the stuff I was into. Yeah, and that's one of the things we tell our community a lot. It's like, look, you guys are gonna have to change your surroundings. Relocate. You're gonna have to and we have one lady that actually sent her son away to like way, way, far away across the country. Because, again, if you want to stop doing something, you can't hang out with the people that do it all the time. And thinking about this verse, I was always a person who I've always had somebody in my life. There's always been somebody in my life. Uh, and I've never really been alone, and I've been called out on that before, too. But this last couple years of my life, I feel very much comfortable in everything, and it's being alone, it's knowing that I'm not alone because I am in Christ Jesus, that I have Christ Jesus in all things, so that I don't have to worry about ever being alone because I'm not. It's a perspective shift, right? Loneliness versus solitude. Yes. Loneliness is the negative one, and solitude is fine. Yeah, loneliness will cause you to do stupid things. Yes. Loneliness will cause you to go outside and do things you shouldn't be doing. Right, and go after things and people you shouldn't be doing. Yeah, yeah. Solitude is when you're okay being by yourself in Jesus, and that's fine, and you could just sit wherever you are. Yeah. And I love the fact that this particular version is but rubbish. Which literally in the Greek is human waste. Yeah, garbage. Like and that's Paul basically saying my PhDs, all my degrees in theology from seminary, all of my civic standings in the Jewish community, all the greatness that I have, that's cool and all, but it's garbage. It's literally needs to be flushed on the toilet. Oh, yeah. Compared to Jesus. Yeah. And then that not having righteousness of my own. Yeah, which he bragged right before. He's like, having righteousness of the law, perfect. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, but none of my own, and it's through Christ Jesus alone. So it's like, I don't know, that you that particular segue there or whatever, that those couple verses together. And then he keeps saying, I want to know Christ, right? Like that we just talked about. But I want to know him and the powers of resurrection. But then he includes a thing we uh like to discount and share in his what? Sufferings. Yes. Everybody wants to be like Jesus in the church nowadays until it comes to that part. And that's one thing that I have pressed so many times to so many of our community. You gotta deal with the sufferings. The sufferings are gonna come, but you gotta realize that the sufferings are teaching you. They're not meaningless with Jesus. Yeah, they're teaching you, and you're healing, and you're getting to a better state. It's so hard to praise the suffering. I have praised the suffering so much as of late because I realize because of the suffering, it made me who I am today. Content, uh, what'd you say earlier? Uh not longness, but solitude. Solitude. Well, I think I think that suffering that you're referencing is like God's refinement process, like a desolation. Right, and and this this suffering, it's like it's uh in Acts when uh God tells what's the priest's name? Stephen? Uh no, God tells this priest to go and send this message to Paul who just came from Damascus. Uh anti something? Antioch. Is that the priest's name? No, I don't know. That's the place. Uh anyway, uh, and he says, I will God tells this this priest, I will show Paul how much he must suffer from my name. Oh, when he sends him to restore his sight. Yeah, and I think uh Paul is using the suffering, like participation in the suffering as like a joyful thing. Like Paul's gonna go on, sing him. Because what Paul even says, I've been shipwrecked three times on the open sea, I've gone without food, you know, he lists off I've been stoned to death, got right back up, stoned again, thorn. Everybody's trying to kill me, I've been set on fire, you know, been thrown to the lions, and Jesus still has me here. Yeah, that's the suffering that leads you to sing hymns and pray in a gym cell. In an earthquake jail cell. Yeah, yeah. And then go on and not even leave and convert the guy who was good, who was about to commit suicide. Yeah. Yeah, and and that's one of the things that I've told a lot of our community, and I had in one of my lessons, is when I have the suffering, I think, ooh, something good's coming. God's got something so much better for me in in store. Like this sucks right now, and if it sucks really bad, it's gonna be really good afterwards. Let me make an nth degree to the charismatic movement who will tell you that's 100% true. That's not always true. Sometimes Satan can make you suffer and think that way. Well, uh, yeah, yeah. I would agree with that. But that's just for people listening to have a well-rounded approach. Well, I'll go back into you know, on my own righteousness, not having my own righteousness. When you don't, when you have your own righteousness, I think that's going to be more Satan leading you the wrong way. But also, um, suffering is is used by God, yes, but God does not want to make you suffer, right? He will use it for your glory. Yeah. Um you know, which in turn is for his glory, rather. That's what I meant. Sorry. Like, did God literally break your shoulder when you turn? I don't think so. That was probably you being stupid. And then but he maybe softened your heart to realize that. Tom's shoulder is gonna explode today, yeah, and he's gonna have a real big turnaround. Yeah. And the timing of the thing is just your setback was setting up for a comeback. Yeah, exactly. I like to set back for a comeback. Tongue twist director, I think. Some kind of preacher lingo. Probably use that in a sermon soon. Pringo. There you go. Pringo. Oh, what was it that I was gonna use? What was that? But also, just carrying on that, let me sorry, I'm tired of talking. He says that in verse 11, that by any means possible. Any means, like, I want to know God so badly, so close to him, that I don't care what that looks like. If it gets if Paul at this point you could be like, Paul, what about throwing in a wood chipper? Yep, if that's what it takes, throw me in the wood chipper. Yep. I yeah, I mean, that's another good point to make. In order that I may attain the resurrection at all costs, uh uh it will cost you everything. Everything. Salvation is free, but it costs you everything. It's gonna take you outside your comfort zone. And if you are willing to give that all up and to walk away from all those things. Uh, I think he was talking about that earlier in the verse, and we we'll see it in here in a little bit too. Um, but yeah, it it the material things that we think are so important are meaningless. Well, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Like you get the most joy out of seeing, you know, your friend happy or a child laugh or you know, something that doesn't cost anything. You know, you're not getting any, you know, it being able to afford going to an escape room with your friends is cool and that's a good thing, and God doesn't hate that. But that's that's not that's not it right there. No, it's it's for the escape of jail or something. Go back into fellowship, you know, the ultimate escape room. All right, Brian. All right, I'll continue. Not