"WE'RE BACK!"

Between Sundays Podcast: Okay, so let's pick back up where we left off. Yeah. Hey, how is it? Yeah. I feel like I feel like it's been no time whatsoever. It's only three months. Yeah. So anyways. Where were we? We were We were gonna talk about the horse Yeah, and then we were gonna talk about the horror Babylon, weren't we? Mm-hmm. So all right, we'll pick up right there. So how is everybody? No, this is we're man, I'm we've been talking about this for what? months now. It's yeah. Yeah. You got a new job. I did. I did. I got a new job that I love, by the way. God's God's blessed me in that. but it it really put a snag on our kind of recording time that we had and a good schedule that we had going. But either way, you know, it's I definitely see the blessings in it. And then you've Football started for years back up. So you're definitely there was just we couldn't find time. No, and you know, and then you've got you've got the kids and it's like I've got Becca. I mean so and the dogs. It's it's been and you know, not really much has happened in the past three months. No. No, not much. actually yeah, yeah, quite a bit's happened in the past. Quite a bit three months. I was ordained. Yes. Now I am a ordained pastor. great service that evening. Yeah. I think everybody's gonna remember that ordination because I definitely will for what James said and did and that was an amazing, amazing sermon. And just overall I know it was to to me and to the the pastors in the room, but I think to everybody. It was it was a challenge everybody. I got blistered. Like it was absolutely there was some power in that. Mm-hmm. So what has happened? So Well, I think one thing that has happened that we probably need to touch on just for a minute. Yeah. I don't think we need to spend an elaborate amount of time, but Kenny Baldwin situation. and I don't know the the situation itself is extremely heart wrenching and damaging, especially to the young man that was involved. And if anybody is unaware if anybody's even listening to this, 'cause we've been gone so long, of what took place, you know, very, very popular, prominent pastor from Virginia was for well over a year. sending explicit pictures of himself to a minor underage a young a young male and you know was very, very close in proximity to a lot of other very well known pastors. And I think that's the the biggest thing that breaks my heart is that, you know, he was a f featured speaker. for decades or n more than a decade, but definitely was definitely you know, a a featured go to speaker, pastor for all these youth rallies that we see and Which is terrifying when you scary and the fact that you know, there's right now, there's what they say is, you know, one victim, I'm I'm sorry, that's gonna be hard for me to believe. It's very rarely an isolated incident. if it is, I guess if there's any silver lining in that, unfortunately there's still a victim and someone who's been damaged irreparably. But yeah, it just it's yeah, it's it's disgusting. It's it's heartbreaking. It's Well Will the thing that that Burdens me about it. besides the fact that that happened to that young man has been the fallout and the reaction. And it's it's two frames of the reaction that's happened. The the the first one is a lot of people have Yeah, it'd be right. Come out and said, Well, that's expected. And hey, it's not just the Catholic Church and this is why religion is wrong, and this is why, you know, the whole thing's across and it it made the the disbelievers and the hardened of heart, it gave them another arrow in their quiver, which you and I and those that are listening to this and save people go, they really don't have a leg stand on because we see the bigger picture and know what that is. But for them being under the power of the prince of the power of the air, being under the power of the little g god of this world as scripture describes Satan, it gives them a leg up. And that's very disheartening. But the more honestly disheartening is for those that that do have the light and the Galatians six one piece to it. Yeah, I think that's that's been the biggest thing that I've been I don't know, I use the word disgusted, but I've been disgusted about is how quickly I mean it be I think it had been less than eight hours. It was very quick. And there was already people posting pictures with the old pictures of them standing with him and saying, Let's not rush to judgment, let's do this, let's do that and then in the same you know, in the same thing they're saying, yeah, well, I'm praying for his victims And I and and then they're saying that we shouldn't say anything and we should just let this be a Galatians six one thing. So the in the passage we're speaking of it says, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Now a fault. So th and we'll we'll break that down a little bit and w you know what we may get to what we're gonna talk about, or we may just free freelance thing. But number one, a a fault is not being a sodomite pedophile. That's not a fault. A f a a fault is hey you know a pastor got cornered in a deacon's meeting and lost his temper and did something like that. Yeah. a fault is you know a a deacon was murmuring or backbiting in a certain scenario and you need to come up and those things need to be handled in that spiritual manner. Or yeah, you know, that you hear backbiting or someone's Yeah just just venting to you as a pastor and you just instead of you know, kinda nipping it in the bud, you just kinda feed into it. Yeah. You you engage instead of saying, Well, hey, let's let's follow Matthew eighteen Truly the way it's supposed to be done. Instead you end up saying, Yeah, I know they they get on my nerves too. Yes, yes. That that yeah this is something that's egregious. and the the idea of restoration, but then also too and th this may come off as like arrogant or self righteous, but this is not a scenario of lest thou also be tempted. Yeah, exactly. There's something ingrained for s for that type of behavior. I may slip and fall in a multitude of ways. Mm-hmm. this ain't gonna be one of No. You know what I'm saying like No, and I and I'm I'll tell you right now, those that say, Well, you never know. No, I do know. No, I do I do I do know I do know about this. I do know. For sure. one, there is absolutely nothing within me that has the attraction to the same sex, two the moral, you know, ab abhorrent nature of of this scenario. you know, I that's not something yeah, like that never like this is not do you remember Steven Lawson? Yes. Okay, reform big with the G three circuit and R C and John MacArthur and Bodie and all those guys, which is crazy 'cause all three of those are gone. but you know, he had an extra marital affair. Like, okay, those things not you know I'm not trying to justify sin, but I'm like I see those being more you know, obtainable because of certain temptations as opposed to something being very deep seated when it comes to a situation like this. If that makes like I'm not trying to justify anything like no it it it does because once again, you know, we we're I mean we're all I don't even want to use the word guilty, but we're all guilty of you know, sin sin, you know, creating or placing sin in certain hierarchies and and what's and what's worse and what's bad. Yeah. But the whole thing about well, you just you you better be careful 'cause if if you call him out, you'll catch yourself in the same f no no. No, I will not. Like there's a difference in a a woman cutting eyes that is of the