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Equipped with Chris Brooks - The Rekindled Heart · Disciple Radio

• 0:04
  S1: Well. Hey there friends, welcome to another exciting edition of
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  S1: equipped with Chris Brooks. I am absolutely thrilled that you've
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  S1: joined us today. Can you do me a favor? Strap
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  S1: on your seat belt. We're going to navigate through the
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  S1: contours of culture. As always, with the lens of the
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  S1: biblical worldview on. But before we do that, let me
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  S1: remind you, this is the day that the Lord has made.
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  S1: He is giving it as a gift so that you
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  S1: and I can rejoice and be glad in it. So
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  S1: let's do just that. Let's follow the words of the
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  S1: Apostle Paul. Let's rejoice in the Lord always. And again
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  S1: I say, rejoice. With that said, I am so excited
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  S1: for our conversation today. I think we all know that
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  S1: our spiritual walk goes through seasons. Our journey with Jesus
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  S1: goes through certain seasons, and there are times when our
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  S1: faith feels like a inferno. It's a flame that is ablaze.
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  S1: But then there's other times where it feels like the
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  S1: flame has died out and it's just simply embers, if
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  S1: you will. And maybe it's true for you. I know
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  S1: it's true for me. Life happens. The world that we
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  S1: live in takes a toll. Have you ever experienced what
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  S1: it's like to just go through a season where you say,
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  S1: my heart for Jesus is not burning with the same
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  S1: fire it once did? Maybe it's today for you that
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  S1: you need your heart rekindled. And if not for you,
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  S1: maybe there's someone in your life that you love that
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  S1: you say, Chris, can you please join me in praying
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  S1: that their heart for Jesus would be rekindled? Well, today
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  S1: is going to be a great conversation. The embers of
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  S1: our faith can blaze again. That's the good news. By
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  S1: God's grace, it can happen. And I have a book
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  S1: in my hand that I want to get into your hands.
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  S1: As a matter of fact, it's one we're going to
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  S1: focus in on all month long. It's our featured book
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  S1: of the month. It's simply entitled The Rekindled Heart six
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  S1: essentials for Reviving Your Faith. Now, let me just say this.
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  S1: I do believe that it can be argued that we're
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  S1: living in an awakening, a revival, if you will. I'm
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  S1: seeing stories of many coming to faith. You hear me
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  S1: talk about those stories on this program. But if we're
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  S1: going to properly define revival, it is when the hearts
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  S1: of those who are already followers of Jesus are rekindled,
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  S1: rekindle with a passion to know him, but also rekindled
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  S1: with a passion to make him known. So this whole month,
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  S1: I really want to encourage you to get this marvelous book,
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  S1: and we're making it available to you with a gift
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  S1: of any amount. That's right. Be as generous as you can,
• 2:56
  S1: but a gift of any amount to equip and we
• 2:59
  S1: will send you the rekindled heart. Now the author is
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  S1: is a man that I respect and appreciate and one
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  S1: that means much to the body of Christ. Doctor Mark Yarbrough.
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  S1: Maybe you've heard me talk about Doctor Yarbrough before on
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  S1: this program. He's no stranger to equip. He's the president
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  S1: of Dallas Theological Seminary there in Dallas, Texas. He's also
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  S1: a highly sought after speaker, both nationally and internationally, because
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  S1: of his passion for the word and such a gifted
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  S1: Bible teacher. He joins me today. Doctor Yarbrough, how are you, sir?
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  S2: I am blessed that's my word. And blessed. Good to
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  S2: be with you as always.
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  S1: Hey, uh, just for, uh, our friends, we are such
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  S1: fans of, uh, the work you do there at Dallas Seminary.
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  S1: Talk a little bit about that.
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  S2: My goodness, what a privilege. It is the grace of
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  S2: God to be associated with Dallas Seminary and all of
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  S2: our friends. And I say that as an entire shout
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  S2: out to all of our dear friends at Moody. Through
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  S2: the years. The Lord has been so gracious, hasn't he,
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  S2: to let us get to do a lot of life together.
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  S2: And and that's a great thing. So yeah, it's exciting
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  S2: times at Dallas Seminary. And here we are, you know,
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  S2: 4 or 5 weeks into the fall semester. And by
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  S2: God's kindness, we've had record enrollment and our students are
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  S2: hungry for God's Word. It's been fun to see. And
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  S2: so things are well, but when people ask me, why
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  S2: are things well, at Dallas Seminary, there's only one little
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  S2: phrase and it's the grace of God. It's God is
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  S2: so good, and we want to keep focused on His
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  S2: word and stay out of the ditches. You know, there's
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  S2: enough of that that goes on. And we want to
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  S2: focus on God's solution to all things through the Lord Jesus,
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  S2: and that keeps us fired up.
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  S1: I've heard people say, keep the main thing, the main thing.
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  S2: And that's exactly right.
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  S1: And that's what I love about you guys. And that's
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  S1: been true for Dallas for many, many years. And I
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  S1: would just say this, I'm often asked, Pastor Chris, does
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  S1: every believer need to go to seminary? And my response is, no,
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  S1: not every believer needs to go to seminary. But certainly
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  S1: if you feel a calling to serve God in leadership, uh,
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  S1: I would highly recommend that if you feel a call
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  S1: to pastor, I would say, yes, you need to go
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  S1: to seminary. And I would encourage anyone who feels called
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  S1: to serve God in local church ministry, um, missionary work,
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  S1: those who feel called to lead organizations that have a
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  S1: distinct focus on spreading the gospel and, and also Christians
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  S1: who just have the space and time to add depth
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  S1: to their walk. Uh, in this way. Please, please consider
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  S1: finding out more about Mark and and the wonderful ministry
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  S1: he gets to lead there at Dallas Theological Seminary. You know,
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  S1: I have heard people talk about seminary jokingly and call
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  S1: it cemetery that this is where you go to like
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  S1: lose your your flame, that somehow intellectual depth leads to
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  S1: a cooling of a relationship with God. And I bring
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  S1: that up only to say, how awesome is it that
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  S1: a seminary president would really write about the importance of
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  S1: having a rekindle heart? Talk about why this book was
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  S1: important for you, Mark, to write now?
