Truth Moments: Episode 22

- What it is? - Truth moments. - Back at it. - Getting at it. - Here it is. - Right here. - Super early. - It's actually not super early anymore. It's almost seven o'clock. Now you gotta go to work in like 17 minutes. - I do gotta go to work soon. But we're up early and we're getting it in because you know what? - I was up at 450. - Oh really? - Mentally preparing myself. Like it took a whole pep talk. - Oh. - Get out of bed. Come on, you can do it. - Yeah, I hit snooze twice. - Get up. - But you know, you remember that saying early bird gets the worm? - Yeah. - We're getting the worm, man. - We're getting the worm. (laughing) - Okay. - Oh my goodness.

- Oh man. - The earth worm. We're getting the earth worm. - The earth worm. - Yeah. - Okay, yeah. - That's 'cause the bird. - Yeah, and we're birds. We're soaring through. - Eagles. - Eagles. - Yeah, soaring. - If we're gonna be a bird, it's gotta be an eagle. - Yeah. - You know. I walked in, I walked in on Jessica working the other day. She works for this peer support company or whatever, right? And she works remote and I walk in, she's in the 201 classroom. And she walks away from her computer and she's like, listen to this. This is what we have an all staff meeting right now. And they were literally in this staff meeting choosing. Their assignment was to choose what animal they wanted to be in the afterlife. - Oh. (laughing) - And so literally a whole staff meeting

and they were serious, bro. Like it was serious business. - It was like team building or was this? - No, it was just like assignment. Like, wow, what animal would you want to be most in the afterlife and why? - Mm. - Like that was the question that you had to be answering. - Wow. - And I looked at it. - I know what he's like. - We promised us new bodies. I don't know how I'm sure about those bodies. - To be with four. - Yeah. - With four legs. - Yeah, well, it was just like, you know, it's a very all inclusive company. - Right, right, right, right. - So, anyways, saying we were birds just made me kind of think of that. Like, we just chose the animal we wanted to be in the afterlife. - Yeah. - Anyways. - Hey, we're at it. This is for the evidence of Jesus, so the sermon from, well, it would be last Sunday for us, but we're actually behind a few,

which is to our benefit, because now we kind of catch up. - Yeah, we kind of have a couple that we can just keep posted. - Okay. All right. - Yeah, no, we were in out there in South Central last weekend. - We were in South Central. - Yeah, shut up, shut up. - I was looking at them. - We had a lot of good feedback, also about the groups and about the podcast through that. So we appreciate the listens, and we appreciate that there's men that's actually, and women that's actually, you know, doing what it's for, 'cause that's what we're here for. - Yeah, the podcast, I mean, right now, I mean, we haven't posted a music video in a while, but they get the most views, man. - Yeah, they're sweet. - Yeah, so they're rocking with them. But, well, so is what we've been doing. We've been jumping into the message from Sunday. It works. So, realistically, there should not be more views on a podcast than there is the sermon, not 'cause I care about views, but we should be watching the sermon.

- Yeah, because they're in relation. - They're unified. - They are. - That's what the church body is gonna be as unified. - Yeah, so this is on the evidence of Jesus, and so I would encourage you to go back and watch the message on the evidence of Jesus. That would be the title of the message that was posted, and so. - And read X, 413. - Yeah, and read X. Just go ahead and read X for. - Yeah. - And then jump back onto this, and pick back up with some of the, with some of your friends, and kind of go into a group discussion with this and allow it to change your life, you know? - Yep. - What's it for? - Yeah, and so, you know, and they are under scrutiny for healing this lame man and they're standing before the Sanhedrin which is the highest court and now they notice that they had been with Jesus and I always kind of thought that was cool you know because I think being with the Lord should leave a physical mark on your life but you know I said that they were untrained and uneducated ordinary men and you know in order to basically have authority the Sanhedrin believes that you had to be educated in the scriptures and come up underneath a mentor like Paul did he had Gamil and so they thought that that was and so but Jesus had just stood before him I haven't done the math but it was somewhere in like a you know 50 days was Pentecost so it had to been after 50 days so about two months or so Jesus had just stood in the same place with very strong authority and so I'm pretty sure that's why