same age at you and falling into a sexual temptation in that way than being a homosexual sodomite pedophile. Predator. Yeah. Like that's who is constantly for dec you know, for over a decade been around young, impressionable teenagers. I mean it's better for a millstone to be hung around one's neck than than the that. And you know, it's it's it's amazing too just some of the like you said, I I noticed a lot of pictures of people posing with him and and like using it at that time. But then like I guess we will use names when it comes like this, but somebody like David Hiles of all people. and isn't it Galatians six one ministry is what's his that's his ministry. It's Galatians six one ministry. And you successfully got blocked by him on Facebook. I did get blocked because he that video he ended up taking down because that's the video that he made basically in reply to Stacy Shiplett's podcast. Correct. And And if anybody has a leg to stand on and to speak into this. Yeah, absolutely. It would be somebody like Stacy Shiffler. And if y'all are unaware of who he is, he's the pastor in Doldock, Maryland at Calvary Baptist Church. and just look up his book. You don't have to read the book, but just look up his book, Wolves Among Lambs. Yeah. He experienced this same type of behavi well, it wasn't the same type 'cause of the technology differences, but he same same a predator approached him. But but yeah, he p he put that up and I kinda got in my flesh. I'll be the first one to tell you, but I I posted on it. That's a fault. Yeah, that's a fault. But I posted on it and I said something along the lines of I see you're going to bat for a predator just like your father was. You know, 'cause his father was jackiles. But if y'all are unfamiliar with that, go watch Disclosure by Brother Spencer Smith. Yeah. But now that was my fault. But and I have asked for forgiveness of that. But either way, he he ended up blocking me. But either way, that like that's the kind of reactions they're they're either what I would say the appropriate reactions of w you know, we everything we we don't agree with any of it and we're here for the victims and we truly are praying for them and that's it. That's all your statement needs to be, or it's a picture with him saying basically, leave him alone because you could find yourself doing the same thing. And that brings up the point of The celebrity pastor. Yes. the guy that goes and preaches at every big camp meeting. you know, and I'm not saying everyone like, but like it's if you listen to the intro, it's no surprise that like we both align and agree a lot with what Cody Zorn does. Yes. And and Cody goes and preaches at a lot of different churches, but if But if you look at the the structure of where he goes compared to these like mega events and it's like the who's who list, like I would not compare a rise to bring the book. Yeah, exactly. The because bring the book was created to keep their students from having to go to a rise. See, and I don't know if you know this. Do you know about their like Alternative to prom. Have you ever heard him talk about that? I've yeah, I've heard about it. So they have that, but here's the thing a kid can't like so they have a thing where they get kids together, they get dressed up, take them to eat, and they have a a more biblical, not worldly debauchery that takes place at high school proms. Well, how do you know that? Because I've been a high school teacher and I've had to work prom and have to witness some of those things. And it is not to mention what goes on before and after. Before and after. Yeah. But like if a kid had went to their high school prom, they weren't permitted to come to this. It's truly an alternative. Yeah. So like that's the way that like bring the book was set up because it's it's truly about investing in the kids. And and I'm not saying that everybody that has their name on the marquee for a big event is in this scenario. But I'm saying there is an issue right now with the celebrity pastor where they start to even though they're preaching Jesus is preeminent and the book is preeminent, their name's starting to come before that. And when they do something like this, you see that being a reality because there's no way that could have happened. He's a man. Mm-hmm. That's not saying you'll find yourself in the same fault, but when you build somebody up to that high esteem. Yep. They begin to become almost idolatry in your mind. Yeah, absolutely and I mean back to kind of what you said about this the celebrity pastor. you know, you kinda look at someone like Kenny who I mean, even as recently as twenty nineteen or twenty twenty, might even been twenty twenty one. Either way, he he came on and he w made a very I mean he came on, he had a podcast or something that he had and they put out some stuff and he just went all in on not compromising. They'll never compromise on the King James. They'll never compromise on music. Right. They'll never compromise on anything. And then less than two years later, he's having a quote unquote youth night that has pretty much worldly music with Jesus E lyrics. And he was doing that for outreach at his church. And and that's the whole thing, you know, you look at his path and how he has compromised on certain things and then you see what that led to and then you see someone like Cody who has not compromised and has stayed the course stayed the course and you see he is still staying the course and he's still a man absolutely. But at the same time he his example to me even before all this Kenny Baldwin stuff, before it came out about Kenny like his a Cody's example of how to truly build a ministry from the ground up of starting in your church, focusing on your church and focusing on the families of your church, then maybe look outside, which I still don't even think he looks outside of his church. but seeing how he has built a a church and a ministry. And then seeing how someone like Kenny did it. Yeah. You can't sit there and just say that, well, that has nothing th those have no bearing what's There's no correlation with things. Well, and and this is the thing too where we're gonna go in a different direction this evening. You good with that? it's not a slippery slope to where just as the same breath as we said, you'll find yourself in that same situation. It's not you start singing Bethel in your church, all of a sudden there's gonna be a bunch of pedophiles running around. That's not what we're saying. Nope. But like it's it's the compromise of things here and there. Why? Because there's some type of internal fault that is present. And I don't agree with Vodib's soteriology. I don't I I believe Calvinism is the furthest thing from what the Bible teaches. Yeah. you you can go to Romans 9, that's great, but you better read Romans 1 through 8 before that and and contextually look at the whole text. Like, you know, I've heard of many of a reformed theologian say, Well, I can go to Genesis and start showing you Calvinism. Can you though? Or are you taking a preconceived notion and now reading back? But but Vode was very strict and staunch with that reformed movement of, you know, keeping the the worldly stuff out, especially like the music. He gave this example, and I thought this was great. Now it's a perfect segue to kind of go into this. He said, It's your 30th wedding anniversary. Okay. what you do is you seek what your wife loves. You gotta buy her a present. It's your 30th wedding anniversary. You have to get her a present. So who is she? What does she