SPEAKER_00: This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God.
SPEAKER_00: For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org.
SPEAKER_01: Father, because you're worthy to be uh you're worthy, Lord, to be praised with our every thought and deed.
SPEAKER_01: So we want our every thought and our every deed this week to be an expression of worship to you, to make much of you.
SPEAKER_01: And so, Lord, glorify yourself through us.
SPEAKER_01: We understand very clearly that we are the vehicle, we're one of the main ways that you tell your story through.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel radiates through us, or else it gets misrepresented by us.
SPEAKER_01: And so, Lord, my prayers that both God and the gospel be fully on display in our lives this week as a result of what you're gonna say to us from your word this morning.
SPEAKER_01: We pray this, we ask for this, and we expect to receive this in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: And everyone said, Amen.
SPEAKER_01: You can have a seat.
SPEAKER_01: If you got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open it up to Ephesians chapter 4.
SPEAKER_01: Ephesians chapter 4, and if you don't have a Bible, there's one on your row, I'm on page 978, 978.
SPEAKER_01: And we've been in a series called Better.
SPEAKER_01: We're winding down.
SPEAKER_01: We got just a couple more Sundays in the series.
SPEAKER_01: Uh and today, and by better, if you're visiting, well, what do we mean by better?
SPEAKER_01: We're just looking at different things we want to get better at.
SPEAKER_01: And today I want to talk to you about getting better at hard conversations.
SPEAKER_01: Getting better at hard conversations.
SPEAKER_01: And by a show of hands, how many in this room have ever had to have a hard conversation with somebody in your life?
SPEAKER_01: Could I see your hand?
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: Now, put your hands down.
SPEAKER_01: And by a show of hands, yes, some of you are like, my wife's hands up, I should put my hand up too.
SPEAKER_01: Uh yes, by a show of hands, how many would say that conversation did not go as well as I think it could have gone?
SPEAKER_01: Could I see your hand?
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, my hand's in the air.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and so the Bible actually speaks to this.
SPEAKER_01: And so we're gonna read a passage in Ephesians chapter 4.
SPEAKER_01: I'll start in verse 17, read all the way to verse 32.
SPEAKER_01: And what I want you to notice in the Bible is that Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus, uh, very pagan culture, very sexy, immoral culture, very dog eat dog, very every man for himself.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'm gonna get mine kind of culture.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, remind you of any any place you live?
SPEAKER_01: Uh anyway, and Paul's writing to these people, and here's what Paul does.
SPEAKER_01: And now look at me for a second, beloved.
SPEAKER_01: Uh the Bible never just comes out and says, hey, do this, and and I'll tell you why later.
SPEAKER_01: Uh Paul doesn't do that.
SPEAKER_01: What Paul does is Paul says, hey, this is who you are, identity.
SPEAKER_01: And so, because this is who you are, this is what you do, activity.
SPEAKER_01: You'll hear that and see that in the text again.
SPEAKER_01: Identity, this is who you are.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible never asks you to act to act outside of your identity.
SPEAKER_01: Here's who you are, identity.
SPEAKER_01: And so, because of that, here's what you do.
SPEAKER_01: Here's how you live activity.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Let's look at up Ephesians chapter 4, verse 17, because we think about getting better at hard conversations.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 17 says, This, now, this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
SPEAKER_01: They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
SPEAKER_01: They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
SPEAKER_01: But this is not the way you learned Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life, and is corrupt their deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, see, he's been reminding you of our identity.
SPEAKER_01: And now he says, Therefore, which means what I'm fixing to say is predicated on what I just said, activity.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
SPEAKER_01: Be angry and do not sin.
SPEAKER_01: Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.
SPEAKER_01: Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
SPEAKER_01: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up as it fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
SPEAKER_01: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
SPEAKER_01: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
SPEAKER_01: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
SPEAKER_01: Now, uh the the the basically there's three things, three big points the text makes this morning.
SPEAKER_01: And let me just point to the first one.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, the Bible tells us this morning to get better at hard conversations.
SPEAKER_01: Uh uh the first thing we have to understand is that the Bible holds the Christian to a higher standard.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible holds the Christian to a higher standard.
SPEAKER_01: You say, well, what do you what do you mean?
SPEAKER_01: Verse 17.
SPEAKER_01: Now this I say, and I testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their mind.
SPEAKER_01: It's in that phrase, as the Gentiles do.
SPEAKER_01: A Gentile in in the biblical days, it referred to somebody that wasn't not a Jew, uh, was not a very religious person.
SPEAKER_01: Modern-day vernacular, we would say, hey, I urge you uh and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as an unbeliever, as a non-Christian.
SPEAKER_01: When he says walk, he doesn't mean just walk, but your manner of life, the way you do things.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says right off the bat, Paul says, hey, you don't get to live like people that don't know God because you know God.
SPEAKER_01: And the Bible holds the Christian to a higher standard than it does everybody else, okay?
SPEAKER_01: It's always been that way, beloved, and it will always be that way.
SPEAKER_01: Let me remind you of these words.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to see the degree to which the Bible holds us to a higher standard, hear these words from Matthew chapter 5, starting in verse 21.
SPEAKER_01: This is the Sermon on the Mount.
SPEAKER_01: One of them considered by unbelievers and believers alike to be some of the greatest ethical teaching in the history of the world.
SPEAKER_01: I would say it's just the Bible, okay?
SPEAKER_01: But Matthew chapter 5, verse 21, Jesus says this You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.
SPEAKER_01: But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.
SPEAKER_01: Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the counsel, and whoever says, You fool, will be liable to the hell of fire.