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  S2: Well, it's important because. Because I needed it. Yeah. You know,
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  S2: in one sense, I think any author or anybody that
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  S2: takes the time to, to write a book, it's in
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  S2: one sense, we're writing about what the Lord's working on
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  S2: in our own life, you know, and, um, so part
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  S2: of that, it was a convergence for me. There were
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  S2: a couple of things that were going on. We were
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  S2: going through a re-establishment of our core values at Dallas Seminary,
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  S2: and a lot of places have core values, and I
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  S2: want to applaud that. It's this is what we're focusing on.
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  S2: And as I really begin to wrestle through that and
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  S2: to preach through that, I realized, man, these are these
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  S2: are essentials that we have for reviving our faith. And
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  S2: so in this book, when I'm pulling all this together
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  S2: and making it very practical for everyone, starting with myself of,
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  S2: you know, we all have these ebbs and flows. There
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  S2: was an event that happened, Chris, that of what really
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  S2: kind of prompted me to push this. And, um, if you,
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  S2: you'll allow me to tell just a real short story
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  S2: of how I even got into this. Um, I was
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  S2: on a fishing trip. I'm an avid fly fisherman and
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  S2: I was on a fishing trip and we were in
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  S2: the wilds of Wyoming. And when I say the wilds,
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  S2: I mean, you know, you are tech, dark, and it's
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  S2: just a beautiful way to shut it all down and
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  S2: to to be in God's creation. And that's where I was.
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  S2: And kind of the rule of, uh, fishing, uh, and
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  S2: being a good campers that the first person up has
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  S2: to get the fire going in the morning. Wow. And, um,
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  S2: I'm usually that first person up. And so I was
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  S2: up and I was kind of gathering some tender to
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  S2: get the fire going. Now here's what's interesting. Work with
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  S2: me on the picture. The night before, we'd had a
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  S2: big blazing fire. Right? And we've all experienced that. And
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  S2: then the fire kind of dies down. We all went
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  S2: to bed. Well, the coals were still present. You could
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  S2: see the coals that were there. It just needed rekindling.
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  S2: So I went to grab some wood to put on
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  S2: the fire. Well, uh, another young man that was not
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  S2: another young man. Because I'm not a young man, but
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  S2: a young man. One of my.
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  S1: That's a matter of perspective.
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  S2: There you go. There you go. And one of my
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  S2: friend's sons had gotten up, and he was sitting by
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  S2: the fire, and he knew I was gathering some stuff,
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  S2: and he was kind of waiting. And I came walking
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  S2: up and I had a, you know, big bundle in
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  S2: my hand. And he said these words, which prompted me.
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  S2: He pointed to the coals and he said, that's my faith.
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  S3: Oh, wow.
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  S2: And he said, it used to be like last night.
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  S2: Full blaze. And that picture, Chris, just stuck in my mind.
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  S2: And I thought, that's that's it.
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  S1: That's what that's true.
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  S2: Yeah, that's true for a lot of us. And I've
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  S2: found that to be true in my own life of going, oh,
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  S2: it's there, but it's just kind of buried or it's
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  S2: covered over with the ashes. It it's not that full
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  S2: blaze that we want. Well, I had been wrestling with
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  S2: this material, and that was in God's kindness, kind of
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  S2: a metaphor that, um, that kind of came out of it.
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  S2: And so that's what really led to the rekindled heart.
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  S2: Six essentials. This is not a step by step or
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  S2: a self-help book. It's saying, here are six things that
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  S2: if your fire of faith is ablaze, keep keep stoking
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  S2: the fire to keep it alive. So it's true on
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  S2: that side of the equation. But if you find yourself
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  S2: where your faith is just kind of, oh, the coals
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  S2: are present and it needs to be rekindled. These also
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  S2: serve as ways to get it going again. So either
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  S2: side of that equation, because that's where we all find
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  S2: ourselves in that pendulum in life, we find ourselves at
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  S2: times where we have those mountaintop moments. Praise the Lord
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  S2: for that. But we also have those moments where it's
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  S2: not what we want it to be. And how do
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  S2: we get that fire going?
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  S1: Yeah. And I think that we all can relate to
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  S1: what you're saying. And I just want to say state
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  S1: the obvious. Thanks for being honest. Thanks for being vulnerable.
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  S1: Thanks for admitting that you can be in positions of leadership,
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  S1: president of a seminary, a pastor of a church, a missionary,
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  S1: and and still go through these ebbs and flows. And
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  S1: we we know the high moments right when we first
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  S1: come to the Lord. Yes, that that's a fire moment
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  S1: when God intervenes miraculously in our lives. That's a fire moment.
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  S1: But we also know what it's like to have the
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  S1: embers cooled, if you will, when we, um, are in
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  S1: a season where maybe we've neglected our faith or the
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  S1: world has taken a toll, or we've gone through disappointment.
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  S1: So all of the, all of us know what it's
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  S1: like to go through those ebbs and flows before we
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  S1: take our first break. Here's what I would love to ask.
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  S1: I think that when we hear this phrase on fire
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  S1: for Jesus or having a heart that's on fire for Jesus,
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  S1: we all have a picture in our mind. But if
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  S1: Mark Yarbrough had to give his own definition, kind of
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  S1: a layman's definition of what that means to be on
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  S1: fire for Jesus, what would you say?
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  S2: Well, I think I would say something like this. It's
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  S2: those moments in life where our walk with the Lord
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  S2: feels like every step is purposeful. It is in line
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  S2: with the move of the spirit. Where my priorities are
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  S2: focused on what God wants from me, and I feel
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  S2: like he is blowing wind into my sails, into my perspective,
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  S2: into my actions, and into my commitment for the Lord Jesus.
