Latest / The Extra Mile Podcast / Are You Giving the Enemy Ground? (With Pastor Austin Young)

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Are You Giving the Enemy Ground? (With Pastor Austin Young) · The Extra Mile Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: And the Bible says that Jesus came in uh John chapter 1, it says he came full of grace and truth.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: And what I have found is if we go too far with grace and don't bring truth, we're condoning sin.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: If we go too far with truth without grace, we're condemning sin.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: And the the balance is what Jesus, Jesus walked full of grace and truth.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, welcome everybody back to the X-Mount Podcast.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Back here with Pastor Austin Young.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Having a big conversation we started last week that we're going to follow up on for the next couple weeks.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it's one of these conversations that when you say the words together, if you're not in church, if you're not a Christ follower, it sounds kind of odd, sounds weird.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: And this is this idea of spiritual warfare.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: And um, however, when you're inside and once you become a Christ follower and you start to read the Bible, you understand that we have a real spiritual enemy.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: And this idea of spiritual warfare, of wrestling, of being under an attack, to being that there's this outside force, this outside entity that we talked about last week, that there really is an influence in this world and on our lives.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: And if we don't fight back, we're gonna fall.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so this past week we started a conversation about like, how do we fight the fight?
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: What does that look like?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, man, we'd love to hear your take on the front end of you know, kind of maybe a big thing that hit your heart this past weekend.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, um, talking about battle strategies, I think the battle strategies of a Christian are just so different than what you'd even think of.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like the the classic of like Jesus' example is like lay your life down, sacrifice, put others, turn, turn the other cheek.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: If if they tell you to walk one mile, walk two, it's like this very inverted um of fighting that's more fighting culture, and this is fighting kind of the powers and principalities, as the Bible puts it.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so I like how you frame that differently of fighting temptation and sin, other than fighting back from culture.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because when we fight culture and kind of that, I think we lean more towards like the self-sacrifice, and then I think, but if we do that for sin, you end up probably just laying down and not actually fighting back at all.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think for me it was helpful to kind of um have you frame it in that way of like, no, we're fighting against the sin and the temptation, we're fighting against the enemy, the powers and principalities, not just the the culture and the tide of the world, but actually the very thing that's trying to orchestrate the world against us.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're getting to the source.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there again, there's a place I think, and we're gonna talk a little bit about this today, but um, you know, we live in a world in a system that's opposite from the kingdom of God.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why the Bible says we're citizens of heaven.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like we're called to operate and live and love differently than those around us.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: But again, this idea that there is a tempter, these are some of his titles.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: He's a tempter, he's a destroyer, he's a liar, he's a thief.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so he really does have a battle plan for us to distract us, at least, to get our eyes off of Christ, to discourage us, don't want to give up, to deceive us, to believe things that aren't true, and ultimately to destroy our lives.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: So he has a strategy and so he has very intentional in what he wants to do to us.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: We have to be just as intentional to fight back.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, to me, I've heard lots of conversations, I've read lots of books, I've been a Christian for a long time, and I'm not saying anybody else is wrong, and I have figured this conversation out, but I think we've made it so complex, the conversation of spiritual warfare, so difficult.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And again, using terms that are unfamiliar.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: And when the Bible, when you read the Bible, you find out that the conversation is really at least surface level on what to do.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Now, how to do it and how to walk it out.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's a daily struggle.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: But what I gave the people was that when you read the New Testament, where this is kind of outlined, this battle we're in, who our enemy is and what we're called to do, comes down to really three words.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're called to run, we're called to, you know, to resist, and we're called ultimately to do it, you know, to stand our ground.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: So this this idea is like, hey, here's what I want you to do.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: I I said it's like rar since we're in the area of the roar lions.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: So like there's things we need to run from, there's things we need to avoid, and there's things we need to resist.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just want to lean back into that conversation and I want to talk about really some practical examples.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: But first let's lay them out like, you know, to run, is there's some things that you don't know are dangerous until you get there.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: And once you find out they're dangerous, like what should your response be when you find yourself in a situation, when you find yourself in an environment, when you find yourself in a conversation that you know is not healthy, what should you do but run?