SPEAKER_01: So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go.
SPEAKER_01: First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
SPEAKER_01: Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
SPEAKER_01: Truly I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
SPEAKER_01: Now, if there was one thing you talk to people that don't go to church anywhere, uh just just a little survey here.
SPEAKER_01: If you ever talk to people that don't go to church, there's two or three things that they say, the church is always about this.
SPEAKER_01: One of the things that you talk to people about church, they say, the church is always about money.
SPEAKER_01: There you go.
SPEAKER_01: Right here in Matthew, I knew you would say that.
SPEAKER_01: Here's why I ask you the question.
SPEAKER_01: Because right here in Matthew chapter 5, verse 21, don't miss this.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, if you're there at the altar presenting your gift, and there you remember your brother has aught against you, or your brother has something against you.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't say, uh, oh, you got something against your brother.
SPEAKER_01: Look at me.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot think of all your relationships as just half of the circle.
SPEAKER_01: I remember hearing this when I first became a Christian, and well-meaning preachers and teachers would say, I can only be responsible with my half of the circle.
SPEAKER_01: It's not what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, if you're there at the uh at the altar and you're presenting your gift, you're giving your offering, and there you remember somebody has something against you.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Leave your gift and go and be reconciled and then come and present your offering.
SPEAKER_01: Translation, Jesus comes along and says, Hey, I place higher value on reconciliation than I do you writing a big check to the church.
SPEAKER_01: So here's what I'm gonna ask you to do.
SPEAKER_01: Listen very carefully.
SPEAKER_01: If you, as you sit in that chair right now, you may think, hey, I got something I gotta be talking about to this person.
SPEAKER_01: It may be that or you may be like, I'm good, but they may have something with me.
SPEAKER_01: That's enough.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I do not want you to do.
SPEAKER_01: I do not want you to give an offering today.
SPEAKER_01: If there's somebody you need to be reconciled with.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not original with me.
SPEAKER_01: That's hot out of the mouth of Jesus right here in Matthew chapter 5.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because the Bible holds the Christian to a higher standard.
SPEAKER_01: It always has and it always will.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Now, some of you may be thinking, that's fine with me.
SPEAKER_01: I'll just hold on to this for a long time.
SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you something.
SPEAKER_01: One of the evidences that you really are a Christian is that sin bothers you.
SPEAKER_01: It bothers you.
SPEAKER_01: It will gnaw at you.
SPEAKER_01: If it doesn't gnaw at you, you might want to ask yourself some bigger, deeper questions.
SPEAKER_01: Now, you say, What do you mean the Bible holds a Christian to a higher standard?
SPEAKER_01: Paul makes this opening statement in verse 17, then he goes on, verse 18, talking about Gentiles, people that don't know God.
SPEAKER_01: He says they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart.
SPEAKER_01: They've become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity, but that is not the way you learned Christ.
SPEAKER_01: The Christian has been illuminated, reconciled to God, involved in the life of God, given a new heart that's provoked by God's commands.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, we are held to a higher standard.
SPEAKER_01: That's just the way it's always been.
SPEAKER_01: Second thing the text tells us is that the gospel by nature is nonconforming.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel by nature is non-conforming.
SPEAKER_01: We have to start with this understanding and therefore embrace the fact that we're the ones that have to conform.
SPEAKER_01: When I say the gospel is non-conforming, look at me.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible is not going to conform itself to your willingness.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible never kind of says, hey, here's the ideal, but if you're just willing to do this, that's okay.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: That's our culture, and that may be may that may be even what you hear in some churches from some preachers and some teachers or whatever.
SPEAKER_01: That's not the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel is by nature non-conforming.
SPEAKER_01: That means that you and I are the ones who have to conform to what the Bible says.
SPEAKER_01: You say, I uh what do you mean?
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 20 again.
SPEAKER_01: But that's not the way you learned Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Exclamation point.
SPEAKER_01: Paul raises his voice and he says, Hey, that's not the way you learned about God.
SPEAKER_01: That's not who God is.
SPEAKER_01: And then he unpacks that statement.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 21, assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life, and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
SPEAKER_01: Ask yourself this question today.
SPEAKER_01: When it comes to dealing with people, having hard conversations with people that rub you the wrong way, do you relate to them more out of your old self or more out of your new self?
SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01: Do you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01: I say old self and new self?
SPEAKER_01: Old self, uh, and then you'll see this kind of all through the New Testament, this old self and new self.
SPEAKER_01: Here's why.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says this in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 21.
SPEAKER_01: Some people nowadays say, well, you know you can't really know who who is a Christian, who isn't.
SPEAKER_01: That's a private matter.
SPEAKER_01: That's not true.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, if any man's in Christ, he's a new creation.
SPEAKER_01: Old things are passed away.
SPEAKER_01: Behold, all things become new.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when it comes to dealing with people, some of us can flip the switch and we can fall back into our old self.
SPEAKER_01: Like this happens not as much as it used to, because I think I've gotten better.
SPEAKER_01: But like when I'm driving down the interstate, there's two lanes, you know, going both ways, usually two or three lanes going both ways.
SPEAKER_01: But when there's two lanes, there's two lanes.
SPEAKER_01: There's the right lane, and then there's the passing lane, or the lane that Neil drives in.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you get in the fast lane, as it's called, and you drive like 56 miles an hour, and the speed limit's 70 or 75, I'm gonna be on your back bumper like bump draft or like NASCAR, like, hello, and people that are just driving along, talking, and eventually the right lane clears out, and I can pull out to my and right when I put my blinker on and pull out to the right, my wife's like, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it.