like? ask her friends, see what it is she wanted. instead of saying, I really like watches, I'm gonna buy her a watch for a 30th. You're still buying a present, but instead of mining the scriptures and going, okay, I'm going to worship God with how. He prescribes it. What he says, instead of me saying, No, I'm gonna worship God, but I'm gonna do it my way. My way. And and regardless of what you try to say, and you know, you and I both know about like people that'll say, Well, there's no prescriptions in scripture for how it's supposed to be done. That's the farthest from the truth, and we can go into that. But I thought that example was really key. Like, get to know who it is you're doing it for. Mm-hmm. That way it's presented in that way instead of saying, Well, you know, I like rock music. I'm gonna worship God through rock music. No, would God see that as proper? Just like the wife's wedding and or you know, anniversary present. And I'm like, that makes so much sense to me. Yeah. And you know what you're gonna have to do to find out? You're gonna have to learn more about that person. You're gonna have to be connected with that person. You're gonna have to seek and you're gonna have to search and find. Instead of just saying, Well, I'm gonna get the present. Well, I'm gonna worship, but this is what I like, so that's how I'm gonna present it. I thought that was a great, great example mm hmm of that. Yeah, that would that yeah, I've heard kind of an example like that. It's like it's not as in depth, but it's your your wife's always, you know, she's always cooking. So what do you get her for Christmas? y you buy her a new stove. Did she really want a new stove? Is that what you want? Yeah, like exactly. Yeah, she's cooking and she's the cook in the house, but you sure she didn't want something other than a new stove? Yeah. Yeah, it's and you know, to me it's like we go to the book of Jude and where Jude writes and says Beloved in verse three, beloved when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. When it was delivered, it was delivered by God. It was delivered through Christ. It was delivered through the word incarnate. And we now have the word inspired that we hold in our hands that Hebrews 412 says is quick and powerful. It's alive. It's a it's a living word. It's the word that that Jesus will judge each and every one of us by. Even me if I'm saved? Yes. At the judgment seat of Christ, not for your sins, but for your service afterwards. If you make it to the great white throne of judgment, yeah, your sins are going to be brought up, but my sins are paid for on Calvary. So it's been delivered to us, and we have to earnestly contend, but this is what clicked with me when I read that. And and you can see in my Bible, Jude is chopped all up and marked all over. Yeah. But notice what he says in verse four. For there are certain men crept in unawares. We're not contending for the faith against the world what he's prescribing. We're contending for the faith here. Mm-hmm. We're sitting right here in our church, and this is where we have to earnestly contend for the faith. The the world is not unawares. No. It's not something that we go, I didn't know the world was against Jesus. I didn't know the world liked this type of stuff. I didn't know the world did this. It's when they crept in unawares. They've they've implanted, they've made their way in. That's where we have to earnestly contend for it. He says, Who were before of old ordained to this condemnation? Now, when you start thinking about these type of things. And you say, is it a tertiary issue? Is it a secondary issue? can we do this? Can we do that? What's worldly? What's that? Look how it's defined as. It's it's ungodly. Mm-hmm. Turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness. Now, what's interesting about that word lasciviousness is I always took it to be. Lustful and things like that. Mm-hmm. Do you know it actually also means lavishly to broaden? Now that puts a whole new spin on it. Yeah, that's it means to broaden. Yeah. Yeah, that to open up the doors and correct. Yeah, let let anything in. And and that's to me like why is it that things like, okay, dress standards, Bible translations, and music. Why do those things those three topics specifically get people so fired up? I think it's because in our flesh like you were talking about tonight, it's w it's like it's it's maybe three things that we feel that we can still maybe have a say in. Yeah. And that's why Well, I'll I'll do all these other things, but we've you've seen other people do it in another way. Which comes back to kind of the celebrity pastor. Yeah. So if I'm a younger guy in a church and I've grown up around this guy for years and years and years, and now I go into the ministry and he's a mentor to me, I look up to him. Yep. And all of a sudden I see him he's been King James for twenty years. Then he goes to new King James. Then he goes to hear they've sung these songs. Now he starts letting this in. Well, if my guy did it, why don't I do it? And here's the other thing. My people like it. Yeah. The people like it. Mm-hmm. Of course the people like it. And It's it's it's that slippery slope into compromise where we have and and here's the thing. Well and and what you said r you know, if my i it's the same thing, that's my mentor. If my guy's doing that, then why can't I do it? Well, there's your problem. Exactly. You're looking at your guy instead of looking at your Bible. Because there's some people who would say, like a Kenny Baldwin, well he's Still read the King James. Yeah. Well, he's still identified as an independent fun wheel bat preacher, but he started letting some of the music in and like the whole argumentative stance of what's worldly and what's not, even if you're making a Facebook post about it and being like, Let's not talk about it being worldly here, things like that. Yeah. but but what you're looking at is is again, I want to worship God. Well, that's great. Does God have parameters for what that needs to look like and what that needs to be done? Well, I'm more concerned about the message than I am the messenger. I think that that's one of the weakest arguments because here's the thing. This is all gonna tie back together. Mm-hmm. Will? Was there anything wrong with Kenny Baldwin's message? No. Did you ever hear him preach something you go, that's outright heresy? No, every time I every every sermon I've already I've ever heard from him was it was good. So does the messenger matter? I believe so. Should he be allowed it's the right message. It is the right message. Should should he be allowed to get back into a pulpit? No. So the messenger So the Messenger does matter. But it's It's such a selfish putting yourself in into scripture take on especially messenger and message. It's okay if somebody who is a worldly just heathen, if they say Jesus, it's okay. Yeah. 'Cause at least they're not saying a cuss word. They're saying Jesus. Do you remember our podcast after the Grammys? Yeah, exactly. That's that's what I'm Do you not see what's happened since since then? Yeah. Like, but we would be judgmental in those moments. And we would be, you know, but God's still working on me. That type of mindset. That power mindset ain't earnestly contending, boys. No, and it's been a couple months. How much work are you are you letting him do? Where are we now? Yeah. Show me your fruit. Are we better at this point? Show me your fruit from the Grammys. What what is it? yeah. Yeah. Still drinking, still doing all And is it is it a revival? 