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  S2: And everything else seems to just fall in place. Things
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  S2: are really well in my walk of faith and in
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  S2: most believers that I talk to, they say, yeah, I've
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  S2: had those moments. You know, those good moments. You describe
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  S2: some of them. You know, it certainly happens when we
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  S2: come to faith. There is no doubt about that. There's
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  S2: a there is a resolve in our soul that it
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  S2: is well, right. The old song of the faith says,
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  S2: you know, it's it's well with my soul because of
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  S2: who God is. And we also have these other moments
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  S2: where we see God do great things. We have seen
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  S2: him perform miracles in our lives where prayers are answered, right.
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  S2: And we're just rejoicing in the Lord. It's it's those, uh,
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  S2: you know, for those of us that kind of grew
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  S2: up in a, in a camp era, you know, going
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  S2: to a Christian camp in the summertime, you know, it's
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  S2: those moments where we have a spiritual high. And those
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  S2: happens in, in lots of different ways. It happens to
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  S2: us as parents. It happens to us as grandparents. You know,
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  S2: where we see these moments of God moving. And it's
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  S2: just it's this little picture of shalom, right? It's that
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  S2: little picture of peace. Everything is as it should be
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  S2: in that instant. So, so praise the Lord for that.
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  S2: But believers also know that it doesn't always stay there.
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  S2: And that's really what this book is about.
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  S1: Jenny Allen says that Mark's heart for Jesus is contagious,
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  S1: and it shines through in this book to rekindle heart.
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  S1: And I would agree with that, friends. And that's why
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  S1: all month long, we're featuring the Rekindle Heart six essentials
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  S1: for Reviving your Faith. You know, I know when, um,
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  S1: a conversation is speaking directly to me. Maybe today's conversation
• 14:33
  S1: is speaking directly to your heart. If so, get your
• 14:36
  S1: copy by calling 41. 44. A gift of any amount
• 14:43
  S1: will sing you the rekindled heart. Today we'll be right back.
• 14:49
  S1: Has your spiritual fire fizzled? You're not alone. Life's ups
• 14:53
  S1: and downs can leave even faithful believers feeling like their
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  S1: passion for God is cooled. That's why I want to
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  S1: sing you a book called Three Kindled Heart by doctor
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  S1: Mark Yarbrough, president of Dallas Theological Seminary. It offers six
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  S1: essentials to help you fang your faith back into flame.
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  S1: We'll send you this valuable tool with your donation of
• 15:14
  S1: any amount. To equip, call 8886444144 or visit equip radio.org.
• 15:30
  S1: We all want to see revival, but if we're going
• 15:33
  S1: to see it, we need to pray. Lord, let it
• 15:35
  S1: start in me. Hopefully that's your prayer. Let it start
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  S1: in me. And if you have seen the flame of
• 15:42
  S1: your passion for Jesus kind of dying down a little bit,
• 15:46
  S1: just know you're not alone. We all go through that.
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  S1: Every believer has their story of when a flame turned
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  S1: to embers. But God can rekindle that flame again. You
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  S1: can experience a blaze in your heart for Jesus again,
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  S1: and we need you to experience it. Every believer needs
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  S1: to experience it. If the world is going to see
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  S1: what revival looks like, and I pray for that desperately
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  S1: in our generation, I want you to get your copy
• 16:16
  S1: of The Rekindled Heart by doctor Mark Yarbrough today. Go
• 16:20
  S1: to our website, find out more at equipped radio.org that's
• 16:24
  S1: equipped radio.org, or dial the number 8886444144. And oh, by
• 16:33
  S1: the way, this book is a great gift as well
• 16:36
  S1: for the person in your life that needs to have
• 16:39
  S1: their fire rekindled again. The number 8886444144. I gotta be
• 16:47
  S1: honest with you, Mark. I love this book, every page
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  S1: of it. But my favorite page by far is the
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  S1: dedication page. You dedicate this book to Chuck Gilbert to
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  S1: be more specific, Robert Charles Gilbert, who is he and
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  S1: what did you learn about the rekindled faith? The rekindled
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  S1: heart from him.
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  S2: Oh my goodness. Man, every time I get to talk
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  S2: about Chuck, Robert Charles Gilbert, I praise the Lord for
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  S2: his life. I'm sitting here in my home office right
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  S2: now is we are doing this, uh, show. And I
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  S2: see a picture of him on my wall and it
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  S2: makes me smile. Sincerely mean that, um, Chuck was, uh,
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  S2: one of the very first pastors that I had the
• 17:33
  S2: privilege of working under as a young pastor and had
• 17:39
  S2: really been a lifelong friend. And I've been in a
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  S2: couple of different music groups, and he actually served as
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  S2: one of our managers. But Chuck was a pastor's pastor. And, um,
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  S2: I have grown up in a very privileged life. And
• 17:54
  S2: what I mean by that is I've had a father
• 17:57
  S2: and two grandfathers, one on both sides of my mother
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  S2: and father that were in ministry. And on one side,
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  S2: I'm a fifth generation pastor. And so I've had a
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  S2: lot of strong biblical, godly men and women in my life.
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  S2: And that's what I'm saying. But Chuck, uh, was probably
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  S2: that first family member that just had a huge impact
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  S2: in my walk of faith. Chuck was the real deal. Um, he,
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  S2: he was a man of the word. I saw that
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  S2: in his life. He looked at his Bible and you
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  S2: saw just his blood, sweat and tears of pouring into
• 18:36
  S2: the word and letting the word pour over him. I
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  S2: saw a man that loved people and just loved them
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  S2: with a great maturity of faith. I cannot tell you
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  S2: how many thousands of pastoral visits I did with him
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  S2: to individuals that were in the hospital, individuals that needed
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  S2: a loving rebuke. And I saw the way he, with
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  S2: tender compassion, never stood in a position of power or authority.