SPEAKER_01: You're a bigger man.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what she says, you're a bigger man than that, Neil McClendon.
SPEAKER_01: And I think to myself, no, I'm not.
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm not.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I don't do what some of you are thinking.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are like, what do you do?
SPEAKER_01: I don't, it doesn't involve gestures or anything.
SPEAKER_01: I just, I'm more subtle than that.
SPEAKER_01: I put the blinker on, I pull out, I get right up beside him and just look over at him like, really?
SPEAKER_01: Hello, there's a world around you.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm at speeds just for about three or four seconds, just looking at him, like, really?
SPEAKER_01: And the whole time, you're a bigger man than that, Neil McClennon.
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm not.
SPEAKER_01: I'm really not.
SPEAKER_01: This is what you got.
SPEAKER_01: No, she's right.
SPEAKER_01: That's my old self.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: That's who I used to be.
SPEAKER_01: I was an angry, likes to fight guy.
SPEAKER_01: That was me as a non-believer.
SPEAKER_01: That's my old self.
SPEAKER_01: Now, here's where I gotta be careful.
SPEAKER_01: When I get around my family, my old self wants to pop up.
SPEAKER_01: Like I gotta go to a funeral this next weekend and be around my family.
SPEAKER_01: Sorry, rascals.
SPEAKER_01: My mom was in Phoenix this past week, and me and my two brothers was a chip in.
SPEAKER_01: We have a sister that was born, lived about 35 minutes, and died.
SPEAKER_01: My mom's always wanted to get a little tombstone for Dana's grave.
SPEAKER_01: And so I was like, mom, come on.
SPEAKER_01: So we all chipped in.
SPEAKER_01: We all chipped in.
SPEAKER_01: We all wrote checks.
SPEAKER_01: Two of us wrote checks.
SPEAKER_01: The third one, who always says this, oh man, I started looking at the numbers and I can't do it.
SPEAKER_01: He's got more money than me and my other brother put together.
SPEAKER_01: He just didn't do it.
SPEAKER_01: And my old self is kind of like, I tell you what, let's come out here in the backyard and let's take our shirts off and just go at it, all right?
SPEAKER_01: Now, I would never initiate that.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you heard it.
SPEAKER_01: Smart person out there is like, initiate, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't initiate, and there's a part of me, now, am I saying I would do that?
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: But I could just, I'm just being honest.
SPEAKER_01: When I get around my family that are ruthless and dog eat dog, I'm like, oh, you want to see ruthless.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all think because I'm a preacher, I'm all soft, you can get up on me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm about to bust one of y'all in the mouth.
SPEAKER_01: And then we can just flip this coffee table over and just see what happens after that.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we get about an hour out, and my wife's like, you start getting kind of redneckish.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna protect my family.
SPEAKER_01: You don't know these rednecks like I do.
SPEAKER_01: Hide your purse and lock the van.
SPEAKER_01: Don't leave that purse out in plain sight.
SPEAKER_01: She's like, Really?
SPEAKER_01: Really?
SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_01: Here's why.
SPEAKER_01: Because druggies need drug money.
SPEAKER_01: And that's some of my family.
SPEAKER_01: Now, is that an excuse for me to be hard to them?
SPEAKER_01: Not at all.
SPEAKER_01: But in our dealings with people, you gotta you you ought to be able to distinguish, and I'm not giving you an excuse and license, oh, look at the preacher, he doesn't.
SPEAKER_01: I don't act on that, but I can feel when I'm tempted to act like my old self.
SPEAKER_01: That's not who I am anymore.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says, hey, you put it, you put that away.
SPEAKER_01: You used to be done.
SPEAKER_01: It's corrupted by your deceitful desires.
SPEAKER_01: And put on the new self, which is created to be like Christ.
SPEAKER_01: When it comes to your dealings with people, do you revert to your old self?
SPEAKER_01: Or do you deal with them the way Jesus dealt with people who, by the way, on the cross looked up to heaven and said, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing.
SPEAKER_01: Third thing the Bible tells us is the gospel by nature is clarifying.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel by nature is clarifying.
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean, verse 25?
SPEAKER_01: Because he talks about our identity.
SPEAKER_01: He says, hey, you put off your former way of life, which is corrupt through deceitful desires, and you've been renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, because this is your identity, this is your activity, this is how you live.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
SPEAKER_01: Then the Bible, when I say the Bible is it by nature is clarifying, or the gospel is by nature clarifying.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel is means the good news.
SPEAKER_01: The good news of Christianity, whatever the Bible teaches about anything, that's the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: So when I say gospel, that's what I mean.
SPEAKER_01: So the good news is that I'm not trapped and relegated to be in the way I've always been towards people, to be ruthless and manipulating and controlling.
SPEAKER_01: I have to do that.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because I have a God that loves me and He's at work in my life and He's at work in other people's life.
SPEAKER_01: I don't have to control them to get what I want or think I need from them.
SPEAKER_01: I can trust God more than I trust myself.
SPEAKER_01: And so when I say the gospel is by nature clarifying, here's how the Bible speaks to us and kind of tells us, here's how you handle hard conversations.
SPEAKER_01: The first thing it says is speak the truth.
SPEAKER_01: Speak the truth.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 25.
SPEAKER_01: It says, Therefore, having put away falsehood, look at me.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible just assumes you've already put away falsehood.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, having put away falsehood, it doesn't say put away falsehood.
