Sept. 8, 2025

(281) “If the Stuff in the Bible Is Real, We Ought to Be Able to See It!” with Jeff Symons

(281) “If the Stuff in the Bible Is Real, We Ought to Be Able to See It!” with Jeff Symons
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(281) “If the Stuff in the Bible Is Real, We Ought to Be Able to See It!” with Jeff Symons

The Busses are joined again by their dear friend, Jeff Symons. When Jeff was first getting to know the Lord he said, “If the stuff in the Bible is real, we ought to be able to see it.” And that began his pursuit of God. Jeff shares his testimony of going from agnosticism and drug addiction to being saved, delivered, and walking in the supernatural with Jesus, as well as some wisdom he learned along the way. He also shares some of his experiences with the Lord, his heart to pray for the persecuted Church, and for lukewarm Believers to be drawn away from the pull of the world and rekindled in passion for Jesus.

EMAIL: feedback@globaloutpouring.org

WEBSITE: https://globaloutpouring.net

Related Links:

Kingdom Awakening

The Soldier’s Guide for Active Service: Tactical Field Manual for the Army of God (book by Jeff Symons)

Kingdom Awakening Podcast

Minor Prophets Podcast

Podcast Episode 204: “The Building of Miracle Ministry” with Jeff Symons

Podcast Episode 257: “Restoring Purity in the Body of Christ” with Jeff Symons

I DIED for 1 Hour 45 Minutes.. What I Saw Changed Me Forever! - w/ Dean Braxton (Kingdom Awakening Podcast)

Sid Roth

You May All Prophesy! by Steve Thompson

Foxe's Book of Martyrs

The 21 Film

Vanya by Myrna Grant

Guard Your Heart (Song by Steve Green–YouTube)

CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

WEBVTT

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And I see this long dinner table and I see Jesus

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at the end and I see Paul and John sitting next

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to him. Like I knew the names of all the apostles

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and I saw how close they were. And I knew that

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as close as you want to be to Jesus in eternity

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is determined by how you live on earth. Wow.

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And that those that had lived in a way that were

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in close proximity to him, that life continued

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in eternity. God promises in Joel 2 .28 to pour

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out His Spirit on all humanity. Welcome to Global

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Outpouring, where we contend for that promised

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outpouring, we equip for that outpouring, so

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that we may engage in that very outpouring. I'm

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Philip Buss. And I'm Sharon Buss. Welcome to

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the podcast today. We have with us our friend

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Jeff Simons once again, and he is going to be

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sharing some of his experiences, some of his

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testimony, and some of the things that are really

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close to his heart. But when he was just getting

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to know the Lord, he said this, if the stuff

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in the Bible is real, we ought to be able to

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see it. And that began his pursuit of God. Thank

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you so much for joining us today. Before we get

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started with our friend Jeff, we want to encourage

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you, if you haven't already done so, that you

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go out to our website globaloutpouring .net and

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make sure that you're on our email lists. And

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if you want to give us some feedback, we would

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love to hear from you. And there's lots of other

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things that are there available on our website,

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things that you'll enjoy. And we want to encourage

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you, when you're being blessed by these podcasts,

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just share them. Share them with your friends.

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Share them on your social media. Let other people

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know about things that you are getting from the

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Spirit, things that are building you up. Help

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us to get into the algorithms out there so that

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others will find us that they're hungry for God

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and they don't know how to find the things of

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Jesus that we want to bring and this equipping

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for the outpouring that we want to bring into

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their lives. And I also want to remind you that

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if you haven't got it on your calendar yet, please.

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Put it on your calendar for 2026 that we are

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going to be in St. Louis for Memorial Day weekend,

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May 21st through 24th. It's going to be an amazing

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time in the presence of the Lord. We will be

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having with us our dear friend and Papa, Bishop

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Tony Kemp, and Dean Braxton will be with us again.

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It was really awesome to have him this year.

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2025. And we did a couple of Q &A sessions with

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him and he was able to teach. It was really,

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really, really good. And we'll also be having

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Anna Werner and she's got such a tremendous.

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prophetic gift, see your gift. And I know that

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she's going to be a real blessing. And Claren

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McQueen is going to be ministering for us for

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our Israel night, and I'll be ministering as

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well. So we just know that it's going to be a

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time of glory in the presence of the Lord, where

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we're going to just keep going deeper and deeper

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into the things of God and building relationships

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that are going to last for eternity. Well, Jeff

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Simons, it's such a pleasure to have you with

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us on our podcast again. We had you at our convention

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a couple of months ago. Oh, well, I don't know

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how far ago it's going to be by the time this

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actually goes out. But we had you at our convention,

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and it was such a blessing to fellowship with

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you there and introduce you to our people. And

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we just want to get to know you better. So we're

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excited to have you on this episode today. Thank

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you for having me. So Jeff, I just want to kind

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of introduce this to our listeners that when

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we first connected with you, I don't even remember

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how long ago it was, a year ago or more than

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a year ago. I think it was a few years ago. A

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few years ago. Well, whenever it was. I just

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know that God has eternal purposes in connecting

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Philip and me with you and this ministry, Global

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Outpouring, with you. And I remember when we

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first... started talking when you were first

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launching your podcast, you mentioned that when

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you were looking for a name for your ministry,

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one of the names that you were considering was

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Global Outpouring. So there's obviously some

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things that God has connecting with us. And as

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we're getting to know you better, it's like,

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man, you're just like us. Wow, this is amazing.

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So your heart for the things of God and the depths

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of God. It's such a blessing, such a blessing

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to us. So we want to get to know you better.

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We listened to the episode on your podcast that

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you did recently with Dean Braxton. You met him

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at our convention. That was really good. We'll

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put a link to it in the show notes. So all of

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our listeners who love... the episodes that we

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do with Dean Braxton, you will love this episode

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that Jeff did with Dean. He always reveals new

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things. Yes. All the time. So one of the things

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that happened on your episode with Dean was you

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were comparing notes with him about what he saw

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compared to what you saw when you had a heavenly

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experience. Can you tell us a little about that

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heavenly experience? Sure. So my background was

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I was raised Methodist. And then I became agnostic

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when I was a teenager and spent a number of years,

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probably, you know, from 16 to 20 something as

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an agnostic, which just meant I lived however

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I wanted. And, you know, it was just an excuse

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for. drugs and doing anything i could think of

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but ultimately and i believe this about people

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that are doing drugs are looking for something

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else yeah and you know i hit a low point um after

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i had been a drug addict was addicted to meth

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for a series of months and had gotten clean but

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was dealing with a lot of consequences from those

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time periods and there was a particular low moment

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Where I'd never felt suicide before or being

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suicidal. And my wife was having all kinds of

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health complications. My son was just born. And

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I felt this darkness come down on me. And the

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only thing I could think about was suicide. That

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and I remembered the name of Jesus. Wow. And

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it was like the only way I could kind of describe

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it is. two options and you know when one of them

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felt very distant but i remembered the name of

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jesus just it felt so far from me and in that

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moment i just said jesus help and and when i

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said that all the darkness lifted but the situation

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was the same and that led to we started attending

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my parents baptist church I gave my life to the

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Lord, but I did it in a way, and I wouldn't recommend

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people do this, but I was being authentic with

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the Lord. All I had known about Christianity

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was stories, and none of them were my story,

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and none of them were things that I had seen

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personally. So I said, God, I give you my life,

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but if the stuff in the Bible is real, we ought

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to be able to see it. at the time i was you know

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i was reading the bible probably for the first

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time really i had read read it through before

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but but this time was like it was alive in a

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different way and my prayer life was coming alive

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and i noticed the person of the holy spirit in

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the old testament with the prophets and and coming

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on the apostles and acts and i actually had this

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thought of who's the holy spirit i just i had

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never heard You know, I knew the Catholic thing,

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the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, because I'd seen

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the movies. Yeah. That's funny. But I started

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to notice how the Holy Spirit would change lives

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and change circumstances. And I said, God, if

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these stories are real, I want to see it. I want

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to be there when these things happen. It ought

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to still be happening. There still ought to be

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miracles and signs and wonders. Yes. And I prayed

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that way for about six months. And during that

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time, I was introduced to Sid Roth. I saw a couple

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episodes of Sid Roth. And I had bought Steve

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Thompson's book email, Prophesy. And I saw The

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Finger of God, Darren Wilson's documentary. And

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at the time it was on TBN, the clip that I saw

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was the underground church worshiping. And they

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were just in tears. And I just couldn't help

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myself. I just called and I ordered the DVD.

