Not a Prodigal. Just in Hawaii, Guys!

We explore what it means to be wanted by God, not just loved, and why that difference ends the scramble for human validation. Then we turn to Proverbs 4–6 for guardrails that keep our hearts steady, our steps straight, and our words clean.

• Jesus chooses the flawed before they change
• Wanted vs loved
• Validation traps 
•  Unconditional love and identity rooted in Christ
• Proverbs: wisdom that guards the heart
• Two paths: growing light or blinding darkness
• Sin’s honey, double-edged swords, false beliefs
• Unity over discord; tie wisdom around your neck

Transcript

Mic Check And Money Jokes

SPEAKER_06 0:13

What's up everyone? Welcome back to Kids in the Calling Podcast. Where none of us are kids, but we all have a calling. And that's to point people to Jesus. I'm your host, Audrey Anjo. With me is Hudson Walton.

SPEAKER_03 0:23

Hey guys.

SPEAKER_06 0:23

Andrea Crater. Hi guys. Luke Gibson.

SPEAKER_03 0:25

Hey.

SPEAKER_06 0:26

And Lincoln Sossier.

SPEAKER_03 0:27

Hey guys.

SPEAKER_06 0:27

So, guys, if you were to get paid for doing this podcast, what do you think the annual salary should be?

SPEAKER_05 0:35

Um, zero dollars for me, because all of my money should go to charity. And that's how I feel.

SPEAKER_06 0:40

No, but like how much money is going to charity? Like, what are you making?

SPEAKER_05 0:44

$100,000 to charity every year. That's what it should be.

SPEAKER_06 0:47

Oh wow. Okay. So $100,000 from Hudson. Um, I don't know. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Good answer, bruh. $50,000 for me. $50,000 a year? I mean for podcasts.

SPEAKER_07 1:01

Just on a Monday night? Well, we've been here since 6 30. So we do we're here for a long time. This is like part time. This is like a $25,000.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

Yes, I'm I'm more along with that.

SPEAKER_07 1:15

But like, how much per podcast are you?

SPEAKER_03 1:17

$100 for podcast.

SPEAKER_07 1:19

And then but how many podcasts are we actually doing?

SPEAKER_05 1:22

Do we do a podcast every day then? I want more money. Two a day.

SPEAKER_03 1:29

I'd probably say 20,000. A podcast? No. Wow. Let's do it every single day. For one episode a week, 20,000 a year.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Yeah, it's more realistic.

SPEAKER_06 1:40

You paying?

SPEAKER_05 1:43

If you guys are not being paid on this podcast, unfortunately, we lose our minds.

SPEAKER_06 1:47

We just do it for the joy of the Lord.

SPEAKER_05 1:49

You sounded so joyful saying that. This is the happiest podcaster in Louisiana.

Am I Wanted: Sermon Setup

SPEAKER_06 1:56

That's me. Anyway, so um a few weeks ago, Pastor Jared continued his series, A Simple Question, and he did his sermon on my personal favorite so far. Am I Wanted? So, what did you guys think about that one?

SPEAKER_05 2:10

Yeah, I have to say it definitely is probably my favorite so far. Um saying I think it portrays such a beautiful truth from the Bible. And um I'm excited to talk about it today. And I'll just get into it exactly where he got into it. He started by talking about the show The Chosen. Um, if you haven't watched The Chosen, I would recommend you watch it. It's a really good show.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

I love that show.

SPEAKER_05 2:32

Um it's basically about the life of Jesus, and what Pastor Jerry was emphasizing by bringing it up is that yes, it's focused on the life of Jesus, but it's also focused on the people uh surrounding Jesus' life, like the disciples. And the main point that Pastor Jerry got to it is that the people that Jesus went up to throughout the story in the Bible and showed through the chosen, is he would find these people that were messed up. Um they may have a bad reputation, they may be an evildoer, they may, but they'll just be messed up, they may be broken people. And Jesus finds them and he chooses them. It's literally the chosen. And he used that to illustrate that these people aren't perfect, none of them were uh were a Christian before Jesus, and yet he found them and he chose all of them. I mean, he used Matthew as an example directly. Matthew was a tax collector, none of the Jewish people like Matthew, they hated bro. Yeah, but Jesus walked up and said, Follow me, and that was that. So he used that to open up the message that you don't have to be perfect for Jesus to choose you.

SPEAKER_07 3:35

Yeah. Or like Peter. Peter was a fisherman who had a temper.

unknown 3:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 3:39

And so Peter was probably a lot worse whenever he didn't have Jesus, because we saw whenever he did have Jesus, or even

Chosen, Flawed, And Called

SPEAKER_07 3:45

like Simon the Zealot, because I don't know if y'all know what zealots were, but they were uh like kind of like a political party that opposed the ruling of Rome, and then there was a group of them that were extremely violent and were like low-key trained assassins that would go kill the Roman emperors, not emperors, Roman people and like people in the religious like law that they didn't like.

SPEAKER_05 4:08

So like bro was probably violent, and then Jesus was like, Hey bro, zealotry, cause elotry is like taking your religion to a violent extent. So yeah, they were violent people, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:18

Yeah, he also used the example of Mary, who I think she had like seven devils in her, and so he said before Mary's um reputation was restored that he had chosen her, and he's like, Yeah, yeah, even though you're possessed now, I see the potential in you. So he snapped and then demons went away, and then he restored her as to what she would have been.

SPEAKER_05 4:38

I think before we move on, I think we need to point out the distinction between being loved and being wanted. Because last week we talked about um, you know, Am I loved? Am I loved? And on the surface level, first time hearing that, you they can sound pretty similar. Um, you may look at both of those questions and feel the same things from them if you don't really talk about it.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:00

Um, if I had to boil it down, I would say that love, like we talked about last week, is if you're saying that to someone, it's I care about you.

SPEAKER_07 5:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:08

Want being wanted is more I choose you.

SPEAKER_07 5:12

Yeah, like I pick you.

SPEAKER_05 5:13

Yeah. And so I think if we're if we want to use an actual example to like portray that out, think of like think of like a party. This is how I took it. Um, if you were invited to a party, say at your friend's house, being loved would be I'm inviting you just because it would be rude not to, just because I care about you, you're invited. But being wanted would be they text you separately outside of the group and be like, I really hope you come. Please come. I want you here.

SPEAKER_07 5:40

Oh, it's like your cousin at Thanksgiving. You're like, I hope my favorite cousin goes. Not saying I have a favorite cousin. That's what it's talking about.

SPEAKER_05 5:47

Definitely has a favorite cousin.

SPEAKER_07 5:49

I do not have a favorite cousin.

SPEAKER_05 5:51

Or 100% has a favorite cousin.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

No.

SPEAKER_05 5:55

But so yeah, you can you can see the difference, the kind of the difference there between being chosen and being wanted. Um I mean, think about it. Um, think about your parents feeding you uh at the dinner table growing up. Being loved is there's always food in the house for you, no matter what. I mean, that's your parents, they're always gonna have food for you. Being wanted is

Loved Versus Wanted: The Difference

SPEAKER_05 6:15

there's always a seat saved for you at the table. That's kind of the difference. Being wanted is an intentional desire for you to be there. It's not just being cared for.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

It's important to know the difference because belonging matters to us, especially at this age, where we're forming our ident our identities and connecting to others in a different way. It's shaping us, it's molding us. We're growing and honestly changing with every interaction we make with those around us.

SPEAKER_06 6:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:43

Yeah, because um it is important because Pastor Jared he pointed it out that you can feel loved in a situation and feel cared for and still not feel wanted. Yeah. Um like you belong there. Like you can be a part of the team, but not feel like you should be a part of the team. Like you uh, even in church, you can feel loved by your church, but you cannot feel like you belong there. You cannot feel wanted there. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 7:04

You can you can be cared for and you could still feel invisible in your life. And a lot of times we search for belonging and a sense of like being wanted or loved in our friends and our family and relationships when it can't be found in the world, it's only found in God because He's the only one who fully wants you. Yeah. Like you can find people in your life who like, you know, they want you here, they love you this much, but only God can ever fully want you with no strings attached, and you don't have to earn it.

SPEAKER_07 7:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 7:32

Yeah, and so and so with talking about like what being wanted is, Pastor Jared also talked about like what it will look like. Like you we talk about the scramble every single week. What the scramble can kind of look like.

SPEAKER_07 7:45

We scramble.