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, I I I can tell you, man, as a young Christian, I probably got myself in the biggest trouble because I became aware what was dishonoring to God.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: What would I like?
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: I started to sense conviction and I stayed in those environments too long and ended up falling back into sin that I was trying to walk away from.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Now I know you grew up as a Christian, but yeah, I mean, still you're there.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's some stuff maybe you have struggles running with early or still today?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's one of those where sometimes you don't want to do the awkward thing of running.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think because most of the time I think when you run into that, you're in a social setting that if you run, it's like pretty obvious.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like we it was one of those things, like I know people have done this and I want to do this for my kids, and my parents would have done this for me.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: But it was kind of one of those is like you could text mom or dad and be like, hey, I need you to call and say that I have to come home.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like you kind of have like a get out card, and you mom and dad are like, hey, whatever you just say you need out, I will call and I will yell at you and go, you need to come home right now.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: You go, sorry, guys, you know, my mom's crazy, I gotta go home.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: But really, you were trying to run from that situation.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And like giving, I think giving teenagers that is great parenting and helpful because it's like socially, it could be social suicide for them to leave that environment without like blowing up everything in their life.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's kind of how I think of it is like you can find yourself in situations where just socially you're like, oh, this ended up being something I did not sign up for.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've had it to where I'm like hanging out with a coworker when I had a secular job.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then it was like I had a couple options, and now they're like, hey, I need to stop by the house.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then they're like, Do you want to just like smoke a blunt while we're here?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, no, and I'd prefer it if you didn't.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: I can just give you a ride and that's it.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, okay, cool.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: But you're like, that's that's a pretty big risk to just be like, otherwise, I could have been like, oh yeah, I'll just come in and I'll just like watch you smoke.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Or like, you know, I'm like, you get yourself in those situations and it could be really weird.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: But if you can find a way to be like, hey, no, I need to get out of this.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need to just sit in this environment while the people around me are doing stuff that I that shouldn't be done.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's been more my experience than me being.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's great advice, though, man, for for anybody young listening, man, get your parents involved, let them be the out.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, which is when you say the word run, hey, when you get when you find yourself in danger, run.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: That is so easy to say.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's so practical to do.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: It might be difficult, but it's practical.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, obviously pornography is such a huge, huge issue in our culture.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: And this was probably a decade ago.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: I was talking to a friend of mine who had been struggling with um with an addiction to pornography.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: And he his first step was, he said, when I would feel the temptation, and this will sound strange, but this is how he overcame it.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: He said, when I would feel the temptation sitting at home and I was alone and I would start to feel like I want to go look at some pornography, he said, I would get out and he said, I would run out across the street with a field.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: He said, I would just run out and just about a hundred yards into this field.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: He said, But pulling me away from my computer, pulling me outside of my home into the like the outside, he said, I would find that running the opposite direction physically did something spiritually.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: Now again, if you're his neighbor and you can see this guy streaking out of his house, you know, but he overcame sin.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: He overcame the temptation of the enemy.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so we start this battle by saying, hey, if you see, if you see danger coming, if you walk into an environment, if you get into a relationship, if you find yourself in a conversation, you know it's not God honoring, hey, walk away.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I said this that one of the reasons I think we don't do it is not just because we want to do the sin or we're tempted to walk it out.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: We're more offended about, more worried about offending people than offending God.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: We don't want to upset a relationship.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: We don't want our friends making fun of us.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: So we stay in dangerous environments and that's where we fall.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: So run, avoid means, you know, um, basically there's some stuff we know we shouldn't get into in the first place.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: So just avoid them, just stay away from danger if you know it's there.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I can go back my own, you know, in my own story in high school.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, after I got saved, I tried to stay in the same environments and still serve God.