'Cause it no, it's a flash in the pan for again a celebrity status. but that's See, and this is again, this goes back to this about earnestly contending. Do you think it changed the world's mindset with somebody like that saying the name Jesus? No. But who was it affecting? The church. Yep. That's who it was affecting. Mm-hmm. So like that's where like if the message gets out, that's that's where like the argumentative stance of well, as long as they find the gospel in a different Bible translation, the it's still the messenger, right? Mm-hmm. So like again, i that argument right there, if that's for Bethel or Elevation or Jesus culture or passion or anything like that. Or if it's for a new Bible translation or if it's for dress standards when you're on the platform in a church, then you should have no issue with somebody like Kenny Baldwin getting back up and preaching again. Exactly. Because there's nothing wrong with the message. Nope. It's not about the messenger, it's about the message. We got issues. Yeah. I mean if the where and I think it goes back, we talked about this a couple of months ago. It's where do you draw your line? Everybody has one. Yeah. if you get up and But if your line is not drawn Strictly based upon the word of God, it's the wrong line. Do you know where the line should be drawn by the same finger that wrote on the wall in Daniel five? Yeah. You're gonna die tonight. That's that's where the line should be drawn. Because here's the thing. you've got a you don't have a choir, you've got a praise band. Okay. you want people to feel comfortable. Sh just wear clothes. So should the bass player who is a girl be able to get up there in a two piece bikini? Well, according to your standards, yes. But that would but no, there there would be a cutoff there. Yeah. Why? 'Cause that's inappropriate. But here's the thing. There's been okay. Blue jeans with holes in Do you know what the Bible describes as nakedness? Holy clothes. Your thigh. Listen to Exodus twenty-eight forty two. And thou shalt make them this is the prescription being given to the priests to go into the tabernacle, and thou shalt make them linen britches to cover their nakedness from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach. So that prescribes right there. That the the From the basically the waist all the way to Yeah. Yeah. So the thigh would be considered nakedness. Mm-hmm. So if you I'm not talking about mini skirts, we're not going there. Like my bikini example is out there, but it drives the point home. Yeah. But if I'm wearing jeans that has holes in it and you can see my thigh, based off of what scripture says, technically you're standing up there naked. Mm-hmm. But but see that's where Where's the standard? So that puts it into perspective that shows me nobody's gonna be okay with a two piece bikini being on the platform. But if you've got jeans with holes in them and your thighs exposed, based off of what the word of God says, it's the same thing. Mm-hmm. It's the same thing. Yeah. So you are the one who is drawing the line. Mm-hmm. He will have nothing for that. No. I've been cooking on that one for a minute. I've already got the Bible translations. Well no, I hadn't even thought about that. seriously though. Because like that backs somebody who's carnal into a corner, which is not what we're trying to do. It's not trying to be like a aha gotcha. It's we're trying to stay on a straight way. Mm-hmm. 'Cause that's what those students of Elisha said. Your way is too straight. Let us make our own path. Yeah. And you know what happens when you make your own path? When it's the the path that's been given, it's the path that's been guided, there's parameters there. You ain't got no sharpness. So now when you go to make your own path. Where do you stop? If that path was too straight, it's definitely going to be a little broader. But it's already been given. You've already got the path. You've already got the straight way. What is there the necessity to go out and make another one? And what it boils down to is well, I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. It's not about hurting feelings and being popular and I think and all these other things. It's what does God prescribe? What has God said? And I think think I know it's part of the the big factor is also and this is not the sidetrack but the whole thing of we we had a great week, we had a great month, we've had a great year here and had blah blah blah baptisms, blah blah blah decisions for Christ. Okay. Where are they? Where are they? We've talked about this before. Mm-hmm. Well, the Bible is easier to read in a newer translation. Why don't why don't they know it more? Mm-hmm. If the whole crux of my if if we go to football practice and I said we need to do pat and go. Okay, pat and go is a air raid drill. Mm-hmm. I said, we're gonna get better at throwing the ball right there. But we're a wing tee, run the ball first, throw occasionally team. You're right. Like it could make us better in this one element, but it's defeating the purpose of the the goal we're wanting to accomplish. So yeah, it makes it easier to read. But you're still not reading it. Yeah, what's the point? And you're not growing. Like you know, so what's the point? Like I've got something that's easier to read that collects dust that gets brushed off to come to church on Sunday. Mm hmm. And and that's not to say like there is some wackos out there, man, that go I can take the King James and correct the Greek and Hebrew. And you know what happens when things like that get posted and people see that? They think that you and I are that way are that way. No. No. No, not at all. No, that's that's that's not the prescription we're given. That's not what we're saying. this is an interesting thought, going back to what we spoke about earlier. The writing on the wall. Mm-hmm. Nobody could figure out what that said. It took God to make it happen through Daniel. You know, you and I sitting here right now would have no idea what Mene, Mene, Tech will what's what's the last part of it? You taught that. Why'd you ask me? But it regardless, we would have no idea what that said. It it what it ends up meaning is You've been you've been weighed Yeah, you're like you've been weighed, you've been measured. but how do you know that's what that says? Because God did it. Yeah. God made the way. God made the path. It wasn't man, it wasn't Daniel. Daniel in his wisdom, the Bible talks about it that That d that Satan's smarter than Daniel in all his wisdom. Daniel's got all that wisdom and foresaw all those things, but the devil's still smarter than him. It's like, yeah, Daniel was amazing with what he's but it was God that was working through him. And Daniel still gave all the credit to God anyway. Exactly. So like that to me, to to land that plane and make that make sense is, you know. Why why d why does man keep trying to correct something that God's already made perfect? I'm not talking about perfect in the original form. I'm talking about English. Yeah. I'm talking about for the the language we speak. Yeah. Yeah. Like why why try to perfect something that's already been perfected? Because you you draw your line. Mm-hmm. And you Yeah, you're the point of authority. And I I think that goes with all three of those. and it again, it's not like a I'm better. It's not a aha gotcha. It's not you need to conform to the way that I do things. it's like the reason that when I stand in that pulpit, I wear a suit and tie is because