Latest / The HighDive / Ep. 24 | In The Beginning | God’s Design for Marriage and Becoming One

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Ep. 24 | In The Beginning | God’s Design for Marriage and Becoming One · The HighDive

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so totally random way to start this conversation today, hey.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Random.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: I like random.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what would you say is one of or some of your favorite movie quotes of all time?
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: All time?
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Any any genre?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh okay.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: One of my absolute favorites is I'm your Huckleberry.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: I say that to people all the time.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Tombstone?
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Can it get better?
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps one of the most quotable movies of all time.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: It was a game.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was just a I wasn't funny.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody just walked over your grave.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's great.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: You tell them I'm coming and can we say coming with me?
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great one.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I also find myself quoting a lot of Motty Pythons, of course.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like uh bring out your dad, like holy grail.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not dead yet.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not dead yet.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: My son did that sort of bit as far as uh monologue.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: That was really funny.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: It became a thing around our house.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: He's clapping.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there were many, many wasted hours watching that movie growing up.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: I in my in my ranking of best movies of all time, The Princess Bride is it fluctuates, but it's in the top three, and it's oftentimes what I will tell people is my favorite movie of all time.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and why?
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, one, it's just it's a great movie.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like all of the pieces.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: But the the lines are also quotable.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can like have an entire conversation just about it and just quote lines from that movie.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I had a friend of mine in college um who asked me to officiate his wedding.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so he also was a fan of The Princess Bride.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so as I got up to officiate the wedding, I didn't use the accent, but I went, marriage.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: That blessed arrangement that brings us together today.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's funny that you bring that up.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Within a dream.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my goodness.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: It is a great, it is a great movie.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's fantastic.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: It is a great movie.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, uh, this the Six Finger Man or My Name is Enigma.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great movie.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, it's it's funny that you end there because uh this past Sunday we even talked about marriage.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna we're gonna end there today in a very practical way.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: It may the path that we're gonna take to get there may feel weird, but uh we're gonna end there around the whole thing.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because truthfully, marriage is what brings us together today.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Nice segue.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh how long have you and Mirinda been married?
• 2:50
  unknown: Oh goodness.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: You should have prompt me for this one.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: April 20th, 2002.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Is that right?
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: I this is for you to know.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: She's gonna watch this, and I'm gonna be in trouble.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: April 20th.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: We're recording, we're not pausing it.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's April 20th, 2000.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Something.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, 20 something years?
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Good luck.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: 24 years.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: 24 years.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, because 25 is like the next one.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: What are we gonna do for a 25th?
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: That has been a conversation.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: You need to be planning.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: This is our 30th, November 16th.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: This is our 30th.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be great.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: The way I used to remember that is there was a cookie jar that sat on our counter that had our anniversary date on it.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think one of our students had given it to us, and so I could always remember April 20, 2000.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now all of a sudden I can't remember what the 2000 is.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: She moved your cookie jar.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: She moved my cookie jar.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have that conversation with Mirinda.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, marriage is amazing.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk about it.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we talked about it on Sunday.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk about it today.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, if this is your first time with us, I'm Ricky.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: This is Alan, and you have landed on the High Dive Podcast.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's a special podcast and ministry of Calvary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: And we're delighted that you're with us.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: So please click like, subscribe, share.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: More than anything, we hope you're encouraged.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: So uh before we get to marriage, I actually want to go back to what we talked about last episode and the Sunday before, when we looked at Eden specifically.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think this is an opportunity just to meditate on scripture, which is we have reinforced that this is valuable.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's part of the class.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: So last week's episode, you were talking about uh Eden being a high place and the river flowing from the high place, dividing into four heads.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: So we spent some time talking about um Eden being a place where heaven met earth, and uh pointed to Jesus, and then we went to Acts and we looked at all those parallels.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: There's no reason to rehash that.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: But I I want to spend a little time going back and meditating on those rivers.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um up to this point, what have we looked at?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: What those rivers represent and what they symbolize?
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: In our conversation so far, we have just identified that that when you look at where they are and where they go, it seems to be implied that this river that comes out of Eden is going to water the world, I guess.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like what would be considered the known world, right?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: To the nation, to the nation or whatever down into Africa and over to Mesopotamia and up towards Asia, like it's all in that area.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Beautiful.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um it seems to suggest here's an interesting meditation that I don't I just find intriguing.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I there I don't think I've landed on something new.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't like a new discovery, but I haven't been able to find anybody else that's doing research on this.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I I just I got back to thinking.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um when we look at that, we read the rivers, he doesn't just name the rivers, he names the location.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Havilah, cush, etc.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Why?
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Why does that matter?