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I've used a lot of alcohol, a lot of drugs.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so basically my strategy was like, I'm not gonna use, but I'm gonna go hang out with my friends.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so this worked for like three weeks or didn't work at all.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: I tried it for like three weekends where I'm just gonna buy like a 20-ounce of Coke, and when everybody else is cracking a keg or drinking beer or whatever, like I'm just gonna drink my coke and just hang out.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Well, 20-ounce coke only lasts you so long, and I would find an hour into the party, I'm doing exactly what I used to do.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, because the solution wasn't find an alternative at the party, the solution was stay out of the party, like avoid danger.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, again, I think it's one of these challenges.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: We know it's dangerous.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: We already know the people we shouldn't be around.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: We already know the entertainment we shouldn't be participating in.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: But we find ourselves just making excuses to put ourselves in those places and then wonder why we fall.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: So again, yeah, like you know, we're we're called to run away, we're called to avoid.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then the last is this idea of resist or stand your ground.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: Let me just give some give some scripture and I'd love for you to jump in and give some feedback here.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: So here's what the Bible says when you talk about to run away or to, you know, to not put yourself in those places and then ultimately again to resist.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: So runaway, here's three scriptures flee sexual immorality, uh, flee idolatry and flee youthful lust.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about these Sundays.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: So the Bible, I'm not thinking of a new strategy, I'm just telling you what the Bible says.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: The Bible says run or flee, get yourself out of a situation you find is dangerous.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Stay away.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: So when you know it's dangerous, don't even put yourself there.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: The Bible actually says in 1 Thessalonians 5.22, stay away from every kind of evil.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: So we've made it complicated.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: We're losing the battle, the spiritual battle, because we've made it so complicated, we've made an excuse not to do it.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, especially with a void, I think we we tell ourselves, well, like, well, I'll just fast forward that scene.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, even in fast forward, it's still there.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how are you gonna know when to stop the fast forward unless you're watching it in fast forward?
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Or like, you know, it's like, well, I'll just skip that page when I get to it in the book.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, well, you already read the first sentence, so you've it's already there.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like you can skip it, but then you have to go, okay, two paragraphs, you're like, Oh no, that was way worse.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like you just know what to skip until you read it.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, you can say, Oh no, I just don't, I don't read those parts.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I don't, I don't watch those parts.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, you mean you only watch the beginning and the end of those parts?
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be honest, and you're bringing me under a little conviction over here.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like I and I found myself in that too.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, there's shows that uh so I'm a big and into sci-fi stuff.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: I love fantasy, sci-fi.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: And for some reason, unless you're Lord of the Rings, which is you know the only wholesome one out there, they feel the need to add all of this stuff in there that shouldn't be in there.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll start, I'll be like, oh, dude, one of my favorite books is gonna be a show, or oh, I love this idea.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And you start watching it, you're like, this is not what it's supposed to be.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, this is so much worse than even in the book because they've decided to take all these liberties or whatever, and then you're like, Well, now I can't watch this show.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't cool.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so I could make the excuse that I want to watch Dune Prophecy because I love the Dune books, but when I watch Dune Prophecy, I was like, that's that's not something I can watch.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: So now I have to give up on the whole series because they wanted to put one thing in the first episode, and now I'm like, yeah, well, great, now I'm done on something that I want to watch, but it's like I have you have to choose to avoid.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I don't know about you, but I know I face this temptation that if I'm watching a series and like the first couple episodes are great, but the first the first episode is not good, just like the entire first series is good.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: And you get to episode two or series two, and it takes a turn.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll be honest, sometimes like the enemy's like, you know, yeah, you're already invested.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: And man, we got to come back to not just what we've invested in a show, but what God has invested in us, and it is worth it to turn it off to walk away.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Again, so sometimes we got to run away, and sometimes when we know it's dangerous, we've got to walk away and just avoid it altogether.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then his last idea is uh don't give way.