that is presenting to God. Not to the people presenting to God the best dress I have to come into his presence. Mm-hmm. Well, that doesn't matter what you're dressed like. Well, it sure did right here when the priests were coming in and and Will, what was the point of the priests entering into the tabernacle? What was the point of it? Was to atone for It was a point of worship. Yeah. The outer court was your relational piece. Then when you got in the inner court and you entered into the tabernacle, that was for the time of worship. That's where the the glory cloud was above the ark behind a four inch thick veil that no light could come through, but it's lit up. And there were certain prescriptions that God gave for how you're supposed to dress. Well, that's Old Testament. The law is done with. That's not saying we walk in dress that it's a prescription. a a presentation. It's a reverence. It's I have now entered in here to corporate worship with fellow believers in spirit and truth. I'm trying to and it we talk about separation. I'm even separating how I am in my nine to five because this time is special. Jesus is the one who walks amongst the candlesticks. There is a there is a s sacred holy thing about gathering together for worship. Well, I mean I don't want to get caught at Dollar General on a Tuesday night the same way I would here. Not saying I'm not I I change and I'm a chameleon. No, it's a it's a it's a r reverence thing for how sacred that time is. Well then w yeah, why was it growing up? There was a few times I w you know, getting ready to leave for school. I had church clothes. Yeah. And I had church pants, church shoes, s you had your your your little set or what you you're Sunday best. Yeah, you had you know, I had church clothes and I was not leaving the house in my church clothes unless I was going to church and it was gonna be a Sunday morning. We don't see that anymore. No. And is that because I hold those clothes in high standard? No. That's because where I'm going to wear those clothes I hold in high standard. Right. Right. It's not the the material stuff. I just, you know, and it's it's those things and it's like I've heard the argument of well, you go on a mission trip and these people don't have that. I bet that they're trying to present themselves in the best that they possibly can, even though they've got way less and we're extremely fortunate with where we are. Yeah. it's it's what I've said preaching. People will go to no ends to try to justify carnality. And what we've done in the past twenty years specifically, probably a little longer than that, but I'm gonna say like two thousand. so a little over twenty years is We've brought God down to our level instead of elevating people up to his level. We can't get to his level. But if I read in the book of First Peter, it says, Be ye holy, for I am holy. And you know what's funny? Is that's a quote from Leviticus. Yeah. That's that's from the Old Testament. Right. Well, and it's also we're called to abstain from the appearance of all evil. Depends on what you read. Well, we are called Because we we're but that's so like that is a that is a difference right there. Like no doctrine's changed. That's that's one of the sayings about Bible translations is no doctrine's changed. Well there's a big difference in abstain from things that are evil. Duh. Yeah. And abstain from things that are the appearance of evil. So does is there the appearance of evil like Is a rock concert evil? Well, yeah. It is. I don't care if it's Creed or if it's Skillet or any band that tries to define themselves as that, because the look and makeup of it is the exact same as what you would see at a heavy metal band. Yep. Like you'd see the same thing. So do we want this presentation in here to a holy, sovereign, thrice holy God to have the appearance of something tainted out there. Like when you walk down the street, you can identify people by what they wear. Like a goth looks like a goth. Yep. A jock looks like a jock. Mm-hmm. But you can't pick out a pastor anymore. No. You know what I mean? And it's again, some people may hear this and go, You're just being too material or you're being too nitpicky or anything like that. It's everything everything and how we do. Are you or are you earnestly contending for the fact? Exactly. Exactly. Well, 'cause that's the thing too, where the deception comes for people that think you you know, need to be reverent. if you look at a modern mainstream evangelical church, but then you look at a Catholic mass, which one looks more reverent? Yeah. You know what I mean? Why is there why is there such a massive exodus to the Catholic Church right now? Exactly. Because people and and young, impressionable the the young generation and even the young adults, even even people our age, yeah, are flocking to the reverence. They're flocking to the tradition. They're flocking to some kind of stability. Which is amazing because it's like you go one of two paths. You either go towards reverence down that wrong path or you go, hey, my Monday through Saturday can look exactly like my Sunday. Because at the end of the day, both of those paths let you some some some way let you justify your carnality. Correct. Period. At the end of the day, that's that's what it boils down to. it's it's a problem. And I think it's it's i it's even a problem in the world in which we're in with like things from the fallout of Kenny Baldwin, stuff like that. Yeah. And the justification of things going that deep because of personal attachment and affection to things. And I really like the way this feels. You know, again, you're buying that anniversary present for your wife. Is it what you like and you're giving it to her, even though you're still presenting the present. Or are you truly trying to seek out what she desires and what she wants to get that present? There is very certain prescriptions that that are in scripture that tell us how we should worship. Yeah. And the second that we try to not even change those, slightly alter to get people to get more people in the door, to look more like the world. For the the big church word is outreach. Kingdom building. Yeah. The second you start to do that, that's that slippery slope. That's that compromise that once it starts, there's nothing you can do about it. You're gonna have to fall on your face and let the Lord lead you and take a stand. But once that starts in a church, that's hard to come back from. Yeah. You're gonna get more than likely pushed out of there. Yeah, absolutely. I can speak from experience. Exactly. Yeah. Like You know, you tar you start taking certain stances on things and start mining the scriptures and getting in there and digging in your Bible and going, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, something's a little off here. you you upset the you turned over the apple cart, like people don't like that. Yeah. And I think that's where someone like a Kenny Baldwin found themselves and next thing you know, it's they're in too deep. we have forfeited conviction for comfort. Yeah. And I know that sounds very like basic and like very obvious. But are we not in twenty twenty six the most sloth group of of Americans right now? Well, it's like we talked about there the other night, you know. You walk down the street, y y you're getting ready at school's getting raised, our back. Yeah. You're gonna be in the school every day. I guarantee you're gonna find more kids and no, this is not me going against sweatpants, but you're gonna find more kids