they were like these dudes have been with Jesus you know and so some of the things that we talked about on that was how Jesus changes ordinary people and when it said that they had been with Jesus you know one of kind of the discussion questions that would lead to that is who are you spending the most time around and how are they shaping who you're becoming yeah you know because if you're hanging around Jesus if they were hanging around Jesus and they were identified as being around Jesus I would say the opposite would be true too you know that if you were hanging around other people that it would be true as well even so much I think I think this this question plays into it is number two is if your co-workers neighbors or family described your character what evidence of Jesus would they mention if they were looking at your life what would they say was Jesus like you know I was thinking about this I was one of the guys at the home he was talking to me about work and he was talking about how hard it is at his job but then he also in the same breath told me about how his boss had given him $200 and helped him get to a parole meeting and he had only been working there for a short period of time you know and I thought about that and I said you know that's because he puts Christ in front of us in the center of his life you know it's like what evidence should show one of the main evidences that should show his generosity like generosity is just a gift of the spirit but it's also a character of who you are because that's who Christ is and it's like I got a boss I've worked for for four years you're right good dude never gave me $200 right why did he not give you $200 he doesn't is his center is not Christ good good person though right but just not different when Jesus is the center he does something different and so you got these bosses like our buddy who's got you know works in the plumbing and his boss just blessed him who loves the Lord you know I mean it's like what's the evidence of it who loves the Lord you know generosity is something that should be naturally using out of us you know what I mean like it's it's it's not only just giving of money and this but like giving of your time giving of this all this stuff is intentional man and we just on generosity is just heavy on my mind because last night we had a you know we had a well like the last three weeks and your guys is yeah it's been about generosity and it was because this is what he said last night and I just had to bring this up because generosity and he says that genera like plotting and scheming of ways to be generous yeah all right and that's what and it's like that's what ministry is yeah like what is ministry it's it's it's it's people together that love the Lord that are plotting and scheming then I've plotted and schemed before

dude yeah I've plotted and schemed for a job of how to be generous though so generosity should be not only natural as in just oozing out of you it's it's nothing what we do. It's like when we're on the phone and we're talking about what we're going to do in a podcast. What are we doing? We're plotting and scheming of ways to be generous. I don't got a lot to give you. Yeah. What do I got to give you? I got the hope. Yeah. I got the hope of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what I got to give you. Peter and John told the layman. He said, I don't have no money. Right. But what I do have, but even even with money, I mean, you know, I mean, we're looking at this building. I'm gonna be shooting a video today. We got a sign in that front of that bad boy. Good, don't it? Yeah. We were driving on the way to the Royals game. You're like, wait, that's reach. Well, because I tell the kids, hey, kid's new. It was a new church, you know, and then I saw the sign. I'm like, yeah, dude, that's looking, that's looking good. And we finally got everything approved for the for the demo too. Yeah, I saw that getting ripped off. Yeah, it'll be a little a little probably Monday or Tuesday. Oh, oh, it was always like that. It's been a whole nightmare. No, they they they start doing a big disassembled debt to try to detach that. But anyways, you know, I just I think of that. And literally, it's like, we got about $65,000 left to raise to match this hundred grand, you know, and I'm like, broke, but I used to not be broke. And I I'm just sitting I've I've been sitting there scheming pond and scheming. Yeah, for real and I'm like, man, how could I mean, if I had if I had 30 grand, dude, I would give 30 grand right now. Like, how could I, you know, how could I make this happen so we could get in there, you know, and just make it, you know, it's, I don't know, it is, it is, but that's a that's a character of a man. Well, we even get into not not this Sunday, but the next Sunday, and maybe the Sunday after that, I don't know, I haven't planned it all out yet. But we get into where it gets into an an isense of fire. And so it talks about all of them, all of the believers begin to share their resources, basically. Right. And so we're going to talk about generosity a little bit with them that I know I haven't even dug into it. But that's what that whole thing is about, you know, and and so this leads to that. So it's not because I mean, so so who is, you know, you know, because that at the end of the day, this is what I look at around spending time with people because here, anyone that's listening through a through a pando app on a tablet, the only thing that you're doing is spending time with people, you ain't getting away from people unless you're in