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I had not really planned on having this conversation as I was putting this message together, but I took the attention off of us personally.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: We are personally in a spiritual battle, but this world is in a spiritual battle.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: And at some point, if Christians don't stand their ground, don't give way, don't allow the enemy another inch of ground, we are losing culture.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: Now, at the end of the day, we're gonna lose this world because Christ is coming back to redeem it.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: But while we're here, we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and we need to make a stand.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we have found ourselves too silent too often under too important of conversations, and then we're shocked with the way culture's going.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we can make a bigger impact if we're willing to stand our ground and not just be silent and walk away.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we see this in politics, we see it in Hollywood.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I'm not really a big fan of boycotts, but I find culture boycotting a lot of things and making big companies make big changes.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: So again, I'm not really an advocate of it, but at the same time, people find a reason to stand their ground.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: If anybody has a reason to stand their ground to not give way to the enemy, it's it's Christ's followers.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: And yet we find ourselves, man, just staying silent and not, I don't know.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: So we got to stand our ground.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: And you, you know, this is uh something we find in scripture.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't mention these on Sunday, but over and over again in the New Testament, you'll find these words stand firm, which is a way of saying, hey, don't back up, don't give ground.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let me just read a couple of these real quick.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: In uh in the book of um 1 Corinthians 16, it says, Be watchful and stand firm in the faith.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh act like men, be strong.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: 2 Corinthians uh 1 24, uh not that the Lord, not the Lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy so that you stand firm in your faith.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Galatians 5 1, for freedom Christ has set us free.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Ephesians, I read a bunch in Ephesians, Philippians 4.1, therefore, my brothers, uh, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I can give more, but the message in the New Testament is stand firm, stop backing up, stop giving way, stop allowing the enemy to come in and overtake what God's called us to have dominion over.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I I love that.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: And and another thing that I think of is the passage where Jesus talks about um, you know, upon this rock, I'll build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I've always thought about that, like, yeah, hell can't beat us, but the gates are defensive.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like Jesus is going, no, no, no, you're supposed to bring my kingdom to earth, and the enemy cannot stop you if you stand firm and take ground.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I think I think the one place where we miss it is we think standing ground is only telling culture what's wrong and where they're wrong.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: But really, we should be advancing a different kingdom.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if if all we do is say, oh no, like abortion's wrong, and you're going, but what Jesus offers is that we are supposed to take care of widows and orphans.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: So then at that point, now the church is coming in with a solution that actually is what Jesus' vision of life is, not just going, well, you guys are all wrong and it's evil, which it is, but that's an incomplete story.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: The story is that Jesus came to redeem and bring life and bring a new kingdom.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so when we stand firm, we're not just standing against, we are standing firm for the new way of Jesus that we're supposed to be bringing into the world.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's that idea of, and that's the harder part.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: The easy part is calling sin sin and calling evil evil.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: That even people deep down know that, but the problem is they don't have a better solution.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is we have a better solution, it's just hard.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so we have to, when we're standing our ground, we're standing not just against evil, but we are standing for the counter upside down kingdom way of Jesus that we're then going to establish as the alternative, not just trying to get people to give up their stuff.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's a better way.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's a better way, a way of life.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I got a uh I got a message, a direct message from a friend of mine, someone who used to attend our church and moved, I think they live in Canada now, but still watch every weekend.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: And she was bothered because one of the statements I made was, hey, we got to get back to speaking what truth is.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we live in a culture where we've become very confused on what marriage is and very confused on what a woman is.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: And now again, I understand we're part of culture.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: I certainly don't think our job is just to be offensive, but we need to speak truth.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: And the Bible says that Jesus came in uh John chapter one, it says he came full of grace and truth.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: And what I have found is if we go too far with grace and don't bring truth, we're condoning sin.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: If we go too far with truth without grace, we're condemning sin.