that I've already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting all lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as a perfect, think this way. And if in anything you think differently, God will reveal that also to you. However, let us keep walking instead with the same standard to which we have attained. Brothers, join in following my example and look for those who walk according to the pattern that you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even to cry as enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their stomach, and glory is their shame, who set their thoughts on earthly things, for our citizenship in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory, by his working through which he is able to even subject all things to himself. That kind of makes me think of uh Isaiah one and two in a way. Um like uh stop trusting in your chariots and horses and those things, and just trust in God. Our citizenship is in heaven, we're waiting on on him. You know, we don't our God is in our stomach, our you know, and we don't set ourselves on earthly things. Yeah, and and that's what I liked about it talking about what we think is important. Like the destruction, whose God is their stomach and glory and their shame. Like we have so many of these things that we hold so close to our chest that we worry about so much. And even in the first part of this, it talks about you know, letting go of those things and not having those things. Uh the knowing, the value of knowing Christ Jesus is far better. Uh, what is it? Uh the Proverbs put her worth is more than rubies. And this is just telling us that people in general, I think, are worth more than what we give them credit for. Also, make sure verse 20 says get your address right. Oh, yeah. Like your your home is not here. Um, this is just what's the song of singing my this is the world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. Yep, yeah. Right? Like we have a dual citizenship while we're here, but ultimately the dual doesn't matter. It matters legally to the world, right? But our citizenship is not here. We're what does Hebrews say? We are looking for a country whose uh architect and builder is God, you know. Um, and so we're just sojourners here. We're we're we're tent livers. It's kind of like a chicken liver, but just uh I was about to say this first thing I thought when you said livers, I'm like, no, that's not what he meant. Dwellers, we're tabernacle, we're tabernacling the body part. Tabernacling. Yeah, 1 Peter 1, 17. Yeah, that's the one. So you know you are foreigners here, live in reverence for your. Yeah, the idea of being a citizen of heaven is something that is far greater in my mind than anything else. Yeah. Our citizenship is in heaven for which we eagerly wait. Well, it feels like in this kind of paragraph 17 through 21, there's a clear contrast Paul is making between having your mind set on earthly things and things that are of God. And he's, you know, it literally says their mind is set on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven. So if you know where your home is, you'll act accordingly. Reminds me of being a kid. You act this way at home. Yeah. Yeah. Oh. Oh. Well, and that goes into what I said. Like, my mom would get on me in certain situations about don't act this way in front of certain people because she held them to a higher standard or court, or she didn't want to, I guess, reflect bad on her. Now, granted, this is not when I was a child, this is when I was an adult. It's like three hours ago. You know, and and I fully told her, Mom, if I know that God sees me and hears me, you're telling me that this person is more important than God. Like you don't want God, you don't want this person to hear me do this or say that. Even though God already did. You know, it's like, Mom, I don't put that much stock in other people. And I don't I don't mean that disrespectfully. It's just at the same time. I think there's a biblical way to like honor people and respect people like that, but it's like we're all the same here. Like we're all equalized. Yeah. If not through Jesus and we're brothers and sisters, then through death. And death is the great equalizer of all things. Yeah, what does Proverbs say, Rich or poor? Right. All be at the same end. Isn't that in the in the wedding vows too? Richer or poor? Well, yeah, that's no. I I like how the LSB says brothers. Brothers join in following. It says it a couple times, brothers. And and we have talked about what was a Romans 8. We are heirs to uh to God. So everything Jesus has. Everything Jesus has, Jesus is our brother. You know. Um I would we be willing to say that he's more than a stepbrother, he's more of a half-brother. I'm willing to say he's my God. Well, that too, but again, like he's not just a stepbrother, he's a half-brother, because we are created in his image. I I don't under I don't usually understand all these things. So I I I just uh he says that he's my brother, I'm I'm on board. I'm on board with it. Yeah, we'll we'll let his word stick, right? Figure the adoption of sonship is like Jesus' healing. Yes, you don't get a half healing, you're healed all the way, so you're adopted all the way. Well that's a good point. You are adopted. Yeah, you always get one of those churches where you have to have enough faith to be wholly healed or you're just half. You've got to have faith for that to work. That's a great movie, the original. Yeah. I thought you were going to go to George, Michael, and William real quick on the limit. You're thinking of the wrong guy. So in verse 18, for it says, For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. In this letter, is Paul specifically addressing those Judicizers that are still wanting to slice a new Christians, these new followers of Christ, to still abide by the law. First day of new converts class is circumcision. Circumcision. Nobody showed up. Yeah, no doubt. Ask those one guys. Um, yeah, like you said, the walk, uh the fact that it says, now tell you even crying as enemies of the cross of Christ. How many of us weep for people who aren't saved? Right. Like that's what we should be doing. Or in this case, weeping, he's weeping for those who think they are Israel that still thinks they are God's chosen people in this place, and he's like, I've been there. That ain't the case anymore. Uh going back into the people who think that they're righteous, but they're really not. Right. They're on their own righteousness. Like it's their glory is their shame. Yeah, yeah. It's again, I think we should weep for them more than we actually do. We probably don't think about it. You know, we should also revel, probably, in our brothers and sisters more, take more uh appreciation in the brothers and sisters we have. That's one of the things that I I I I love about my circle of people now is we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and we're all sharing the load together. Our yoke is equal, and we're doing this life together instead of separately. And that support system in itself is awesome to be able to reach out to your brother or your sister and say, Hey, I need a prayer, or I need, you know, I need to speak to somebody, you know. Um and it's good to have a godly man to talk to if you're a man, and it's good to have a godly