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: So then I began to explore a little bit.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, where where do we see these places coming up again?
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: And why would they matter?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, for example, I'd have made some notes on my phone here.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'm gonna do these kind of out of order.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let's see.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we can do it in this order.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: First, the first mention is um we got a river that flows toward Assyria.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: Assyria, all right, first Chronicles 5, 2 Kings 15.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Assyria became like a major enemy, if you would, of Israel.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: World power.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, definitely a world power, but a key oppressor.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: Assyria and Babylon were the two nations that God used to punish his people and lead them out of the land of promise into captivity.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's correct.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: So Assyria is representative of this um, what's the word I'm looking for?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh archenemy, yeah, kind of person.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's kind of that archetype.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Also, interestingly, I think you're studying the prophets right now in your wife group class.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: You made an observation the other day about the recipients.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there are 12 uh minor prophets.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: If we're looking, that's what we're looking through in our life group.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I've noticed that two of them are to the Assyrian Empire, Jonah, which is to the city of Nineveh, and tells them to repent, right?
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Repent for the kingdom of heaven, you know, your 40 days and you'll be destroyed.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Not the kingdom of heaven, that's John.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, um so there's this God sending a prophet to Assyria telling to repent, and they do.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's a 150-year gap when the next prophet shows up and prophesies to Assyria and basically tells Assyria, hey, time's up.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like you have not repented, you have reverted to living the way you were.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so I and my brain, I just lost.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's um Jonah, Nahum.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's Nahum.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's Naum.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Nahum, Nahum is a prophet to Assyria.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so I in our conversations about these minor prophets, the thing that was interesting to me is that God is even in the midst of his conversations with his people, you need to keep your end of the deal, the covenant.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: He is extending mercy and grace to the Assyrian Empire, the Gentiles.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: So even in this, even in the Old Testament story, we see God's interest in the nations.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: And interesting to us, but this is the meditation that I've been thinking through.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: So one of these, the Tigris, Genesis 2 says, the Tigris that flows into Assyria.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Potentially, one meditation is representing the blessing of God flowing to the people, your enemy.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Because there's a correlation, like we are to love, love, love our neighbor, love your enemy, love those who persecute, etc.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Here's the other thing we see then.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: We see the river that is going to Havilah.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: And what we know in Genesis 2, that's Havilah is a place of abundant riches and blessing.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the interesting correlation when you fast forward into Genesis 25, Havilah is where Ishmael settles.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: So Ishmael would have settled there.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: He would have had abundant blessing because he's one of the sons of Abraham.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: God said he's going to bless him.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Make him a great ocean.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's there's an interesting correlation then in terms of meditation, is perhaps God is showing, all right, through the through the tigress, the rivers of Eden are flowing to your enemies.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh maybe maybe through Havilah, the rivers are flowing to your estranged family.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Who maybe, maybe I see my family as estranged and I have resentment or bitterness toward them, and maybe God's blessing them, and I'm having a hard time being okay with that.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: And God's God's flowing there.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then Cush is mentioned.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Egypt.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: So well the well sp specifically Midian.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: So the Midianites, yet another enemy of Israel, Numbers 25, Numbers 31.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the Midianites were those that oppressed Israel in Judges 6, and then God brings Gideon up and miraculously saves them in Judges 7 and 8.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: So that's fascinating.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: But even more fascinating is Cush, uh if you remember the if you remember Moses's narrative in terms of the timeline of Exodus, Moses escapes, goes to the land of Midian.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: And Mary marries Zipporah.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Zipporah from Midian.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: A Cushite, Midian and Cushite.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: He marries Zipporah as a Cushite, then comes back, let my people go.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: We have the Exodus.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Now we're at the Exodus.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh in the wilderness time, God is giving this word to Moses.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: Moses is teaching this word to the people.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: So by the time they hear in the Eden narrative, oh, yeah, that land that goes to Cush, oh yeah, that's that's where my wife is from.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and Jethro shows up to give some wisdom and counsel to Moses while he's there at Sinai.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: So meditatively, then uh I I don't I'm not necessarily like, and this is what I think the symbolism, I I think there's probably more agreement around the symbolism of the rivers flowing to Eden, demonstrate God's blessings to the nations.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's definitely part of the arc of scripture.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: There's just an intriguing narrative, additionally, that I won't know till heaven of, yeah, but these are these are also relationally flowing into your enemies, into your your extended family, yeah, into your home through your wife.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I and I mean I think it's fantastic.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And as we have begun to try to demonstrate or highlight what's happening in these chapters of one through eleven, one of the things that's happening in these chapters is that it's giving us the structure, the vocabulary, the the framework to hang on other things as we read through the through the scriptures.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so to encourage or to affirm that idea, I think that what you're identifying is something that is highlighted in the rest of the Old Testament, fulfilling in Christ, expressed in the church.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so I don't know, it's an interesting that's an interesting sort of framework of the of Eden that I hadn't heard or thought about either.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: So and honestly, I just I I haven't thought about it until this morning.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it came up I wanted to kind of just meditate on that.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: Because here's another interesting thing, like in the narrative of Genesis 2, just a few verses later, then he gets into this clarifying picture of this unique relationship between Adam and Eve.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and establishing the what is commonly considered the covenant of marriage.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: He is ordaining marriage.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so this this past Sunday, we looked at some keywords in that in uh we're like at Genesis 2, 24, 25, 26.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: We looked at that idea of leaving and being joined or glued or cleaving to, and the two becoming one flesh.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so I I there's no reason to rehash that significant stuff.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um people could could listen to the sermon, but but uh you and I were talking offline, you made an interesting observation about shared dignity between Adam and Eve, and that whole, like, okay, was it his rib?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Was it in the language, was it linguistically something different or at least more?