SPEAKER_05 7:46

Yeah. So if that question, like Audrey just said, is not answered for you on a biblical basis and you're basing it on things around you that are obviously gonna be wishy-washy, be unstable, um, if you feel insecure in that question, if you don't feel like you're wanted, you may search for those in unhealthy ways or just express unhealthy desires or just have an unhealthy mindset about being wanted. Um, yeah, I was gonna go into that. Pastor Jared used the the example of being in the workplace. Um, if your emotional well-being is tied to your coworkers and if you feel validated by them and your boss, yeah, then he straight up said, like, that's not excellence, that's not your drive for ambition or excellence. That's probably just an unhealthy mindset you have about feeling wanted.

SPEAKER_07 8:31

Yeah, yeah. Because like if you're at work and then if you're working and then the boss like affirms you and gives you a pat on the back and is like, hey, good job, and like that determines your your happiness for the entire day. Literally, and then whenever the boss does not do that, and then you spiral and you think, Oh, I'm terrible at my job and no one likes me, and I might as well just quit now. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 8:54

So, like, moral of the story, if your boss congratulates you and you're like, Yippee, yippee, um for like the next week, yeah. That's probably unhealthy. And then if he's like, You didn't do so good today, and you become like emo and go cry in the corner for the rest of the day, like go like emotionally eat powdered donuts.

SPEAKER_07 9:12

It's probably not a good idea. Um, he also said that another giveaway is people pleasers. So sometimes people pleasers will often confuse peace with belonging. So they'll do whatever it takes to fit in into that crowd, no matter what, sacrificing every single um conviction that they have just to get there, just to feel temporarily temporarily wanted. Yeah. And he was like, That's well, he didn't say that was crazy. I'm saying it's crazy. He's on stage like, y'all, that's crazy. Literally, I don't feel like I would say that. Yeah. If I had a mic, which I don't do right, okay, anyway.

SPEAKER_03 9:52

What, bro? Bro's lying on the podcast. We gotta get her out of here.

SPEAKER_06 9:56

Yeah, he has said feeling alone feels scarier than walking in an unhealthy environment. Loved that one because literally it's so true. Because like loneliness is like kind of deep down everyone's biggest fear. Yeah. Nobody wants to feel alone and isolated from situations.

SPEAKER_05 10:10

It's scary, man.

SPEAKER_06 10:11

Yeah, because it makes us chase environments that give us temporary validation rather than you know, something that's actually gonna fill the void in our heart that we're searching to fill in the world. And it's

Scrambling For Belonging

SPEAKER_06 10:20

important that we all do that because you have to ground yourself in what he says about you, because partying and drinking is not gonna fill the void in your heart. And getting human validation overall is not gonna last forever, and it won't get you into heaven. Because in the end, when this world's gone, you're gonna have to answer for the things you did when you knew the truth. And you're gonna have to answer the things you kept going back to because you were seeking human validation instead of God's validation.

SPEAKER_05 10:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 10:43

That's it.

SPEAKER_05 10:44

And like, and again, we just have to rehash, like Pastor Jared, he's done it in pretty much every message. If you are a if you find that you are a people pleaser, if you find that you do any of the examples that we've talked about, that doesn't make you a bad person. Yeah, that just makes you human. It may not even be entirely your fault that you're like that. It may be your upbringing, you may have had a uh not so great childhood. Um, so many different reasons can be the reason why you have a negative outlook on am I wanted or a warped outlook on am I wanted. And again, it's not your fault because we're all human, we're all gonna struggle with one of these questions. Yeah, that's the core of this. That's the whole reason Pastor Jair is doing this series.

SPEAKER_06 11:24

It's not to call you out, it's to make you aware.

SPEAKER_05 11:27

Yeah, yeah. Because every single one of uh us are going to struggle with at least one of these. For me, if I had to say, it's probably the one he's the next one. Like we've heard it, but we'll talk about it next episode. The am I successful? That would probably be mine. Like we're all human, we're all gonna struggle, and and struggling with any of these just doesn't make you a bad person. You just have to realize what's going on.

SPEAKER_06 11:49

It's important that you you don't just ignore your convictions. Yeah. Because that's that's what we do a lot of times, whenever it doesn't feel like it's what we want. Yeah. But it's not about what you want, it's about what he wants for you.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

Yeah, and even if this isn't your primal question, like if am I wanted is not your primal question, all of us it doesn't feel good to feel not wanted. Yeah, yeah. It's still gonna hurt regardless if that's your question or not. And Pastor Joe talked about how when you feel unwanted, you tend to overperform to get invited to tables. And I know that for me in the past, that's definitely it's been seen to be true. Like if somebody didn't want me to hang out with them, I would work off to maybe get an invitation. Yeah. But then looking back, um, what felt like rejection from the person in the moment might have it could possibly just a different perspective. Sometimes it could be not rejection, but God protecting us. Exactly. If there was some when I was in school, there was some um people that I tried to hang out with that I shouldn't have been hanging out with, and what felt like rejection from them looking back now, I'm like, thank God that I didn't hang around with them. Yeah, could have been different. So it's just a another perspective to look at. It's not always rejection, sometimes it's God's protection.

SPEAKER_07 12:56

Or it's even God's separation. Yeah. Because there are certain people like types that you shouldn't hang around whenever you know that you know God has a plan for me and that God has called me to XYZ. And so since God has a plan for you, then He not not that He has like a higher standard of you living, but you shouldn't be doing those things that certain people do.

SPEAKER_06 13:21

It's also just a lot of the times we look for validation in people which we really shouldn't look for validation in anyone. Yeah. But like when you do change friend groups to people who aren't in church at all, to people who are like-minded and they believe the same faith as you, then it does get better significantly. Like, I'm not seeking validation in my church friends, but I do feel way more wanted and loved with them than I ever did with people who aren't in church.

SPEAKER_03 13:45

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 13:45

Because those people, just like you said, that are in church and that love God, they have they share the same values as you. Exactly. They share the same beliefs as you. Y'all probably not like everything the same, but y'all probably like doing some of the same stuff. Yeah. Because y'all are around not around the same people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 14:04

And it's good fun instead of like, yeah, bad fun and drugs and stuff.

SPEAKER_03 14:08

Yeah. Yeah, no drugs, no bueno. Don't do that, guys. Don't. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 14:12

I think it's important that like in those situations, whenever like how we're talking about friends and stuff, like whenever you do get separated or quote unquote protected from those friends, it's it's very important to know why and to have like an even if mindset. Like, Lord, even if these friends go away and they don't like

People Pleasing And Workplace Validation

SPEAKER_06 14:30

me anymore, I'm gonna praise you because I know that you choose me. And like, even if it means I have to give up that relationship, I'm gonna do it because that's the walk, that's what you told me to do. That's what you want me to do.

SPEAKER_05 14:40

Yeah, and like end of the day, it may not even be specifically God's protection keeping you from those people. Sometimes people just aren't gonna like you. So you have to be okay with that.

SPEAKER_07 14:49

Um yeah, Pastor talked about that.

SPEAKER_05 14:51

Yeah, like what people are human, so people are just not gonna like you. And if you are basing your validation and making sure everyone you see likes you, you're you're gonna fail. You're not gonna be happy.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

You're just pouring out, you're not you're not getting anything in return. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 15:05

So you have to do exactly what Audrey's been saying, realize that it's God that wants you. And once you internalize that, you'll be all right.

SPEAKER_07 15:13

So if you find yourself in the scramble in this moment in time, don't worry. Because the pastor said you don't have to scramble for a seat that God has set for you.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 15:24

So whenever we realize that we are chosen by Jesus and He has a plan for us, we can stop scrambling. And then we don't ever have to scramble in that thing again. But then you're like, How do I stop scrambling? I got it, I I got you, bro. Um Ephesians 1, 4 through 5 says, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Jesus chose you before he even made the world. Whenever I I read that, I was like, So before he even spoke and uttered the words, let there be light, he knew that you would exist and they loved you way back then, and he knew what you were gonna do, but then he still like made the world because he knew he had to die. So there's nothing that you can do for God to quote unquote unpick you.

SPEAKER_06 16:27

But you know what I think is crazy? The fact that we tr try to change ourselves to be accepted by people, but like he knew we were gonna mess up and do the most diabolical things, and he was still like, nah, I still want you. Literally, but here we are trying to like conform ourselves to the standards of these horrible people in this world.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Being vulnerable to the wrong people. Exactly. Those that can hurt you.

SPEAKER_07 16:45

And God's like, bro, I picked you from before everything ever.

SPEAKER_05 16:51

Yeah, like before every mistake you made, before every insecurity you had, before all of your struggles, yeah, God chose you. And that's what you really have to understand from reading the word is that God chose you and He will choose you no matter what.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 17:07

God didn't just like see you pop up on his radar one day and was like, this person's pretty cool. This person prayed two times today.