woman to talk to if you're a woman. I think that is very important too, to make sure that there's no lines crossed and people don't get the wrong ideas or wrong impressions. So try to keep everything in that that on board or above board, I guess is what I'm saying. But yeah, I mean to have the circle of friends that are all like-minded that you can go to is majorly important, especially dealing with the world today. Well, and also we're in this like culture of like deconstruction and church trauma and spiritual abuse, which are all valid things that are happening, but also I think they get overused and become a reason people just default to as why would I go to church? Because they hurt this person, or maybe they hurt me. Yes, that might happen, but Paul, but what you just said is key is you realize that the majority of the people in churches all over the world are there for you, even if you don't know them. You could go to them. Say you went to Italy tomorrow, you don't speak Italian, but like you could find a Christian who would help you, yeah, you know, and they are your brother, your family is global, and you have a support system no matter where you are. And so many people forget that aspect, they just want the little like Sunday morning experience where everybody's best friends and happy and Skittles and puppies, and and life doesn't operate that way. Um, you know, I've been in places where I've not been around anyone I know except other Christians, and I didn't even know them, like when I was in the Amazon Rainforest. Help me out of so much tremendous stuff, I'd probably be dead without them. But like I mean, your brothers and sisters are everywhere. It's not just like like in America, I think we treat churches like they're gangs, like we can only associate with this branch or chapter. It's a club, yeah, or like this version of it, and and and I get the wisdom in some of that because some are just doing what Paul is saying, yeah, yeah. But like, um, but the family thing is is huge that we have this global family of billions of people that we could fall back on at any given time. Yeah, and whether we know them or not, we share the same spirit, the same Lord, the same baptism, the same beliefs, mostly. I mean, yeah, we can talk about disputable things, but you get we all Jesus died and rose from the dead, and we can fall back on that no matter where we are in the world. And those people will help us. And they are our family, yeah. And we're gonna live with them forever anyway. Yeah, and one thing that I think me and Brian can kind of concur on is the community that we have, we treat them that way regardless. Yeah, we come to them with true fellowship, true love, true family, and the difference that it's made. And it's because you've lived on the false side of that, where people use that to what can I get out of it for me? How can I sell this person this line of thing or whatever? But true family is I don't know you, but I'm here for you, and you show up on my doorstep, here we go. Can that be taken advantage of? Yes, but everything can. Everything can. Paul's talking about that here. Like we weep for that. Everything, but that doesn't mean you just stop you just don't throw like you can't Christ is coming back for his bride, not his Lone Ranger Christians. So or his bride's uh right. So like you have like the idea I used to be like I'm gonna be a preacher who's never gonna be like, Oh, you didn't go to church, you're a terrible person. But now the more I go, no, the there's a direct correlation to even if you're half asleep, if your butt is in the pew, you're going to probably be more spiritually apt and mature than the people who say I can worship God at home by myself. I mean, I mean you absolutely can, but he says and commands you to be together because of this reason, the family part. How do you get to know someone that you don't know and never met? You don't. Yeah, you just said that what last week. Yeah. How are you mad at somebody you don't even know? How can you be a bride if you're not in the bride? Yeah. How can you how can you be a part? How can Jesus be your bridegroom if you're not part of the bride? Yeah. Yeah, very valid point. But that's part of the support. Yeah. I think that's another big thing that has helped me is that prayer week that we had. Uh my buddy, he said, read this book for me. Tell me the cliff notes version of it because he was too lazy to do it himself. So I did, and the thing that I got out of it was this the community, the the groups, how important it is to have it, even if it's even if it's a house, if it's your house. I mean, I I I've been in situations in my youth where we didn't have a home church, so we just met at somebody's house. Still count. That they they did that in the first century, you know. Yeah, they didn't have fancy church buildings. Exactly. They were very much more smarter than us. Well, I definitely agree with that. Um, but yeah, it it is so valid and important to have that family in that community and to treat everybody not like the weird uncle or the crazy aunt or the cat aunt or something. Just have your job. Yeah, exactly. Be the family member, be the brother. And that includes like not just being yes people to each other. No, like you need someone. This group like is something I value greatly because they'll say, Scott, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard if it is. Yeah, they'll be like, oh, that's great, and then that's so stupid. We all you know, we all need a Nathan and to be a Nathan. Here I am. I mean from the Bible, but you too. We all need to be more like you. He's kind of like that guy. Yeah. And but yeah, you are the wicked one. The story is about you. Yeah. You know, yeah. I mean, I've had to do it too. It's like I've had to go to people and and tell them, look, these are the hard truths that you need to hear. And people don't want to do that. People don't want to hear that. People don't want to be wrong. God loves me, and as long as I'm doing right, then you don't have the right to judge me. It's like, okay, that's called moral moralistic therapeutic deism. And I'm not judging you, I'm just trying to help you. God is not saving you based on behavior modification. No. He didn't die to make you a good citizen, he died to raise you from death to life. Right? The good citizen part will come naturally, and your moral morals will flow into that, but Christianity is not a moral rehabilitation program, it's a a literal resurrection from the dead. You're not a mistake maker needing a life coach, right? You're a lack of a better word, sinner needing a savior. Yeah. You're dead and you need to be brought back to life. Yeah. You said it perfectly in our one podcast. It's not, it's God versus sin. Right. Instead of good versus evil, right versus wrong. And that's the thing we need to be transformed from. And that's why we need Jesus and we need those people in our lives. Agreed. And like we said, let's make heaven crowded. Agreed. Let's go to chapter four, Sir Brian. All right. Therefore, my brothers, loved and longed for my joy and crown. In this way, stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. I urge Yodia, and I urge to think the same way in the Lord. Indeed, I ask you also, genuine companion, help these women who have contended together alongside