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And then after I ordered it, I kind of had this

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moment of like, wait a minute, why did I just

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buy a DVD of Chinese people crying? Like, what

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did I just buy? And, you know, when it arrived

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and I watched the whole thing, I watched it through

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several times. And the interview of the man that

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was resurrected from Heidi Baker's ministry.

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And you see the treasure hunts from Bill Johnson

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and the Bethel students and come to find out

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that Bill Johnson and Heidi Baker were coming

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to Dallas in a few months. So I went to that

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conference. And while I was there, I started

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having open visions, which was pretty surreal

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as somebody that had done. hallucinogenic drugs

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I'm like what is like what is happening right

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now I couldn't you know I couldn't stop seeing

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things and I remember Bill Johnson was praying

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for healing from stage and it looked like a firework

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just light was just flying off of him and people

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are getting healed and wow it was uh at that

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that conference I had a whole bunch of different

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things happened in that that week One of them

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was, you know, so I'm having these open visions

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and, and I had told God I wanted the baptism

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of the Holy Spirit, but I kind of set some stipulations.

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I was like, well, you know, I don't, I don't

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know about this whole speaking in tongues thing.

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I didn't, I wasn't against it. I just didn't

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understand it. And I was like, prophecy is way

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cooler. Like that's the one I want. I did have

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my first prophetic word before I spoke in tongues,

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but I did speak in tongues. And they, you know,

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they were doing a fire tunnel at the end of the

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conference. And I went through the first time

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and I was like, man, I feel drunk, like, but

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not in like a bad way. And I went through, I'm

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like, I was, and it was free. So I'm going through

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again. So I went through the second time and

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then. I believe it was Heidi Baker, but I'm not

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sure because I kept my eyes closed the whole

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time. I didn't want to be distracted by what

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was happening around me. I was just trying to

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focus on God. But I got to the end of the line,

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and somebody laid hands on me, and I fell to

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the ground, and I uncontrollably was speaking

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in tongues. Wow. And I drove home from the conference,

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and it's funny. I actually had a listener correct

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me. telling my own testimony. Um, so cause I've

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been saying it wrong for years. Uh, so I went

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home and I was, I turned on a worship album and

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I was sitting on the, I would always say it's

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the mantle of the fireplace. It's not the mantle.

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It's whatever the The thing is the hearth. There

00:12:09.110 --> 00:12:11.490
we go. Yeah. I would sit on the hearth for years.

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I've been saying I sat on the mantle. Yeah. You

00:12:13.850 --> 00:12:17.450
probably wouldn't sit on the mantle. Your chauffeur

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might sit on the mantle. Yeah. Right. Right.

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So I was, I was sitting on it and you know, my

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eyes were closed, but you know, there was a light

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just above my head and just worshiping the Lord.

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And next thing I know, I'm not sitting in my

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home. I'm not at the fireplace. I'm under this.

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light that's raining down if you could imagine

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liquid light drops of light and it was kind of

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like a shower of joy was the substance but it

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looked it looked like liquid light beautiful

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you know so it's it's as these droplets are are

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hitting me i'm just laughing and laughing and

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laughing and then then it kind of it occurs to

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me i am not in my house And I had this like,

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not a scary moment, but just this pause of, wait,

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this is heaven. But if this is heaven, where's

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Jesus? And as soon as I thought, where's Jesus?

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I was in a different place. Wow. And, you know,

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something that you, Dean and others, I'm sure

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have shared, that in heaven, you don't travel

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at the speed of light or sound. It's the speed

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of thought. Yep. I can't prove that biblically,

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but I can just say that was my experience. Yeah.

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So as soon as I think, where's Jesus? I'm now

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in a different location and I see this long dinner

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table and I see Jesus at the end and I see Paul

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and John sitting next to him. Like I knew the

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names of all the apostles and I saw how close

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they were. And I knew that as close as you want

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to be to Jesus in eternity is determined by how

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you live on earth. Wow. And that those that had

00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:09.360
lived in a way that were in close proximity to

00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:12.399
him, that life continued in eternity. Beautiful.

00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:16.340
And more than any desire that I've ever had,

00:14:16.460 --> 00:14:20.480
if you could just imagine everything you've ever

00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:24.480
wanted balled up and amplified. The thing that

00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.600
I wanted was I just want to be close to Jesus.

00:14:26.820 --> 00:14:28.919
That's the thing I want. I just want to be close.

00:14:28.980 --> 00:14:33.610
I want to sit close to him. But I also knew it

00:14:33.610 --> 00:14:38.309
wasn't right to just ask for the seat, that you

00:14:38.309 --> 00:14:45.549
had to qualify to sit close. And I thought, oh,

00:14:45.549 --> 00:14:47.590
that's the thing I need to ask for. I need to

00:14:47.590 --> 00:14:52.710
ask for a life that's worth being close to Jesus

00:14:52.710 --> 00:14:55.769
in that way. And as soon as I thought, oh, that's

00:14:55.769 --> 00:14:59.750
something I should ask for, I'm now in the throne

00:14:59.750 --> 00:15:02.419
room. I think I'm in the throne room. I was kneeling.

00:15:02.419 --> 00:15:05.220
I was face down kneeling and not looking around

00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:09.960
because it was this holy fear of the Lord in

00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:13.559
the atmosphere. And I think I was on the sea

00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:16.039
of glass, but again, I'm not sure. And then I

00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:20.019
asked God for that. And then once I did, you

00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:21.399
know that feeling when you're in an elevator

00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:23.740
and you're on the top floor, you press the lower

00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:26.100
floor, you can kind of feel yourself slowly descending.

00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:30.059
Like I had that sensation of descending. When

00:15:30.059 --> 00:15:32.820
I opened my eyes, I wasn't, I was still, I was

00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:35.080
in my house now, but I was in a different room

00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:41.100
in my house. And I'm in the kitchen and under

00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:43.480
the ceiling fan, and I'm just saying the name

00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:45.440
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, over and over and over.

00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:49.039
And every time I said his name, I feel this tingling

00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:52.600
sensation just washing over me head to toe. And

00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:57.120
for about... Six days. It wasn't exact, but it

00:15:57.120 --> 00:15:59.940
was up until I prayed a certain prayer. But it

00:15:59.940 --> 00:16:03.000
was around six days where I could hear the Lord

00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.200
as clearly as I could hear a person. I remember

00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:07.440
praying for, this happened several times, where

00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:10.500
I was in Walmart going to pray for somebody.

00:16:10.759 --> 00:16:12.639
Because now I have this conviction of, oh, we

00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.340
can go pray for people. And I wrote my sister

00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:18.460
into it. So we went to Walmart just to go find

00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:22.039
some people to pray for. And as soon as I start

00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:24.559
talking to them, it's like this light that's

00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:27.259
just outside of my field of vision just turns

00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:29.539
on. And you can see this light raining down.