SPEAKER_01: Having put away falsehood.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible assumes, let me ask you a question.
SPEAKER_01: Can you feel when you lie?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: If you can't feel when you lie, that ain't a good sign.
SPEAKER_01: You should be able to feel it and be bothered by it.
SPEAKER_01: Here's why.
SPEAKER_01: Because the Bible says, hey, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the motivation for speaking the truth.
SPEAKER_01: For we are members of one another.
SPEAKER_01: We are members of one another.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, we're both part of the body of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: If you're talking to another believer, that's the motivation.
SPEAKER_01: So, first of all, how do we do this?
SPEAKER_01: We speak the truth.
SPEAKER_01: Secondly, be angry, but also be intentional.
SPEAKER_01: Look at the next verse.
SPEAKER_01: He says in verse 26, be angry and do not sin.
SPEAKER_01: Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
SPEAKER_01: Be angry.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible never says, hey, hey, ladies, when your husband gets mad and it's righteous anger, don't say, Oh, hey, don't get angry.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, don't be angry.
SPEAKER_01: Too late.
SPEAKER_01: He's angry.
SPEAKER_01: No, it's very invalidating when you say, hey, don't be angry.
SPEAKER_01: And by the same token, men, when your wife gets angry, don't say, Don't be angry.
SPEAKER_01: My wife helps me with this because when my wife gets upset about something, my first thing, now, babe, be careful.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, oh, really?
SPEAKER_01: Really?
SPEAKER_01: You can get passionate about something, but I can't?
SPEAKER_01: Well, it just doesn't look right on you.
SPEAKER_01: I've said that out loud to my wife.
SPEAKER_01: And she just smiles like, oh, it's really fitting for men to get angry, but a woman gets righteously angry and you go crazy.
SPEAKER_01: It's like when a woman's strong in the marketplace, we got words for that, but a man's strong in the marketplace, he's a leader.
SPEAKER_01: Well, now you're off the reservation.
SPEAKER_01: We're talking about other things.
SPEAKER_01: No, the Bible never says don't get angry.
SPEAKER_01: Look at me.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says be angry.
SPEAKER_01: America is like it is because Christians don't know how to be angry.
SPEAKER_01: He says, be angry and don't sin.
SPEAKER_01: And also don't let the sun go down on your wrath.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, be intentional.
SPEAKER_01: If you're angry, act on it.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Anger is like the check engine light on your dashboard.
SPEAKER_01: It's telling you something's wrong under the hood.
SPEAKER_01: So if you're angry, you can't avoid that and push that down.
SPEAKER_01: Third thing the Bible tells us is don't create space for the devil.
SPEAKER_01: What do you mean?
SPEAKER_01: He says, be angry and do not sin.
SPEAKER_01: Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
SPEAKER_01: Same sentence, verse 27, and give no opportunity for the devil.
SPEAKER_01: When I say don't create space for the devil, that word opportunity, the Bible was originally written in Greek, translated into English.
SPEAKER_01: And so that word opportunity is the Greek word tapas.
SPEAKER_01: Tapas.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when I say tapas, don't get it confused.
SPEAKER_01: Tapas, some of you think tapas, that's like if you go to a Spanish, a real Spanish restaurant, they serve tapas.
SPEAKER_01: All that means is you're gonna go home hungry, man.
SPEAKER_01: That's all that means.
SPEAKER_01: It sounds all sexy.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, we're gonna have tapas for dinner.
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna hit up Whataburger on the way home.
SPEAKER_01: It's just little small servings of delicious food, and you're like, that's it?
SPEAKER_01: Oh, would you like to order some more?
SPEAKER_01: That was like three nachos.
SPEAKER_01: Of course I want some more.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: Tapas in the Greek, it's that we're gonna English word opportunity.
SPEAKER_01: This is tapas, a space marked off, an opportunity for acting.
SPEAKER_01: Now the Bible says when you get angry and you don't deal with it, you let the sun go down on your anger and you stay angry, listen to me.
SPEAKER_01: He says you're not just given an opportunity, like, oh, well, what are the chances?
SPEAKER_01: You're a space marked off and an opportunity for acting.
SPEAKER_01: You are giving the high ground to the lowest enemy you'll ever have, to the most ruthless individual that's ever existed in the history of humanity.
SPEAKER_01: And you are just marking off space and kind of saying, hey, this area is reserved, and he will build a stronghold there, and he won't destroy them, he'll destroy you.
SPEAKER_01: So when the Bible says, Hey, don't be angry and don't sin.
SPEAKER_01: Don't let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity for for the devil.
SPEAKER_01: That's when he says, Hey, don't create space for the devil.
SPEAKER_01: Fourth thing he says is talk to, not about.
SPEAKER_01: Talk to, not about.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 29.
SPEAKER_01: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for the building up as it fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear.
SPEAKER_01: And let me back up verse 29.
SPEAKER_01: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths.
SPEAKER_01: By the way, look at me.
SPEAKER_01: This is not a f this is not forbidden profanity.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying therefore profanity is okay.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: You wish to God it were that simple.
SPEAKER_01: Because most of us are like, hey, man, yeah, that's not me.
SPEAKER_01: You know, some people are like, hey, I still struggle with that on occasion.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: I get that.
SPEAKER_01: This is worse than that.
SPEAKER_01: When the Bible says, hey, talk to, not about, he says, let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for the building up as it fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
SPEAKER_01: Hear that last part.
SPEAKER_01: That it may give grace to those who hear.
SPEAKER_01: There's I was a communication major in college, and in college there's a theory called triangulation, which means basically if I'm here and the person I have an issue with is here, I don't come to that person and talk.