of me in the gospel, with also Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing. But in everything be pro in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is dignified, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, and if anything worthy of praise, consider these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Practice these things. And the God of peace will be with you. I love that. So this this heading and uh and my translation is is headed Final Exhortations, and it's kind of nice that like Paul is telling you the things in this segment of uh of this letter that like everyone wants to hear. Like, hey, this is these are you know the the peace of God is going to be on on you. It transcends all understanding. Like these are just really great and comforting things to hear, especially in your right near the end of a letter. Yeah. Well, in verse uh verse eight through nine just resonates with me so much, and I've kind of tried to put that into practice. Like when I pray more, I just I just think about nice things. Like I don't, it's not my prayers aren't necessarily always asking God for things or even just trying to be silent and think on Him. Sometimes my prayers are just thinking of joyful, beautiful things, like especially Gracie and I are getting married in October. So a lot of a lot of my prayers since we got engaged this past September will have been uh what does that look like? I'm like imagining those things, and I'm imagining uh this building full of people that I love, and then I'm also imagining uh that I'll we'll we'll eat and we'll have reception here and all those things, and I'll probably I'd like to say a prayer over them. So a lot of my prayers are like thinking of what I'll pray about when that time comes, and it's just such a beautiful thing to think on whatever is pure and lovely and admirable. Like not when you're outside of Christ, at least if it's if you're anything like me, you didn't you didn't think on things that much. You know, I was really into conspiracy, so I was like everything was super negative. You have to find something else. Right. Well, even you know, everything was super negative, and you have to balance. I didn't see how the positive was outweighing so much. It all felt dark and dressed and dreary and all these things, but when you're in Christ, you can't help but think on all the beauty that's around around you. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. And as far as praiseworthy, it could be small things, it didn't have to be like the super huge thing, it could be something very simple as uh you know, you had all the green life on the way home or something. What a blessing. Thank God for toothpaste. What a blessing that is in Middletown for her. Yeah, you know, and and again, it's to to think on these things, whatever's true, whatever is dignified. When you're in Christ, when you have him as your foundation, it definitely is easier to be in this state of mind because you have a grateful heart, a grateful mindset, and everything is beautiful. Wasn't there a song by Tom Jones or something like that? Everything is beautiful and Ray Stevens. Ray Stevens, I'm sorry, my bad. Well, like 90% of the audience just assigned to you because you're not sure. Probably did. I don't know. I knew there was a song by it though. Um, but yeah, it's like one of the things that I love to do a couple years back was sit on my back patio and just look at the clouds, look at the trees, watch the squirrels play. Yeah, you know, it was just so like I had never really done that up until that point in my life. Everything was so chaotic and crazy. Yeah. And as a kid, I loved Bob Ross. But I love Bob Ross because it was great to listen to him and fall asleep. Like it was the original ASMR. But what you find out is nature, God's true nature is the original ASMR. That's revealed in all creation. Brother Scott has has said it um I think a number of times. Uh speaking about the rest of the world or the noise when when he was going on about his uh sorry, uh spending some time in silence, which was was the whole lesson. Uh yeah, the the no the noise where you were talking about all the other the external things, and then you were actually just able to focus on something pleasant. Yeah. I and it it's always trying to get your attention. I think I think that that was that was a very good message, rather. I I still sticks with me. So yeah. Well, it's like even uh just going like hanging outside with kids. Yeah, you forget how much you lose. Like the lawn is a chore to me, it's an adventure to them. Like every blade of grass is discoverable to a kid, and everyone is to be mowed over by me as quickly as possible. But like the they can look at the grass and see like the ladybugs and the ants doing things. I look at the grass and just see something to sigh about and be like, three more days and I better cut this, you know. But they get lost in the wonder of it all. Yeah, and I think we forget that because of the responsibilities. And when we switch our thinking to this, and this you know, one of the things God has not blessed me with right yet, um, because I think he's teaching me to learn it on my own, is he's not upgraded my filter for a long time. I haven't got that DLC yet. Um, but I've been saying in my head a lot of times when I'll say out-of-pocket things are because I just ADHD verbally spat into the air, you know, like the guy, I'm kind of like the guy in the that's chained in the cemetery screaming random stuff. But like sometimes it's just for the shock of what's coming out. I want to be just as shocked as everyone else. But like I've really started saying in my head, and my little children who repeat things, uh, have brought this on as take every thought captive to Christ. You know, and that how do you do that? Well, this right here tells you how. Think on these things. Like, don't think about this other junk. This other stuff, yeah, you're gonna have to think about. But the majority of your thinking should be on whatever is true, lovely, honorable, praiseworthy, you know, um, all of that. That's what you should be thinking on. Let's take this back to the beginning. And it was good. Very good. He created all these things and said it was good. And we have let the world just completely scream us out of it. I'm glad you said that about the wonder of children and the grass, though. I remember as a kid, two things. There was a tree that fell down in the backyard. Did it make a noise? I don't know. I wasn't there to hear it. I wasn't there to hear it. I was asleep. But I remember that tree as being the biggest tree in the world. And me and my buddies would like play on it and play through it and play. And I I think of, and this is gonna be my Star Wars geekiness, you know, indoor, you know, with the Ewoks playing on this tree. Star Wars is cool in 2026, by the way. You're true. Yeah, you don't have to be ashamed of it. Well, I'm not ashamed of it. I got tattoos about it. So anyway, so that tree, when I go back now and think about it, that tree was not that big. You're like, it's literally a dogwood. Yeah, it really is. It could not have been that big. Yeah, but it seems that it seemed like it was because we had that wonder of children. And when we're studying the way we do, the way we unpack all this stuff, I