00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.919
And people are just crying at me asking, hey,

00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:34.159
can I pray for you? So I'm thinking like, hey,

00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:36.399
this prayer thing is easy. All you need to do

00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:38.779
is just ask them. And the light turns on and

00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:41.159
the light rains down. And, you know, God will

00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:44.299
heal them. And, you know, I'm here having very

00:16:44.299 --> 00:16:46.440
specific direction and words of knowledge from

00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:48.840
the Lord at the time. And there was times where

00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:50.480
I was praying all kinds of selfish stuff and

00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:54.379
he's telling me no. So we saw some miracles.

00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:56.980
That was where I saw the first miracle was. It

00:16:56.980 --> 00:17:01.159
was actually in Walmart where. We prayed for

00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:02.580
a man that was in a wheelchair and he had an

00:17:02.580 --> 00:17:06.559
oxygen tank and he had the mask on and prayed

00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:08.460
for him once and nothing happened. I prayed for

00:17:08.460 --> 00:17:10.420
him again and nothing happened. I'm like, no,

00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:12.480
you don't understand. Like I can see the light

00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:15.400
raining down, like the atmosphere. It's God is

00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:17.680
here. And we prayed the third time. And on the

00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:19.960
third time, I don't know why it took three times,

00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:23.400
but the third time he just takes this huge breath

00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:26.759
and goes. Takes off his mask and he's like, I

00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:29.779
can breathe. I can breathe. Glory to God. Got

00:17:29.779 --> 00:17:33.299
out of his little, you know, the little motorized

00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:36.680
wheelchair and he's walking around and we prayed

00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:39.559
for his knee and he's like giving glory to God

00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:42.240
the whole time. I lit up, you know, I thought

00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:44.759
this whole, like, this is all easy. And that

00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:46.759
really kickstarted a lot of things for me when

00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:49.529
it comes to evangelism too. And what a good thing

00:17:49.529 --> 00:17:51.329
it does in your heart to kind of get your attention

00:17:51.329 --> 00:17:54.750
off of you and just go show love to somebody

00:17:54.750 --> 00:17:58.890
else. And we can make an idol out of a lot of

00:17:58.890 --> 00:18:00.369
things. We can do it out of prayer. We can do

00:18:00.369 --> 00:18:03.049
it out of evangelism. And I definitely did with

00:18:03.049 --> 00:18:07.009
evangelism for a period where you start putting

00:18:07.009 --> 00:18:09.529
ministry above family and other relationships

00:18:09.529 --> 00:18:12.490
and other things. So there was a lot of zeal

00:18:12.490 --> 00:18:18.410
when I was 25 and I'm now 42. I've had a little

00:18:18.410 --> 00:18:22.130
time to temper some of the zeal without wisdom.

00:18:22.210 --> 00:18:24.410
I'm hoping for a little bit more wisdom now.

00:18:24.609 --> 00:18:28.670
There you go. You've had enough experience that

00:18:28.670 --> 00:18:32.109
it has purchased some wisdom in your life. So

00:18:32.109 --> 00:18:35.990
that was my, uh, my intro to the charismatic

00:18:35.990 --> 00:18:41.349
world of having gone from no miracles to speaking

00:18:41.349 --> 00:18:43.230
in tongues, heavenly encounter, seeing people

00:18:43.230 --> 00:18:48.019
healed. And, and then I had a very, uh, tangible

00:18:48.019 --> 00:18:50.740
demonic encounter also i don't know if you want

00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:54.599
to talk about that or not well um the spirit

00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:57.980
realm is real yeah you know both light and dark

00:18:57.980 --> 00:19:01.079
if you think it's going to be edifying for our

00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:06.160
listeners i'll just say that when you have a

00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.720
significant experience like that the enemy is

00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:15.619
not going to just sit idly by and I don't know

00:19:15.619 --> 00:19:18.779
what I expected, you know, cause I, I, you know,

00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:20.880
you come go have this whole heavenly encounter

00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:23.619
and come back and, and I'm thinking like, oh,

00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:25.980
ministry, my ministry is taking off and I'm going

00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:28.740
to go be a minister and you know, all the different,

00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:32.240
different things that are, are connected to some

00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.900
of those expectations. And then to have a significant

00:19:35.900 --> 00:19:38.759
demonic attack, which I would just say, if you

00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:41.180
have an experience with the Lord, oftentimes

00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:44.920
The enemy tries to rob you of either the experience

00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:47.940
or the fruit of the experience. Yeah. Or to make

00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:49.920
you fearful so that you won't go there again.

00:19:50.140 --> 00:19:52.579
Right. Right. So anything to either discourage

00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:55.259
you from the pursuits that you're currently on

00:19:55.259 --> 00:19:59.440
to cause you to forget what God just did or to

00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:01.740
make you fearful of the enemy's attack against

00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:04.619
you or against your family or any of those sorts

00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:07.859
of things. But God is always bigger. Yeah. Yes.

00:20:07.859 --> 00:20:11.039
Amen. Well, Jesus talked about that in the parable

00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.180
of the sower. how the birds would come and eat

00:20:14.180 --> 00:20:17.359
the seed immediately or the weeds would come

00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:20.859
and choke it or, you know, would land on stony

00:20:20.859 --> 00:20:23.440
ground or hard ground that wouldn't produce fruit.

00:20:23.619 --> 00:20:28.119
So, you know, the enemy knows what weaknesses

00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:30.400
we have and what has come down from our family.

00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.980
And he's just always trying to exploit things.

00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:37.759
But like you said, God is greater. Yes. And our

00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:42.210
Father is strategizing for... Everything to get

00:20:42.210 --> 00:20:45.250
us where we need to be in him. Right. Which is

00:20:45.250 --> 00:20:48.109
so wonderful. He's so faithful. He's so kind.

00:20:48.650 --> 00:20:53.329
Wow. So you mentioned a few minutes ago about

00:20:53.329 --> 00:20:58.150
the DVD that you got. And you watched it over

00:20:58.150 --> 00:21:01.589
and over and over. That gave you a burden for

00:21:01.589 --> 00:21:05.130
the persecuted church. Right? Is that how you

00:21:05.130 --> 00:21:08.869
got that burden? Or was there something else

00:21:08.869 --> 00:21:11.150
as well? I don't really know where it started,

00:21:11.289 --> 00:21:15.230
to be honest. So I've got Fox's Book of Martyrs

00:21:15.230 --> 00:21:18.829
behind me. And I remember reading that the first

00:21:18.829 --> 00:21:22.769
time through. I remember just the impression.

00:21:22.769 --> 00:21:28.789
And I think that in the world, when it comes

00:21:28.789 --> 00:21:31.410
to a kingdom, some of the best representatives

00:21:31.410 --> 00:21:36.009
of that kingdom are soldiers. Because those are

00:21:36.009 --> 00:21:39.210
individuals that are... willing to lay down their

00:21:39.210 --> 00:21:42.789
lives for the sake of their nation. So they are

00:21:42.789 --> 00:21:45.650
often of the deepest conviction. Now, it's not

00:21:45.650 --> 00:21:47.930
exclusive, and I wouldn't say they're better

00:21:47.930 --> 00:21:50.529
than a normal civilian or anything else. I'm

00:21:50.529 --> 00:21:54.670
just the willingness to lay everything down for

00:21:54.670 --> 00:21:57.230
the sake of their kingdom. There's an honor that's

00:21:57.230 --> 00:22:00.849
in that. And while we would recognize that when

00:22:00.849 --> 00:22:04.509
it comes to soldiers and a natural nation, how

00:22:04.509 --> 00:22:08.890
much more should it be true for for us as Christians.

