Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign to another episode of the Jonathan Project podcast where iron is sharpening iron and we help men navigate the complex world around them by taking the biblical example of Jonathan and his good friend David and future king as the inspiration for this show. If you want me and Jason to come out to a men's event that you're having, we please reach out to us at the Jonathan Project podcast gmail.com. again, the Jonathan Project podcast gmail.com we also have a free men's devotional. That's right, 28 days of free goodness that can help you build your relationship with God. And those around you will have all that information and our links. Jason, welcome to another episode of the Jonathan Project podcast with me. Man, how are you doing today?
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Hey brother, welcome. For everybody out there that doesn't realize this, my man here has been up since 6am after getting in bed at 2am that's right. Quality four hour sleep.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: That's right.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: Greatly appreciate you returning from vacation and being instead for the kingdom. So man, that's all right.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: You know what, that's what we do for each other because the week prior folks don't know this, we doubled up on the episode because you had to travel out of the country. And I've, we went on a short vacation to our North American cousins to the north in Canadia and for all our good Canada fans out there listening. Lovely, beautiful country glorifying God's creation there. That is for sure. There's some, some beautiful stretches of wilderness out there. But in any case, the travel, the logistics, the logistics were not sleep friendly. I'll just leave it at that. So there we are.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: Never is like the lady at work that informed me, she goes, she asked me how, you know, I travel so much with the military. She goes, I say it is a little rough. She goes, how do you sleep? And basically she's like, I don't stretch or sleep in strange places. And I'm like, I absolutely don't either. You know, like it's, it's the worst.
[00:02:10] Speaker A: And that's the problem. Right? And that is. There is the problem.
But that's not what we're going to talk about today. We actually got a good one to talk about. Huge day. I'm, I'm excited. I was sitting in the airport and I was for the audience and I was, I knew that we had to do the show tonight. We got back so you could get this fresh and on schedule on Tuesday. As you're listening to us talk on your way to your commuter, wherever you may be on this fine Tuesday morning.
But I was reaching out to Jason, like, hey, man, what about this idea? As I was studying my Bible in a. In a little space there at the airport?
And I was like, hey, have you ever had that thing where you had to say yes to God when you, you know, you wanted to say no and laid it out for him? He thought it was a good idea. So. So, Jason, what. What did you kind of center your thoughts on around this topic today? Saying yes to God, even when you still want to say no?
[00:03:02] Speaker B: Well, what I wanted to do. What. When I saw this story in Acts, you know, about Ananias.
[00:03:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: And Saul, I wanted to read the backstory. It's interesting because in my Bible studies, I'm in the Book of Acts. Like, I just got into it.
I just got to the story about another Ananias. Right.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: And. But is, as the story unfolds, the way it begins? It begins with Stephen, and it actually begins before that in Acts 6, where the Grecians, there's some grumbling in the church, and basically they are grumbling to the Jews about, hey, we're not. Our widows are not being taken care of.
So the disciples decide to anoint the first set of deacons, the first set of people, Right.
And they're going to be servants. And there was one of those, that was Stephen. And if you follow along, in Acts 6, 8, 11, Stephen was full of faith, is what the Scripture says, and power. He said he did miracles.
And the synagogue of the libertines, which was Roman Jews who were freed, the Cyrenians and the Alexandrians rose up against him, but they couldn't resist his wisdom and spirit. So he was. He was absolutely anointed and he was. He was taking it to him. Right.
And so what did they do in the King James? They says they suborned men. And I had to look that up.
[00:04:26] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a fancy word. That's a big word.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: It's a word.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: Take that as disrespect.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: It exceeded my third grade education.
And it's basically they secretly bribed or influenced people to give a false testimony, to lie against him, and to say that he spoke a blasphemy. And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and brought him to count counsel. You know, I think we've heard that tin played before, just a couple of chapters earlier. Right.
And as he stands before the high priest, again, kind of a lot of similarities.
Stephen speaks unlike, you know, when Jesus is there, he's just quiet.
[00:05:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: Stephen speaks. And what I love is he paints a pretty good picture historically, highlighting how envy and stubbornness had spurred them to resist the Holy Spirit. He goes as far back as Abraham.