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  S2: But it was a a loving guidance back to God's Word. Uh,
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  S2: I watched a man that loved life. And, you know,
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  S2: we often use that phrase of the joy of the Lord.
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  S2: And Chuck was that. I mean, he was just a
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  S2: crazy individual. Chris, you would have loved him. I can't
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  S2: wait for you to get to meet him someday in eternity.
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  S2: I want you to meet my friend Chuck, because you'll
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  S2: see why he made such a difference in my life. But, yeah,
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  S2: when I thought about these essentials, I thought about Chuck
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  S2: Gilbert because he modeled every one of them.
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  S1: It's so interesting that, you know, one thing I take
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  S1: away from your story about this amazing man who I
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  S1: to look forward to meeting one day is we all
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  S1: need examples. We all need role models, you know, and
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  S1: so it's great that you had Chuck in your life.
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  S1: And some of us need to pause and thank God,
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  S1: or maybe even send a text or write a note
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  S1: to the Chuck's in our lives to say thank you
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  S1: for being that for me. But we also need to
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  S1: know that we're that for others. And maybe you can
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  S1: be that for someone else. So you give these six essentials.
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  S1: And I just want to start by looking at the bookends,
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  S1: the bookends of these six essentials. One is a devotion
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  S1: to the word, the other is a zeal for the world. Um,
• 20:24
  S1: just talk about those two. This bold trust for God's Word,
• 20:28
  S1: what that does for our faith, and then this burden
• 20:34
  S1: for God's world.
• 20:35
  S2: Yeah. Yeah. You know, the the place where I did
• 20:38
  S2: start was rekindled devotion, bold trust in God's Word. You know,
• 20:44
  S2: it it seems like, uh, that that little phrase of, hey,
• 20:47
  S2: read your Bible can sound like such a cliche. And
• 20:51
  S2: so it's important for me to say I'm not starting there.
• 20:55
  S2: I'm not starting with, hey, do this, read your Bible.
• 20:58
  S2: I wanted to start somewhere else and say, let's remember
• 21:02
  S2: what Scripture is. So there's a difference. There's nothing wrong with, hey,
• 21:07
  S2: that charge to read your Bible. And I certainly hope
• 21:09
  S2: that comes out of this. But I really wanted to
• 21:12
  S2: start with remembering what Scripture is. And, you know, because
• 21:17
  S2: I am a teacher and a preacher of God's Word
• 21:20
  S2: and a Bible professor, I had to go a little
• 21:23
  S2: nerd on you. And, you know, I camped out on
• 21:27
  S2: this word, this, this, this phrase that Paul uses in
• 21:32
  S2: describing what God's Word is. Look, we know Hebrews chapter four,
• 21:38
  S2: the Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than
• 21:42
  S2: any two edged sword. Scripture says, but. But this phrase
• 21:45
  S2: that he uses in second Timothy 316, uh, passage Graf
• 21:51
  S2: Theonistus I know that sounds like I'm going to just
• 21:55
  S2: be geeky here for a minute, but these words when
• 21:58
  S2: Paul uses this Greek phrase to describe to Timothy, don't
• 22:03
  S2: you forget that all Scripture is God breathed. The phrase
• 22:11
  S2: that he uses is is stunning. It's God's inhale. He
• 22:16
  S2: is reminding Timothy that the Bible that the word of
• 22:22
  S2: faith that we have. Yeah, is God's breath on written page.
• 22:29
  S2: He uses a technical phrase here. It's his exhale. You know,
• 22:34
  S2: when when you and I talk about how we talk
• 22:36
  S2: and how we pronounce words and how we sing, and,
• 22:40
  S2: you know, we all do that with exhale. None of us,
• 22:43
  S2: you know, say our name by, you know.
• 22:45
  S4: Hi, my name is Mark Como.
• 22:46
  S2: You can't you can't say that by inhaling. None of
• 22:49
  S2: us can do that. It's by exhale. And so that's
• 22:52
  S2: the phrase that he says. He says, hey, this is God.
• 22:55
  S2: God has spoken. And that's a good thing for us
• 22:58
  S2: to remember that God has spoken.
• 23:01
  S1: You know, Mark, if I could just jump in here
• 23:02
  S1: for a moment, I had two young guys that are
• 23:05
  S1: pastoral residents with us right now, and they're aspiring pastors,
• 23:10
  S1: and I get a chance to have these times with
• 23:13
  S1: them every week, these discipleship times. And we've been walking through, um,
• 23:19
  S1: a systematic theology which sounds, again, as you said, kind
• 23:23
  S1: of kind of nerdy, but we've been looking at a
• 23:26
  S1: statement of faith and, um, and one of the things
• 23:29
  S1: that I've been saying to these guys is, you know,
• 23:32
  S1: when you look at a statement of faith, there's two
• 23:34
  S1: ways to read it. One way to read it is
• 23:36
  S1: just kind of check the box way of reading it.
• 23:39
  S1: Do I believe in it? Do I believe or agree
• 23:42
  S1: with what's being said here? Yes. Let me check the box. Right.
• 23:46
  S1: The other way of reading it is by an examination
• 23:49
  S1: of the heart. Right? You can just read it purely
• 23:52
  S1: with your head and say, yeah, I believe in the Trinity,
• 23:56
  S1: or I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, or I
• 23:59
  S1: believe that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone
• 24:04
  S1: in Christ alone. You can do that and just check
• 24:06
  S1: the box. Or you can ask yourself, do I really
• 24:10
  S1: believe these things? Is it vibrant in my life right now?