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: And the the balance is what Jesus, Jesus walked full of grace and truth, which means, again, I don't think we should just walk around and point our finger at everybody that we think is wrong.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: But if the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, who's who has the truth, the word of God is the truth of God, if we're not willing to say, hey, here's here's what a woman is, hey, here's what marriage is, it doesn't mean that we hate people or we're trying to condemn them, but someone has to say this is the standard of what honors God.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Or if all we do is kind of bend the way of culture, nobody knows what truth is anymore, and that's how we lose our way.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I agree, man, it is offering a better way, but I think it has to start with someone shouting from the rooftop, someone communicating to culture, hey, this at least what this is at least what God's standard is.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if you don't choose to live it or you choose not to believe it, that's your free will, but we need to say it.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I I think all of that is it's that same thing.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think of Jesus when he was at the well with the Samaritan woman, he he came with grace and with truth.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: He came, hey, get me water, whatever.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: She's like asking him all these questions.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: And he goes, I if you'd ask, you'd receive living water.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, and then he's and then he comes with the truth part.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: He's like, Well, go get your husband.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have a husband.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because you've had five, girl.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I know your business.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: And he kind of he kind of does that, but then she walked away going, This this man's a prophet.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: He he knows everything I've ever done, yet he spoke to me.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he talked to me.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, so Jesus found a way to see her as a human being.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Go, I see, I know your story, and I'm going to treat you like I treat everyone that I love, but I'm also not going to let you stay there because I have a better way for you.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: I have a more flourishing way of life, I have a more full way of life.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's the story of marriage and of gender and of sexual identity is going, I see you for who you are, and I see what you're going through and I see what you're believing, but I promise you that Jesus has something better for you and that he wants to help you and move you forward in this to a way of flourishing long term rather than putting a bandage on whatever this wound or whatever is.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we have um, and I'm thankful for it.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: I really I want people to believe they can come to Faith Church, whatever situation they find themselves, whatever choices they've made, conditions they're in, lifestyles they've embraced, or identities that they believe is is theirs.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, when we have multiple homosexual couples, lesbian couples that attend Faith Church, and I'm glad they're here because this is the place they're gonna hear truth, this is the place they're gonna experience the presence of God.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: But anybody that attends here knows that I'm gonna say the truth, but I'm gonna try to say it in a way that's loving, and I want to point them to a path that's better than the one they're on.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, I thought, man, part of this podcast for a few minutes is just to give some practical examples because it's easy to say run.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: And again, we know there's times we need to run and don't.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's easy to say stay away or avoid, and and we don't, we walk in situations we know are dangerous and then don't give way, areas that we shouldn't give to the enemy.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I just want to give these three examples.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: And the first one is this guy, Joseph.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_01: I find my I don't know if Pastor Austin feel this way.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: I find myself a lot of times when I'm talking about the Bible, I'm like, this is my favorite part of the Bible.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like this is this is my whatever chapter I'm on, that's this is my favorite chapter.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: But really, the life of Joseph is man, such an incredible story.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: This young, young kid, this adolescence that gets a dream and it's from God.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where it starts, is God gives him a dream that somewhere in his future, his uh ten older brothers and one younger brother and his dad are gonna bow down to him.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now, he shares it, they hate it, they don't like him, so they throw him in a pit, then they end up selling him into slavery.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: He ends up in a place called in Egypt, working for this guy who's a kind of probably a military general, uh serving as his slave.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Man, what a what a horrible way to start this story.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you can go on and read all of his story, and it's a lot of bad things that happen to this guy, but God uses it all for his glory.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: But what I want to focus on is this guy must have been a good-looking kid.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: He's working as a slave in Potipper's house.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: One day Potipper's out, and um and he's there, and his wife comes and you know, you know the story.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like, hey, bro.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: Propositions here.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: What's what's what's what's going on?
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, is that a is that a new rope you got on?