So when we kind of get into the story, it's kind of relevant.
[00:05:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: So here's Stephen taking it to him. Oh, you want to have a debate? I got the Holy Spirit on my side. Let's have a debate.
And so he starts out and goes, hey, you know, he gets in there and Abraham's, you know, explained how he didn't get any inheritance from his relative. He moves on to Joseph, whose brothers, the patriarchs sold him into slavery out of envy. And then it says he speaks on. He goes on about this and talks about how Moses, the people first rejected Moses, by the way, the guy that wrote the first five books. You're such a stubborn people. You rejected Moses.
And he tells them about this. And he also mentions how God is going to raise up a prophet and they would reject him. And he continues on, and then he lets them have it. He calls them stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and tells them they resist the Holy Ghost like their fathers did, and calls them murderers and, and betrayers. And at that point, they stone him.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:06:28] Speaker B: And when they stone him, they lay their cloth, they lay their cloaks at Saul's feet. And I did some reading on that, Colby, and you correct me if I'm wrong, but the way they kind of vision it is that it was to free up arm movement so they could throw the rocks faster.
Right?
[00:06:45] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:46] Speaker B: And it says that Saul consented to it.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:51] Speaker B: They trusted him enough that he approved the stoning. Believe it or not, according to the Jewish law, the witnesses were bound to be the first throwers of the stone. Yeah, Right. They're in fact leading the execution.
Call consented to his death. And then he made havoc. They used the word havoc.
Oh, you know, of the church entering houses and imprisoning men and women, just dragging them out and then.
And that's in verse or chapter eight. But then in going to nine, he's threatening to want to slaughter and imprison the disciples. And he asked the high priest for these letters.
Right. Which I thought was a pretty wild thing. He's like, I want to take these letters on and be able to go anywhere and get them.
[00:07:35] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: And then on the road to Damascus, him and our best friend have a deep conversation.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: So that was my back take on that.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: Kind of going forward.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: No, I. I mean, you're right. And Anais is.
And just the story of saying yes to a hard no or to a hard task, I should say to a hard no. It's difficult. And that story of Saul being converted to Paul is good because Stephen became the first martyr for. For the church.
But, you know, life is a series of yeses and no's. Right. It's kind of like that younger generation and how they understand binary and computers and technologies. Right ones and zeros, really. Our life and everything that kind of flows from is either a yes or a no. And God doesn't force us to do something. I find it was interesting, you know, with Anais. It was easy for him, and I think a lot of us could say, stand behind when he got the call to say, hey, I'm want you to go over here to what we. I think is the only name. We were talking about this earlier, the only named street in. In. In. In the Bible, which I found was kind of just a good biblical trivia thing out there for all you Bible nerds like me or Jason.
Tell me if we're wrong, send us an email. But yeah, the only name, street. So it's very specific, it's very detailed, and it's a yes or a no. Right. Like, hey, I want you to go over here to. And Anas is kind of like. Well, it's like, who this Saul. That's the guy that, you know, jacked up Stephen. That's the guy that has everyone scrambling out of Jerusalem.
Easy way isn't always the right way. Right. If he would have said no, you know. Yeah. Could we look at him and fault him? No. I mean, who wants to help Saul at that time? Right. If you're, if you're a follower of the Way, as they call it, or a Christian. Yeah. As we call it now. God is calling us to say yes, even when it's uncomfortable.
You know, I think about Luke 9 and 23. Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. It is not going to be easy. You know, ladies and gentlemen, at times to follow Jesus Christ. It's just not. It's the reason why it's called the narrow path. It is. It is a very difficult thing. And I think sometimes people get sung this sweet song and the other by and by. It's going to be so easy. Yeah, it's going to be easy in heaven. Everything before that is sometimes it's just a slap in the face and it's.
[00:09:57] Speaker B: Going to be so easy. Yeah, you Know, and that's. That's the thing, is it comes up to an eye. So Paul's on that road, right? He gets. He gets met by Jesus.