I love what we had the other day when we started the book Daniel. And our one sister was like, Oh, you can talk to me like I'm a two-year-old because I've never read Daniel, and then the wonder in her eyes, and she was just so excited to be reading about it. But even when we're reading this together, I've seen Scott be like, I've never seen that before. You know, the pastor who's been to college and all these things is still one in wonder of what we read sometimes. There was another incident where they dug a pool next door, and I remember that hole being the biggest hole in the world, too. Yeah, playing in that. Like a coal mine or something. Yeah, it was like being it was just crazy. And it's just I we need to get back to that. We need to get back to remembering that and being like the children that we really are. Because we really are, we are just scratching the surface of these things, and we let the world block everything out and scream at us and all these other things. We call it the chatterbox in our circles. Well, it's really easy to go with yourself, and I think it takes, at least for me, takes a lot of mental effort to captivate every thought and think on such things sometimes. When a lot of times my brain's just on autopilot or I get trapped in a cynical thought or or whatever, and it's so easy to just go with the nature. But when you start putting a lot of effort into trying to think on such things, and it becomes like that's when psychology kind of gets involved, I suppose, because that's when it can start turning into habit. And the next thing you know, you're you're thinking on most most thoughts go straight to Christ. Or, you know, and little by little you're chipping, chipping more and more more at it until, you know, my like this is a small example in my life, but a few uh like a month ago now, I tried I tried to open my car door because my car door is all screwed up, and trying to open it up, it was stuck, and I ripped the handle off. And before me living in Christ, that would have just ruined my whole year. Just ripping this handle off. Yeah, well, it just would have ruined a long time for me. Because I ripped it off and it was a total accident, just bone-headed move, and it was just a crappy door. And since then, I haven't had a door handle, and I'm just I'm so content with that. Yeah, I just go through that's a different dude. I wasn't hurt the church venture, but that's not my fault. Jake Burkle. But uh, you know, every time I open, I every time I get into my car, I gotta go through the back, reach over, in there. Yeah, it's total total inspector gadget stuff eventually, but you know, I'm fine because it'd be kind of a waste of money for me to fix it. And who cares? I can fix it easy enough. And then also it's kind of you can be like, I can skip the gym because I do like 60 crunches getting in the back window of the truck. Too full. So here's a cool thing. GK Chesterton, and I wanted to get this right, so I looked up, but his book called Orthodoxy, talks about children. And he says, grown-up people aren't strong enough to exalt in monotony. Not monogamy, monotony. But maybe God is strong enough to exalt in it. It is possible that God says every morning, do it again to the sun, and every evening, do it again to the moon. Maybe it's not necessary that all daisies be alike. Maybe God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them the same. Maybe God has the eternal appetite of infancy, for we have sinned and grown old, and our father is now younger than we. Oh, wow. Think about that. Yeah. Especially if you're a parent that's from Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. Like, your kid, like eventually you get tired of throwing them up and down. Yeah. Especially as they get older and want to do them more and they get heavier. Yeah. And you're like, oh, can we be done? I gotta mow the grass or cook dinner or take out the trash, cut down a tree. And and then eventually you hit that and you're like, wow, God is that's why Jesus says become like children, because God is never bored with the very beautiful, good thing He's created. Yeah. So why do we? Like if the creator didn't get bored with it, what do we? That's I'm grateful. Because we have so many. We're just so busy. Yeah, it's so many crazy. Our glory is our shame. Yeah, yeah. I mean, everybody's got a screen of some kind that's flashing colors and everything else in their faces. That's I love that though. That's I'm gonna definitely read that book, I think. But also, can we not skip verse two where he literally takes this huge church conflict and just says, I wish these two sisters would just agree. Like he doesn't give them any instructions to fix this conflict except get along. Yeah, yeah, I I feel that way. I feel that's how we should handle it. It doesn't tell us what they were mad about, but he says they both have been a great help to me. They've labored side by side with me being working together with Paul together, and then he mentions Clement, who becomes Clement of Alexandria. That's a pretty important person in church history. He's a direct disciple of Paul through Jesus, obviously. But like, why can't we just look at people and say, really, just get over it and get along? But then people get all offended. They're like, you don't know my side of the story. You know what? Paul just says, just agree. Just agree. Or even, and I I don't I'm not gonna disagree with that, but I'm also gonna say that it's okay to agree to disagree and still be friendly and still be brothers and sisters. I don't have to agree with if you agree with every person, you're brainwashed, or they are. Yeah, well, one of the things we learned in that conference was don't fight over the goofy stuff. Right, yeah. What was the three different things? One that is absolute, and then the outer thing was and then there's was important, and then there was disputable matters on the outskirts or whatever. Like, you know, flat earth and round earth. That's not it's a round earth, brother. It's a hill to die on. That's the truth. That's a hill to die on, brother. We definitely pick ant hills to die on. Yeah. And and I've said this now for years to even view it, like, why can't we just be the church? But I mean, why do we have to have all this crazy stuff? And if and the thing about church folk nowadays, is because we get that way, is when we don't have a hill to die on, we create one that's not even necessary. Yeah, you know, we're like, well, we're gonna fight about this, the color of the carpet, or I don't like the paint. But I wasn't, I did I came to all the committee meetings and voted yay, yeah, but then it got painted and I hated. Well, that's that's on you, brother. Like you didn't you didn't even show up to paint, but you voted for it. Should the church have a kitchen and a fridge? No. I'm just kidding. Yes, yes, they should. Oh man, this book is so good. I feel like this segment here kind of calls back to Ecclesiastes because like Ecclesiastes. I I guess the the connection that I make is like basically everything that's good in your life, everything that um everything that you're blessed with. I mean, that ultimately all comes from God. And what does James say? Every good and perfect gift comes from God our Father, who is not like the shifting lights of this world, you