• 24:14
  S1: Do I believe in the sufficiency of Scripture and is
• 24:17
  S1: that vibrant in my life right now? Do. Do I
• 24:21
  S1: believe in the sovereignty of God and is that vibrant
• 24:25
  S1: in my life right now? And I think that in
• 24:27
  S1: some ways, the rekindled heart is to say, man, I
• 24:32
  S1: need to take this long journey from the head to
• 24:36
  S1: the heart. Because I think for most of the folks
• 24:39
  S1: listening to us that hopefully we'll get a copy of
• 24:42
  S1: this book. They're probably not in a position right now
• 24:44
  S1: where they're denying major tenets of the faith intellectually, but
• 24:49
  S1: probably where the rubber meets the road is that distance
• 24:53
  S1: between the head and the heart. And maybe you're listening
• 24:57
  S1: to us right now and you're saying, Chris, my head
• 25:00
  S1: believes it. I don't question whether or not the word
• 25:05
  S1: of God is true and infallible, but I do need
• 25:11
  S1: to have a revival of the heart so that I
• 25:14
  S1: can live it again. And if that's you, that's why
• 25:18
  S1: Mark wrote this book, and I want to encourage you
• 25:21
  S1: to get your copy. Dial the number 8886444144. Man, I
• 25:27
  S1: wish I could hand deliver it to your front door,
• 25:30
  S1: but I need you to dial that number and do
• 25:32
  S1: it now. And if you do, we will joyfully send
• 25:36
  S1: it directly to your home. So please dial that number
• 25:39
  S1: (888) 644-4144 or go to equip radio.org. When I come back,
• 25:46
  S1: I'll talk to Mark about a burden for God's world
• 25:51
  S1: and how that rekindles our heart. Next up on equip.
• 26:02
  S1: Maybe you want your passion back. Here's the good news.
• 26:05
  S1: The embers of your faith can blaze again. That's what
• 26:09
  S1: our dear brother Mark Yarbrough wants us to be encouraged
• 26:13
  S1: by in his newest book, The Rekindled Heart. You can
• 26:18
  S1: get your copy today by going to equip radio.org. That's
• 26:22
  S1: equip radio.org. Chip Ingram says this book is as real
• 26:27
  S1: and refreshing as it gets. I love that you can
• 26:31
  S1: get your copy again. Go go to our website today,
• 26:35
  S1: not just for you, but for someone you love. And
• 26:38
  S1: let me just encourage some pastor friends of mine who
• 26:41
  S1: I know listen to this program. This will be a
• 26:44
  S1: great book for your leadership team. If you're like me,
• 26:47
  S1: you're constantly are looking for books that we can read
• 26:50
  S1: together as a, as a team. This will be a
• 26:53
  S1: great book for that. So order a box if you
• 26:55
  S1: will go to equip radio.org, your gift of any amount
• 26:59
  S1: will send it right over to you. Mark, let's talk
• 27:02
  S1: about mission. Joining God on mission, having a burden for
• 27:07
  S1: the world. How does that rekindle our flame?
• 27:11
  S2: Well, I tell you what part of this is just
• 27:13
  S2: seeing what what sets God on fire, what he's passionate about.
• 27:18
  S2: I love that that phrase, um, that Blackaby said all
• 27:22
  S2: those years ago, instead of making our own plans. We
• 27:25
  S2: need to see what God is doing and ride his wave.
• 27:28
  S2: That's my paraphrased rendition of what he was saying. We
• 27:31
  S2: need to. We need to follow his plan. And we
• 27:35
  S2: certainly get that right. I mean, we see God's burden
• 27:39
  S2: for the world. I mean, it's go and make disciples
• 27:43
  S2: of all nations. It's John 316, For God so loved
• 27:49
  S2: the world. Uh, in the book, the passage that I
• 27:52
  S2: really zeroed in on is, is Psalm 67. And I
• 27:57
  S2: love that. You know, let the let the nations, let
• 28:01
  S2: the nations be glad. And, um, what a privilege for
• 28:08
  S2: us to be about what God is doing and to
• 28:15
  S2: see that he has a heartbeat for all people. And
• 28:19
  S2: so a burden for, uh, world evangelism is an accelerant
• 28:25
  S2: in rekindling our faith, I think. A few, few things
• 28:29
  S2: fan the flame of faith, like sharing Christ with the world.
• 28:33
  S2: And there's no greater joy in the Christian life than
• 28:35
  S2: joining God in his redemptive mission. And, and that is
• 28:40
  S2: really kind of what I talk about. And the importance
• 28:43
  S2: of a rekindled zeal, a burden for the world. It
• 28:47
  S2: takes our eyes off of ourselves and it forces us
• 28:51
  S2: to look at at the world and our privilege for us.
• 28:54
  S1: Mark, recently I've done several programs on the what I
• 28:59
  S1: call the epidemic of loneliness that has really affected the
• 29:04
  S1: body of Christ and all of us. We're not too
• 29:06
  S1: far separated from those dark days of Covid and social
• 29:11
  S1: isolation was the prescription that a lot of governmental agencies
• 29:16
  S1: gave at that time. And now we emerge from it
• 29:19
  S1: and we look and say, man, that really impacted a
• 29:23
  S1: generation and even beyond just this generation impacted all of us.
• 29:27
  S2: Yes.
• 29:27
  S1: And tremendously negative ways. But I don't know if if
• 29:32
  S1: many people have recovered from it. There's a lot of
• 29:34
  S1: people who still live in deep isolation. Talk about the
• 29:39
  S1: role of community and why you felt it was important
• 29:42
  S1: to write a chapter on loving others.
• 29:45
  S2: Yeah, because we need one another. We're made for community, period.
• 29:49
  S2: That's the way God has designed us. And unfortunately, I
• 29:53
  S2: think it is a ploy by the evil one to
• 29:56
  S2: use a lot of, uh, modern patterns. Uh, if I
• 30:00
  S2: can phrase it that way, I think we're going to
• 30:02
  S2: look up and we're going to find out. And look,
• 30:04
  S2: there's tons of books, even written by nonbelievers that are saying, look,
• 30:09
  S2: this was a horrible sociological experiment, this thing called social
• 30:13
  S2: media and technology. Uh, it can possess our souls. Now, look.