And, you know, Jesus basically says, why do you persecute me? And he says, I'm Jesus doubt persecuted. It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks, as we've all stepped on some things in our life, you know, thorns and stuff. That's pretty painful.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: Yeah. And Legos.
Legos from kids. That. That equals two.
[00:10:26] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And he says, and I love Saul's response because, you know, this is a big say yes, too.
It all goes in verse nine or chapter nine, verse six. He goes, what will you have me to do, Lord? That's his only question. What do you got me? What? I got it. What do you need me to do?
[00:10:44] Speaker A: Yeah, right.
[00:10:45] Speaker B: He had a complete rebooting.
And of course, he's blind. And he goes there.
And then I love another. Yeah. So there's salt, man. He's been persecuting people. He has to know that people are going to club him if they catch him, Right.
He's got to be.
If it wasn't Christianity, let's be candid. If people looked at him and says, wait a second, you are responsible for Stephen's death. Death, you know, I wouldn't put you out if you were on fire in front of me with a set of wet chains, a lot of people would go, yeah, that's kind of true. I kind of align with that. But that's not what God calls him to do.
[00:11:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:26] Speaker B: Saul gets told, hey, man, you're gonna go here to Straight Street. Which apparently is.
I mean, obviously the Bible calls it out.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:11:35] Speaker B: It's a real street.
Then he tells Anais to go. And the nice is like, lord, I've heard about this guy. Now, are you. He's almost like, are you sure?
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Yeah, no.
[00:11:48] Speaker B: Which is pretty brave.
[00:11:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:51] Speaker B: He tells him, says, you're gonna go.
And. And I love that because he. He goes. He says, yes.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:59] Speaker B: And when he gets there, he tells him. He greets him. He's like, brother. He calls him brother, which is super important, right?
[00:12:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Like, he didn't say, hey, man, I don't. You know, takes his sucker. Sucker punch in when salt's not looking and says, that's somebody else, but I'm here to help you now.
[00:12:18] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. You know, he didn't. He didn't get his lick in. No, you're. You're right, Jason. And I think, you know, God's call to him to go to his enemy. I think that maybe we haven't had something as bold as that in our own lives, but I think a lot of us can relate to, hey, you have that little prompt, that little thing like, hey, you should go and forgive so and so you should make the first move, right? That could be with a spouse, it could be with a child, it could be with a co worker. Or you've been tempted with something like, hey, you know, you, you could cook the books a little bit. If you have a business, you could take a little bit. You could deny something on your taxes. Right. No one's going to know. But you've done the right thing, even though it was going to cost you a little bit. You know, we've all faced those challenges, but God's hardest ass often lead to those biggest breakthroughs in your faith, if you really think about it. And you know, the interesting thing to me, and I love finding these little stories that we bring forth for, for the audience, you know, from time to time. Anas is a blink in biblical history, if you think about it. He. He had this awesome task, really overshadowed by who? Paul, who goes on to write, I think a good quarter of the, of the New Testament.
And he played a part in that. All right. But it kind of like Joseph in the story of Jesus, right? Like, hey, you know, he's there. We kind of tell little stories and clap for him a little bit and the Christmas play and it's like, okay, get out. You know.
But it's a powerful lesson for us as men. And this is what I mean, making a little light hearted of it is, is you never know the eternal ramifications of being obedient.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:56] Speaker A: Either one story from the Old Testament or the New Testament. Both of these, Anais and Joseph. Joseph, right. He. He plays such a part in rearing Jesus though. We get snippets of it, but what an eternal impact. And we've talked about that in previous episodes. I can listen to us talking about a father's role, even if you're not getting the applause kind of a thing. But. And then an same thing, like if he would have said no. We know the Bible well and most people who are listening understand this. God will find a way to get his will done. It. You don't have to be used. That's okay. I'll still get it done, Hoss. But, but Anais stepped up to the plate and what he can take away from that is what, like, hey, I sent the missionary Saul who got converted to be Paul on his way, I was the vessel through which God could be used and for eternity that has ramifications.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: So think about what Anias was told. And by the way, I got a couple of points, but the first one is earlier in the book of Acts, there's another Anias and him. And suffice, I think, surname.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: They basically were getting ready to sell some land and lied about it and wanted credit for it and they dropped dead.