wearing sweatpants than you are wearing blue jeans. Fifty to one. Guarantee you. I'll find more pajama bottles. Exactly. Than I wear blue jeans. Yeah. And we have let that come into our church. That's worldliness. Mhm. Well, like one of our dear brothers at the church testified the other night about somebody praying for something for s like praying for salvation of another person for seventy five years. Seventy five years. Yep. We can't pray for something for seventy five seconds and if it don't happen we go, it wasn't the Lord's will or you know it is Yeah. I'm I'm guilty of that. I'm I'm g I'm guilty of praying something praying for something for well over a month and then just being like Well, I guess the Lord don't don't see fit for it to ask. He's giving up on that one. Yeah. But that just I mean that that struck me like you gotta put it all into context. You're earnestly contending because they've crept in unawares. We're not contending against the world, we're already in contention against the world. That's an internal issue. Yeah, and and I think when you start f when you turn the focus to the inside of the, you know, of the church or the inside of yourself. When you truly start earnestly contending, that's when it's because you s you know, you see a verse like that and and to a milk fed Christian, earnestly contending for the face, okay, I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna I'm gonna carry my Bible, I'm gonna have tracks, they might not like me. That someone might even cuss at me if I try to hand them a track. Is that really what that's talking about? Yeah. Or is that talking about taking an inventory and looking at everything you've got going on in your life and everything you've got going on and and looking not being a vigilante in the church, but being someone who is following scripture very, very closely and looking at what the Lord has laid out. Well, and it leads to this, like we've talked about this before and sometimes at nauseum, but Revelation chapter three, verse fourteen. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works. Now stop right there. The Leo de C in church has works. yeah. Looks good from the outside. At a at a glance. Yeah. From the outside. So like Cody used that example one time. You see a family. They've got the Facebook post. They went to the beach. They're all wearing They're wearing the white tops and the khakis and like they always have the best photos. The kids are extremely successful in school, academically, athletically, you know, beautiful family. You've got the dog, got a nice house, nice jobs, yes. Mom's, you know, super mom. Everything's working, and dad's having an affair with the secretary at the office. Mm-hmm. Or the or the kids, you just had to beg To stop fighting so you could take one picture. Or the kid is, you know, an academic and athletic all American, but they've got the shoebox with weed in it under their bed. Yeah. You know, all of those things. Mom is having an affair with the gym person at the gym. Well, yeah, mom's an alcoholic. Exactly. You know, they've got, you know, substance abuse issues. Mom drinks her wine every night. Exactly. there's f The picture looks great, but if you could hear the fighting that happens in the house. so everything looks good. Yeah. But internally there's some issues. So like this church has works that thou art neither hot nor cold. So it's just kind of status status quo. Like you come in, you sit where you sit. You you know you're there from eleven to twelve. you're gonna sing three songs, you're gonna get a a pep talk, and then you're gonna go. I would I would thou worked cold or hot. I'd rather you get on fire for me or just abandon it altogether. These ain't my words, these are Jesus' words. Mm-hmm. Verse sixteen, so then because thou art lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. We had thirty baptisms. Mm-hmm. We had a good fall festival. We had a trunk or treat. We've got new members joining. We've had to expand and we're going to two services. We're hitting the budget. We just we just finished our our quote unquote platform expansion. Everything's rolling. And knowest not that thou art Wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. At the end of the day, you think you're gonna stand there and you're covered and you're good. We've all had that dream. You're walking down the hallway at high school and everybody's looking at it and laughing at you and you look down and you're naked as a jaybird. And the the what this is saying too is like you're not gonna have anywhere to hide. That's when you're the most vulnerable. You can try to put up anything. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich. If you take what I got, it ain't about the look of it. You're going to be rich internally, eternally. And what White raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. And anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. Just you gotta see it, man. You gotta quit trying to look at everything that's going on and look at everybody that's around you and quit looking at how successful you think you're being. He doesn't say, Well done, thou good and successful servant. He says, Well done, thou good and successful. Faithful servant As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. That's the reason we talk about these things, not because we think we're better, not because we try to run people down, it's because we love you and we want it to be right based off of the authority of God's word. Be zealous therefore and repent. And here we go. Verse 20 is used evangelistically. Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. That is not what that means. That is not what this means. This says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and we'll sup with him. And he with me. These churches all over the United States that every Sunday morning sing praise songs, give a sermon, give an altar call, do everything. Jesus is on the front step knocking at the door. He's saying, Hey, that guy that you're talking about in there, that one that you're trying to preach to those people about, it's me. And I'm not even involved. I'm not even in. It'd be like us throwing you a birthday party and not inviting you. But then yeah. But we bring out the cake and we got the candles and we're singing happy birthday and there's all the presents and you're not even there. Yeah. And then you guys have no idea I'm not there. But hey, here's the deal. We're still having a birthday party. Yeah, we're s yeah, we still celebrated. But the person we're supposed to be there celebrating ain't even present. But the pictures looked good. Pictures look good. Everything was decked out great. We had we had twenty people there. You should have seen the spread we had. Yeah. What's your standard? This is not at all where we were gonna go. No, it's not. But if we d I had a feeling that this would be like 'cause we we've what, three months off? First first of May. So we got change. Yeah, yeah. Three months off. Three months. We got a lot to say. And like you said, yeah, a lot's happened. Things that needed to be discussed. Yeah, because Yeah. I've seen some Disappointing things, but if you wanna see something disappointing, get on Facebook. But I think it rolled into a good conversation to get us back started. Yeah, I feel like we besides where we're at right now, which you want to tell everybody where we're at? We're we're on location at the church. Yeah, we're sitting here at the church. right next to the altar, actually. Yeah. But