SPEAKER_01: What I do is I go over here and talk to this person, and I get it all worked out, and I never talk to that person.
SPEAKER_01: That's called triangulation.
SPEAKER_01: In the Bible, that's called sin.
SPEAKER_01: Here's why.
SPEAKER_01: Because when he says in verse uh verse 30 there, he says, uh, excuse me, verse 29, let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for the building up as it fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear.
SPEAKER_01: How am I giving grace to the person I need to have the hard conversation with if they never hear the conversation?
SPEAKER_01: What you're doing is you're corrupting how this person feels about that person.
SPEAKER_01: That's what in the Bible says, hey, let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth.
SPEAKER_01: It's not saying, hey, don't, don't, don't cuss like a sailor.
SPEAKER_01: That that the Bible speaks that in other places.
SPEAKER_01: And in this place, it's saying, hey, you are corrupting how this person feels.
SPEAKER_01: It's a game I call relational Red Rover.
SPEAKER_01: It sounds like this Red Rover, Red Rover, let Susie come over.
SPEAKER_01: And you want Susie to feel the way you feel about that person.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what happens.
SPEAKER_01: In God's eyes, you're gonna have to give an account for the way you've corrupted this person's thoughts about that person.
SPEAKER_01: Now, when I say talk to, not about, I'm not I'm not neglecting the fact that sometimes you need to process out loud with a trusted friend.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you have come to me, I see people all the time, they're like, hey, I gotta talk to this person, and blah, blah, blah.
SPEAKER_01: And I always end the conversation by saying, All right, when could I call you and ask you if you've had this conversation?
SPEAKER_01: One guy kicked in front of my desk.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't ask for that.
SPEAKER_01: Well, you think just processing out loud makes it okay?
SPEAKER_01: That doesn't do anything.
SPEAKER_01: You just kind of bleed off some of the pressure.
SPEAKER_01: But the core issue is still there.
SPEAKER_01: Well I ain't ready for that.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel doesn't give you that freedom.
SPEAKER_01: So when can I call you?
SPEAKER_01: You can call them anytime you want, but I ain't gonna answer.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: You don't know who you're talking to.
SPEAKER_01: I'll call you every day.
SPEAKER_01: I'll call you on your cell phone, I'll call you at work, I'll come down there with a bullhorn.
SPEAKER_01: Attention, is Daniel here?
SPEAKER_01: Dude, this is not helpful.
SPEAKER_01: So it's helpful to let you come in here and hey, you can blow off steam.
SPEAKER_01: You're safe.
SPEAKER_01: I love you, I care about you, but this does nothing to change the nature of your relationship with the person you need to be talking to, not about.
SPEAKER_01: Last thing I would say about verse 29 is notice that part where it says that it may give grace to those who hear.
SPEAKER_01: You're not giving grace to that person, you're giving the law.
SPEAKER_01: And we were not created to live under the law.
SPEAKER_01: 15, the Bible says that, hey, you want to have a hard conversation?
SPEAKER_01: Don't grieve the spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Look at verse 30.
SPEAKER_01: He says, and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
SPEAKER_01: Don't grieve the spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Back in John 16, Jesus tells his disciples, when the Spirit, when the Holy Spirit comes, he will lead you into all truth.
SPEAKER_01: Here's how we grieve the Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: We grieve the Spirit when we make him an accessory to our lie.
SPEAKER_01: Because the Spirit does two primary things.
SPEAKER_01: He glorifies the Son and He leads the believer into the truth.
SPEAKER_01: And the Holy Spirit is grieved when we try to say to the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us, hey, I know it's not good, but let's just act like it's good and it'll be good.
SPEAKER_01: The Holy Spirit's like, not good.
SPEAKER_01: And that feeling you get, it's like, ugh.
SPEAKER_01: Ask yourself this question.
SPEAKER_01: Who is it when you're around them you feel kind of funky on the inside?
SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense to anybody but me?
SPEAKER_01: Like I have to start praying like on Friday to get ready Saturday to see some of my family.
SPEAKER_01: To be like, hey man, you promised to pray for your dead sisters.
SPEAKER_01: Are you serious?
SPEAKER_01: What?
SPEAKER_01: And here's what it'll be.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you think you're better than me because you're a preacher?
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: I want to beat you half to death and then do your funeral because I'm a preacher.
SPEAKER_01: That's my old self.
SPEAKER_01: I can't give into that.
SPEAKER_01: But look at me.
SPEAKER_01: Every once in a while, that bird flies over my head.
SPEAKER_01: That thought, like a shooting star.
SPEAKER_01: I can't let that build a nest in my hair, though.
SPEAKER_01: Or what used to be hair.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I can't just dwell on that.
SPEAKER_01: As good as that may feel.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says, hey, don't grieve the Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because you were sealed by the Spirit to the day of redemption.
SPEAKER_01: Next thing the Bible says is raise it up.
SPEAKER_01: Is raise it up.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, where's that?
SPEAKER_01: It's in verse 31.
SPEAKER_01: Tell me some of the words that stand out to you in verse 31.
SPEAKER_01: Let me read it.
SPEAKER_01: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
SPEAKER_01: What words stand out to you?
SPEAKER_01: Just say them out loud.
unknown: Malice.
SPEAKER_01: Malice.
SPEAKER_01: What else?
SPEAKER_01: Bitterness.
SPEAKER_01: What else?
SPEAKER_01: Slander.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all been mad at some people before.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: That was a good word.