By the way, Saul is at this guy's house by the name of Judas. Right. We know of another Judas. Yet in this one they go from being bad names and representing bad stories to good names. Right. Like Jesus is in the business of redemption.
Oh, yeah, just a free little thought there.
But as God tells Ananias, he says, go thy way. This is in verse 15.
For he is a chosen vessel unto me and to bear my name among before the Gentiles and Kings and the children of Israel.
The Gentiles was literally thought of as the fuel for hell. Right.
They just were. Yeah, the chosen people.
[00:15:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:15:52] Speaker B: And kings, that's plural. So that means more than one, right?
[00:15:58] Speaker A: Yes, sir.
[00:15:59] Speaker B: So he is, he's like, this is what I want.
And answer says when it went his way and entered into the house and putting his hands on him, he calls him Brother Saul. I think that is, that's, that's really important. You know, we talk about forgiveness. Forgiveness, we talk about getting past it. I did some research, Colby and psychology.
[00:16:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:20] Speaker B: And there's, there's tons of studies, right. Examining the relationship between forgiveness and personality.
Is, is that higher levels of forgiveness are usually significantly associated with lower levels of what's called neurot neuroticism, in other words, negative emotions, anxiety, worry, depression and irritability.
You know, and when you have that and you, you react more to stress and you have lower emotional stability and you're more prone to self doubt. Right. But you find that people who take an active step in forgiveness have higher life satisfaction. They had another 2016 study that concluded a real statistical significance that self forgiveness, forgiving of self, right. Which Jesus says, I'm going to wash your sins away. Which I think we hold on to our sins more than anybody. When you really come in contact with Jesus Christ and you get that real good glimpse of who you are, right. Like, man, I'm lost. I'm not going to make it without you. I can't get into heaven. I know who I am. I'm not a good person.
We hold onto it, but even when we do that, it helps lower our anxiety.
You know, so that's putting our faith in Jesus. And I had another.
There was plenty more, but another 2015 was basically like applying forgiveness.
Had better mental health. Well, here's Anas, man. He had every right to take a detour and go get a sandwich.
Nobody would have blamed him.
[00:17:49] Speaker A: No, no, no, I'm sorry, go ahead.
[00:17:53] Speaker B: No, but, but. And then you're right. Like, that's God's vessel.
And you look at what Saul did going forward.
So go ahead. Go ahead, brother.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: No, no, I. I was gonna say I was just gonna build off of something you said is talking about an. And how, you know, he was willing to be used by the Lord, Right? And I think that's a good lesson for us as men, right? It's amazing. In Acts 9 and 12, God told.
Now, Paul, right, that Anias was coming before Anias was told.
And what I took out of that, which was it, it kind of hit me like I've read this before, but it really hit me in that part that God already knew through his sovereignty that he was going to say, yes, but what I, what I take away from that is it's not this magical thing. It is an probably, I'm willing to bet, lived a life of obedience, right? He. He was the kind of man, he had the kind of integrities like that God knew he could call on him and say, hey, this guy's going to get the job done.
And that's what we need to do in all aspects of our lives as men, right? Whether you're having a business, whether you're in a relationship, you know, whatever it is, you have to have that integrity when no one's watching. You know, you. You can still be set up and be used, and it's going to count in a way that's mighty for the kingdom, Right. You know, are you being faithful in the small things? Because Anias was able to be used for something big. But I guarantee you it was. He had a daily prayer life. He. If he had a family, he was providing, he was active in his church, he was serving his community. All the small things that, you know, he's just going about his day. And it's amazing. Kind of goes back to what Jason said. When he first showed up, he was like, here I am. Or what do you need to do? Paraphrasing. The other big thing that, you know, I really want to draw upon is. Is, you know, his obedience wasn't about the spotlight, Right? And especially for us in the modern world where you, you know, you got instagrams and likes and followers and, you know, and people are making whole livings out of that, of being seen.
What you often find in the Bible, in the kingdom, if that's what you're looking for, God will give that to you, but that's all you're going to get.