sag. Yeah. And even in sag, you're still hearing people. You ain't getting away from people. Here, you could actually get away from people in the world. You could seclude and you could isolate. But in there, you are 100% involved in relationships. And so who you are spending time around, those things matter, right? And they matter because whoever it is, if you are not, listen to this, if you are not in a ministry mindset, where you're saying, hey, this, this is someone that I'm pouring into. And this is someone that I am leading. And you have not identified these people in your life. You have not categorized them in your mind. Yes, you categorize them. It's not a blanket love blanket that says, I just love all people. And I'm just gonna treat them all the same. Well, that's not true. We're gonna categorize what's going on, right? And there's gonna be positions in time where I'm saying, Hey, these are some young, these are some young dudes, man. These are some knuckleheads right here, man. But I know that they are receptive to me because of whatever influence I have in them. And so when I am around them, I'm leading them. That is that that's a mindset. It's a ministry mindset. And then so the shaping is coming from you. It's coming from Christ is working through you and your character, right? Your character, Christ is working through you. And you are reflective of what Christ is because you have been stamped by an experience with Jesus. And that is helping shape those that you are around. Now there's a backside coin to that. And there are other people that you have not categorized. And if you have not categorized them and you do not have a ministry mindset towards them. And you are just free willing in life. You're free willing in your relationships. You're like, man, I love the Lord. He's cool though too. We play handball together there. That's a good, that's a good P. Nuckle partner. And here's and all of a sudden your P. Nuckle game has gotten deep and you're spending four hours on that table. And the three dudes that you are playing around, they don't love the Lord. Now when you lose in and you're But these three dudes that you've decided to play with They are starting to shape you and you don't even know it. Yeah, because they're not feeding your spirit Yeah, they're feeding your flesh so they're talking this and they're talking crazy And this and that and one's got his big boy headphones on and he's blaring whatever else He's blaring and and and now you you might be listening to what he's listening to and all that stuff that you read And your word that morning you read all that stuff and you're in your word that morning But then you got into an environment and to a circle and it just you the the flesh if you started just to come back out

Yeah, you know and you start just jamming or some more and start talking a little bit more and then guess what? Dude, now you're gambling right. Yeah, now you're down on the on the day one And then and then and then at six o'clock you're like well. Hey guys. I gotta go man I gotta go to chapel. Yeah, like what? Yeah, they're like well down a witness. Yeah. Why are you going to chapel bro? The way you've been living the last four hours. Oh, yeah, don't reflect dude. That brings it to a point like dude I I I'm a I'm a lead him on my job. So I'll drive my truck and I have someone that helps me Um, I I worked my way to get to that point and I got to that point Um, I was a blessing because why because I can determine how my my truck is right? We can listen to the word on our way to the job. I can play Christian music on my Milwaukee Jobs high radio. I can set the standard for how I'm speaking and not cussing and so the the Person that's working with me is being shaped by me. I'm saying the tone for the atmosphere. I have been Work has been slow at points and I had to go and work with other people just to just to get some hours and stuff and It put me back in the reality of other people and I ain't here now. I'm on somebody else's job And I'm talking about some Dude, that's not any manual labor I mean dude, it's like you get you get you get purified in a way and you get just where we're just you know How we talking and it's like, you know, you wouldn't even think it and dude There's just and it's just like blowing my mind. What's being said and I'm like, you know, and one day It was just me and dude together, you know, and I mean I'm talking about some like anything was vulgar just like walking by Women's shelter. Oh, yeah battered women, huh They knew what they were one they wanted the bad boy then, you know, but now they're mad about it They got the bad boy and I'm like dude and they're like, what do you how do you you know? I mean like and I'm sitting here questioning myself like what do I stand on? Do you know? I mean do I tell dude to know you show down down? Yeah, I'm like and so it's so finally, you know, it got you a point where it's like and and I thought that he would have some like social Analyzation of what's going on here. It's like hey, I'm not involving you. You know, I haven't