SPEAKER_01: Clamor.
SPEAKER_01: I don't even know what that word means, and it sounds good.
SPEAKER_01: I think we got some clamor between us, brother.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you the best word.
SPEAKER_01: None of you are going to say it.
SPEAKER_01: Look right there in verse 31.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice.
SPEAKER_01: Notice two things.
SPEAKER_01: That verse starts with the word let, not the word do.
SPEAKER_01: Let.
SPEAKER_01: Who are you going to let?
SPEAKER_01: Here's my favorite word in the whole thing is it's actually three words in English, be put away.
SPEAKER_01: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away.
SPEAKER_01: It's the Greek word Iroh.
SPEAKER_01: Excuse me, Iroh.
SPEAKER_01: Iroh.
SPEAKER_01: And it's translated, be put away, and it means this, to take upon oneself and carry what has been raised up.
SPEAKER_01: To take upon oneself and to carry off what has been raised up.
SPEAKER_01: Now when he starts off in this sentence, this verse, when he says, let, he's saying, Hey, I'm not asking you to do this.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are so mad at people, you've been so mad at people before.
SPEAKER_01: You may be so mad at somebody right now.
SPEAKER_01: You may be bitter.
SPEAKER_01: You may just be like, hey, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: It's just the way it is.
SPEAKER_01: It is going to be the way it is, you know.
SPEAKER_01: All right, as football players, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, hey, at the end of the day, you are still held to the standard of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: And the Bible comes along very subtly and yet very profoundly and says, let.
SPEAKER_01: In other words, hey, I God is saying, I get, if this was just up to you, you would let sometimes feelings come on you that you can't get up off of you.
SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_01: There's things that you're just like, man, I wish I didn't feel this way.
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
SPEAKER_01: Well, let all this stuff, bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander, be put away, I row, to take up all take upon oneself and carry what has been raised up.
SPEAKER_01: Does that remind you of anybody who comes along and takes whatever you raised up, who takes it upon himself and carries it away?
SPEAKER_01: Well, God is suddenly saying, because that's why, ladies, if you try to get your husband to do verse 32, he's gonna laugh out loud.
SPEAKER_01: Honey, we need to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.
SPEAKER_01: Most men, when we hear tenderhearted, it's like, what?
SPEAKER_01: Shut up.
SPEAKER_01: That's for women in the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: That is not possible.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot do verse 32 until you experience verse 31, where you left, where you raised up all the bitterness and the clamor and the malice and the anger in you, and you say to God, I need you to, I'm gonna raise this up, and I want you to take it off of me and take it away.
SPEAKER_01: That's what the Bible tells us when it says, Hey, raise it up.
SPEAKER_01: Raise it up because you're gonna he'll take it upon himself and he'll take it away.
SPEAKER_01: All you gotta do is ask yourself, Am I willing to let God do that today?
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't say do, it says let.
SPEAKER_01: Let.
SPEAKER_01: Last thing the Bible says when it comes to having a hard conversation, reflect back.
SPEAKER_01: That's verse 32.
SPEAKER_01: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, present tense, forgiving, as God in Christ forgave, past tense, you.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible never asks us to replicate realities that we've yet to experience.
SPEAKER_01: Let me say it again.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible never asks us to replicate realities which we have yet to experience.
SPEAKER_01: Which is why, and hear this, don't just hear me joking about my redneck nature growing up.
SPEAKER_01: Hear this, which is why when I see my mom this weekend, I'll say, hey, mom, how much of this did you have to pay?
SPEAKER_01: Because you're not paying any of this.
SPEAKER_01: I'll pay that part.
SPEAKER_01: Because I just, hey, God's been so good to me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not who I used to be.
SPEAKER_01: And one of the ways I remind myself that I'm not who I used to be is I act in keeping with who I am right now.
SPEAKER_01: Because who I am right now is so much more powerful than who I used to be.
SPEAKER_01: And so I get to say to my mom, hey, you're not paying any part of that.
SPEAKER_01: Because my mom is like, oh, I'll pay his third.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, you won't.
SPEAKER_01: Now, why do I tell you that?
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm able to reflect back when the Bible says, be kind to one another, be tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.
SPEAKER_01: I'm able to do that because I know what all I've been forgiven for.
SPEAKER_01: Things that I could never talk about in public, I've been forgiven for.
SPEAKER_01: And so I'm able to be kind.
SPEAKER_01: I'm able to be tenderhearted.
SPEAKER_01: One of my brothers doesn't know Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I can't expect him to do the right thing all the time.
SPEAKER_01: I'm able to do these things because what I've experienced.
SPEAKER_01: Forgiving present tense, as God in Christ forgave you past tense.
SPEAKER_01: Again, let me say the Bible never asks us to replicate realities we haven't experienced.
SPEAKER_01: But look at me, beloved.
SPEAKER_01: Once we've experienced them, we're responsible for them.
SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
SPEAKER_01: Once we've experienced them, we're responsible for them.
SPEAKER_01: We are.
SPEAKER_01: And it's hard sometimes, especially when you feel like people are getting over on you.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, God will take care of all that.
SPEAKER_01: So let me let me give you five questions to ask yourself before having a hard conversation, and we'll be done this morning.
SPEAKER_01: Number one, am I clear on my biblical responsibility towards this person and this conversation?
SPEAKER_01: Am I clear on my biblical responsibility towards this person and this conversation?
SPEAKER_01: Two, have I prayed about this for this and for the other person?
SPEAKER_01: Have I prayed about this for this and for the other person?
SPEAKER_01: Three, what is my desired outcome?