• 30:18
  S2: Praise the Lord. There's some good things that come out
• 30:20
  S2: of it, and I'm not sure I'm not giving a
• 30:23
  S2: boo hiss on technology across the board. You and I
• 30:28
  S2: are using it today. That's right. But I tell you what, man,
• 30:32
  S2: if if it's owning us, there is a huge problem
• 30:36
  S2: with that. And it can be produced, it can become
• 30:40
  S2: an idol and it can just promote isolation. Yeah. And
• 30:45
  S2: I mean, look at even what's happening with every form
• 30:48
  S2: of AI. I mean, it is the number one counselor
• 30:51
  S2: for people across the board. You start looking at what
• 30:54
  S2: what that tool is being used for. It's, it's for relationship.
• 30:59
  S2: And I'm going, that's, that's going to end fruitless. Because
• 31:03
  S2: here's the point. We are made for community. Look, this
• 31:06
  S2: is a Genesis 126 and following a Genesis chapter two,
• 31:11
  S2: we're made for community with one another and with God. And.
• 31:16
  S2: And so when we have the privilege of not just
• 31:19
  S2: engaging in community, but talk about the things of God,
• 31:22
  S2: and to share the greatest joy in terms of the
• 31:27
  S2: opportunity for reconciliation with God. That's what the gospel brings.
• 31:34
  S2: And it promotes that longing in our very being that
• 31:39
  S2: has been destroyed because of sin. And so, yeah, in
• 31:43
  S2: many ways, this chapter rekindled Zeal opens up that door
• 31:47
  S2: and talks about the relational component that must be and
• 31:52
  S2: is part of the gospel.
• 31:55
  S1: You know, it's so interesting that when you think about that,
• 31:59
  S1: it's so, um, so simple, but yet in this day
• 32:04
  S1: and age, it's gotten so complicated. So this is the way,
• 32:07
  S1: and I'd love to hear what you give by way
• 32:09
  S1: of advice when it comes to technology, but this is
• 32:12
  S1: the way we talk about it here at my local church.
• 32:14
  S1: Mark is that technology is a wonderful Supplement, but never
• 32:20
  S1: a substitute for community. It can help to enhance our faith,
• 32:27
  S1: but it's not meant to replace the local church. Uh,
• 32:31
  S1: what do you think about statements like that and and
• 32:34
  S1: any additional advice you give?
• 32:37
  S2: Yeah, I think that's I think that's very helpful. I
• 32:39
  S2: love those phrases. It is a, it is a tool
• 32:44
  S2: that can come alongside and can assist, but it cannot
• 32:49
  S2: stand in the place of. Yeah. And you know what
• 32:53
  S2: I know about, uh, the tools look, here's here is
• 32:58
  S2: the reality. You know, when Paul says in Romans chapter 12,
• 33:01
  S2: do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. Uh,
• 33:05
  S2: he is reminding everyone of us that there is a
• 33:08
  S2: pattern and we will get pressed into a pattern of
• 33:11
  S2: the world. We will succumb to it if we do
• 33:14
  S2: not allow the spirit to have his way in our lives.
• 33:17
  S2: And so what I know, and I've said this to
• 33:19
  S2: my own kids, we said this with them in the
• 33:22
  S2: growing up years. They're all adults on their own now
• 33:25
  S2: and married and having children. And so they have to
• 33:29
  S2: now have those own battles, right? Their own battles in
• 33:33
  S2: this regard. But I do know this about technology. If
• 33:36
  S2: if you don't own it, it will own you. And, um,
• 33:40
  S2: you've got to set parameters. And that's what I tell
• 33:43
  S2: young parents today. And I'm saying, you better go into
• 33:46
  S2: this aggressive because it is aggressive. And in our culture
• 33:52
  S2: it is aggressive, which means you better match that with
• 33:56
  S2: aggression to set parameters and guardrails of how that technology
• 34:03
  S2: will be utilized in the life of your children. And, um,
• 34:08
  S2: I say that about, you know, hours in front of
• 34:10
  S2: the screen, regardless of what the screen is, don't use
• 34:14
  S2: it as a babysitting tool. Yeah. Um, look, we are
• 34:18
  S2: made to be, uh, creative individuals. And so teaching children
• 34:23
  S2: to use their hands, to think creatively, to engage in
• 34:27
  S2: God's creation. All of these things, if we are not careful,
• 34:31
  S2: will be replaced by technology in the screen.
• 34:34
  S1: Now, this is this is, I think, the heart of
• 34:36
  S1: your chapter. And, uh, and I just want to lean
• 34:40
  S1: back into this is that, man, what would it look
• 34:42
  S1: like if we replaced a lot of that tech time
• 34:45
  S1: with people time. Right? And, and I pray that we will.
• 34:49
  S1: And I think the other part of your chapter. Now,
• 34:52
  S1: this is I told you about the page that I
• 34:54
  S1: love the most in your book, uh, which was, uh,
• 34:57
  S1: the dedication page. I'll tell you the page that challenged
• 35:00
  S1: me the most. And that is the forgiveness page. Uh,
• 35:03
  S1: so I'm just going to give this warning and disclaimer
• 35:06
  S1: that Mark does have in here a page that is
• 35:10
  S1: dedicated to forgiveness. And, uh, and that's hard. And I
• 35:15
  S1: think about some folks who are listening to me right now.
• 35:17
  S1: And the reason why they're disconnected from relationship, or even
• 35:21
  S1: the local church, or maybe even physical family is because
• 35:24
  S1: of hurts, offenses, wounds that did take place. And I
• 35:29
  S1: won't try to minimize those things or explain them away.