00:22:09.190 --> 00:22:13.529
When the example of our faith, Jesus, the one

00:22:13.529 --> 00:22:17.430
that we model our lives after that we're supposed

00:22:17.430 --> 00:22:22.309
to be Christ -like, he laid down his life. And

00:22:22.309 --> 00:22:26.089
I had a friend who was, do you remember the name

00:22:26.089 --> 00:22:31.390
Cassie Bernard? Yes. So I lived in Colorado for

00:22:31.390 --> 00:22:34.789
a few years and had a friend who was close to

00:22:34.789 --> 00:22:38.640
Cassie Bernard. For the sake of our listeners,

00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:41.420
tell who Cassie Bernard is. So I guess this was

00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:45.500
back in 99. Back before we had regular or as

00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:49.359
many school shootings, we had Columbine. And

00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:52.759
the Columbine school shooting, in that school

00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:54.359
shooting, there was one particular individual,

00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:57.900
Cassie Bernard. And she had recently become a

00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:01.240
Christian and had professed that she would be

00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:06.439
willing to die for her faith in her diary. when

00:23:06.439 --> 00:23:09.279
I forget the names of the gunmen, but when they

00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:11.720
held her at gunpoint and they said, do you believe

00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:13.539
in God? And she said, yes. And they shot her.

00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:17.480
Yeah. And so she, she very literally died for

00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:21.279
her faith. Yes. And, and then, you know, working

00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:24.319
with somebody that knew her, it made it that

00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:26.980
much more real because it seems kind of disconnected

00:23:26.980 --> 00:23:30.299
from the nine to five, I guess, American way

00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:34.160
of life. Like it seems very foreign to us. At

00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:36.660
least it did back then. Or maybe this was just

00:23:36.660 --> 00:23:42.140
my own naivety. But now I'm very impressed by

00:23:42.140 --> 00:23:46.460
some of the lives of the 21 martyrs from the

00:23:46.460 --> 00:23:50.319
Eastern Orthodox Coptic Church that were beheaded

00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:54.519
by ISIS for their faith. Which Jonathan Rumi

00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:58.700
did an animated documentary. I'm not sure what

00:23:58.700 --> 00:24:00.900
you would call it. An animated film on it. I

00:24:00.900 --> 00:24:02.700
recommend people watch it. It's called 21 Martyrs.

00:24:03.230 --> 00:24:06.990
And in it, they got testimony from some of the

00:24:06.990 --> 00:24:13.009
ISIS individuals that were involved in the execution

00:24:13.009 --> 00:24:17.130
of the 21 martyrs. And in it, you hear they were

00:24:17.130 --> 00:24:20.309
having visions of giant angels walking with the

00:24:20.309 --> 00:24:25.109
21 martyrs. It was originally 20. There was one

00:24:25.109 --> 00:24:27.650
man who was being held by ISIS for a different

00:24:27.650 --> 00:24:31.490
reason, and they were going to let him go. And

00:24:31.490 --> 00:24:35.900
he said. My faith is the same as theirs. Why

00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:41.759
would I leave? Wow. You know, so stories like

00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:46.160
that where it just, it does something in my heart

00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:48.319
where those are the people that I look up to

00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:52.880
where, you know, we may never know the names

00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:56.279
of, you know, some martyrs that have died on

00:24:56.279 --> 00:25:00.240
mission fields and, and, you know, in horrific

00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:03.480
conditions. And yet. In heaven, they're champions,

00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.960
they're heroes, they're honored for the way that

00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:09.680
they have lived and guarded their faith. And

00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:14.000
even recently, in the past two years, I would

00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:15.559
say the Lord has really started impressing it

00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:18.259
on my heart more and more to be praying for the

00:25:18.259 --> 00:25:21.799
persecuted church. Yes. You know, I'll find myself

00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:27.579
out jogging and I'm not very lean. I use the

00:25:27.579 --> 00:25:32.839
word jogging loosely. I make a jogging motion

00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:37.339
at a walking pace. But while I'm doing that,

00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:40.460
often it's prayer time because it's a way where

00:25:40.460 --> 00:25:44.559
I can kind of disconnect from, and I'm just processing

00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:47.039
with the Lord while I'm desperately trying to

00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:53.099
breathe. But I find myself regularly during those

00:25:53.099 --> 00:25:55.480
times just praying for the persecuted church.

00:25:56.140 --> 00:26:00.660
And it's so easy for us to forget that we have

00:26:00.660 --> 00:26:03.059
brothers and sisters that are in prison. They're

00:26:03.059 --> 00:26:06.059
in horrific conditions in different nations.

00:26:06.059 --> 00:26:10.599
And it feels so foreign to us because we're American,

00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:12.339
because it's not part of our news cycle, because

00:26:12.339 --> 00:26:15.720
of a lot of different reasons. And yet we're

00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:19.579
instructed to pray for them. Yes. So those are

00:26:19.579 --> 00:26:23.769
the lives that I'm most impressed by. I think

00:26:23.769 --> 00:26:25.670
as missionaries, it's something that we should

00:26:25.670 --> 00:26:29.829
have that almost as a goal. I feel like it's

00:26:29.829 --> 00:26:32.369
a goal. I feel like that was a goal that Paul

00:26:32.369 --> 00:26:36.869
was aiming towards. He was aiming his life towards,

00:26:37.009 --> 00:26:41.789
this is how it's going to end for me. For me

00:26:41.789 --> 00:26:45.130
to live as Christ, to die as gain. He was aware

00:26:45.130 --> 00:26:49.210
of what he was going towards in his end. God

00:26:49.210 --> 00:26:51.940
showed him the things that he would suffer. Yeah.

00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:55.519
And it wasn't like God was trying to talk him

00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:57.880
out of a job description. There was something

00:26:57.880 --> 00:27:03.380
in that that was part of what he was created

00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:05.819
for. There's something in it where it's part

00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:08.259
of what we're meant to fulfill, where the message

00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:11.440
that we carry has to be tested. And if it's never

00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:13.839
tested, then how much do we really believe the

00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:18.720
message? Right. Right. Yeah. You know, I was

00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:23.220
first attracted to this ministry when our founders,

00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:27.660
Sister Gwen Shaw and at the time, Siggy Oblander

00:27:27.660 --> 00:27:31.319
and others, Sister Gwen's husband, they were

00:27:31.319 --> 00:27:34.480
Bible smugglers behind the Iron Curtain. And

00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:37.559
the first time, I think it was the first time

00:27:37.559 --> 00:27:40.380
I actually heard Sister Gwen, she was talking

00:27:40.380 --> 00:27:43.099
about, you know, behind the Iron Curtain was

00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:46.839
the thing. back there in the 70s, where we didn't

00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:48.720
even know what was going on in China in those

00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:51.380
days. There was no news coming out of China.

00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:55.319
But she was bringing stories of, for instance,

00:27:55.400 --> 00:28:00.480
there was a family that every time the mother

00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:04.299
would go into labor and go to the hospital, the

00:28:04.299 --> 00:28:08.519
communist doctors would, I don't know, pierce

00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:10.559
the eardrums of the children so that they would

00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:14.160
never hear the gospel. I mean, that's... That's

00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:19.200
awful. And the story of Vanya, there's a book

00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:22.839
out there named Vanya, V -A -N -Y -A, where this

00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:26.640
young man was serving in the Russian army or

00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:30.380
Soviet army somehow. And the persecution that

00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:33.380
he was going through as a Christian, they sent

00:28:33.380 --> 00:28:36.720
him out to stand on guard in the winter in his

00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:39.400
summer uniform. I mean, they were trying to kill

00:28:39.400 --> 00:28:43.730
him. All kinds of stories like that. And so,

00:28:43.789 --> 00:28:47.710
you know, that was part of my upbringing really

00:28:47.710 --> 00:28:50.869
in the things of God. I was probably 17 when

00:28:50.869 --> 00:28:55.089
I heard those stories. And it was like, oh, you

00:28:55.089 --> 00:28:58.869
know, if he's worth living for, he's worth dying

00:28:58.869 --> 00:29:02.690
for. He's worth everything. And then after I

00:29:02.690 --> 00:29:05.529
had already. you know, gotten that mindset myself.