SPEAKER_06 17:12

It's like his for you page or like it's like, oh, follow.

SPEAKER_05 17:16

This boy's pretty epic. Uh I'll keep tabs on him. No, he knew you before you were even born and chose you and wanted you.

SPEAKER_07 17:22

Like, that's just so cool. Like, before bro even made everything that ever was and never will be, he knew everyone that was ever going to exist, everything they were ever going to do, and then he still said, I love all of them. Like he could have edited the list and been like minus huts and minus audry, but like please don't minus me. He didn't cancel me. But he's like, No, I love you, and I choose you because of all that. And I was like, Oh, yeah, I love Jesus.

SPEAKER_06 17:50

It's the true meaning of like unconditional love.

SPEAKER_07 17:52

No, literally. Because people have conditional love for you. Like some people don't, um, but some people have conditional love for you, and their love depends on what you do, and vice versa. But God's love is unconditional, like he'll never stop loving you, no matter what. And he's so faithful, he'll never stop loving you. And it's like that's crazy, because we can't really like we can imagine that to an extent, and then it's kind of hard for us to understand because we live in a world that love is so fickle. Like a lot of

God’s Protection Or Rejection

SPEAKER_07 18:25

people think love is a feeling, and so like I'll use marriage for example because it's kind of easy as an example. But people will get married because they feel like they love each other, and then like five years down the road, um, they don't feel love anymore, and then they get divorced because they're like, Well, I don't feel like I love you. But love is a conscious decision, it's not really like a feeling.

SPEAKER_06 18:47

Yeah. Another thing that he had said that I really liked was that nothing anyone says about you or to you can change who you are or set your importance. That is so beautiful because your worth is not based on the status that you have in this world, it's not based on the status you have at your school or at your work. You're a child of God and you are wanted, period. Even if the entire world hates you, you are a child of God and you are wanted, if anything. And you are his prized possession. Think of that. Like so good. I know, right? Like out of all these things he made, we're his most beautiful creation. Like humans, you know?

SPEAKER_00 19:19

That's right.

SPEAKER_06 19:20

And we still search, we hear that and we still search for things in this world and like things that'll make us feel like we belong in this world, but God is the final say, and he's already made up his mind that he loves us and he chooses us and he wants us because he wants us at his table and he wants us in his presence. Yeah, that's so beautiful because we don't have to earn it, it's just something he's like always wanted to give us.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

It's permanent, too.

SPEAKER_07 19:40

Literally, like we did we don't have to earn hit like earn his love and perform for his grace and all this, like, yeah. We don't have to perform for all that.

SPEAKER_05 19:50

Look at Zacchaeus in the Bible that Pastor Jared brought up in the message. Where um if you haven't heard the story, if you haven't read that, I'd recommend reading it in Luke 19, 1 through 10. Yeah, what Andrea said. Thank you for the assist. Welcome. Um, but basically, Zacchaeus is this short moneylender that's very rigid. No one likes and Jesus is going through the town of Jericho and he wants to see Jesus, so he climbs a tree.

SPEAKER_07 20:14

A sycamore tree. Yeah, or if he wanted to see.

SPEAKER_05 20:17

That's tough, bro. Thank you. And so he climbs the tree. But anyway, he climbs the tree and Jesus sees him and he calls him out by name, and he's like, Zacchaeus, come here, bro. I want I want you to invite me to your house.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

I'm coming to your house.

SPEAKER_05 20:32

I'm coming to your house. Yeah, I'm coming to your house. And then later on, when they're at Zacchaeus' house, he repents to the Lord and tells him, like, I will give half half my wealth to the poor and all these things. And it's incredible because at the end, Jesus is like, Salvation has come to this household to this day. I have come for the lost.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 20:49

And it's a beautiful message. But what Pastor Jared uh highlighted was verse five, where before Zacchaeus had ever repented, before he had made any indication that he even wanted to change or make the past right or anything like that, Jesus still called him by name and was like, I want you. I want to eat at your house. And it's such a powerful, like just story. I know.

SPEAKER_06 21:10

I love that he met him where he was. Yeah. Just as like a good reminder that, like, even when you're at your lowest, like he doesn't need you to might find your way back up to him. Like, he will meet you there and he'll pick you up and he'll walk with you.

SPEAKER_05 21:21

Speaking of at your lowest, I don't think we can get any lower than the prodigal son. That was the other example that literally Pastor Jared uh brought up. If you haven't read that again, I recommend reading it in the Bible. Um Gospel of Luke again. It's uh chapter 15. Basically, if you haven't heard the story or listened, it's this son, he asked for his dad's inheritance early. Um, he gets it, and then he goes out and does whatever the heck he wants for and he blows it all away on stuff that doesn't matter, just fulfilling his own desires. And then at the end of it, he's left in a pig pen eating what pigs eat to survive. And so he's like I actually didn't have it so bad back at my father's house. I'll go back and try to be a slave because at least it'll

A Seat You Don’t Have To Earn

SPEAKER_05 22:05

be better than this. And he gets there, and when he gets up to his father's house, um what I'd like to highlight from the story is that he tells his father, I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:20

And to me that sticks out because so there, I think some people can feel unwanted, not because someone rejected them, not because God ever rejected them, because that didn't happen. Not because anyone in their life rejected them. I think there's also on the other side of that a very powerful feeling of feeling unwanted because you walked away willingly. And that happens. You can be living for God and nothing bad happens in your life, and you just make the choice to walk away. No one made you, no one told you to leave. You just made the choice, and trying to come back after that can feel so guilty. Yeah, just like the prodigal son says, I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Yeah, that's what he said. That was coming from pure shame. He did not believe that he belonged there anymore because he walked away willingly. But the father, he didn't even care. He saw his fun hit his fun, bro. He saw his son walking from like down the road and he ran up to him with open arms and hugged him and was like, We're throwing a party for you, bro. Like you're back.

SPEAKER_06 23:19

That's a perfect example of like knowing the difference between condemnation and conviction. Yeah. Because when you run away and you choose to walk away from God, you're convicted. You know you need to go back. So when you do, you you're guilty, but you're not condemned for leaving. You're welcomed back. And that's the importance of knowing that it's just your conviction calling you back to him. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:37

Yeah. As the son, I think I feel the same way. Like, how could unconditional love still be there after I've left, after I've done this, you know?

SPEAKER_07 23:46

After I willingly gave up a seat at my dad's table, asked for his money, which do y'all think he gave him his full inheritance? Did he just give him like some of it?

SPEAKER_02 23:55

I think so.

SPEAKER_07 23:56

I don't know. I thought about that today. But like he asked for his his dad's money, bro gave it to him, goes do whatever he wants, and then comes back feeling terrible. It's like Hudson said, ridden with shame. But the father just ran to him and he was like, I just want you back with me. And so that that made me think, how often do we think that God is disappointed in us and shaming us and condemning us when he really just wants us back in his house and in his presence?

SPEAKER_02 24:23

You stand on the doorstep looking out, looking down the road. Yeah, and you coming?

SPEAKER_07 24:27

Because, like, think about it. Whenever Adam and Eve sinned, God walked in the garden and all he said was, Where are you? He didn't yell, he didn't fuss. Like, yes, he their sin had consequences, and so he had to dish out some consequences. But first, all he wants to know was, Where are you? Why aren't you in my presence? Like, why aren't you with me? Yeah, and so that's really what God is asking. Like, whenever we willingly give up our seat, he's just like, Where are you?

SPEAKER_05 24:56

And like, come back. Like the father of the prodigal son, he didn't like walk up to the prodigal and be like, Where's your apology? Bow down before me. Like, give me all your money that you took from. Like, repent, pay me back. He just embraced him.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

Or even you will be my servant, you know.

SPEAKER_05 25:12

Yeah, he could have totally did that. But like that little punk stole my money, basically.

SPEAKER_07 25:17

Literally, but the father was so excited that his son was finally back in his house that they threw a big party, and they were like, Okay, let's kill the fat the calf that we've been fattening, and but we're gonna have this huge party. And the older brother gets so angry. He comes in and he's like, Bro, why are we having a party for this punk who hasn't been home, took all your money, hasn't even been helping around the house? You don't even give me a goat so that I can have a party with my friends. And the father, I can just imagine, he looks at him and he's like, Um, all what I have is yours. And then in my mind, it's like bro, bro could have had it if he wanted it, but did bro really want it?

SPEAKER_06 25:57

Yeah, that's exactly how I feel when Logan comes home. It's like they got parties going on, they're like, What about me? Guys, come visit Logan, he's back in town for a few weeks.

SPEAKER_05 26:05

I'm like, We'll throw you a party. I stayed here.