And Anais strikes us as a man. He didn't ask. Okay, well, you want me to go talk to Saul? What. What am I getting out of that? Because I don't want to get whacked upside the head. Like, you know, he didn't go there. He. He, yeah, about, about the kingdom.
And, and that's an important point. Like, you know, serving the Lord is not always going to be glorious. You're not always going to get the applause of your fellow peers, but you're getting the applause of heaven, which should carry the day.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: You said something earlier today, and we were talking about Ananias showing up at, you know, Judas. Judas's residence there with all. And you're like, I probably would have carried a knife or something, you know.
[00:20:45] Speaker A: Just in case this might be a setup.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: I don't know, Lord. Maybe I got the wrong address.
Yeah, but he didn't. He goes there and he puts his hand on him, you know, brother. And that's so important of how we greet one another and how we kind of move forward and it's even going further. You know, Saul decides he's going to preach to. He doesn't get the order right. You know, he goes, he starts preaching into the synagogues, and they're like, no, we don't like you. And as a matter of fact, we're going to kill you.
And he goes, they have to let him down outside the wall, right? The disciples let him down outside the wall. And you think about that. So, so here's an. Is who's being very faithful, and Saul, who's also being very faithful in this, and it comes a time where he's let down.
And, and I thought about that, and, you know, there's times we're let down. Like, we start out and we go, hey, I, I, this is a natural fit.
This is where I belong. Like, I, I'm, I'm a. You know, Saul was like, I'm a Jew. I studied under Gamaliel. And I, I got it. I got the information. I can, I can connect the dots.
And Jesus says, no, no, you can go speak to the Gentiles.
And he doesn't get it at first, but he has to be let down. And then Saul goes to this other stuff, but he continues to be used just like Ananias was.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: He was, you know. Yeah, now that's a great point, because there, I think it's important thing to pull out of the stories is being obedient, right? And even when you have a protest, we see it with Paul as you just laid out, like, hey, I can really be impactful for my homeland, for my people. And God's like, well, I don't know if you noticed slick, but you burnt that bridge to a crisp. Like, there's nothing left with them, right? We gotta send you somewhere else. But the same thing with Anais. Anais initially lays out, and he gets criticized by some scholars saying, like, well, he didn't have good faith. No, he was a human right? And I think sometimes we can church it up too much and, like, forget that God is in the business of people and people are flawed and not perfect. Anais lays out a good case like, hey, this. This guy is not somebody I want to go hang out with. But you have to take away what you see with powerful biblical men doing. And Paul does it and Anais does it. David did it time and time again. At the end of the debate, when God says, hey, I still need you to go, they answer the call like, okay, I'm going to go, right? Even old poor Jonah, who had to spend some time in a well, he eventually got. And he's like, all right, I'm going to go. And that's what you have to do, right? You have to be obedient without needing to know what's in it for you. Without being like, hey, this is wrong. You got this wrong. Jesus telling Jesus again, the living God, like, hey, like, what you're saying is wrong. Like, we. We have to let that go and just be obedient in the moment.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: You know, I had a sergeant major one time, we were in Iraq, and he. I've known this guy for a long time as I was a team sergeant, right? And he goes, we were kind of talking. We had met up at Mosul. That's where he was. And I was kind of coming in and relocating. And he goes, look, I've known you for a long time. This is kind of where things are. This is this. And he goes, look, we can shut this door and you can tell me exactly what's on your mind.
That's between us. But when that door opens, there's one sheet of music.
And I was so impressed with that because it allowed me to speak candidly. Maybe I didn't understand things and I could work through Those problems. Right. But it helped me grow. And I think, like, and I've used that phrase with a lot of guys, and I think just like this, you get a look at and intimate conversation that Ananias has, which is a natural thing, you know, growing humans. Yeah, I don't walk on water. I'm an excellent swimmer for a reason.
You know, at one point, I was an excellent sinker, you know, and bounced out of the bottom. But I think, you know, as we get asked by God to do things, it's okay to talk. Like, I, my kids, if I ask them to do something, it's okay that you want to talk. It's how you, it's how you say it, right? Like, hey, I need you to take out the trash. Oh, man, today we're taking out the trash. Yeah, son, it's kind of overflowing. We need to get it out. Right?