00:29:05.710 --> 00:29:07.910
Years later, I would have these conversations

00:29:07.910 --> 00:29:10.950
with my dad and my dad was a missionary. My parents

00:29:10.950 --> 00:29:13.269
were missionaries in India. That's why I was

00:29:13.269 --> 00:29:16.230
born there. So dad would talk about his heroes.

00:29:16.950 --> 00:29:20.390
Were those missionaries in, where the missionaries

00:29:20.390 --> 00:29:24.369
were killed by the Ecuador. Thank you. It was

00:29:24.369 --> 00:29:27.230
like all these other nations were. Yeah. Yeah.

00:29:27.230 --> 00:29:32.390
Yeah. Nate Saint and Elliot. Yeah. Jim Elliot.

00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:38.220
Those men were my dad's heroes. And he talked

00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:42.859
about this doctor in the Congo, missionary doctor.

00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:46.920
He sent his family home, but he stayed to be

00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:50.299
there to take care of the people who were suffering,

00:29:50.420 --> 00:29:53.319
and he was martyred. And so these people were

00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:57.900
my dad's heroes. So, you know, I've got kind

00:29:57.900 --> 00:30:01.390
of that similar mindset about... If Jesus is

00:30:01.390 --> 00:30:04.349
worth living for, he's worth dying for. And I

00:30:04.349 --> 00:30:07.349
love what Dean said, and he said it on your podcast,

00:30:07.589 --> 00:30:11.369
I think, but he said it with us where, you know,

00:30:11.369 --> 00:30:14.829
Jesus died our death for us. Yeah. So in that

00:30:14.829 --> 00:30:18.809
moment when they think they're taking your life,

00:30:18.930 --> 00:30:22.190
God takes your spirit out of you before they

00:30:22.190 --> 00:30:24.529
can do that. They're just, all they're doing

00:30:24.529 --> 00:30:26.450
is harming the body, but your spirit's already

00:30:26.450 --> 00:30:30.859
gone. Right. It's amazing. It's amazing. But

00:30:30.859 --> 00:30:36.940
God is doing things, you know, we can't live

00:30:36.940 --> 00:30:42.720
our lives in some kind of a fantasy world of,

00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:46.759
you know, I think sometimes our American way

00:30:46.759 --> 00:30:51.079
is really more of a fantasy than the reality

00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:54.980
of living for Jesus and being willing to lay

00:30:54.980 --> 00:30:58.880
everything down for Jesus. Right. Yeah. I think

00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:02.599
in a lot of ways. what we have called Christianity

00:31:02.599 --> 00:31:08.759
is really only part of the story. And there's

00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:11.079
certain messages that if we're really honest

00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:13.059
with ourselves, there's messages that we don't

00:31:13.059 --> 00:31:16.000
preach because it means that people aren't going

00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:18.180
to say amen. There's message that we won't preach.

00:31:19.019 --> 00:31:22.720
We won't preach certain messages because it means

00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:25.339
that tithing will go down and giving will go

00:31:25.339 --> 00:31:30.549
down. generally we've lost the message on suffering.

00:31:31.049 --> 00:31:33.470
We've stopped the way of the cross even, which

00:31:33.470 --> 00:31:36.910
the way of the cross is suffering. Exactly. And

00:31:36.910 --> 00:31:39.430
I think it's because of the messages that we

00:31:39.430 --> 00:31:42.950
have been unwilling to preach for various reasons

00:31:42.950 --> 00:31:47.490
that it skews the perception. And it doesn't

00:31:47.490 --> 00:31:49.670
mean that what we've emphasized is wrong, like

00:31:49.670 --> 00:31:52.849
prosperity, for example. People will rail against

00:31:52.849 --> 00:31:56.200
the word prosper or prosperity. Words in the

00:31:56.200 --> 00:31:59.900
Bible, you know, prospering, being good health,

00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:02.519
health is your soul prospers. Like that's a lot

00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:05.299
of prospering right there. But the problem is

00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:07.960
when you emphasize one truth at the expense of

00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:11.920
other truth, you know, where, you know, where

00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:15.059
we say prosperity and everything has to be prosperity.

00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:16.819
So if you're not prospering, then you're not

00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:19.299
really living a Christian life. You know, we've

00:32:19.299 --> 00:32:21.920
overemphasized one truth at the expense of another.

00:32:22.939 --> 00:32:25.099
Paul says he knew what it was to be content,

00:32:25.220 --> 00:32:26.720
whether he had a lot or whether he had little.

00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:31.140
Very true. And contentment flies in the face

00:32:31.140 --> 00:32:35.019
of overemphasizing prosperity. Yeah, and I remember

00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:38.500
one of our former pastors at the little church

00:32:38.500 --> 00:32:41.420
in Jasper says, well, Jesus didn't, he borrowed

00:32:41.420 --> 00:32:43.299
everything. I mean, he borrowed a boat, he borrowed

00:32:43.299 --> 00:32:48.880
a grave, you know. He did. Well, you know, I

00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:52.349
thought, okay, you know. That doesn't sound like

00:32:52.349 --> 00:32:54.970
the prosperity message, you know. Well, Paul

00:32:54.970 --> 00:32:57.589
said godliness with contentment is great gain.

00:32:57.950 --> 00:33:00.750
Well, what about that scripture? I think it's

00:33:00.750 --> 00:33:04.369
in Peter. Yeah, it's in Peter. Be content with

00:33:04.369 --> 00:33:08.029
what you have. Yeah. You never hear that very

00:33:08.029 --> 00:33:11.549
much. No. Because nobody's, unless where you're

00:33:11.549 --> 00:33:15.250
really living in Jesus, where you're really content.

00:33:15.829 --> 00:33:19.089
But if you're not, you want. more of this, more

00:33:19.089 --> 00:33:22.089
of that, you know, it's just like, if it doesn't,

00:33:22.089 --> 00:33:25.269
it doesn't tend. Yeah. And I think we don't hear

00:33:25.269 --> 00:33:30.470
enough sermons on covetousness, you know, that

00:33:30.470 --> 00:33:33.930
it's the 10th of the big 10, you know, the 10

00:33:33.930 --> 00:33:36.150
commandments, it's the 10th. So it's kind of

00:33:36.150 --> 00:33:40.150
like, it's very important. It's, it's the last

00:33:40.150 --> 00:33:44.279
word, don't covet. So if you don't covet, you're

00:33:44.279 --> 00:33:46.660
not going to have problems with the root of all

00:33:46.660 --> 00:33:50.740
evil, which is the love of money. Loving money,

00:33:50.920 --> 00:33:54.940
loving stuff, wanting stuff that doesn't belong

00:33:54.940 --> 00:33:57.799
to you. A lot of these things that are other

00:33:57.799 --> 00:34:02.640
commandments, like not committing adultery, if

00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:05.019
you would start with, don't covet your neighbor's

00:34:05.019 --> 00:34:09.840
wife, you'd never commit adultery. You wouldn't

00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:13.619
steal all those things. I think you hit the nail

00:34:13.619 --> 00:34:15.860
on the head. I think that in a lot of ways, in

00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:18.360
society, it's not uncommon to hear people say

00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:21.460
things like, well, I just want it, or the heart

00:34:21.460 --> 00:34:27.000
wants what it wants, or these kind of analogous

00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:29.840
terms that lose their meaning when they're used

00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:32.039
in that way. But if you break it down, really

00:34:32.039 --> 00:34:34.000
what people are saying is, I have this desire,

00:34:34.300 --> 00:34:38.480
therefore you can't tell me I'm wrong. And that's

00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:44.559
not biblical. No. And there are Christians that

00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:47.280
will do that too. They'll say, well, God gave

00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:50.460
me all these desires. And there are desires that

00:34:50.460 --> 00:34:53.679
God gives you, and there's desires that you cultivate

00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:57.420
yourself. Yeah, right. It sure sounds like the

00:34:57.420 --> 00:35:01.199
flesh. We will pray God guard our hearts, but

00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:05.019
really he said for you to guard it. And that

00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:06.880
means it's my responsibility. And even in the

00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:09.079
verse that you mentioned of don't commit adultery,

00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:11.880
in Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, if you

00:35:11.880 --> 00:35:13.800
look at a woman with lust, you've committed adultery

00:35:13.800 --> 00:35:18.400
in your heart, which means that you're responsible

00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:22.340
for stewarding your desires. What you allow yourself

00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:27.219
to desire is a reality that's worthy of judgment.