SPEAKER_06 26:08

I didn't break your hearts by leaving, but whatever.

SPEAKER_07 26:11

But Pastor pointed it back to people, some people won't be happy whenever you come back.

SPEAKER_05 26:15

And Audrey is exactly this person, and she is the live like example of that. That

Unconditional Love And True Worth

SPEAKER_05 26:20

some people will have seen you walk away, some people will see your past. Um, if you walked away willingly, like the prodigal son, some people will know that, and not everyone's gonna be okay with that. And that's the moral of the story that Pastor Dre was getting at that God will accept you no matter what, and you have to ground that truth in. Because if the prodigal son started getting insecure about his brother not wanting him back, that could have changed the story a little bit.

SPEAKER_06 26:42

Yeah, broke with walked away again. Oh, and Logan's not like the prodigal son, like going crazy. He's actually just like stationed in Hawaii right now.

SPEAKER_05 26:51

Yeah, he's alright.

SPEAKER_06 26:52

Everyone's like, oh, poor thing, we're gonna pray for him. You know, do what he's doing.

SPEAKER_05 26:56

Yeah, he's he's living it up in Hawaii right now. Yeah, he's he's he's not in a picket right now. He's just in Hawaii, guys.

SPEAKER_06 27:06

Just live paradise on earth, you know. Plus though.

SPEAKER_05 27:24

But yeah, so that's um that's just something I wanted to touch on because that's what I felt that some people may not be distant and may not feel unwanted because of rejection. I mean, just because they're embarrassed.

SPEAKER_00 27:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 27:34

Like you walked away willingly, and it may be hard for you to go back because of that, but yeah, it shows it right there. God's just waiting for you there. He never removed your seat from the table. Literally, he's just been waiting.

SPEAKER_07 27:44

I love whenever Pastor said the father ran to the son even when everyone else ran away. Yeah. And I was like, oh, that's just so good. Because it's so true. Because God will run after you even when no one else is excited to have you back.

SPEAKER_06 27:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:59

Which is terrible that no one wants you back. But pe people do want you, trust.

SPEAKER_06 28:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 28:04

God wants you.

SPEAKER_06 28:06

Yeah. Another thing that I like that he was talking about was Psalms 23, 5. And it says, You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies, you honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup over overflows with blessings.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_06 28:16

And he was saying how despite the chaos around you and the pain that you might feel, God he prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemies, and he just wants you as you are with no strengths attached. And he chooses you and he wants your presence with him. And that's so beautiful.

SPEAKER_05 28:29

Yeah. And I think there's like there's no greater way to really see that in action in the Bible than the story of the thief beside Jesus on the cross.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 28:37

Like that dude was a sinner. He was he was literally being put to death for his crimes. Like he probably, if you fill in the blanks, he probably lived a pretty bad life to get to that point.

SPEAKER_07 28:48

Because like no one just gets crucified.

SPEAKER_05 28:49

Yeah, he didn't know Jesus. He probably didn't go to church every Sunday. He didn't pray every day. He didn't read his Bible. Yeah. He didn't do any of that. He probably did a bunch of bad things. But he gets on that cross and he simply says, Please remember me. And Jesus is like, Today you will be with me in paradise. And that's all it took.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 29:09

Because you don't have to perform for Jesus. Jesus just wants you because he made you. Yeah. Because he's your father. I think that's such a beautiful illustration that just because the man on the middle cross said that I could come, I was allowed to heaven from the thief's perspective.

SPEAKER_00 29:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

Even though he had no good works, yeah. Still accepted. And God says faith.

SPEAKER_03 29:28

God wants us even after everything we've done. And even though he knows everything we're going to do, every time we mess up, our next lowest moment, he's like, Lincoln, I still want you. Or Hudson, I still want you. Like he still he wants us more than we want him, which is hard to wrap my head around because like every day I pray like God, I just want to feel you. Yeah. And I can't imagine him wanting me more than I want him. Literally.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 29:52

And I mean, think about it like this. If you've are if you are in church, if you've been in church for a while, if you have felt the presence of God before, think about the first time you ever felt the presence of God move on you. God

Zacchaeus And The Open Invitation

SPEAKER_05 30:02

moved on you knowing everything you would do after that, yeah, bad and good. And he still did it purely because he wanted you in that moment. Yeah. And that's powerful.

SPEAKER_07 30:10

And Pastor showed this in such a powerful illustration. He had a table up on the platform with a chair, and he called Sister Jen up there, which is his wife, and he called her up there while he was preaching, and she just sat there and he continued on for several minutes.

SPEAKER_02 30:26

It was eight minutes.

SPEAKER_07 30:27

For eight minutes, he continued preaching. And then he's like, Y'all are probably wondering why is she still up here? Did he just forget about his illustration? Like, did he just not finish it? But he said, Jin, did I ask you? Well, did I ask you to sing whenever you came up here? And she was like, No. He said, Did I ask you to do anything? And she goes, No. And he goes, Exactly. I didn't need her up here. I just wanted her up here. I just wanted her in my presence. That's good. And I was like, That is so good. Because God doesn't need us.

SPEAKER_00 30:58

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 30:58

No, like God is all powerful, almighty. He literally spoke everything into existence. He doesn't need us. Yeah. But he wants us in his presence. And he just used that to say, God just wants us. Yeah. And that's just so powerful. Yeah. I like that.

SPEAKER_05 31:14

I think that that is a really good truth to internalize because some people can struggle with that. Like, does God really want me? God doesn't need me. But that's the thing. There's a huge difference there. Yeah. God doesn't need any of us. God doesn't need anybody. That's not the reason why he wants anybody. He does it simply because he loves you.

SPEAKER_07 31:30

Yeah. And he wants you to be with him, which is crazy. Well, like it's a crazy thought, but it's such a true truth.

unknown 31:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 31:37

I mean, I don't understand it. I wouldn't want me if I was God. Like, that's just that's just honest.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

Y'all were talking about unconditional love earlier. I remember like probably last week or the week before last. Um I honestly got mad at God. I was like, God, why do you love me?

SPEAKER_07 31:50

Why do you love me so much?

SPEAKER_06 31:52

Bro, I didn't know his aggression over here.

SPEAKER_03 31:54

Bro, I'm just thinking with I'm just thinking about like my past and everything that I've done. I'm like, I would not forgive myself. Like, I was I was mad that he's so merciful to us because we don't deserve it at all. Yeah. Like we deserve to be shucked down with lightning, but he's like, I'll give you another chance. I'm so thankful that he's not striking us down. No, no, no. Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful. So glad we don't know the old test.

SPEAKER_06 32:16

So thankful he was mad. He was like, we're abusing it. Like we mistake his kindness for weakness.

SPEAKER_03 32:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 32:26

Okay, guys. So you know how last week we had started talking about Proverbs three through. Well, no, it won through three, right? So this week, let's talk about four through six.

SPEAKER_02 32:36

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_06 32:41

All right, I'll go first. So in chapter four, it's you know titled A Father's Wise Advice, which already itself sounds like such a cute, sweet poem, right? Like a father's advice. He's just helping you out. He's such a like God is such a back in my day kind of guy. You know what I mean? You know, like yeah, like back in my day. Like I've experienced a lot. Take my word for it.

SPEAKER_05 33:02

So um I would say he's pretty wise. He's been here a long time. I agree. He's been in her a long time too, so he might be a back in my day. A little bit of wisdom there, I'd say.

SPEAKER_06 33:11

So um, the first verse I wanted to talk about is verse don't do it, six through seven. So it says, Don't turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you, love her, and she will guard you. Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you could do. Isn't that kind of funny? Like ironic. Wisdom is the wisest thing you could do.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

Yep.

SPEAKER_06 33:29

Um, so we're talking

Prodigal Son: Shame And Return

SPEAKER_06 33:30

about wisdom again a little bit, and that just has to mean it's super important, you know? Yeah. And the fact that the Bible stresses the importance of wisdom and talks about it so much has to tell us how serious and great it is. Um, so yeah. And then at the end, sorry, and at the end of verse 7, it kind of says, and whatever else you do, develop good judgment. So that to anybody who doesn't really read the Bible much, you know, would might think judging people. So it's important to know that it's not talking about judging others, like you know, yeah, like judging, like making fun of what they're wearing, like it's talking about being wise and doing what's right, like using good judgment. Like good decision making. Exactly. And it's important to have wisdom to help you make decisions, especially the big and important ones. Because we do be making some of those in our lives, and we don't realize how many decisions we make in a day. There's too many. We make roughly 35,000 decisions a day. That much? Yes. Do you know how easy it must be to make the wrong one? That's crazy when you're not thinking about it and you're not focusing and like functioning with wisdom on your side. That's a lot of decisions. That's a lot.