• 35:33
  S1: Those hurts are real. Uh, they're, we live in a
• 35:37
  S1: fallen world, and we're going to constantly bump up against
• 35:40
  S1: realities of situations that wound us. And this is why
• 35:45
  S1: Mark really encourages us to learn the way of forgiveness
• 35:50
  S1: that Jesus Jesus models for us. C.S. Lewis says this
• 35:54
  S1: to be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because
• 35:58
  S1: God has forgiven the inexcusable in you, man. We all
• 36:03
  S1: want to be recipients of that grace. But grace we
• 36:07
  S1: have received. So grace we should give. God doesn't just
• 36:11
  S1: tell us to receive mercy, but he tells us to
• 36:15
  S1: give it as well. Let's take our final break of
• 36:17
  S1: the day, Mark. But when we come back, we'll we'll
• 36:20
  S1: talk about how all of this, the revival of our
• 36:25
  S1: faith in God's Word, the revival of our love towards others,
• 36:29
  S1: the revival of our passion towards the world, our Burton
• 36:33
  S1: for the world. How all of it, uh, leads us
• 36:37
  S1: to Jesus and how he is the center of it all. Uh,
• 36:42
  S1: I don't want you to go anywhere, but I do
• 36:44
  S1: want you to get a copy of these of this book.
• 36:46
  S1: These breaks are strategically positioned so that you can get
• 36:52
  S1: your copy of The Rekindled Heart. I want to encourage
• 36:56
  S1: you to do so. Six essentials. It's such a wonderful read.
• 37:00
  S1: Six essentials for reviving your Faith. Find out more at
• 37:04
  S1: equip radio.org. That's equip radio.org, or dial the number 44. 41. 44.
• 37:13
  S1: We'll be right back. We all go through seasons where
• 37:17
  S1: our walk with God feels more like smoldering coals than
• 37:21
  S1: a roaring fire. And the rekindled heart. Doctor Mark Yarbrough
• 37:25
  S1: offers six essentials to help you reignite your passion for Jesus.
• 37:30
  S1: If you're spending more time scrolling than you do in Scripture.
• 37:33
  S1: This book will help you to get your priorities back
• 37:36
  S1: in order. Request your copy with a donation of any amount.
• 37:40
  S1: Call (888) 644-4144 or visit equip radio.org. Welcome back to equip
• 37:55
  S1: with Chris Brooks. What a great book I'm holding in
• 37:58
  S1: my hand. And boy, how I want it to be
• 38:00
  S1: in your hand as well. The Rekindle Heart. All month
• 38:04
  S1: long we are featuring this book published by Moody Publishers
• 38:08
  S1: and uh, man, I am grateful for its author, doctor
• 38:13
  S1: Mark Yarborough, pastor, speaker, professor, president of the Dallas Theological Seminary. Uh,
• 38:21
  S1: highly sought after speaker nationally and internationally. Uh, but a
• 38:25
  S1: man who's honest about the seasons of his life where his, uh,
• 38:29
  S1: flame for Jesus and the gospel needed, uh, to be fanned.
• 38:34
  S1: And he has shared his story with us. So why
• 38:38
  S1: don't you get your copy? Uh, go to our website,
• 38:41
  S1: equip radio.org, or again, dial this number 8886444144. Uh, that's
• 38:49
  S1: 8886444144 a gift of any amount. And we do encourage
• 38:55
  S1: you to be as generous as possible. We will send
• 38:58
  S1: this to you today. Uh, maybe the surprising chapter for
• 39:03
  S1: me when I think about rekindling my faith was your
• 39:08
  S1: chapter on genuine humility. Uh, talk about that because that's
• 39:12
  S1: the one that I wonder if people saw coming.
• 39:16
  S2: Well, uh, genuine humility. You know, Peter says this often, right? Clothe,
• 39:22
  S2: clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. What a picture
• 39:27
  S2: that is, right? Clothe yourself. Cover yourself. Let, let your
• 39:31
  S2: your your countenance be known for genuine humility. And that's
• 39:37
  S2: reflected in service towards others. And that that reignites our
• 39:42
  S2: passion for the Lord. I, I firmly believe that throughout Scripture,
• 39:45
  S2: I would argue that it's a golden thread that weaves
• 39:48
  S2: together the stories of men and women who humbly obeyed
• 39:52
  S2: God even when it didn't make sense, and they found
• 39:55
  S2: themselves wrapped up in his in his blessings. This issue
• 39:59
  S2: of humility is is predicated because on who we are
• 40:05
  S2: and what God has done for us, There is no
• 40:08
  S2: room for boasting. There's no room for self. It's because
• 40:14
  S2: of the fact that everything we do, we stand in
• 40:17
  S2: God's grace. And that should lead to gratitude. And it
• 40:21
  S2: should lead to a life of service and humility. And
• 40:24
  S2: I think there's value when we when we get our
• 40:27
  S2: hands dirty in serving others, we remember how much God
• 40:32
  S2: has served us. And so it is a teaching tool.
• 40:36
  S2: It's one of God's teaching tools to remind us of
• 40:40
  S2: what he has done for us. So when we model
• 40:42
  S2: that and do it for others, it's interesting how God
• 40:45
  S2: is reminding us of what he's done for us through
• 40:48
  S2: the Lord Jesus.
• 40:49
  S1: Yeah. And the ultimate servant, right? The ultimate servant. And
• 40:54
  S1: he models for us, um, what we need to live
• 41:00
  S1: before watching world. And sadly, nowadays when, uh, I think, uh,
• 41:06
  S1: when nonbelievers hear the word Christian or that title, uh,
• 41:12
  S1: servanthood is not one of the immediate images that comes
• 41:16
  S1: to mind. Um, just connect though if you could one
• 41:20
  S1: more word on this before we move on. Mark. And
• 41:23
  S1: that is joy in servanthood. Because when a lot of
• 41:27
  S1: people think of servanthood, they don't think of joy.