00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:32.960
And I'm not saying it's on the same plane as...

00:35:33.190 --> 00:35:35.889
living out that desire. But at the same time,

00:35:35.949 --> 00:35:37.909
it doesn't mean that you, the way that you stop

00:35:37.909 --> 00:35:41.309
the issues that we're having in the church today

00:35:41.309 --> 00:35:44.309
is get to the root of the thing. And the root

00:35:44.309 --> 00:35:47.130
of the thing isn't the action. It's why aren't

00:35:47.130 --> 00:35:49.530
we stewarding our hearts and allowing desires

00:35:49.530 --> 00:35:54.550
to just run amok? And we haven't done a very

00:35:54.550 --> 00:35:57.550
good job of fully yielding those parts of our

00:35:57.550 --> 00:36:01.139
heart to the Lord. Yeah, it's like that. I tried

00:36:01.139 --> 00:36:03.599
to find the exact scripture. Couldn't. The eye

00:36:03.599 --> 00:36:06.320
is the window of the soul. There's maybe it's

00:36:06.320 --> 00:36:08.840
another trend. You know, there's something, something

00:36:08.840 --> 00:36:12.099
somewhere kind of relates to that. Sermon on

00:36:12.099 --> 00:36:13.860
the Mount, isn't it? Yeah, it sounds like that.

00:36:13.900 --> 00:36:15.659
If your eye be single, I think. If your eye be

00:36:15.659 --> 00:36:17.480
single, your whole body will be filled with light.

00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:19.860
And if that light that is in you is darkness,

00:36:20.099 --> 00:36:23.239
then how great is that darkness? Yeah, that's

00:36:23.239 --> 00:36:26.119
where that probably comes from. And Steve Green

00:36:26.119 --> 00:36:29.039
did a song a long time ago. You know, it starts

00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:32.130
out with the little, Rhyme, you know, be careful

00:36:32.130 --> 00:36:34.090
little eyes what you see, you know, the father

00:36:34.090 --> 00:36:38.989
up above is looking down at love. And the song

00:36:38.989 --> 00:36:42.150
was Guard Your Heart. And one of the lines in

00:36:42.150 --> 00:36:44.929
that that I've always remembered was feelings

00:36:44.929 --> 00:36:48.909
that should never have been awakened within tearing

00:36:48.909 --> 00:36:53.670
the heart in two. I thought that is so powerful

00:36:53.670 --> 00:36:56.539
because that's. With things that haven't been

00:36:56.539 --> 00:36:59.860
dealt with, especially adultery and things like

00:36:59.860 --> 00:37:02.820
that, you know, things you see or, you know,

00:37:02.820 --> 00:37:06.139
it's just. You just have to, you have to realize

00:37:06.139 --> 00:37:10.099
that these things are traps. Yeah. It's your

00:37:10.099 --> 00:37:13.659
eye gate. That's another term that's not worded

00:37:13.659 --> 00:37:16.460
that way in scripture anywhere. But it is a gate.

00:37:16.500 --> 00:37:19.239
It is a gate. Yeah. Your eye gate. It's a gate

00:37:19.239 --> 00:37:23.380
to your soul. And you have to learn. that these

00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:26.840
are traps that if you step on that triggers,

00:37:26.900 --> 00:37:28.900
not the word, what do you call that part of the

00:37:28.900 --> 00:37:32.079
trap that makes it snap? The snare, the trap

00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:35.519
door. The snare, whatever. Yeah. It's a trigger,

00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:38.159
maybe the word, but when you trip it, when you

00:37:38.159 --> 00:37:41.239
trip that trigger, you're in trouble and you're

00:37:41.239 --> 00:37:44.679
trapped, you're trapped. But if we can just get

00:37:44.679 --> 00:37:50.210
the picture that. We can also set traps of the

00:37:50.210 --> 00:37:53.889
blood of Jesus over our minds and over our eyes

00:37:53.889 --> 00:37:56.050
and over our ears and over the things that have

00:37:56.050 --> 00:37:58.230
to do with our soul so that when one of those

00:37:58.230 --> 00:38:02.869
stray thoughts comes in, bam, set that trap on

00:38:02.869 --> 00:38:08.710
it. Just snare it and get it out. Sometimes I've

00:38:08.710 --> 00:38:12.070
found myself saying, instead of running away

00:38:12.070 --> 00:38:14.429
from God when you find a wrong thought in your

00:38:14.429 --> 00:38:18.269
head. Grab a hold of that thing and drag it to

00:38:18.269 --> 00:38:20.650
his feet and say, look at this thing that came

00:38:20.650 --> 00:38:23.769
to attack me. I bring it to your feet, Jesus.

00:38:24.170 --> 00:38:28.789
And, you know, you become or I become the one

00:38:28.789 --> 00:38:34.269
that is like the hunter to get rid of these things

00:38:34.269 --> 00:38:37.389
that don't belong in my life. I remember our

00:38:37.389 --> 00:38:41.750
pastor years ago, Pastor Hunt. He was living

00:38:41.750 --> 00:38:44.389
in a... place kind of really out in the woods.

00:38:44.469 --> 00:38:47.190
It was real, real out in the woods. And one day

00:38:47.190 --> 00:38:52.210
he found a snake in his living room and it slithered

00:38:52.210 --> 00:38:57.090
behind the couch. And he was absolutely determined

00:38:57.090 --> 00:38:59.590
that he was going to deal with that thing and

00:38:59.590 --> 00:39:02.250
get it out of his house. And he was telling the

00:39:02.250 --> 00:39:05.190
story to a friend of his. And this friend said,

00:39:05.349 --> 00:39:07.610
yeah, that's how we need to be about dealing

00:39:07.610 --> 00:39:10.920
with sin. That you're not going to let that thing

00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:12.980
hide behind your couch. You're not going to let

00:39:12.980 --> 00:39:16.639
it live anywhere in you. You're going to follow

00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:20.840
it through until it is dealt with. And, you know,

00:39:20.860 --> 00:39:23.059
the more we get in the habit of dealing with

00:39:23.059 --> 00:39:25.980
those things, you know, that the thing pops into

00:39:25.980 --> 00:39:29.179
your head, uh -uh, no, you can't live in me like

00:39:29.179 --> 00:39:33.800
that. I refuse to give place to that. You know,

00:39:33.800 --> 00:39:36.079
cause if, if you just hide it, if you hide it

00:39:36.079 --> 00:39:38.360
under a bushel, if you sweep it under the rug,

00:39:38.480 --> 00:39:41.280
now I can't see it. Right. But if it's under

00:39:41.280 --> 00:39:44.019
the rug, it's still there. Yeah. Well, and I

00:39:44.019 --> 00:39:47.719
think it's become more important and I'm not

00:39:47.719 --> 00:39:49.739
saying it wasn't important, you know, a couple

00:39:49.739 --> 00:39:52.960
of generations ago. I just, if you look at the

00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:55.659
way that the internet has affected our daily

00:39:55.659 --> 00:40:01.019
living and how much access the world has to your

00:40:01.019 --> 00:40:06.349
thought life. It has increased our necessity

00:40:06.349 --> 00:40:11.690
for discipline and maintaining our own healthy

00:40:11.690 --> 00:40:15.750
inner spiritual life. Because if you just let

00:40:15.750 --> 00:40:19.130
it go, it's not like prior to the invention of

00:40:19.130 --> 00:40:22.449
television, if you had an undisciplined thought

00:40:22.449 --> 00:40:26.150
life, you weren't inundated with worldly things.