SPEAKER_05 34:31

That's a uh I know. That's a good take. I've never actually thought about like taking that judgment there as like judging people. I can see how people could take it like that. I didn't think about that. That's good. Yeah, don't judge people. God is not telling you to judge people good. He's the one that does that, not us.

SPEAKER_06 34:47

Yeah, literally.

SPEAKER_05 34:48

You said 38,000 35,000. 35,000. Yeah, I guarantee you most of those are not wise decisions.

SPEAKER_06 34:54

I mean, some of them are probably like, should I drink water? Am I thirsty? Like something like that. But there are also probably some like, should I open the door for this person? Should I be nice to this person? Should I compliment her? It's not true that. But like it's it's minuscule things, but it's still things that would help other people, you know?

SPEAKER_07 35:08

Yeah, that's good. Um I like that verse too, and I like how it compares wisdom to guarding. And so it says in verse six, love her and she will guard you. And I was like, what does guard mean? So I found out. Guard means to guard you from dangers, like to literally defend you.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Yeah, to protect you.

SPEAKER_07 35:27

Like it kind of said, like, kind of like besieging a city, like it protects you from that danger that's gonna happen. And so whenever we get wisdom and we have good judgment, it guards us and protects us from the evil path that wants to destroy us. Because the whole chapter of Proverbs 4 kind of depicts two life paths. It's the father telling the son that there are two paths you can take. The path of wisdom that leads to life and light and joy and all that good stuff. And then the evil path that says in Proverbs in Proverbs something, that they go down to death and they die. Like the wicked die. And so it just depicts very two different life paths, and you have to be wise and pick the wisdom one.

SPEAKER_02 36:21

That's right.

SPEAKER_07 36:22

Valid. Let's be wise.

SPEAKER_05 36:24

And I like uh verses 14 through 15. Um, don't do as the wicked do and don't follow the path of evildoers. Don't even think about it, don't go that way.

SPEAKER_07 36:34

That's a good one.

SPEAKER_05 36:35

Turn away and keep moving.

SPEAKER_07 36:36

That's what I was thinking.

SPEAKER_05 36:37

And yeah, we we kind of hit on that like last week a little bit, but this this verse right here, it emphasizes it even more. If you see evildoers, bro, turn around. You shouldn't even be considering it, you shouldn't even be walking anywhere near the same direction. Yeah. Um, it's the same thing as like just resisting a temptation or cutting it off before you can even get to that temptation. Yeah. Like, if you see anything iffy going on, just turn around. Don't even entice it, don't even allow it to be a possibility. That's kind of what it's getting because um you just need to set up a boundary. If you start walking close to the path or the line, whatever symbolism you want to move, eventually you'll cross it.

SPEAKER_06 37:18

I know the way I think of it is like

When Others Aren’t Happy You’re Back

SPEAKER_06 37:20

one day they're gonna have to answer for what they're doing. Do you want to also be in there so you just have to answer for what they quote unquote convinced you to do? You knew you weren't supposed to do that. Don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

Right. Because evil's a huge punishment. It says in verse 16, they cannot rest until they do evil. They're robbed of sleep. And terrible. As Christians, I like sleep. We know we can't do enough good. This verse kind of contrasts good and evil so well. Evildoers are plagued with unrest when good is rewarded with peace that surpasses all understanding. We're blessed so much just by doing good.

SPEAKER_06 37:55

Just by obeying. I know that actually kind of goes wait, which which verse did you just do?

SPEAKER_02 37:59

Verse 16.

SPEAKER_06 38:00

Okay, verse 18 says the way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn which shines even brighter until the full light of day. So it kind of goes off what you were saying. Like we're blessed, like we're set apart, and being righteous is beautiful to God. Like it's something that He recognizes, and we should be that light. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 38:16

Yeah. And verse 19 talks about the wicked. It says, But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over. Their way is so dark they can't even see what their feet is stepping on that's causing them to fall down.

SPEAKER_02 38:30

And those are the people trying to take you down.

SPEAKER_03 38:32

Yeah, and if you if you and I think Psalms 119, maybe it talks about uh keeping the uh the word as a lamp to your feet. Yeah, yeah. If the wise keep the word of God as a lamp to their feet, they can see your feet are moving. But when you become wicked and your and your schemes are wicked, and you no longer have the word as the lamp into your feet, you don't you can't see what you're falling over.

SPEAKER_05 38:54

To me, that's the scariest verse in Proverbs we've been over. Because imagine um being like that, being uh evildoer, like it so eloquently puts it, being an evildoer and being unaware of it. To me, that's scarier than being aware of it.

SPEAKER_06 39:08

That's so true. I didn't think of it that way, like being completely oblivious to the sin you're living in the world.

SPEAKER_05 39:12

Because they don't know if the darkness that's so scary. And for us as believers, that uh that verse is pretty scary because if you start to go down that path or you start to hang out with those people, those evildoers, it'll start to become darker for you. And it'll just get darker and darker, and before you even know it, you won't know it that you're doing wrong. Yeah, and that's very scary to be going down a wrong path and not be aware of where you're walking.

SPEAKER_06 39:37

Like you're numb to it.

SPEAKER_05 39:38

And it can all start at this could all be avoided if you just listen to the verses instruction um a few verses before. When you see the path, you see the evildoers, you see anything like that, just to turn around immediately.

SPEAKER_00 39:50

Run.

SPEAKER_05 39:51

Because if you make that small compromise and you maybe go close to the evildoers, go close to the wrong path, and you didn't immediately turn around, it'll start slowly darkening your your vision. And before you know it, you'll have crossed the line.

SPEAKER_07 40:04

That's just so scary.

SPEAKER_02 40:05

Your focus goes away. This this uh chapter actually says pay attention.

A Table In The Presence Of Enemies

SPEAKER_02 40:10

It's trying to get your attention every time. It says listen. There's several different times where the the writer is just like, hey, listen. Like like this is important. We can't get tired of instruction no matter what, no matter how repetitive it may seem, no matter how many times we have to do it in the same day, same week. We have to stick with it.

SPEAKER_06 40:29

Yeah. I think it's crazy that this we have this entire book of instruction. It's literally an instruction manual for life. Literally. And we still somehow just like, oops, missed that.

SPEAKER_02 40:39

Right.

SPEAKER_06 40:39

Like we you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_07 40:40

Literally, like the Lord has written you a glorious book, and just it's accessible anywhere. Well, where where we live anyway, in the US, you can get it anywhere on your phone. So, like, you can even get it for free. There really are no excuses at this point.

SPEAKER_00 40:58

That's right. No.

SPEAKER_07 40:59

You're just like people who have pages. I'm not gonna read that. Yeah, like the Lord's telling you what to do. Literally.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

People who have like chapters, they have chapters in other countries that it's banned, they will memorize like full books of the Bible. They have to rip the epistles and just different things, and they'll just memorize it, the whole thing.

SPEAKER_07 41:16

Yeah, they have to rip the pages out of the Bible and then just pass them around. Wow. So that they don't get caught with the whole thing. We're so blessed. We really are. We literally are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:28

It really helps bring your perspective sometimes. Like I could be doing a lot more.

SPEAKER_07 41:32

Yeah. Just because other people are so not less fortunate, but they aren't privileged like we are to have the religious freedoms that we do to be able to believe whatever we want. Yeah. Yeah. We get to believe whatever we want, and then other people in other countries have to believe the country's bel religion or they die.

SPEAKER_05 41:52

Yeah, you get slimed out.

SPEAKER_07 41:53

You conform or you die. And that's that's just crazy because they have to have secret church and secret walks with God. And if they can even even if they mention something that's not along the state religion, they can get killed. Yeah. It is crazy. So we're just blessed to follow the Lord, which is why you should listen whenever it says my children listen when your father corrects you. And verse one.

SPEAKER_05 42:21

Do listen.

SPEAKER_07 42:37

I yes, I really do like Proverbs 423 where it says, guard your heart above all else. Oh, yes. For it determines the course of your life. And so, like in Hebrew thought, um your heart was kind of like your brain. It had your thoughts, your values, your desires,

The Thief On The Cross And Grace

SPEAKER_07 42:55

all these things wrapped up into it. And so if you are allowing things that are not good for your heart, so media, friendships, certain belief systems, these things influence your actions and can determine your future. Because like you're there's a saying that says, look at your five closest friends, that's how that's where you'll be in five years or something like that. And so that really shows that your friendships and what you believe and things that you are consuming actually affect you. So wisdom is like a guard for our hearts and our minds to help us make those decisions that can literally affect us for the rest of our lives. Yeah. Crazy.