Was with you all day. Yeah, I haven't said a word to what you've been saying You've been saying some wild things. Yeah, but dude it didn't stop. Yeah, and then the next day I saw I drove home and I said Lord dude. I I don't want to do that again, right? And so what what what what the Lord do he put me back on a job with the same guy and then add another vulgar guy So you've got two vulgar guys now And so I don't even have to so they just get vulgar with each other Right, and they're just yeah piggy backing off the vulgarity of their conversation, dude And I'm just sitting back like oh, man, I was there so it's somewhere else I could go If you guys need something from home Depot, I'm like Do they get to a point where he's like oh, I don't have this I don't think I need to look at my truck I'm like, oh, I'm gonna go give me a PO. I'm gonna go run the home people and get it and just get in the truck and like I'm gonna get a break from this dude Like this is sad dude. You gotta turn the christian music. This is like praying for me What was happening in that moment dude, it felt like I'm not allowing it to but let that happen I'll be in there long enough and let that happen enough dog That stuff will start to shape you man. Yeah, that stuff will start to shape you because why it's it's feeding your spirit, man You're gateways. You have gateways, man to your heart You could your gate air eyes are a gateway your ears are a gateway What you say is a gateway is all to your heart and i'm letting in this vulgarity And i'm not saying hey, man. Listen and and and and could I could I have stood? Um, that's what I asked guy, you know, it's like I'm checking my own heart like could I have stood up stood on something? You know more christ like I what's more christ like in that situation, you know, honestly like in a in a bit the boss of anything. We're all this level, all other things. Let's have some kind of mutual respect here, guys. But should I have said, because I know that people know that I love the Lord because some people that respect me like, oh, sorry, man, though, cousin, they'll be like, my, my, my, my bad man. And I'll be like, all right, cool.

You know, that shows that they know that I'm not getting down with that. These vulgar heads, they did not care about that at all. You know what I'm saying? And so like, was there a point in time where I should have been like, hey, listen, man, I've got a small tolerance, man, very small tolerance for like absolute vulgarity. And if we could just keep it PG, man, that would, that would release PG 13. Yeah, like that would respect me a little bit because you're on X rated triple X platinum. And we need to dumb it down to PG 13 for me to even keep working. I think, I think I should have said something like that. Yeah. You don't know what I'm saying? So, but here's this. I usually do it in like a joking way, you know, throw it out there. I'm like, hey, man, right? Like, is that the only words you have in your vocabulary? Right. Right. Yeah. That's how you got to stretch your vocab a little, right? You know, I, yeah, but so, you know, but that's a, that's a scenario that there's everyone's going through in the reality is that this is the real reality, especially coming from our background, from our demographic, from, from in there is there are too often many people that are, are fluent in the language of Satan and okay with it. Yeah. I mean, like, totally okay with it. Yeah. I mean, we are, we're confessing believers in Jesus, but have no reflection of being saved from anything. You know? Yeah.

And so here's one thing like, you know, people say, you know, and, and, and I, and through teaching and doing, and, and, and pastor and ministering through a, you know, the, well, what about cussing? You know, and it's like, is cuss, cussing is not a sin and, and, and here's, here's my take on the, on cussing, a fruit of the spirit is self control. Okay. If you, there, no child, no child grows up and says those words and doesn't know that they're wrong. They know that they're wrong. Why is it that parents, worldly or Christian or not? Why is it that parents will cuss and then they will tell their children, they'll say those effing words. Yeah. Right? Yeah. That's how, that's how they, that's how they talk. They, they still teach their children not to cuss, wash their mouths out with soap as they cuss, cuss to their people on the phone. Why? Because they know it's wrong. Yeah. They know that it's wrong. They know that it's bad, but they lack the self control to do what is right. Yeah. And anything that you do in life period that you know is wrong and you do it anyway, is a sin. Yeah. Period. So that, that should, that should work on your heart. The desire is into look more desire, like look, like I sound more Christ like the desire

is to be heart changed. And the fact that like, Hey, I want to be self controlled in this. I want my speech to be important. What does it look like if I'm, if I'm hanging around some guys and I'm loving the Lord Jesus and I'm trying to minister to them, but I can't stop cussing. Yeah. I mean, do we, or any other things that are, you know, I mean, and I, I got some conversations with some men in prison to be honest and they didn't shook it yet. Yeah. But I shook it in there though. Yeah. I didn't come out here and. I was one of the things the Lord took for me first. Yeah. Like I didn't, I didn't shake it. I didn't shake it out here. I got saved. It would be like, I would, I would be like telling war stories. That was the worst part. Like if I would get to telling stories, you know, like I felt like I had to tell the story how it really went and then I would cuss. And even if I was around people that cussed, all of a sudden I just was overwhelmed with conviction. And I'm like, dude, and then it just got to the point, dude, it got to the point where I was like, you know what, I'm not telling stories anymore. Yeah. Yeah. I can't tell stories because I can't tell stories. Because it's sinning. Cussing.