SPEAKER_01: What is my desired outcome?
SPEAKER_01: Four, am I open to hearing as much as I am speaking?
SPEAKER_01: Five, can we leave the conversation with a plan to move forward with our relationship?
SPEAKER_01: Can we leave the conversation with a plan to move forward with our relationship?
SPEAKER_01: Now you ain't gotta try to write them down.
SPEAKER_01: Just push your camera and take a picture of that.
SPEAKER_01: Now look at me, and we'll be done this morning.
SPEAKER_01: You got one more minute in you?
SPEAKER_01: I'm a visual learner, and I had this visual experience this past week.
SPEAKER_01: I was going downtown to meet a friend of mine for lunch.
SPEAKER_01: He works down in Louisiana, which is like downtown downtown.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm taking the West Park Tollway and gonna jump out on 59 and then go, and on the West Park Tollway, all of a sudden it starts slowing down.
SPEAKER_01: And you know it's slowing down and then it's kind of grinding to a halt.
SPEAKER_01: I sensed it was fixing the grind to a halt.
SPEAKER_01: And I could see about a mile up the road, a bunch of red lights and wreckers and stuff, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, every wrecker in Fort Bend County, Harris County began to show up on the tollway.
SPEAKER_01: They were driving through the grass, off the media, and all these kinds, off the access road.
SPEAKER_01: And I counted 18 records went by me.
SPEAKER_01: I was getting so mad because I was sitting still, just dead still.
SPEAKER_01: I texted my friend and said, Hey, there's a record a little bit late.
SPEAKER_01: 13, 14, 15.
SPEAKER_01: One guy was coming down the thing, he just did a UI come across all kinds of boob-boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, over the curb, through the grass, down on the shoulder of the West Park Tumblewag.
SPEAKER_01: And I was I was mad because I was on the inside of the lane, the outside of the lane was full, I couldn't get to the shoulder.
SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm just acting like I'm a wrecker.
SPEAKER_01: Woo! And get in line.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I was like, what are they doing?
SPEAKER_01: And I know y'all don't ever do this, but sometimes I talk to situations like they can hear me.
SPEAKER_01: I was saying, they might got me hooked up.
SPEAKER_01: They got the guy that's got a flatbed record and he's got the carbon and they're driving off, and you know, ooh, them records are flying by.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like, Holly, how many records are there in this city?
SPEAKER_01: And about that point, clear as a bell, the Holy Spirit said, Imagine if there weren't any records.
SPEAKER_01: And I sat there, by the way, I sat there for seven minutes.
SPEAKER_01: You would have thought it was a lifetime.
SPEAKER_01: Because I was checking on my clock, like, seven minutes, are you what?
SPEAKER_01: But the last three minutes that seven minutes, I just imagined what it would be like without any wreckers.
SPEAKER_01: It'd be like Mad Max in the Thunderdome.
SPEAKER_01: There'd be wrecked up vehicles everywhere.
SPEAKER_01: Just think about it.
SPEAKER_01: Of all the wrecks you've ever seen, there would be carnage everywhere.
SPEAKER_01: Now you're probably wondering, why are you telling us that?
SPEAKER_01: You're a strange little man.
SPEAKER_01: Look at me and I'm done.
SPEAKER_01: Here's how I'm telling you that.
SPEAKER_01: Because if you don't learn how to get better at having hard conversations, that's what your life is gonna look like.
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna have to drive around all the wrecked-out relationships that you've left strewn behind you because you do not know how to give and receive the truth and say, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it pangs me to hear you say that, but you're right.
SPEAKER_01: You gotta get better at having these kind of conversations.
SPEAKER_01: Or you're just gonna have to drive around a lot of things.
SPEAKER_01: There's not a better feeling in the world than walking into a room and just being like, hey, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: I ain't perfect.
SPEAKER_01: I'll own whatever's mine to own, but I'm free.
SPEAKER_01: That's what the Bible created us for, and that's what the gospel calls us to is that kind of freedom.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_01: Just take a moment.
SPEAKER_01: If you're new to our church, you're visiting today, we like to just teach the Bible and then give you some space to think about it.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe a couple questions to ask yourself is this hey, during the sermon, did any person's name come to mind?
SPEAKER_01: And I know, I know, I think, hey, I'm good.
SPEAKER_01: It's not okay that I'm good if I'm there at the altar presenting my gift and I remember somebody's got something against me.
SPEAKER_01: God says, keep your check.
SPEAKER_01: Go get it sorted.
SPEAKER_01: I place higher value on reconciliation than I do contribution.
SPEAKER_01: So, did anybody's name come to mind today?
SPEAKER_01: You may be here like, I'm just a student, man.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, the most evangelistic thing in the world is a 14-year-old girl that's not catty, doesn't play little games, that practices having hard conversations in a biblical way.
SPEAKER_01: A 14-year-old girl that says to another girl, hey, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: I kind of got a hard heart towards you because we like the same guy.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not willing to sacrifice my faith on the altar of some boy.
SPEAKER_01: Could you forgive me for the things I've said about you on social media, the way I've responded to you?
SPEAKER_01: That's not who I am.
SPEAKER_01: God, I pray that you would uh stir up in us such an integrated faith that we find ourselves making those kind of statements.
SPEAKER_01: Just to live in light of the gospel, in the hopes that God, that merciful Jesus, would make light shine out of dark places.
SPEAKER_01: Let's just take a moment in silence and just ask the Lord what He said to you today.
SPEAKER_01: But it's also got little words like let and be.