I mean it's I'm just This feels good. It really does. I t I told Will, I said I was kinda nervous getting on. I was like that first recording we did what, last August? Been a year? Yeah. It was late August, wasn't it? Yeah. Because you sent me that on Facebook. Yeah. It had been so I guess. Share the memory one year. So season two starts out a year after we started season one, but I was like, man But like that first day trying to figure out what we gonna say, how we gonna record, what we're gonna talk about, man. Well, and I will tell everybody it was gonna be a play on it. We were gonna talk about gap theory tonight since we've taken such a gap. Yes. and we may discuss that next week. Yeah, I want to next week. Because you did a lot of research on it and to tell everybody to give a kind of a preview of how that happened and how the Lord works in Marvelous ways. Okay. Yeah, this this is a story. Yeah, this is this is good. I'll say this and then we'll we'll we'll run her a close. I had a meeting one time with two individuals that were kind of questioning my perspective and the doctrine in which I was holding to. So we're having the conversation, we're going through everything, and it's probably about 35. 40 minutes into the entirety of the conversation, maybe a little longer. And I had my Bible. And I was going to open my Bible, but I had my Bible closed. And on the spine it says Holy Bible, red letter, concordance, Old Schofield Study System. It's a Schofield reference Bible. And one of the things one of the gentlemen that was involved in that conversation brought up the point. Of because I was talking about, you know, if we sing certain songs, we're now attaching ourselves to because again, can't separate message from messager. I think we proved that point tonight. Yeah. And he goes, Well, what if somebody has a Bible with somebody's name on it and was talking about CI Schofield and said, Wasn't he an old earther? And talked about gap theory. And I went And I'm gonna tell ya, this is why we have to be ready at all times to give a defense. I had no idea what he's talking about. Yeah. And I w I didn't either. I was like when you told me the next day, I was like, I I don't know. I was like, gap theory? I don't and talked about how that doctrine promoted theistic evolution and and now we can like backday and pre edemic civilizations and things like that. the common misconception when someone hears gap theory, they think that is the way that people justify millions and millions and millions of years added into the Bible. When Darwin came out with the theory of evolution in the mid eighteen hundreds and started talking about the, you know, the the old earth and and things like that that people were trying to take modern day scientific terminology and try to force feed it back into the Bible. Well, I had no I clu yeah, no idea. And and apparently s he was saying Schofield was all for it. Promoted that, like it promoted that. So so therefore you carrying that Schofield Bible s you makes me carrying the banner for that. Yeah. So I sat there and I was like that was the one time where I was just I was taken aback. Like I had nothing to say 'cause I didn't understand it. You know, and said that basically if you subscribe to that, that's like I said, pre endemic civilization, people on the earth before the before Adam and Eve, theistic evolution, rewriting millions and millions of years between verses one and verse two of Genesis one. So you came by my office the next day and I'm like, We need to look into this because I've never heard this and this has bothered me. Like I couldn't sleep that night as So we're scrolling on YouTube the wealth of theology that YouTube is. This was early. And I come across a video and I'm like, it's an hour long. Cause we looked at Ken Ham. Yeah. And we were looking at and I'm like, okay, I've seen this guy before, Will, but I've never watched any of his videos. And it was this, you know. Stocky dude with a if if you've never seen him and you just pull up the video and he's got that board behind him. There's the white board behind and it's crazy stuff written all over all over and I'm like, let's just do it. Honestly, if you just look it it looks like that picture, that meme of I that's don't know, I've never watched it, but it's always sunny in Philadelphia where he's got all the Yeah, with the red lines. That's literally what that guy looks like. And we clicked on it and lo and behold, the gentleman's name was Robert Cracker. And man. We sat there for over it's probably like two hours because it's an hour long video, but we kept pausing it and we were like, my gosh. Mm-hmm. I've not heard anybody talking about it. And then we started studying the scripture with it. Well, long story short, we started rightly dividing. And that's where all of that and and the thing is, you know, what he meant for evil, he turned to good. but Scenarios like that were something so subtle. All I had to do was have opened my Bible. Yeah. And not had it closed and not had the spine showing, that scenario would have never happened. And look at from Breaker and Gene Kim and then Cody's Bible Institute and Stacy Shifflet and all these guys and all of that culminating because of that situation. Like that's that's a story that I just I can't get over it. I think that's that kinda that's what started you actively seeking and letting God truly Which of course he was he was using you, but I think it was a watershed moment. Yeah. Definitely one of those and it and it was for me too, but 'cause for you it was Yeah. 'Cause my big deal with the Schofield Bible is I was like Well, I'm always gonna have to fight the the Zionist comments. That's gonna be the big deal. And I'm like, I've not had to deal, I've had to deal with it once. Yeah. But that right there, and then my goodness, what doors God opened through that to show me other things and how much then I started taking those notebooks. Honestly, look right here, Will. Look at this notebook. And that's from that. That's but look, that's a breaker video. So those are things that started happening after that. I'm more thankful for the doors that God closed. Yeah, you and me both, buddy. I am more thankful for the doors that God closed through that of saying, yeah, just because they might have written a bunch of books and they might have been po that that don't mean nothing. Anyone can write a book nowadays and anyone can be popular. Benny Hens wrote a book. Yeah. But that don't mean anything. Like but it it made us start truly studying to show ourselves a pr like that day that day, Will, is when we got introduced to Second Timothy two fifteen and our eyes were opened. Mm-hmm. It was that day. Absolutely. That was what, September last year? I bet you can go back and listen to the podcast and see a pretty big shift. Yeah. I'm sure you can. Because you remember first episode we were like, we choose to use the King James Bible. Yeah. We were tiptoeing around. we were being so subtle. And then being such babies. And then by like three months in it was like Well it's like Let me tell you something. I tell you, I I think w we had before I guess May or whatever when we stopped. Remember I I'd looked at you and I said, Man, I I do not want to go back and listen to some of those first episodes. I was like, Should we delete I know, thinking about deleting taking down, but if anything, keep up just to show the growth that that God has has has allowed to happen and fostered. So 'cause a year ago when we started doing this, we were like, We'll talk about this topic this week, kinda do that. Remember we Here's something funny. Remember when we would do the section or the segment at the end about what are we reading? Yeah, that's what that's what my mind We were giving away RC sprawl books and things like that. 