SPEAKER_05 43:36

Yeah, and it has to be intentional. It's that word guard again that you were just talking about earlier, Andrew. You have to protect Intentional. Protect your heart because um I like how you're just saying it. Like in Hebrew, they wouldn't have back then, they didn't know what the brain was. Yeah. So to them, like saying that literally, the heart is like your thoughts, your emotions, your everything. So you can't just be allowing anything and everything. Uh and you can't take it all. You can't just let everything affect you. You can't expect for you to have a peaceful life for your heart to be set on God and set straightforward if you have no guardrails and you're just letting anything and everything in.

SPEAKER_07 44:13

Literally.

SPEAKER_05 44:14

You have to protect it. You have to guard it. That's what the verse is commanding you to do.

SPEAKER_07 44:18

And you can't accidentally guard or protect something. Just like Hutton said, you have to put effort in.

SPEAKER_00 44:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 44:25

You have to make decisions that are like, I'm intentionally doing XYZ because I'm protecting myself from whatever. Yeah, like in ZYX. Literally. XYZ from ZYX. ZYX.

SPEAKER_05 44:39

That's the evildoers over there. We don't hang out with the stuff.

SPEAKER_03 44:43

That's kind of what uh verses 25 to 27 is talk about. It says, look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Yeah. Mark out a straight path for your feet and stay on the safe path. Yeah. Don't get sidetracked. Keep your feet from following evil. So as long as you have your eyes on God and you don't let your eyes wander astray, you're not going to get sidetracked. But whenever you start loosening up a little bit and looking a little bit to the right or a little bit to the left, that's when you start to stumble.

SPEAKER_07 45:11

Yeah. The part that stuck out to me was don't get sidetracked. Because we say it all the time. Oh, I got sidetracked. I forgot to do this. Oh, I got sidetracked. If we keep

God Wants Presence, Not Performance

SPEAKER_07 45:20

our we have to keep our eyes fixed on God, it's kind of like blinders on a horse. Like we just have to keep looking in the direction of God. And we can't look anywhere else. And if we do that, we won't get sidetracked. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:32

Any small action.

SPEAKER_05 45:33

And like if you're the type of person that'd be like, oh dude, I got that. Like I never get sidetracked. This means nothing to me. Tell me the last time you pulled out Instagram to go send a message to someone and you started scrolling reels for an hour.

SPEAKER_07 45:45

Or tell me the last time you went to respond to a text message and then you ended up on Instagram.

SPEAKER_05 45:51

Like, yeah. Or Facebook. That's how easy it is to get sidetracked. Like, don't you dare pretend like you don't get sidetracked. We all get sidetracked. That's right. Literally. So you have to be very intentional about I'm about to get me some horse blinders.

SPEAKER_03 46:03

How much easier would life be if we had some blinders?

SPEAKER_07 46:06

Literally. Talk about. I might just go buy some horse blinders off of Amazon. Or just gouge your eyes out.

SPEAKER_06 46:13

I actually want to see.

SPEAKER_03 46:14

Pop the eardrums, take out the tongue. So you have eyes.

SPEAKER_06 46:17

So it calls a due to sin, just remove it. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 46:20

Your face is a lot, your faith is a lot greater than mine, I would say. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 46:25

I would just go buy a pair of horse blinders. Not really. It's much easier. I would just go borrow them from Uncle Bert.

SPEAKER_06 46:32

Anyway. So um I was kind of gonna go into chapter five if anyone else. I have one more. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:39

Verse 24 said, Avoid all perverse talk. Stay away from corrupt speech. This perfectly ties into 25-27. Do not hang around with people who have a perverse mouth, who are cursing or slandering, gossiping, anything like that. Who's just yapping? You're what you hear is gonna affect like what you're thinking. And so that leads to you looking to the right, looking to the left. That's right. Getting sidetracked. Turned around. Just make sure that you're hanging around with people who are on the the path, the same path that you're going to, and that's the path to God. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 47:11

I have a question for you then, according to this. So, like, say you're hanging out with people, and then you don't hang out with them often, but like today they're like, hey, let's go eat. And you go hang out with them, and then they do that, or they do gossip, or they do do this. Is your initial reaction get up, walk away, don't ever talk to them again? Or is it let's try to change them first, see if we can fix it, and then if it doesn't work, don't come back.

SPEAKER_03 47:32

I think you use constructive criticism. Like, you don't oh, put me on the spot. Okay. Let me t let me teach for a second. All right, listeners, listen. Everyone, listen. Pull out your notebooks. Let's say I'm sitting across a table from Audrey, and Audrey's gossiping about people who aren't in the room, right? I can pull Audrey off to the side later and say, Audrey, like, I think you might need to work on this. Let me tell you why. Use biblical facts to back up what you're talking about. Be nice about it. Don't be judgmental and condemning.

Proverbs Shift: Wisdom That Guards

SPEAKER_03 48:05

Yeah. That's good. Try like when I'm when I'm looking at people and I'm trying to correct them, I want to correct them the way I'd want to be corrected. I'm not gonna want to be corrected by somebody who's saying, Oh, Lincoln, you're going to hell for that.

SPEAKER_00 48:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:16

Like, no, I want somebody to say, okay, this is the area you need to work on. I think if if people could just understand that, I feel like criticism. Yes, it's out of love, not out of slander.

SPEAKER_05 48:27

Yeah. And then if they don't take that and they spit in your face after that, that's when you're like, I'm not gonna be in this anymore. Like, I'm leaving the lunchroom. Like I'm not gonna be in the circle anymore.

SPEAKER_07 48:37

Or like if I've ever been in one of those conversations where they're trying to talk about stuff I don't talk about. In the past, I've said, I'm not talking about this. And that ended that, and there was a new topic.

unknown 48:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 48:51

So that that one works.

SPEAKER_02 48:52

Yeah, I'll just add a such like a random segue. Just like something random that they said, like, like in the sentence, just one of the words I'll take it and I'll just start randomly talking about it.

SPEAKER_06 49:02

Yeah, like, oh, so you like golf.

SPEAKER_02 49:03

And it dude, but people are age, it shifts so easily.

SPEAKER_05 49:06

So it's like literally just try. So my go-to is so guys, did you know that the moon landing was faked? That will shift the entire conversation.

SPEAKER_03 49:14

Or hey guys, you probably won't be asked to launch her game if you do that at some tables.

SPEAKER_05 49:19

But it'll end the uh conversation. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_06 49:21

Very quickly. That's funny. So um, going back to Proverbs and everything. So in chapter five, its title is Avoid Immoral Woman. So it talks about the dangers of a more woman, obviously. And it warns about how much it can ruin your life if you go near her. So verses 11 through 12 say, in the end, you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body. You will say, How I hated discipline. If only I had not ignored all the warnings. It's so sad because like I was saying, we have a whole instruction manual right in front of us, and we're like, literally, how did I miss that? Because you didn't read, maybe? Because you didn't search for it?

SPEAKER_07 49:56

Oh, like God will not take the answer. I'm just a girl. Like, he's not, he's not gonna take that. I know it all's about.

SPEAKER_03 50:04

You said that last week.

SPEAKER_06 50:06

I think it's been a few weeks, but I think it's a few weeks ago.

SPEAKER_03 50:08

Just not gonna cut it, bro. Sorry.

SPEAKER_06 50:10

Like at this point, you can't say he didn't warn you. Literally.

SPEAKER_03 50:12

Um I want to look at verse three uh and four. It says, For the lips of an immoral woman are sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as poison and as dangerous as a double-edged sword. So this isn't just talking about an immoral woman in adultery, but this is talking about sin in general. Yeah. Sin appears sweet, and it appears like it's gonna taste good, feel good, look good, smell good, anything good. Right? If it w if it didn't look like it was gonna be good, you wouldn't tempt you wouldn't get tempted to do it. Yeah. But after you do it and you realize it's not sweet, it wasn't smooth, it was bitter, it was poisonous. And that's the danger of sin, is is it looks good to the eye when the minute you've committed it, you got that bitter taste in your mouth. Yeah. You're like, oh, what did I just do? It's kind of like a fish hook, bro.

SPEAKER_05 51:00

Like fish, uh bait gets dropped in the water, bro. You see that, you go feral for it. Like that looks so good, and you bite into it, and now you're hooked. You're cooked, bro.

SPEAKER_07 51:09

You are cooked, literally. Yeah, just try.

SPEAKER_05 51:12

Literally, and someone's eating you tomorrow.

SPEAKER_07 51:14

Or that night, not even tomorrow.

SPEAKER_05 51:16

It's it's all because that you took the bait.