SPEAKER_01: And today I'm thankful for words like let and be.
SPEAKER_01: He said to us, Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away.
SPEAKER_01: Raise it up, and I'll come by and take it away from you.
SPEAKER_01: Take it all from you and take it away from you, along with malice.
SPEAKER_01: So I pray that in the stillness of this moment that we would just kind of raise up bitterness and anger and slander and wrath and malice, and you just come by.
SPEAKER_01: We could just see the Holy Spirit walking down these aisles just saying, Thank you.
SPEAKER_01: I'll take that.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_01: Just let me have it.
SPEAKER_01: Let, let.
SPEAKER_01: Let makes room for be.
SPEAKER_01: And you say, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.
SPEAKER_01: Without the let, there is no be.
SPEAKER_01: And so we want to just let.
SPEAKER_01: So, Holy Spirit, come and take off of us.
SPEAKER_01: We we raise it up because you're a God of reconciliation.
SPEAKER_01: We raise it up so you take all the stuff off of us and carry it away.
SPEAKER_01: So we can be kind.
SPEAKER_01: The most masculine thing we can do sometimes is be kind and tender-hearted, forgiving one another in the moment.
SPEAKER_01: As Christ has forgave us a whole lot of moments ago in the past.
SPEAKER_01: So, Lord, thank you for all the big words, but thanks for the little words like let and be.
SPEAKER_01: For those we're grateful today, we feel the weight of them pressing on us.
SPEAKER_01: Please do not stop pressing on us because we don't want to be left into our own devices here.
SPEAKER_01: That'll make prisoners of us all.
SPEAKER_01: And so we're no longer prisoners, we're free.
SPEAKER_01: Free.
SPEAKER_01: Forever we're free.
SPEAKER_01: We've already joined the song of all the redeemed.
SPEAKER_01: And so, Lord, we don't want to go back into bondage, God.
SPEAKER_01: So let us just keep moving towards freedom in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: And everyone said amen.
SPEAKER_01: If you're a guest today, let me say thanks for being part of our service.
SPEAKER_01: Uh when you came in, you were given a worship folder.
SPEAKER_01: Uh part of that on the far left has a little tear-off part, ask for some information.
SPEAKER_01: If you filled that out, if you would just tear it off and drop it on these wooden boxes by the doors.
SPEAKER_01: That's also where we'll receive our offering.
SPEAKER_01: And look at me, I wasn't kidding.
SPEAKER_01: If you got some, if you realize somebody's not right with you, don't put a thing in that box.
SPEAKER_01: You go make it right, and then you come back.
SPEAKER_01: And I didn't, that's not original with me.
SPEAKER_01: That's right out of the mouth of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Because the Bible values you and I being right with each other more than it values us just kind of saying, hey, here's some money, thanks.
SPEAKER_01: No.
SPEAKER_01: God places value on reconciliation.
SPEAKER_01: So the church needs to value what Jesus values.
SPEAKER_01: Amen?
SPEAKER_01: Uh uh just uh conclusion of our service, myself and some of our elders will be available down front.
SPEAKER_01: Also, we have a new thing in the lobby uh on the big brown square, the connection center there, the one closest to the front doors, it says next steps above it.
SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions about our church and what's the next step towards membership or involvement, or you just want to gather some information, one of our staff members will be there every Sunday.
SPEAKER_01: You can just come by after the service.
SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions, you don't have to talk to anybody.
SPEAKER_01: You can just grab stuff that that piques your interest and go.
SPEAKER_01: And when you have questions, come to us.
SPEAKER_01: We'd love to answer them, okay?
SPEAKER_01: Uh, one thing by way of announcement before we dismiss today is the last day to register for the women's retreat.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, it is this next weekend.
SPEAKER_01: Uh I think group goes up on Thursday.
SPEAKER_01: Um, they go up Thursday afternoon, Thursday night, and just kind of just relax and just let their souls breathe.
SPEAKER_01: They're there all day Friday.
SPEAKER_01: And then the actual retreat with the speaker starts on Friday night and goes through Saturday afternoon.
SPEAKER_01: Uh and so today's the last day to register.
SPEAKER_01: And look at me.
SPEAKER_01: I mean this.
SPEAKER_01: If money's an object, don't let it be.
SPEAKER_01: Because King Rat always has cheese.
SPEAKER_01: I'm serious.
SPEAKER_01: Men, you should be encouraging your wife to go.
SPEAKER_01: You should you don't be all sad faced.
SPEAKER_01: You spit me boobs at these kids.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, you don't babysit your own kids.
SPEAKER_01: You're their dad.
SPEAKER_01: And if you're visiting today, I'm Pastor Neil.
SPEAKER_01: I'm always in a good mood.
SPEAKER_01: Hey man, they're our kids.
SPEAKER_01: We ain't babysitting.
SPEAKER_01: They're ours.
SPEAKER_01: So we got to be encouraging our wives into spiritually formative environments where they can meet other women, okay?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm serious about the money thing.
SPEAKER_01: Do not let money be an object, all right?
SPEAKER_01: I grew up poor.
SPEAKER_01: I remember just not having anything and just thinking, man, I wish somebody would do something for me.
SPEAKER_01: This is horrible.
SPEAKER_01: Don't stay home because you ain't got the money.
SPEAKER_01: King Rat's got the cheese, all right?
SPEAKER_01: Stand to your feet.
SPEAKER_01: Hold your hand out.
SPEAKER_01: If you'll let you let.
SPEAKER_01: If you let you can be.
SPEAKER_01: In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Bless you dismiss.