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and basically comes on to Joseph, and probably this guy, I don't imagine, probably had a l access to.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Many amenities.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I imagine someone of that importance probably had a beautiful wife.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: So this very attractive woman comes and appeals to his nature, wants to sleep with him, but he knows what it what should he do.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Man, this is a this is a guy who loves the Lord.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: He runs.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: He runs so fast out of the group of Potiphar's wife.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that she pulls his robe off of him.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean this guy, he sprinted pretty hard.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: And she's strong.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: And she's strong.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, she's strong.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, but he does exactly this is a great example of what the Bible tells us to do.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, is he ran away.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: He could have stayed, nobody would have known.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: It was just him and her in the house.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: Now, obviously, God would have known, but man, I I love the story of Joseph.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: If anything, man, I wonder if he felt like, man, I I got something coming to me.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: And man, I my brothers betrayed me.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: They they've sold me into slavery here.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm serving as a slave.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: But instead, even in those moments, he he served God by running away.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: So temptation has been around for thousands of years.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: This is back, you know, 1300 BC or so.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: And um, he ran away.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so I I always think of the example.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: If I was in that situation, nobody knew, nobody would see this beautiful woman approach me.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: Man, the solution is to run.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: How many of us today we've run?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's exactly what he did.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh definitely.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I uh but you know, I want to kind of use this story to segue into another story of not just runaway, but again stay away.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I want to go back to Joseph because this is something I thought about a number of years ago.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: Joseph, the way the Bible paints the picture, he was the key slave over all of Potiphar's house, which means he had lots of slaves, but he was the chief slave, which means it was probably part of his job to manage the other slaves.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: So he knew where the other slaves were, which means that it's likely that Joseph knew there were no other slaves in the house, which takes me that I'm glad he had the tenacity and the spiritual fortitude to run away.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: But the truth is he should have never put himself in that place, anyways, because the Bible paints the picture that she had been coming on to Joseph for a long time.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: So he knew she was attracted to him.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: He knew he was the only one in the house.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: He never should have been in that place and been in there in the first place.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: So for us, man, I would just say don't, you know, be a Joseph and run away if temptation comes and finds you.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: But don't be a Joseph, intentionally put yourself in a place where you know you're vulnerable.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: He should have never been there in the first place, but thankfully he had the diligence to run away.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: I've never thought about that angle before.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: I never really thought about it that way.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, I wonder if it was like, because I think we all have this.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was probably this idea of like he kind of liked the attention.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then it just kind of slipped up and went, oh no, I've actually created an environment I didn't want to be in.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: And luckily he had the character to run.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: But I think so many of us will make I was like, I kind of like the attention.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: I like the little flirting with my coworker.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: I like, and then all of a sudden you're like, oh my goodness, I didn't even think about it.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: We both worked late tonight.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: And now you're in this predicament that you have to make a decision that you should have never let yourself get to, but you slowly kept building on this thing that wasn't healthy.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you would have cut it off at the beginning, you might have been able to avoid a hard decision in the end.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: The uh I believe it's the King James translation says it this way make no provision for the flesh.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, don't allow yourself that latitude that you think you can control.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: Again, this is where the enemy gets us is we again, we don't run because we don't want to offend our friends, so we stay in dangerous situations.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: We step in dangerous situations because we think we're stronger, we somehow we can manage it.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Man, the enemy, this is what we need to know is the enemy is so smart.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: He's an angel.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: And the Bible tells us in the book of Psalms that in our in the order of God's creation, we're created lower than the angels, which would hint to maybe their strength, their wisdom, their knowledge.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: He's been around for a long time.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: He knows you better than you know yourself.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: He knows your weakness, he knows your strength, and he has crafted for me and he's crafted for you the perfect trap.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: And if we don't stay away from it, we are going to fall.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: So Nehemiah, again, this guy's in the Old Testament.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: This is after the Babylonians come in and destroy the city of Jerusalem and destroy the walls.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: And Nehemiah goes back to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: He's not popular there.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: There's people there that want to take him out.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: One guy's by the name of Sam Balad.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: And the Bible tells us that they keep trying to draw him out into the desert.