[00:25:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: Okay. Move on.
[00:25:16] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's, that's a great point, Jason. Being able to express your heart. And I think there's a couple good examples that come to mind out of the Bible. And it's funny, it's a good transition to this, into this. Part of my notes was, is that Abraham said yes and left everything for a promise. You know, Genesis 12, Noah said yes. And there's a whole interesting. We have so many conversations about Mr. Noah and the faith and, and just the mental strength that he had. I, I, I, I'll be honest, to give Noah some, some praise right here is, I don't know any other biblical character that had to have stronger mental fortitude than Noah, because there's a lot of conversations just from a human aspect that he had to constantly say yes to God for. And, and I can't imagine the man, the myth, the legend, the person that we worship all the time, Jesus Christ. But think about this.
He had to say yes. And he even went to his father and was like, hey, if there's a way for this cup to pass, let me, let me know.
[00:26:12] Speaker B: Let's talk about it.
[00:26:13] Speaker A: But, but he's like, let your will be done. He said yes. He said yes to all of us who rightfully deserve the punishment. Right? He said, not my will, but yours be done. Luke 22 and 42. I say all of that to say there is a, a deep abiding payoff for your own personal growth, for your family's health, for your everything that you're doing to being obedient to God. Right. He's not looking for perfect men. He's not, guys, because none of Us are. I. I can tell you I've screwed up more times in relationships with my family, with friends, than I can shake a stick at. But he is looking for someone that's available.
You're confident and you're faithful. Like my good buddy shirt he has on. And we have the links. What should men do? You gotta be steadfast, loyal, faithful. Stand up, be strong and be men. Right. I'm paraphrasing, but that's what Jesus is looking for. You know, And I would just encourage you. You know, there's hard things that you've been called to do. I guarantee it. I know it. Reconciling relationship, giving up a hidden sin. Addictions. Right. Saying yes to serving.
Right. You know, helping out, saying no to comfort. You know, all those things are out there and you have to find a way to do it and, you know. Yeah. Step up to the plate.
[00:27:31] Speaker B: What if you're the guy that meets and helps the next soul? What if you are. Right. Look at. Look at the. The wonderful story of Ann Sullivan. Right. How she's the. And actually the person who helped Dan Sullivan out.
You know, and. And it's a great story and I won't get into it, but if you research that, the person who helped her set the stage for an Sullivan to help out. Helen Keller. Right.
You know, God is not man. There are no perfect humans. He's just looking for willing humans. Every character in the Bible. It's amazing because there's only so many books that. That they say, well, we don't have any recorded sin of this. Of this in this book, like Daniel and things like that. Right.
Doesn't mean they were without sin. There's only one person who was without sin. That's Jesus.
But everybody in the Bible was.
We're all fallible, Right?
[00:28:27] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:28:27] Speaker B: Just gotta be usable. That goes along with it.
[00:28:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:31] Speaker B: You want to know something? The truth, I think showing up every day is a superpower.
Being willing to help is a superpower.
You know, we. I think sometimes we forget because we're so caught up in. You know, I think it's this. This giant societal craze of what's in it for me and let me shine my glory, whether it be through social media or whatever. Right. Like that's how we get our feedback.
[00:28:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:57] Speaker B: Or at least a lot of people do. I don't have a social media account, so I don't know.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: Besides. Besides this.
[00:29:06] Speaker B: So.
But you know, we do. But really our value is within Jesus Christ.
Right? Absolutely. It's just being willing to work you know, he watched me.
[00:29:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:21] Speaker B: Please don't. I. I don't want to watch. I'm just gonna tell you right now.
[00:29:25] Speaker A: No.
You know, all joke aside, there are a lot of. A lot of those tough tasks they may have been called to do in the Bible, but it all centers on Obed.
And my final thoughts here is you're probably hitting the parking lot or wherever you're at in your day.