know. But it's I'm sorry that's a terrible paraphrase. I get what I'm saying, but everything good is from God, and sometimes even the bad, you know, because he can use it. I love it. And then also just get along, you two. Just get along. Yeah, agreed, yeah. I also think that's wild that Paul writes that too, because in Timothy, he's remembering Acts, him and Mark, John Mark have a falling out, right? Him and Barnabas and John Mark. But who's the last guy he asked for in Second Timothy? He says, Please send John Mark. I miss him. Yes. Whoa, they finally got it worked out. Because it the axe makes it seem like this is it, you know? No, Paul, like Paul is in his last days in the jail cell, and he's writing his last epistle, and he calls for the guy who acts says split up Paul and Barnabas, the dynamic duo. And he he calls for him and he says, Have him bring my coat. I'm cold. You know, showing that they're friends again. So just agree. Like, you shouldn't be mad at your brother or sister for years on end. You shouldn't, if you can get it out of the way in a day, that'd be preferable, I think, before the sun goes down. But like so many people in church is mad at people, they don't even remember what they're mad about. No, that's agreed. I was slighted what by what? I don't know. Oh, but we're still mad? Yes, I am. Yeah. Oh, okay. Die mad, I guess. I think people have a tendency, and I was certainly this way in some respects, people have a tendency to think, well, that's just how I feel. No, you can choose, you can choose to not feel that way. Right. You know, you can't really control your emotions in a given instantaneous moment. But after you feel them, they the emotions arise. A thing happens, you acknowledge them, and then you choose Christ. It also God doesn't need me to feel a way for him to work. Like, that's the great, one of the greatest lies of our time, I think. And probably all time, but since we live here, this is one I'm familiar with. I haven't Rick and Morty haven't come taking me back somewhere else yet. You know, and thank God for that. But like, you know, we're just so focused on our little little circumstances, and we forget that everybody is going through their own circumstances, and we're all going through the same storm. We're just on different boats, and it looks different. Yes, you know? And and sometimes we'll find out we're probably more on the same boat than we think we aren't. So just like let it go. Pull an Elsa, let it go. Thanks for that. That I tell my boys all the time is like, you know. Because they'll feel angry, usually it's anger with you know what what are the other other boys in our family. Then I'll go to them and I'll say, Hey, like it's okay to feel angry, but it's not okay to act on that anger. You have you have to choose the way that you react to that. And I think that's so important with raising boys. Let them be aware. Especially three. Yeah. I I mean, it's okay to have feelings, it's okay to have emotions. Now, how you deal with them and how you act on them is the important part. Yeah. But don't be ashamed or embarrassed or think you're less of who you are because of them. Right. And some people like are impatient and like I will initially lash out sometimes in emotions, and then once that lash happens, that's when my brain kicks in and is like, whoa, dummy. But unfortunately, the damage is done now and out there sometimes, and I'm trying to figure that out. Yes. But like, you know, just sometimes Christy takes it a step further. She's like, Me and your dad are gonna die one day, and it's just gonna be you two left. We we um how you gonna get along? Yep. And they're like, we're never gonna die. She's like, We're going to die, and so are you. She's like, You're in Christ now, you know this. Yeah. And I'm like, whoa, honey, that's rough. But it's true. Okay. But I remember like how me and my sister were like mortal enemies growing up. Like, she tried to kill me 850 times minimum. And just because I existed, and now we're like best friends. Yeah. But like there was a day back like 20 years ago when I'd be like, I would never talk to this chump, speaking of my sister, when she leaves for college, and now we talk daily. Yeah. You know, we're like best friends, and and we realize that. But sometimes you do have to, mom has to bring down the hammer and be like, You're all that you have when we die. One of the things that happened to me and my first wife, um, we were at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. And it was like Halloween or something, because we were dressed up as Frankenstein and Frankenstein's bride. So nothing to do with blues. But also nothing out of the blue. They were having their Halloween party. Like there was a bunch of people there dressed up. It wasn't just uh two of us, you know. Anybody ever told you you look like Frankenstein? I'm just kidding. That's exactly why I did it. I love that costume, and he's one of my favorite cryptids or monsters or whatever. Yeah, he's a monster, he's not cryptid. Whatever. But we were talking to a couple, and I I think we were married at the time, because we were talking, and we were talking about kids, and you know, maybe one we said, and this this lady said, you gotta have at least two. Because what happens when you guys pass away? They gotta have somebody that they can shoulder all that with. Yeah, exactly. And that's probably one of the best pieces of advice that I'd gotten per pre-marriage or during marriage or whatever. I mean, we didn't really think about that per se. We did have two children, but it wasn't like we planned it or anything. You know, it was just kind of like that's good advice right there to do that. It is. Makes sense. That's what I mean. I my sister and I, I used to have scars for my sister. One literally tried to poison me. Yeah, I'm sure I fight. Oh my gosh. I'm sure I fought back every now and again. I was told not to hit her, so I I just kind of stood there and took it. I was told not to hit my sister either, but one time when I got bigger than her, my parents let me wail on her for like 10 extra seconds. Well, eventually, well, we stood outside of the room like, yeah, she's had that coming for a while. Oh, we're still living together. My sister, she realized that too. She was like, uh, I can't hit him like when he was seven. But you're also like, wow, she hits harder than when she was seven. Well, I'm not gonna hit. She's probably holding back. She's she's small, but she packs a wallet. Small but mighty. Yeah. I will have to admit that I probably did more psychological damage to my sister than any physical. I'll attest to it. Yeah. Yeah. Me and my friends, we we we we pulled a pretty gnarly prank on her. It still weighs with her today, I think. Have you offered to pay her therapy bills? Because that's the person thing to do, according to this. The fact that dad didn't kill me. That was enough. Yeah, yeah. So mental is also thank God for Larry. Yeah, for sure. Larry Terry. I missed it. I love it. I want to be your mom's friend so bad. I hope she listened to this and hears that. She probably won't be. She'll be like, I don't want to be his friend. It's okay, I get it, Nadine. I wouldn't need to finish this up, Everyone. Okay. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. That now, at last, you've revived thinking about me. Indeed. You were thinking about me before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I learned to be content and whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble meat, and I also know how to live in abundance. In any and all things I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have been sorry, you have done well to fellowship with me in my affliction. And you yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel after I left Macedonia, no church fellowshipped with me in the matter of giving and receiving, but you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my need. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the fruit which increases in your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance. I have been filled, having received from Epaphroditus, my apologies, what you have sent. A fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God, and my God will fulfill all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. There's so many great, great nuggets in this in the Philippians that I love so much. And the one that is in this particular section is I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in abundance. In any and all things I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. And this is something that maybe I'm wrong. Probably. I'm teasing. I usually am, yes. Um in a capitalist country, it's hard to be content. Yep, because you're wired to not be. Are you a commie? No, no, no, no. No, but I I mean you're the one to talk about. You're one to talk social. It's ours, not yours. No, you're right. Well, yeah. And this is barely a capitalist country anymore. That's true. But neocapitalist. Yeah, you can probably snip it all this out, I guess. I'll probably leave it there. But see you guys. Love you, brother. Love you guys. How much does the word content become a four-letter word? You know what I'm saying? Well, that's why we can do all things through a verse taken out of context. Yeah. Like, that's that's really what's happening here, is because we forgot the preceding part of contentment. Yeah. But it's you in the world. Agreed. Not of the world. Agreed. So you determine these things. Agreed. But I'm content in all things. Daddy are. But because of my foundation. That's it, but you're you're you're you're defaulting the world on on the influenced, right? It's it's who influences you that decides all that. Correct. So if you are in God and you're with Christ Jesus, and that's no. Being here, being in Abu Dhabi, wherever, you're you're fine. Rather, you're fine. Yeah. Yeah. But rich or poor, hungry or full. Yeah, and I think that's what is hurting America today, or just maybe society. And I mean, again, like Brad says gives us a spirit so that we may process the world differently, right? But if we're just looking at it from a sheer human perspective, we're literally trained to never be content. Yeah. The song that taught me the best about Philippians um when I was in college was Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones, which is weird because it hits it though. He's like, I can't be a man because I don't smoke as same cigarettes as this guy, or I my shirts are not as white as this guy because I don't use his laundry detergent. So I have to keep going and going and doing better. And I mean that's that that was what like 1960 something? Yeah. Um almost a hundred years ago. That's wild. Um like um you know, it's it's crazy, but we're but I I don't think it's just an American thing. I think it's just we see something. This is why I don't covet as in the law, because we see something and you want it. And James even goes through this. He says, You you take things, you want things, so you take them and you kill each other to have them, you know, when you don't even you could have those if you just ask God, you know. But we're programmed, it's never good enough. Yeah, you're never good enough. You have to start like in West Virginia of all places, we had a really good school system that I went to. We had to decide what we were gonna do. We grew up when I was in fourth grade, and we had to go on a career track, like, and I so I just picked business because this is my dad. Yeah, and but like by the time I got around to it, I'm in high school, I'm like in accounting, and I'm like, this is the worst thing that I could ever possibly want to do. But like, I was not content, but like, but I could choose if I I don't have to stick in that track, and thank God he decided to move me another direction. But like I think we're programmed to just desire more and more and better and better, and when we see someone, we we realize that the end of our when we get that thing that we're programmed to, it's never enough. We're still empty, and that's what keeps the world system operating, right? Uh brother, I I I don't I don't play keeping up with the Joneses. I don't and and I and nor do I like uh I I was telling Tom the other day, uh I was like, uh I used to be a very jealous person, and I would see somebody have something, and I was like, that person doesn't deserve that thing. I deserve it for whatever reason. Uh but uh but I think coming to Christ, I see it differently now. I do like I I do I look at those same people like look at them, man, look what he's got. That's fantastic for that guy. You you're happy for other people succeeding. Agreed, agreed. And and and I think in that manner, if we can focus on those things, it doesn't none of it matters. None of the trying to catch up to other people, none of uh none of having to have more and more and more. Actually, I just I appreciate things I have. Yeah, like I used to get so mad that I had a crappy lawnmower and I had a spat of even crappier ones. I'm just gonna have a crappy lawnmower ahead. One of the many, many things that I like about going out into the woods and living out in the woods for a little while is that is my snoring. That's that's exactly what I was getting. The sawing logs in the morning. Like the the like it's almost like you're proving to yourself that like even if everything goes wrong and I have to live off of something that's on my back, like it's gonna be okay. Like it's all right. Everything that's wonderful, brother. Like, I know how to do all the things to keep me alive, yeah, and that's ultimate contentment. Yeah, because I don't I don't need like a Snickers bar. Right. You know, like I want, I want, I want the wild things during the people to stand in line for the same cell phone every year just because it's a new version, but like literally nothing has changed on it. That's good, you know, and and but that's and I think you're right. I think I'm uh we're saying the same thing. I'm just saying from a worldly perspective, we're just taught to constantly pursue the next thing. But when you get to the top of that ladder, you realize how lonely it is up there, and there was nothing up there, and then there's a new ladder that you're supposed to start climbing. But in Christ, Jesus is like, no, like I I've given you everything you will ever need. You need nothing. You will be okay in any circumstance. And Paul got to live like 17 people's lives in one lifetime, and so he fully understood this. But I think it's a beautiful thing, like you said, Brian. Now we're afraid to be excited when people like, yeah, I