'Cause and then how did God use that? Quick story on that, then I promise well hey if if y'all listen to this, if y'all know me, you know when I say I'll say this and then hush. That ain't happening. So I'm doing something about leaving. I'm in Matthew thirteen. Yep, that was John MacArthur. And well the before that, remember, we had the RC sprawl commentaries that we had spent quite a bit of money on. yeah. And I looked up and I'm like, let me see what RC said about Matthew. I was like, our soteriology is a little off. Like, you know, we we got a different eschatology, we got a different soteri. How mu foolish was I that I'd kept going down the list and being like, We don't agree on this, we don't agree on this, we don't agree on this. So I look up in Matthew thirteen, thirty-three about the leaven, and it is out there. Yeah, it So then I call you, I'm like, dude, you gotta get over here. Yeah. And then we look up a sermon by John MacArthur and you said it best. You said if they're that off on something so obvious like this, what else could they be off on? And Me, you and Hunter all got together and we got rid of every bit of what we had. I remember I s I think I still have the picture on my phone. I went and rolled my trash can into the garage at our house and I had a little I've got a little makeshift office like right there in my laundry like near the laundry room and I just took that thing and just started chunking chunk chunking 'Cause I was like I was like, just can't do it. And I mean it's truly a little leaven when it comes to that. Yeah. It was gone whole bunch. So then Hunter texts James about it and said, We see this and we're and James said, Stay away from Calvinism, go and sin no more. Like like like, okay, good job boys. You're you're You're finally not being deceived. Yeah. But what pr good to him to like we learned it. Like, you know we we learned through that. Letting us Kinda Because we were diligently seeking. Mm-hmm. You know. But I could go on for forever stories like that. Like Yeah. Well, it's it's like the story I told you I wasn't gonna hush. We ain't been on in three months. Give me a break. But the story of how we found Golians. Like stuff like that just Yeah. That's not stuff that just happens, man. No, and because We had what did we go down there for? We were going to the Doctrine Matters conference. Yeah, yeah in Greensburg. Yeah, for Spencer. And I was like, Will we got down here so early, look up a Christian bookstore. We went to that one and then I was like, It was just very it was it was like the one they have over towards Franklin. Yeah, and you said, Well, there's one in King, North Carolina. And it and it caught my eye 'cause I was like I thought like, Yeah, but we probably don't want to go. This one says like home school supplies. And was like, Well, we've got two hours before service starts. This was the closest one. This is the closest one we were. And as soon as we walked in it was like Buddy, it was on. Yeah. I was like, I can't believe this. Yeah, and that's why we've talked about Gullians. You've probably well, you've been back three or four times. Three or four. No, I mean since we've quit recording. since we record quit recording, yeah. Yeah. We went down to Greensboro for the coaches clinic and Caitlyn to Caitlin's sister's house and I went in and played. I hope no one I hope my boss isn't listening to this because I it has crossed my mind some days when I don't have anything going on and I don't have to be back at the office to take a trip to Statesville. So like eight AM, take off down to Statesville and then come back, but I haven't done that yet. Well, it's getting to the point where one's in King and the other's in Statesville and we live in Canler and they're starting to recognize me. Yeah. Hunter's been bount back down a bunch. I think yeah, and they know Hunter. man. Just I love stories like that. How God works through things. He's amazing. It's Yeah, it just sounds so blanket. He's amazing. No, it's just Words can't put it into Words. Words, yeah. My brain can't put it into words. It is we have worked all day but had service tonight. I didn't know. It's currently eight fifty four PM. I did want to do one thing. Yeah, whoever's listening, and we'll do this all the way up until he comes. Yes, yes, go ahead. And so September seventh and eighth. Yeah. And we're gonna do evening services. Correct. So you can we'll be around evening service time, five, six o'clock. We'll we'll I'm thinking run at six to nine both nights. That may change, but Yeah. But Zach made a good point. We'll try to have him on the podcast. But hundred percent Doctor Phillip Stringer. So Doctor Phil Stringer who is man, a just A go to. Yeah, he is a go to when it comes to Bible translation and I like to describe it as he has forgotten more than I will ever remember. Yeah. But Dr. Phil Stringer will be here. He will be at Jonathan Valley Baptist church and you talk about someone who is going to bless your socks off. We actually got to meet him. Yeah. Yeah. When we went down to the research council. 'Cause I had made contact with him. Zac here's the th Zach just reaches out to people on Facebook and it's all these people that are like really big and very good, godly men, and they just message him right back. Kind of jealous of it. They're people. I know, I know. But like, yeah, Caleb Garraway, Spencer, Phil Stringer, David David W. Daniels, that's my guy. That's my guy. Yeah. talk to him a lot. But yeah. So Dr. Phil Stringer will be here. and it's gonna be a a treat. And I I I stress to anyone if you are like, well yeah, we listen to your your podcast or we sometimes listen, we sometimes either way. We're we don't we're not big on the King James. we like the new King James, whatever. Come with an open mind. Come with an open mind. If you're somebody that thinks that, you know, Erasmus was this and we don't need to worry about Westcott and Hort and there's the it's a conspiracy theory about Constantine's Samonides and all these things. And hey, if you're somebody that's in the oldest is best, this is not just for King James Bible believers. It's for everybody. Please come and listen. Just be come with an open heart and open mind. Yeah, and I'm sure he'll have a question and answer session. I'm sure. Yeah. but if he's comfortable with it, we'll request it. Yeah, absolutely. But it's gonna be a a special, special. It's gonna be a treat, man. but yeah, Dr. Phil Stringer. And if and if you're curious, he's all over YouTube. He's Facebook, everywhere. Yeah, we're friends. Yeah, I know you guys are. I finally just got be friends with David Cloud. you got one on me. Yeah. I just requested him, he said yes. That's pretty cool. You didn't have to answer three questions like with David Daniel. No. No. No. I'll get a hold of Stacy Shiflet for you. Stop it. Well We're back. We're back. That's what the episode needs to be titled. yeah, that that's what it's going to be. It's like a breaker video, the walking and a talkin'. This was the sitting in a spitting is what we were doing. Just going off the cuff. But I'm not gonna name it sit. Please don't. Please don't. I'm gonna name it we're back. We're back. But yeah. So until next week. Yeah. We will we'll see you then. Amen.