00:40:26.599 --> 00:40:28.940
And now we have, if you have an undisciplined

00:40:28.940 --> 00:40:31.260
thought life and you're on social media, you're

00:40:31.260 --> 00:40:34.199
going to be bombarded with things. I've done

00:40:34.199 --> 00:40:36.519
a couple of different episodes on this particularly,

00:40:36.639 --> 00:40:39.360
but last year a Barna Group study came out and

00:40:39.360 --> 00:40:44.860
it was on the prevalence of adult content viewing.

00:40:44.980 --> 00:40:47.059
I'm trying to be sensitive to wherever this podcast

00:40:47.059 --> 00:40:52.699
goes out so you don't get censored. The percentage

00:40:52.699 --> 00:40:58.039
of pastors. that were viewing adult content.

00:40:58.519 --> 00:41:00.679
I'm going to botch the number, but it was over

00:41:00.679 --> 00:41:05.239
50%. I want to say it was over 60 % that were

00:41:05.239 --> 00:41:10.699
actively dealing with it. And if that's the percentage

00:41:10.699 --> 00:41:14.639
number for pastors, how much more for everyone

00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:18.880
else? It's exceedingly uncommon to find teenage

00:41:18.880 --> 00:41:21.440
boys that have not seen that type of thing by

00:41:21.440 --> 00:41:26.130
the time they're 18, 19 years old. So the need

00:41:26.130 --> 00:41:31.010
for internal censorship to protect our own souls

00:41:31.010 --> 00:41:36.269
has gone up. And yet we have been inundated by

00:41:36.269 --> 00:41:38.269
the world in such a way where we constantly feel

00:41:38.269 --> 00:41:40.670
subject to the environment around us. And the

00:41:40.670 --> 00:41:44.150
only solution is to discipline your own soul.

00:41:44.809 --> 00:41:49.690
And I love the verse in Psalms where, I think

00:41:49.690 --> 00:41:54.099
it's Psalms 131. David says, I weaned my soul

00:41:54.099 --> 00:41:58.119
like a baby within me. That he actually disciplined

00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:01.940
his own soul in such a way. Weaning is that process

00:42:01.940 --> 00:42:04.940
of disciplining a child from breastfeeding into

00:42:04.940 --> 00:42:09.179
a form of independence. And it's a maturing process.

00:42:09.760 --> 00:42:13.179
And one of the things that I've personally found

00:42:13.179 --> 00:42:17.219
to be beneficial that is unpopular from a worldview

00:42:17.219 --> 00:42:20.039
and is kind of uncommon even in Christian practice

00:42:20.039 --> 00:42:24.710
is Just taking time every day to sit in the Lord's

00:42:24.710 --> 00:42:29.809
presence in silence without your phone. I get

00:42:29.809 --> 00:42:31.550
it if you got to have music and stuff like that,

00:42:31.650 --> 00:42:34.309
but trying to do it without gimmicks, and I'm

00:42:34.309 --> 00:42:36.550
not saying that worship is a gimmick, but I feel

00:42:36.550 --> 00:42:39.269
like we often have excuses for bringing the world

00:42:39.269 --> 00:42:43.150
into the prayer closet. Well, I need it for my

00:42:43.150 --> 00:42:45.510
notes. I need it for my music. I need it for

00:42:45.510 --> 00:42:47.489
my this. And if you do, that's fine. I'm not

00:42:47.489 --> 00:42:49.289
pronouncing a judgment. I'm just saying for me.

00:42:50.250 --> 00:42:53.130
It helps to have time where I'm just, it's the

00:42:53.130 --> 00:42:56.349
simplicity of quiet with the Lord. I'm not trying

00:42:56.349 --> 00:42:58.530
to say something and I'm not trying to get an

00:42:58.530 --> 00:43:02.369
answer for something. And I've found for myself,

00:43:02.429 --> 00:43:04.869
if it's been a while since I've practiced that,

00:43:04.969 --> 00:43:08.269
my mind goes all over the place. And it's not

00:43:08.269 --> 00:43:11.250
because I'm particularly undisciplined in my

00:43:11.250 --> 00:43:14.329
thought life. You know, I'm on the phone for

00:43:14.329 --> 00:43:17.070
work and internet and podcasts and all these

00:43:17.070 --> 00:43:19.530
things. So you train your mind to be constantly

00:43:19.530 --> 00:43:24.230
requiring stimulus. And that starts to have an

00:43:24.230 --> 00:43:26.070
effect, you know, your souls, your mind, will

00:43:26.070 --> 00:43:28.010
and emotions. It starts to have an effect on

00:43:28.010 --> 00:43:30.230
your internal life. But if we can get our souls

00:43:30.230 --> 00:43:35.210
to be quiet and still, then we recognize any

00:43:35.210 --> 00:43:38.139
other voice a lot faster. I can't say that it's

00:43:38.139 --> 00:43:41.079
the solution for everything, but it shuts down

00:43:41.079 --> 00:43:43.280
a lot of the different points of access that

00:43:43.280 --> 00:43:47.400
the busyness of having a connected life seems

00:43:47.400 --> 00:43:52.000
to cause. Yeah. What is the normal attention

00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:55.260
span for those that are watching TV? It's like

00:43:55.260 --> 00:43:58.099
you have so much, then you have a commercial.

00:43:58.739 --> 00:44:01.960
Yeah. And it's getting shorter. With TikTok,

00:44:02.059 --> 00:44:05.739
I think it's under 15 seconds. Oh, is it that

00:44:05.739 --> 00:44:08.800
low? Come on. Whoa. I think so. And that depends

00:44:08.800 --> 00:44:11.300
on what you're viewing. You know, for example,

00:44:11.400 --> 00:44:14.639
podcast listeners typically listen longer because

00:44:14.639 --> 00:44:16.719
they're doing it while they're, it's a passive

00:44:16.719 --> 00:44:19.639
activity. They're listening while they're doing

00:44:19.639 --> 00:44:23.900
something else. TikTok in particular, you know,

00:44:23.900 --> 00:44:28.199
it's very short clips. They have reels and, you

00:44:28.199 --> 00:44:29.900
know, all the different shorts and things like

00:44:29.900 --> 00:44:32.679
that, which are under 30 seconds. And they're

00:44:32.679 --> 00:44:35.099
under 30 seconds because. Attention spans are

00:44:35.099 --> 00:44:39.699
generally under 30 seconds. Wow. That's scary.