need a new garage door, and my neighbor got one. I used to be I'd be like, Well, I needed one first. Now I'm like, oh, they got a new garage door, my so holy, it's more spiritual than theirs. Um, you know, I know a guy, by the way, if you do need one. Um money's the problem, it's not the so it and and when you said that, my mind went to a place like how how wonderful would the world be, and how many of the problems we have in this world today would be solved if everybody could be like that. If everybody like, oh, how wonderful for you to have that. You know what I'm saying? To not have that jealousy, to not want to rob and steal. I mean, how many times have we dealt with that ourselves with the gathering? It's like we have to replace everything they own because somebody takes it from them because they think they deserve it over them. Agreed. Well, it's it's almost like Darwinism, like put into real play, survival of the fittest, right? Like, I'm bigger than you, I could take said thing and you'll die, or f figure out an alternative. Yeah. That's not a way to live. I used to live that way. Yeah, and and one of the things that I just came to realization um here this week is uh we've tried to give a leg up as much as we can to the less fortunate. And the thing that I love to see now is how much that things are changing. The fact that people are starting to realize that we're here and we have them. Like God is providing for us to be able to provide for them so they don't have to carry and worry about all this stuff. Like, how many times have we tried to tell them, you don't need all this stuff? Donate it back to us, we will wash it, we will put it back into rotation, and you'll get it again, maybe, or somebody else will get it. Like I've seen the same hoodie or sweatshirt or whatever on four or five different people, and the joy that I get out of that being able to provide for so many different people instead of the coveting and stealing and robbing and them having to carry and worry about all these things. Like it's I I took great joy in and seeing that that's starting to happen. There's less stuff for them to be worried about, and they're still being provided for. And that's just how I see it. It's like that's awesome. Yeah, and there's people who are living unhoused or you know, in un undesirable situations as living goes. It's if we can take that worry off somebody's back because God has taken it off ours, why would we not want to? Agreed. Like, that's Paul Paul even says in Romans 12, outdo each other in serving one another. Like, one of the things that drives me nuts about the church sometimes is like we'll be so upset that somebody succeeds somewhere and like they got there first. And it's like, are you kidding me? Like you're mad because they did the Jesus thing before you did, even though you knew you ought to be doing it. Yep. Like, I'm just they didn't deserve that. Well, are you God now? You know, like only God knows that, yeah, right? Like, but we should cheer each other on. If Brian comes in here driving a Rolls Royce tomorrow, I'm gonna ask him if I can drive it. Yes, but like I'm really happy Brian has that. Or if your new truck, Tom, I'm glad, or your new Toyota, or you know, my Kias. I'm just glad they're there and I will let you use them and I will share them. But like I used to be so like, mm-mm, you ain't touching my stuff, it's mine. Right. Yeah, but Jesus changed it because he provides. And if somebody steals everything I own, Jesus will provide again. I agree. It it's always there, and and that's the one thing I love about what we do down here is we have so many different churches coming in and providing all these things. God has put it on us and put it on them, and to have those connections and to see the difference that's being made. And we had another person go off to treatment this week. You know, we've got people celebrating ten months sober or eight months sober and so forth and so on. It's just and they're absolutely the most beautiful human beings. Oh, it's like the light they exude is supernatural. Oh, yeah, I that that's one of the things that that I love so much too is to see to see where they've come from. Like we have a couple that we've known for years now, and now they're sober, they're clean, they're housing, their jobs, uh they've been asked to be in the worship, they've done Bible studies, we're gonna have one of them on to do the podcast with us. It's just gonna be it's just awesome to watch all this transformation going on and to not have the jealousy and not be, you know, the way that the world is, to get out of the world and all this nonsense. A friend of mine, she posted this on Facebook the other day, and I've just been thinking about it. If God is making you wait, then do what waiters do and serve. That's pretty good. Good. You know, I I really like that, and she's doing a lot of good work too. I really like some of the stuff she's been doing and posting. Uh, she actually came down and did uh a testimony for us at the gathering, and now she's doing some work up where she lives now. So it's just I actually reached out to her not too long ago and asked her if I could use some of her stuff in the podcast, and she was definitely on board for that. So but yeah, like if you're waiting around and you don't know where to do or what to be doing or how to do something, be like a waiter and serve. And there's plenty of opportunities. You just it sometimes you have to go out and find them, and sometimes they'll find you. That's the one thing I've noticed about God is if you pray for something and your mind and heart is right, guess what? You're gonna get it. It's gonna come to you whether you want to or not, in my case. GPAs. That's right. God's postal, parcel service. I'm sorry, I gotta make sure I say that right. It's the European way of saying postal, parcel service. Also, there's been some baggage with postal workers going postal and rather than. Well, that's valid too. Yeah, when God goes postal, it's not gonna be pretty. Cool thing is God won't go postal, it'll be perfectly just, perfectly measured. That's true for us, and we will understand that, but for those that don't are like, hey, wait a minute, what can I do? You're a terrible child, I'm just gonna what didn't you do? Didn't go to church is one of the problems. So, yeah. Very good, very good lessons. Nathan, you want to pray us out? Sure. Please. All right. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for another uh chance to dive into your word today and to dive into Philippians and to um we really pray that you will um bring the words of Paul uh up about 2,000 years up into the future and plant it into our brains so that we can go forth with this week and um and really really keep these things in our mind and uh just just to be thankful about the things that we have. I mean, uh Paul Paul wrote so many, so many letters about how um you know things went really well for him, things went really poorly for him. He spent a lot of time studying, and then that all ended up being garbage. So hopefully that you will you will um allow us to look at all everything that's in our life um that we should leave behind um as garbage and that you will hope uh help us to focus on on Christ. We ask that you forgive us for our sins and in Jesus' name, amen.