• 41:31
  S2: Yeah, yeah. Joy is one of those interesting biblical words,
• 41:34
  S2: isn't it? We we sometimes associate joy with. Unfortunately, we
• 41:39
  S2: only think of it in terms of happiness. But joy
• 41:43
  S2: is a is a deep rooted, uh, identity with our purpose. And,
• 41:50
  S2: you know, Scripture speaks of the joy that was set
• 41:53
  S2: before him talking about Jesus. He endured the cross. So
• 41:58
  S2: joy is associated with who we are and what we're
• 42:03
  S2: called to do. And so it may mean that we
• 42:06
  S2: don't always have these moments of just, you know, giddiness,
• 42:10
  S2: if you will. But something something happens when we serve others.
• 42:15
  S2: And again, when we get our hands dirty to remember
• 42:19
  S2: that our identity is rooted in the Lord Jesus and
• 42:23
  S2: that we have been redeemed because of what he has
• 42:27
  S2: done for us. And so when we're connected to our
• 42:31
  S2: true identity, joy is the natural byproduct of that. And,
• 42:37
  S2: and so when we serve others, when we are intent
• 42:40
  S2: on seeing to the needs of other people, the Lord
• 42:44
  S2: does a work in our heart and in our life
• 42:46
  S2: to remember again what he's done for us. It's a,
• 42:50
  S2: it's a cyclical pattern that the that the Lord uses
• 42:53
  S2: to remind us of his love for us. It's an.
• 42:56
  S2: It's an amazing tool that God has chosen to bring out.
• 42:59
  S1: It's so beautiful what happens. This is where I want
• 43:01
  S1: to land the plane. What do you think happens if
• 43:05
  S1: believers get a hold of this book. Apply these six
• 43:08
  S1: essentials to their lives. What do you think the fruit
• 43:12
  S1: will be of this? Uh, not only to them individually,
• 43:17
  S1: but but maybe through them to others.
• 43:21
  S2: Well, you know, I pray that there's going to be
• 43:23
  S2: one thing for them that they're going to be reminded
• 43:26
  S2: that spiritual dryness is a normal part of the Christian journey.
• 43:29
  S2: It just is. And that there's a way back without performing.
• 43:36
  S2: You know, I want them to go back. I use
• 43:38
  S2: that word just a moment ago. I want them to
• 43:40
  S2: go back to their identity in Christ and let the
• 43:42
  S2: spirit fan the coals into flame again. That's my that
• 43:47
  S2: is my prayer. And it's going to draw us back
• 43:50
  S2: into community. It is going to draw us back into
• 43:55
  S2: an intimate relationship with with the Lord. And, you know,
• 44:00
  S2: I ended the book and I'm not going to, you know,
• 44:03
  S2: give all the all the good stuff away. But I'll
• 44:06
  S2: say this, you know, I know there's always people and
• 44:09
  S2: there's people that are listening right now that are saying, hey, Mark, Chris,
• 44:12
  S2: you don't know what I've done. Yeah. Um, yeah. You know, and, um, you,
• 44:17
  S2: you have no idea where I've been. And, and my
• 44:20
  S2: response is to say, hey, at the end of this book,
• 44:22
  S2: that's why we spend time on Peter's restoration. You know,
• 44:26
  S2: our saviors in the restoration business. He is in the
• 44:29
  S2: the fanning the flame business. Yeah. So this isn't just
• 44:33
  S2: me trying to sell a book, I promise you. I'm
• 44:36
  S2: trying to stir in the heart of the believer. I
• 44:39
  S2: need it myself. I know you need it. We all
• 44:41
  S2: need it in our journey. And to say that I'm
• 44:44
  S2: so thankful that God hasn't quit on us in moments
• 44:48
  S2: when we've quit on him, and that he longs for
• 44:52
  S2: us to step back into the game and to say, Lord,
• 44:55
  S2: work in my heart anew and afresh, and fan the
• 45:00
  S2: flame so that it is going bright once again. All
• 45:04
  S2: for God's glory, not for our own.
• 45:06
  S1: I love it and I'm so grateful that you have
• 45:09
  S1: written it, brother. What a gift it is to the
• 45:12
  S1: body and what a timely, timely book. And that's why
• 45:17
  S1: all month long, Mark, we just want to get it
• 45:19
  S1: into as many hands as possible, because I think the
• 45:22
  S1: world needs to see Christians who are fully alive for
• 45:26
  S1: Jesus and full of passion for him. And I do
• 45:30
  S1: believe that if the persons who are meant to get
• 45:37
  S1: a copy of this book, if they act on it, uh,
• 45:40
  S1: the people in your life will see it and it
• 45:42
  S1: will cause them to say, I want that to set
• 45:45
  S1: a man on fire. And people will come from miles
• 45:47
  S1: around just to see him burn. So let's burn bright
• 45:51
  S1: for Jesus. Mark. I love you. I'm grateful for Dallas
• 45:55
  S1: Theological Seminary. Thank you, brother, for all that you do.
• 45:59
  S2: What a privilege to be with you. Keep at it, friend.
• 46:02
  S2: Keep at it.
• 46:03
  S1: Friends, I want to encourage you to get your copy
• 46:05
  S1: of The Rekindled Heart six essentials for Reviving Your Faith.
• 46:10
  S1: Two ways to get it. You can dial the phone
• 46:12
  S1: number 8886444144, that's 8886444144. Or you can go to our
• 46:21
  S1: website equipped radio.org, that's equip radio dot ORG. Your generosity
• 46:27
  S1: makes a huge difference. Remember, when you give, you're not
• 46:30
  S1: giving to us, but through us to change the world,
• 46:34
  S1: to spread the gospel, and to let a generation know
• 46:37
  S1: that there is hope and salvation found in Christ and
• 46:41
  S1: in Christ alone. Until we're together again next time. As always,
• 46:44
  S1: remember equip with Chris Brooks is a production of Moody Radio,
• 46:48
  S1: a Ministry of Moody Bible Institute.