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: Now, he's a person of importance and prominence.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: He should go.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: He should go, like, let's hash this thing out.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: Let's figure it out.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: Let's let's take it to the bike rack at three o'clock in the afternoon after school.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: But instead, he says this that uh, but they thought to do me harm.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: He knew it was a trap.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: And um, so what did he do?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: He stayed away.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: He had every reason to go, every reason to make an excuse to be there, but he recognized the danger before he entered it, so he never went.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I wrote this down.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: Nehemiah didn't have to escape the trap because he never walked into it.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I think about how many times we could overcome sin if we just never put ourselves in the place to fall.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and then uh last one, real quick.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: So Joseph ran away, Nehemiah stayed away.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: And this is a big one is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: What great names.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we know the story.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: So again, the same guy who destroyed the city of Jerusalem, um, this guy, he his name was Nebuchadnezzar.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he set up this huge, I believe, 90-foot gold statue.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's impressive.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's a lot of gold.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: Big at today's prices, that's big money.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: So he sets up this huge gold statue and he makes an announcement to everybody in the Babylonian Empire.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, that when you hear the musical instruments, when you hear the basically the worship music kick in, everybody in the kingdom was to fall down and worship this statue.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: And if you don't, he made it clear you're gonna be thrown in the fiery furnace.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: Now that's a first of all, a couple things.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: One, all of cultures, everybody's doing it.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: And number two, not only is everybody doing it, but if you don't do it, there are severe consequences.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: So hey, just go along to get along.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody else is doing it.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, and if you don't do it, you're gonna lose your job, you're gonna lose your life, you're gonna lose your money.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: And when it happened, you know, um, this is what the Bible tells us that man, uh, they knew absolutely what was gonna happen, so they stayed away.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: They refused to kneel and they got thrown into the fire furnace.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: And um, so I think about Joseph and he ran.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: I think about Shatterk, Meshach, and Abinagle, they refused to bow the knee and they got thrown in the fire furnace, which tells me that even doing the right thing to overcome temptation can still cost us.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: Joseph, because he ran away from the temptation, ended up getting thrown in prison.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: Shattered, Meshach, and Abednego, because they refused to bow the knee, they got thrown in the fiery furnace.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so what I want to tell us is that the enemy's real.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: He has a real plan for your life to somehow distract you, discourage you, deceive you, and destroy you.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: God's given us the weapons and given us the battle strategies of how to overcome.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: We need to run, we need to, we need to resist, we need to avoid, um, we need to stay away, we need to keep away, we need to, you know, not give way.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: But it's so easy to to ignore that and get ourselves in trouble anyways.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes, and I have found this in myself, is when I finally fight the fight, it's so cost me something.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, there's there's a there's a I don't know if it's a poem, but I've heard it recently, lots of preachers using it.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: I see it on TikTok, choose your hard.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, choose your hard.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: Going getting up in the morning, going to the gym is hard, but getting heavy and your cholesterol getting high and you, your arteries thickening, like that's hard too.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: Choose your hard.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: Uh managing money, uh, being careful how to what you buy and being careful how to manage and steal your money, uh, that's hard.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: But being in debt, that's hard.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: So choose your hard.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: I think the same thing applies here is that you know, choose your hard.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_01: You can you can walk into the temptation and give into it, and it impact your relationship with the Lord, impact maybe your salvation, um, or avoid it, run from it, uh, stand your ground, and it could end up costing you, it could cost you your job, could cost you a key relationship.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: But choose your heart, choose what you're willing to give up.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: And at the end of the day, I want to do what God's called me to do.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: I want to overcome, I want to be victorious, and it's really simple.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: All you gotta do is run away, all you gotta do is stay away, all you gotta do is not give way.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but if you do that, it might still end up costing you something, but it's worth it because it's for the glory of God.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: Man, that's so good.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, any closing thoughts for you?
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'll give you the closing words.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's I mean, that's it.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Was that the mic drive?
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Choose your hard.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I I love that.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like you, it everything's hard, life's hard.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: So just I'd rather have the one where God's with me in it, and I can rely on him in it and his strength and and his presence.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I appreciate everybody joining us.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: And again, man, we're gonna continue the conversation this weekend at Faith Church in week three.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna talk about the weapons of warfare.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, Pastor Ross, I imagine back at the table with me next week for the extra mile.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining, and we'll see you guys next week.