You know, that narrow road that Jesus himself talks about is never easy, but it's always going to be worth it. You know, obedience to God is, you know, rarely convenient, rarely comfortable, but it is absolutely eternal, consequential. It can change families and generations. You never know. When you as a man stand up and demonstrate following Jesus Christ, what they can do for your children and what those children could go on and lead someone to do. I think it's hard for us to see men, women, whoever, right now on the eternal impact that we're having. And it can dissuade you sometimes, but I think one of the greatest things and coolest things are going to be when we get to heaven. You're going to bump into people like, hey, man, I, you know, read your devotional. It's free. And I was glad that it was free because I was able to get it, you know, and that helped me. And then it helps this person you don't know, right? And, you know, it can be really hard. And I place where everyone wants to be known and seen. But in the kingdom, you know, you're going to be anonymous, man. There's a lot of secret agents out there as far as doing great things. But God is not looking for a spotlight beyond anything beyond his own glory. And that's okay. You know, he's not looking for the most qualified. I. God, man. Guys, we can be so hard on ourselves and not want to help because, yeah, I'm not the best carpenter, but you know what? Go to that thing that your church is having and just hammer some nails. And if you're not good at hammering nails, you know, pick up a saw, whatever it is, just be there, hand out some water, hand out a biscuit, a bread, whatever the case may be. Yeah, Hard. Yes. Can become someone else's breakthrough. Like Jason said, you never know. And then private obedience is setting up someone else's public miracle. Guys, if you can't do anything else, you don't take anything else out of this. And as I was blessed over the break to go through, another year of life has been given to. I celebrated a birthday, you know, If I didn't get anything else, as I'm getting older, it's like, lord, how can I be obedient to be consequential for you, how can I be that kingdom kind of focused guy every day, day in and day out, and just be obedient? So, you know, one of the best things that I do, I show up here with my buddy and we talk on the airwaves about things on our heart. Right, but you have a platform, too. It might not be your own podcasts or whatever, but you have a family.
They can go out and reach millions of people over generations. You have a business or you have a co worker, you have something. Just stand up and be consequential. You don't have to be perfect. You don't need a PhD in theology to have an impact in the kingdom. Jason, what are your falfa.
[00:32:05] Speaker B: God puts you right where you need to be. You're his ambassador. And the way I know it is ambassadors replaced, right?
[00:32:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: That's the truth.
The president, the king, looks at that person and says, I need you for this problem here.
And so you. That's where you are. And don't, don't be fooled by a lie of Satan saying, well, I don't know my Bible well enough. I go back to the stories in the Book of John and then where the guy was healed who was born blind. All he testified to is, hey, I was blind now.
[00:32:36] Speaker A: I said, yeah.
[00:32:38] Speaker B: And then you fast forward it. In the Book of Acts, they got this guy that was born lame, that was 40 years old, and he's jumping up and down and he goes. And they're asking him, he goes, I can walk. How about that? Not only could he walk, he could jump.
[00:32:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:32:53] Speaker B: And talk about what? You know, it's a personal relationship, right? Salvation is personal. That's what Jesus did for me.
I don't get into the debates of, does Adam have a belly button? You know, was a dinosaur on the ark?
I don't know.
[00:33:11] Speaker A: I don't know. Yeah, I don't know.
[00:33:14] Speaker B: Speak personally and show up.
[00:33:16] Speaker A: I love it.
Say yes. Well, folks, that's another great episode of the Jonathan Project podcast. If you enjoyed this episode and all the other episodes you heard, and you're like, hey, I would love to have these guys come out, spend some time with me, my men's group, my business function, whatever the case may be, please reach out to us at the Jonathan Project podcast gmail.com. again, the Jonathan Project podcast, gmail.com. if you need prayer, you're looking for resources, please again reach out to us at the Jonathan Project podcast gmail.com. this episode and every episode comes out on Tuesday mornings at 6am Eastern, wherever you may be on the planet at 6am Eastern on Tuesdays. This episode will be out Spotify, Apple, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Apple, you. You name it, you can find us there. So please subscribe, follow us, keep us in your prayers. Jason again, brother, it's so good seeing you. Even though I am running on vapors and fumes at this point.
[00:34:16] Speaker B: I know you are. Go get some rest, man. Go get some.
[00:34:19] Speaker A: I will. I will. Take care.