SPEAKER_02 51:19

Something I got from uh verse four, right with you, is it describes sin and evil as a double-edged sword. Yeah. Well, in Hebrews 4 12, I believe, it said uh

Two Paths: Light Or Darkness

SPEAKER_02 51:30

that the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword. And it goes on. But I wanted to relate it to this because the word of God is described as a two-edged sword in Hebrews 4 and 12, and here in Proverbs 5-4, it talks about the deceitful words of a sly woman. Therefore, it matters which sword you expose yourself to. It will either cut to kill or cut to heal. Phew!

SPEAKER_07 51:53

That's that's good. That's really good. Y'all should see my face right now. Wows. My hands are on top of my head. I did not write that actually.

SPEAKER_05 52:03

Video recording coming soon, guys. Wow. You'll see her face.

SPEAKER_07 52:06

One of these days, y'all promise we're gonna get video recording.

SPEAKER_06 52:09

I'm working on it. That's actually good. Well, that's wow.

SPEAKER_05 52:14

What an insult. Didn't expect that from the new guy.

SPEAKER_07 52:18

No, I just didn't like it. You actually hear you speak pretty well. You better podcast whatever. Um, that's really good.

SPEAKER_03 52:26

That is really good.

SPEAKER_07 52:28

So I did a little bit of research and I read a few commentaries about what some biblical scholars have to say about Proverbs 5. And some of them said that like the moral woman, just like Lake Say can be symbolic of sin or even of false belief systems. So let's dive a little bit deeper. So false teachings and belief systems can appear initially harmless, but in spiritual bitterness, it destroys a person's true relationship with God and leads to ultimate ruin because you go from believing truth to believing just flat out lies that people make up. And so unlike the straight consistent path of truth, false belief systems are movable and they're fickle and they change with culture and societies and cultural trends, and they lack stability that the true word of God brings. So if you're believing something that's low-key fickle, it might not be true.

SPEAKER_06 53:25

You're in a pickle.

SPEAKER_07 53:27

If that's a bar. If you believe something that's fickle, you might be in a pickle.

SPEAKER_05 53:33

Fickle pickle. You in a pickle. Let me tell you something. You do not want to be in there.

SPEAKER_06 53:37

Nope, not the fickle pickle. Um, another set of verses I liked was verses, I mean, verse 21 through 22. It says, For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes, an evil man is held captive by his own sins. They are ropes that catch and hold him. Evil people get caught up in their evil doing and they don't even care who they bring down with them.

SPEAKER_07 53:59

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_06 54:00

That's a part that's like not really touched on in here, but it like it's kind of underlying. Yeah. Like the idea that if they're doing evil, don't you think that they don't care about you coming down with them? Because they're so low, they don't they don't even realize, like we said, they're in the dark, they have no clue what they're doing.

SPEAKER_05 54:14

They're not aware.

SPEAKER_06 54:14

Like they they don't necessarily care at all that you're doing it with them and that they're bringing you down later.

SPEAKER_05 54:20

I mean, think about it in the context of our culture today in America. They're just doing the best thing for them. They're doing happy. Literally. They are attending the devil party, and they're trying to bring you with them. You're their plus one. So don't go away.

SPEAKER_07 54:35

Nah.

SPEAKER_02 54:35

I even thought about uh a a way it can kind of apply to even believers, or those rather that's that are chosen by God. So I was reminded of the story of Samson when he was bound. It says the cords of their sins hold them fast. Well, Samson, when he was bound, he was he was bound when all of his sins caught up to him, finally.

SPEAKER_07 54:55

Yeah. True that.

SPEAKER_02 54:56

Being in the midst of evil might not immediately bring us to our demise, but staying there and not following God's purpose and plan for our lives will eventually lead us to him cutting us off. Yeah. He doesn't need us, just like we learned earlier from

Guard Your Heart With Intention

SPEAKER_02 55:10

the message. He doesn't need us. He can always use somebody else. But we have to be open, we have to be humble and ready to be to, you know, be used.

SPEAKER_06 55:17

That's wow. We can't like the thought of like my blessing leaving because I didn't want it, or like I didn't like use my gifts properly, is so sad.

SPEAKER_00 55:25

Or didn't obey.

SPEAKER_07 55:26

Just giving it away. Wow. Because you might not think whenever you do it the first time or a few times that you're gonna end up in a relentless sin cycle. Yeah, just like Samson. Like Samson just he just went a little bit too far one time. Yeah, and then he just went a little bit too far the next time, and then he touched something that was dead and wasn't supposed to do that, and then eventually it ends up like all his hair gone telling this woman how to get his strength away, and then he ends up dying because they gouged his eyes out. She's such an immoral woman for that, like literally, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:59

Verse 23 goes in perfectly with that. It says he would die for lack of self-control and he will be lost because of his great foolishness. So it's like if Samson, if he would have had self-control, he had what was it, like three chances with Delilah. She asked him several times, literally, and he was like, get closer and closer and closer to the truth every single time. Yeah, if you wouldn't have touched the dead thing, what we might not have been in his yeah, he might not have been there, but because he let himself have a lack of self-control, he found himself pushing pillars and dying in a position he probably shouldn't have been in.

SPEAKER_07 56:31

He was so close to death because of his sin cycles, yeah, but he didn't even know it.

SPEAKER_00 56:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 56:39

Like you can be walking so close to the edge of spiritual death and have no idea because you're not aware and you're not self-evaluating and looking at yourself through the lens of God's word. You're not guarding, you're not, you're not having guardrails, which is why guardrails and self-evaluation is just so important to keep you away from spiritual and physical death.

SPEAKER_05 57:04

Yeah. That's why the entirety of chapter five is a warning.

SPEAKER_07 57:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:08

Because it's more about like, hey, bad stuff is out there. Um, the sin looks really good. It's there. And it's warning us. We have to see that and not be ignorant of it. Literally. We have to see that and turn away. We have to choose not to ignore it and know the dangers that are out there.

SPEAKER_06 57:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:25

Like, don't go for the honey. Don't do it. It looks sweet, but it's not good.

SPEAKER_02 57:30

Don't go for the honey.

SPEAKER_00 57:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:32

Yeah, it's warning you to not be ignorant of sin and look out for the dangers that are out there.

SPEAKER_07 57:37

Yeah, literally.

SPEAKER_02 57:38

Don't turn to the left or the right.

SPEAKER_07 57:40

Horse blinders.

SPEAKER_05 57:42

Stay straight.

SPEAKER_06 57:43

She really wants a horse blinders. For Christmas, I know what I'm giving you. No, it's your birthday.

SPEAKER_05 57:47

When's your birthday, bro? I got you.

SPEAKER_07 57:49

January 10th? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 57:50

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_07 57:51

So we're two months past my birthday. POBI chose her. You're getting as she did.

SPEAKER_05 57:56

Massive horse blinder for your birthday, bro. I'll make up for lost time.

SPEAKER_06 58:01

That's hilarious. All right. Anyway, are y'all ready to go to chapter six yet?

SPEAKER_05 58:05

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 58:06

Okay. Does anybody specific want to start? I have one. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 58:10

So chapter six, one, uh verses one through two is talking about if you get in debt to a stranger and you can't get yourself out of it. Um, so in verse three, it says, Follow my advice, save yourself for now, for you have placed yourself at your friend's mercy. Now swallow your pride, go and beg to your name, go and beg to have your name erased. So it's talking about like if if I'm indebted to somebody, I need to lose the pride that Lincoln has and say, All right, I need you, I can't do anything unless

Eyes Forward: Don’t Get Sidetracked

SPEAKER_03 58:40

you erase my my debt to you. It's the same thing with God, is we have sin like continually, continually, continually. But if we get this pride and say, Oh, Lincoln's this big bad guy, I don't need God, right? I'm gonna forever be in debt. Or I'm forever gonna have this debt that I can't pay back. But when I go to God and I swallow my pride and say, Okay, I can't do this by myself. I need God to forgive me. Yeah, yeah. I go to God, I'm like, God, okay, take this from me. I can't pay this debt back to you, but I need you to forgive me for this debt. I think that's that's what I really took away from it. It's a good approach. That's a good approach. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 59:16

I really liked she says the ants, I'm gonna lie.

SPEAKER_07 59:20

Take a lesson from the ants. You lazy bones, learn from their ways and become wise. Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer long, gathering food for the winter. But you lazy bones, how long will you sleep and when will you wake up? That's Proverbs 6, 6 through 9.

SPEAKER_05 59:40

Guys, Andrea might be an ant year girl. I'm getting really suspicious over here.

SPEAKER_07 59:44

I just thought it was funny. Not funny, but like coincidental that we talked about it, and I found it for that walking thing. But okay. So the Bible says that if you're lazy, an ant does more than you.