00:44:40.260 --> 00:44:42.840
That's scary. You know what you were saying about

00:44:42.840 --> 00:44:48.340
just being quiet? One of the key scriptures for

00:44:48.340 --> 00:44:51.159
me, and I even used it in the title of my little

00:44:51.159 --> 00:44:55.400
devotional book, Isaiah 30, 15 says, For thus

00:44:55.400 --> 00:44:58.820
says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, In

00:44:58.820 --> 00:45:03.460
returning and rest shall you be saved. In quietness

00:45:03.460 --> 00:45:06.719
and in confidence shall be your strength. And

00:45:06.719 --> 00:45:09.639
we usually stop quoting there. But the rest of

00:45:09.639 --> 00:45:14.840
the verse is, and you would not. That's one of

00:45:14.840 --> 00:45:17.719
the saddest verses in the Bible to me. That,

00:45:17.719 --> 00:45:21.500
you know, here's how you can do it. Just be quiet.

00:45:22.659 --> 00:45:27.940
But you wouldn't. And I find I have to reel myself

00:45:27.940 --> 00:45:32.239
in. Yeah. So that I can stop and take that time.

00:45:32.239 --> 00:45:34.780
Especially if you wake up later in the morning.

00:45:35.019 --> 00:45:37.340
Yeah, yeah. You know, that makes it more, like

00:45:37.340 --> 00:45:39.719
if you're able to get to bed early enough, you

00:45:39.719 --> 00:45:42.860
get up before the sun gets up. But as soon as

00:45:42.860 --> 00:45:46.039
time gets later, you know, you're responsible.

00:45:46.079 --> 00:45:48.559
There's somebody who's looking for this or that

00:45:48.559 --> 00:45:52.079
or, you know, and it's just, you know, try to

00:45:52.079 --> 00:45:55.460
go to bed early to get up early. Yes, it's true.

00:45:55.699 --> 00:45:59.000
Yeah, that's my. That's in our house. That seems

00:45:59.000 --> 00:46:01.519
to be the, you know, when you're a full -time

00:46:01.519 --> 00:46:04.840
ministry, there's all these, you know, things

00:46:04.840 --> 00:46:07.199
when there's a limited amount of time to do things.

00:46:07.599 --> 00:46:11.699
And it's just, you have to really fight sometimes

00:46:11.699 --> 00:46:15.920
to make time. It's true. It's true. And beyond

00:46:15.920 --> 00:46:20.780
that, it's cultivating the presence of God, regardless

00:46:20.780 --> 00:46:23.079
of what you're doing, practicing his presence.

00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:27.750
That even when you're doing other stuff. That

00:46:27.750 --> 00:46:31.989
you actively work on remaining aware of him.

00:46:32.210 --> 00:46:37.250
Yeah, I try to do that while weed eating. Yep.

00:46:40.309 --> 00:46:43.590
Well, Jeff, this has been really good. Would

00:46:43.590 --> 00:46:48.869
you pray for our listeners? Nope. I guess you

00:46:48.869 --> 00:46:54.869
would. Just kidding. Just kidding. Of course.

00:46:56.279 --> 00:46:59.199
Well, Heavenly Father, first I just thank you

00:46:59.199 --> 00:47:01.980
for Sharon and Phillip, Lord, for their heart

00:47:01.980 --> 00:47:06.719
for you and how they've been faithful. Lord,

00:47:06.780 --> 00:47:08.219
how they've been faithful even when no one is

00:47:08.219 --> 00:47:09.840
looking. And God, I pray that you would bless

00:47:09.840 --> 00:47:12.860
them and bless their podcast, bless their ministry.

00:47:12.980 --> 00:47:15.500
Lord, we thank you for divine connection and

00:47:15.500 --> 00:47:18.280
relationship. And I pray that you would continue

00:47:18.280 --> 00:47:21.360
to strengthen those. I pray that you would strengthen

00:47:21.360 --> 00:47:24.960
them in their calling. God, I pray for every

00:47:24.960 --> 00:47:30.139
listener. Lord, those that have been faithful

00:47:30.139 --> 00:47:32.239
in hidden places, God, I pray that you would

00:47:32.239 --> 00:47:35.139
continue to strengthen them. Lord, I thank you

00:47:35.139 --> 00:47:38.639
for every encounter that you've given me. God,

00:47:38.679 --> 00:47:41.760
I pray that you would release those types of

00:47:41.760 --> 00:47:44.179
encounters to your listeners. Lord, to those

00:47:44.179 --> 00:47:46.719
that are listening right now that are just hungry

00:47:46.719 --> 00:47:49.800
for you, Father. Lord, you know what they need.

00:47:49.840 --> 00:47:51.840
You know what the encounters they need, the experiences

00:47:51.840 --> 00:47:55.219
they need. God, I pray that you would move powerfully,

00:47:55.300 --> 00:47:59.699
stir the hearts of your people. And Father, we

00:47:59.699 --> 00:48:03.539
lift up the persecuted church. Yes. For those

00:48:03.539 --> 00:48:06.340
that are suffering in hiddenness and hidden places

00:48:06.340 --> 00:48:12.119
that are choosing not to surrender because of

00:48:12.119 --> 00:48:15.119
your name. Yes, Lord. Lord, those that are held

00:48:15.119 --> 00:48:17.179
in high esteem in heaven, I pray that you would

00:48:17.179 --> 00:48:20.130
strengthen them. in their inner man. Strengthen

00:48:20.130 --> 00:48:22.690
them, Lord, even in their bodies, Lord, in the

00:48:22.690 --> 00:48:24.949
places of difficulty. I pray that your presence

00:48:24.949 --> 00:48:28.929
would be powerfully overshadowing them. Yes,

00:48:28.929 --> 00:48:30.969
Father. Father, I pray that you send supernatural

00:48:30.969 --> 00:48:34.929
help. Send angels to minister to them. God, in

00:48:34.929 --> 00:48:38.550
the same way as you send angels to Peter to deliver

00:48:38.550 --> 00:48:41.690
him out of bondage, I pray that similar stories

00:48:41.690 --> 00:48:46.150
would start happening right now. Yes, Lord. Thank

00:48:46.150 --> 00:48:49.579
you, Father. Lord, we thank you for our brothers

00:48:49.579 --> 00:48:54.320
and sisters that are paying a high price for

00:48:54.320 --> 00:48:59.880
your name. God, I pray that your name would continue

00:48:59.880 --> 00:49:04.139
to resonate, even in dark places, that the gospel

00:49:04.139 --> 00:49:07.820
would be proclaimed. Father, I pray that for

00:49:07.820 --> 00:49:10.219
the church that feels distant and disconnected

00:49:10.219 --> 00:49:12.860
from those realities, God, I pray that you would

00:49:12.860 --> 00:49:16.860
refine us in such a way. that our faith would

00:49:16.860 --> 00:49:20.880
shine like gold. Yes, Lord. We thank you for

00:49:20.880 --> 00:49:25.059
how loving you are, for how kind you are. Yes.

00:49:25.139 --> 00:49:30.500
For we bless you and worship you. In Jesus' name,

00:49:30.599 --> 00:49:41.000
amen. Amen. If you enjoyed today's podcast, Please

00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:43.920
subscribe, rate, and review this podcast on Apple

00:49:43.920 --> 00:49:46.019
Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

00:49:46.579 --> 00:49:49.519
Your review helps the podcasting platform suggest

00:49:49.519 --> 00:49:52.159
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00:49:52.159 --> 00:49:54.460
looking for a great move of the Holy Spirit.

00:49:54.800 --> 00:49:57.480
Check out our website at globaloutpouring .org

00:49:57.480 --> 00:50:00.300
to find out more information, read our blogs,

00:50:00.440 --> 00:50:03.300
connect with us, and donate. You can also browse

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our web store for life -changing anointed books.

00:50:06.239 --> 00:50:09.699
Until next time, this is Sharon Buss. And I'm

00:50:09.699 --> 00:50:12.389
Philip Buss. God bless you with His overwhelming,

00:50:12.590 --> 00:50:13.630
loving presence.