Because you know what's wrong. Yeah. I couldn't tell stories without cussing. So I'm like, dude, this is, I'm, to me, I felt like I was losing my witness because this is what people I'm like conferencing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm everybody. Yeah. Bro. Everybody's seen this. Yeah. You know, everybody's seen me carrying, you know, carrying this thing around and, and you know, I was always, you know, the Bible thumper and, and all that, but, but then, you know, but then whenever it comes down to all hanging out and we're all just Jeff in and drinking catalax and, you know, we're wound up on coffee and we're telling stories And they ain't nobody even looking at me differently. - No. - I feel like everybody's staring at me, you know what I'm doing? - Yeah, yeah, no, I mean-- - I can't believe I just said that. - If we think that the little things don't matter, there's a problem, that stuff shouldn't matter because in the heart of one that is seeking God, and the Holy Spirit is ministering to that heart, the little things will feel like heavy things. The little things will feel like big things because there isn't any little thing, you know what I mean? Like, that's a dangerous thing to sweep up under the rug,

like, not that bad. - Yeah, well, one of the things, so we have two leadership-wise, we have two qualifications to be met in order for somebody to lead a growth group at our church. One of those is to be spiritually warm, and one of them is to be relationally warm. And I think of spiritually warm when it comes to stuff like this, because like, can people be around you and know and understand, we was talking about this on our way back from licking with those that was in our vehicle. And, you know, it was in the sense of like, so I, one time whenever I was serving down at my in-laws church that they had years ago, my brother-in-law, my wife's brother, oldest brother, we were renovating the sanctuary, and so like we were painting and doing new carpet and redid a bunch of stuff. And this was when I was in Bible college, and I remember one time my mother-in-law came and she was, you know, whatever, talking to me, and she was saying how Brian loved being around me for those weeks that we were working because it made him wanna be more like Jesus. You know, and it's like, I feel like that's the mark who we should be leaving on people. But when somebody comes over to our house, even, I want them to fill, when they leave our house,

I want them to get into the car, not any braggadocious kind of thing, but I want people to get in the car after they leave our house and be like, man, it's always such a great time when we're over here, you know, like man. You know, thinking more like Jesus, or vision, like thinking ahead, like doing things for the Lord, you know, not like walking out and being like, "Oh God." - Yeah, and you gotta know. And the thing is, is this world is so dark that a, that is a breath of fresh air, man, to people, bro, it is a breath of fresh air. Like, no matter where they're at in their walk, if you can resemble Christ-like attributes and resemble Jesus, you are giving them some relief, man. Like, that's what I want my presence and my speech and my relationships to do to people. It's like, you know, they know, like, man, dude, like that's a safe, that's a safe dude, you know what I'm saying? Like, I can have some relief in that regard because it's like, there's no pressure to anything. It's just like, hey, man, it's just a nice piece, man. You know what I mean? - Yeah, I can't remember who it was, a sini, somebody a sini, something, but they made a comment one time, and it said, preach the gospel at all times and use words when necessary, you know, and I just think about that 'cause it's like, you know, when people are looking at your life

and we'll end it with this. - And they're looking. - When people are looking at your life and they are looking, yes. - They're looking very much. - And even if they don't know they're looking, they're looking because here's the truth is you could be hanging out with people that is going through hell right now and you don't even know it and your life could be witnessing to them and you could be seeing hope. - Yeah. - And they could be seeing hope in your life and because of the way that you've been living within conduct of your life, they could say, man, could you pray with me, man? 'Cause like, I've been struggling and then all of a sudden it opens up and when people are looking at your life, would they say, man, that's an uneducated, ordinary dude. - I mean, I can tell he's been with Jesus. - Yeah, that's the goal of my life, dude. I don't care about all the accolades. I don't care about all of the stuff, none of that, but I want people to know that I've been with Jesus. - That's good. - You know, it's good, so. - Yeah, we thank you guys for tapping in. - We're praying for you heavy. We thank you for this teaching. We thank you for this day, and we thank you for just the opportunity, God, to just speak boldly about your goodness and about your presence and your love, Lord.

And so we just pray over the men and women that are listening, and we pray over our hearts, God, that you would just continue to help and shape and mold us, Lord, that there would be a stamp of your witness pressed upon us, God, that there wouldn't be any questioning whether we've been with you, God, that we would be molded and shaped by you, God. So we just thank you, Lord. We praise you, and Jesus, my name. Amen. Love y'all. Peace out. [MUSIC PLAYING] (dramatic music) [MUSIC PLAYING]