SPEAKER_02 59:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 59:57

And honestly, I don't want an ant to you more than me. So come on, bro.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:03

You cannot be losing to a bug, bro. Like you little ant.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:05

You can't be losing to an itty-bitty ant that is just can't even believe in anything.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:12

That outwork. That dude does not even know he exists in the house. Only instincts.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:15

Only instinct.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:16

Also, guys, um, we are running really low on time, so let's try to make chapter six a little bit of a speed round. That's all I got. Oh.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:24

Alright, next podcast, I'm bringing some ants in like a bowl. And I'm gonna see if she starts acting suspicious, bro. If she starts eating them, we know she's an anteater.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:33

I don't like ants.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:34

Who's gonna bring up the elephant in the room? Verses 16 through 19. I know you're ready.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:41

So, verses 16 through 19 says, There are six things Lord hates. No, seven things he detests haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who sows discord in a family.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:59

Oof. Break it down.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:02

So, first one, lying tongue. Just tell the truth.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:06

First one's haughty eyes.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:07

Oh, haughty eyes. Okay, my haughty eyes. Howdy, watch where your eyes look in. Keep your eyes straight on God. Don't go right, don't go left. Then you'll find yourself looking at stuff you shouldn't look at.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:18

Wait, actually, hold up. Haughty eyes isn't like that though. Haughty, I thought haughty was haughty eyes was like that, but haughty is really just arrogance. Being haughty is thinking you're above everyone else. So it's like looking down at people.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:29

Well, yeah, also don't don't have pride. No pride. I forgot to add that one in. No pride. Well, the there goes my computer.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:36

Valid.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:37

No pride.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:38

I think for a lying tongue, like why are we lying? Because either you're lying just to lie, which is what five-year-olds do, or you're lying to hide something bad you did, which you probably just shouldn't be doing.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:48

Or you want candy. Hands that shed blood.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:50

That's my reason personally.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:51

Hands that shed innocent blood.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:54

Why you shedding innocent blood in the first place?

SPEAKER_05 1:01:57

Yeah, I mean, that one's kind of like self-explanatory. Just don't kill people. Yeah. Like, I feel like we don't really need to talk about that one. But then it could also be like

Words, Friends, And Boundaries

SPEAKER_05 1:02:06

or like emotional death.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:08

So, like be nice to people, pretty please.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:10

I can also uh relate that to backstabbing.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:14

True that.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:15

Like, well, the only thing worse about being backstabbed is looking around seeing who's holding the knife. So whenever you're being backstabbed and you're back or you're backstabbing somebody else, that blood that you're taking from them, that's on your hands. And if they have done nothing, you're just doing this to tear them down. Because half the time, if somebody who is a lot of time backstabbing comes from gossip. So if you're gossiping in the first place, it's probably because you feel less than the person you're gossiping about. So you're bringing them down to a level in which you see yourself already. So when you're backstabbing somebody else, like that blood that they and they've done nothing wrong. That blood's on your hands. Yeah. So I would definitely not shed innocent blood. Don't do that. Yeah, don't do that either.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:55

Then we got a heart that plots evil. Like, why are you plotting evil? You just plotting against people. Have you nothing better to do with your life? Literally.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:02

It's those uh ZYXers, man. Or whatever. Them guys.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:07

Get them out of here. Then we got feet that race to do wrong. Just race. Why are you running so fast in the wrong direction?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:13

Instead of pine's feet.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:14

Why do you want to do wrong so bad that you're actively running really fast for it? This became like a question podcast.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:21

Like just everybody ask yourself these questions.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:23

It's also like it's not like how fast they're moving towards it. It's that feet that race towards uh to do wrong. That's like that's their first instinct. They see wrong and they are booking it towards it.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:33

They're like, A. Yeah. That's all right.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:36

That's just like that's kind of an indicator of where your heart's at. Like you see wrong, and your first indicator is to run into it. You probably need to do some deep fasting and prayer. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:45

Amen.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:46

And then a false witness who speaks lies.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:48

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:49

You're just lying and gossiping at this point.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:52

You're just lying about people. You're a false witness, so one, that's just lying. But then you're also pouring out lies. So it's like a double whammy for lies. Real.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:01

A double whammy. Find the altar.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:03

It's like you're lying about your lies. No, like literally. Or you're lying so much you don't even know what you're lying about anymore.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:09

Like And sometimes, like hold up. Sometimes we can lie so much we start to believe our lies.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:14

I was about to say. Or we lie so much we forget what the truth is. Yes. So don't get lost in your lies because you speak truth. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:22

And then the last one is one who sows discord among brethren.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:26

In a family.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:26

Don't it's just unnecessary. Don't cause divide against your family or your friends just because you've got nothing else to do. Literally. If your tongue is I'm not gonna say cut your tongue out, but if your tongue just keep your mouth closed. If you feel the urge to gossip, just sit back and just don't say anything at all. If you can't say nice, don't say anything at all.

SPEAKER_07 1:04:46

Or like imagine imagine you say something or you start something in a family, like husband, wife, and kids, and then what what happens if that family breaks up? What happens if the parents separate or divorce? Because of the something that you started, then you literally are responsible for what happened. And that poor family was perfectly happy.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:10

Find something, something else, quote unquote, fun to do.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:13

Constructive.

Sin’s Honey And The Double-Edged Sword

SPEAKER_07 1:05:15

Be like an ant and do things.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:17

I think it's uh these ants. A lot. I think I've heard about them five times.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:22

It's been twice.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:23

I think it's really cool to look at all those things that uh we just talked about and see how much they all relate to unity and how much God values unity. Because every single one of those on their on their own can destroy unity in a body and a family. And like literally don't sow discord in a family. Like all of them value unity, and God hates people that intentionally try to destroy that unity.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:46

And he's calling everybody to be wise. I mean, what all of Proverbs. Yeah. Yeah. Book of wisdom. That's right. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:53

And they even go further to say in um verses twenty through twenty one, it says. Obey your father's commands and don't neglect your mother's instruction. Keep their words always in your hearts and tie them around your neck. So listen to the instruction that people are giving you, the wise counsel, the preaching that goes forth from the pulpit, from pastor, the Bible. Like words from the Bible, your godly mentors that you respect in your life. And tie them as if they're with you all the time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:26

Don't get don't get tired of it. Yeah. Don't get tired of instruction like we read earlier in Proverbs. I think it was four. I don't know. I had a question.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:36

We need to wrap it up. Okay, I have this one on this last one. Okay. Let's just give it a few seconds.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:41

So I looked about the tie them around your neck part earlier. I didn't use Chad GBT, so Andrea can be proud. But I did use like the Google thing. But it said uh it's um symbolic of wearing it around your neck so people can see it. Now it's not a literal necklace, but it's your fruit that you're producing, the the wisdom. Yeah, people should be able to see that around you. They should be able to say, Oh, he's nice, he's patient. Like make sure that the things in the the things you take away from the word, what you take away from preaching, what you take away from um people around you. Just make sure that the fruit you're producing is noticeable.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:16

Yeah, to become who you are, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:18

Yeah, yeah.

unknown 1:07:19

All right.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:21

But yeah, guys, so we've talked about a lot today. We went over Pastor Jared's message, Am I Wanted? Um, again, very good message. It was my favorite one so far. Moral of the story is that God saw you before he laid down the foundations of this earth. He saw you, he saw every mistake you would make, he saw every time that you walked away willingly, he saw every wrong you've ever done.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:45

And he still chose you, he still wanted you. Yeah. Before he ever even created you, he wanted you.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:51

And as long as you know that and internalize that, then you pretty much understand the whole point of the message. That yeah, your validation of being wanted does not come from the people around you. Do not base it on the people around you, base it on God wants you, and you're here for a reason.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:07

And we've talked about Proverbs. Um, work like an ant. That's what I'm getting from Andrea. If Andrea had one line, it would be that. Or work like an ant. Lock in the land. But but be disciplined. Um, see the sins that are like sin is out there, evildoers are out there, the ZYXers are out there. Everyone's out there. Yeah, sin is always there. And let Proverbs, be especially chapter five, be a warning.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:34

You have to stay away from it. You have to, if the path is there, the evil path, the so-called evil path, don't even entice it. Just turn away. Just be wise. Try to make wise decisions. Pray daily for God to give you wisdom in the decisions you make so you can avoid these uh X, Y, Z's.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:53

Yeah. Well, guys, I think that we can all agree that God moved tonight. Amen. Um we touched on a lot of good stuff. Uh Tusin just said, and make sure that you tune in next week for our next podcast. Bye, guys. Bye.