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of walk us through those thoughts and meditations.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: So when you when you read what is described here, we're told in chapter two that God brings all the animals.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the way it's described, it suggests that maybe they're brought in pairs because we're told that Adam is there, he's naming these animals, and it he realizes that he doesn't have a he doesn't have a one of these.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like he doesn't have a helper.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and um and so then God puts him to sleep and he forms Eve out of Adam.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: And it's okay, wait a minute, real quick.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: Real quick.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's an intriguing thought.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's the first time I've ever heard anybody state the assumed observation that the animals are coming in pairs.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: It makes perfect sense because they need to re procreate.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it only makes sense that there was a a he bear and a she bear.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but that is, I don't know, just assuming that is accurate and that there were only two of each kind, that would just be an interesting nod to Genesis six.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: A re uh alignment of re-we're retelling the story of the foot.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because in chat in verse 18, it God speaking to himself says, I will make a it's not good for man to be alone, which I think y'all talked about, you and Philip talked about a couple weeks ago.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: I will make a helper for him.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so then instead of making a helper for him, God brings the animals to Adam.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: And Adam names them.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And Adam realizes, hmm, I don't have, I don't have a helper for like there's this, um, there's almost like a teaching method that God is using.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I need I need you to see his need.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: This need, right?
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so then man gave, but for Adam, there was not found a helper fit for him.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: So that helper is an interesting word because um it I'm not a Hebrew scholar, but Hebrew uses um roots and then adds vowels and things to it.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so from a root plus some added jots and tittles, uh, you can generate variations of a word.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_01: Help us idea of Ezer or Ezer, Ezer, E R, and and then so transliteration.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: That that word, the root of that word has a correlating root that we get a tree out of.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they definitely start with the same syllables.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so and and then that word helper, it's not just somebody who's gonna just sort of like help you carry a table.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like it carries with it this notion of this person is designed or this this helper is someone who is actually designed to facilitate your development, your growth, your I like it's it's a much more intimate kind of word.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's it's even demonstrated in the way that God makes this helper for him, right?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: So when we read verse 21, it says the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and while he slept, took one of his ribs.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: So it says ribs.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: But what's interesting is the Hebrew has a word for rib, and the Hebrew has a word for side.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: And the word that's used here is the word for side.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: Not a rib, not a rib, it's a side, like so the side.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and if you just sort of look at well, how is that word used throughout scripture?
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like in in Exodus 26, when God is describing the tabernacle, he uses this same word to describe the side of the tabernacle.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Or um in in 1 Kings, it's used to describe a side chamber of the temple, right?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, or if it if if it's oftentimes used, it's used to describe like the side of a building or the side of a structure, or the side of beef, or or a side of beef, right?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Not in the Bible, but in our modern, yeah.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so the word suggests that God didn't just take a rib out of Adam and make Eve from that.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: It suggests that God took a side of Adam and made Eve out of that.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't know what that means.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: I don't I don't know what did he literally cut him out of half and like together or I don't know what that means.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Is it literal or symbolic, whatever?
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: But it it's suggesting that he took a side, closed up himself.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: So whatever he took as the side of Adam, he closed that up and then made Eve.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then when he sees Eve, he has the va va-va-vu moment.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, I finally have a person.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Whoa, man.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Woe is man, yeah, whoa, man.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then Adam says, This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I think that's important because I think the text is suggesting that it literally she literally contains bones that were mine and flesh that was mine.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it's something like something like so.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of, and so because of that, what I think this is highlighting for us is that when God created Adam and Eve, and then he says, and then um then verse 24, therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave or hold fast to his wife, joined together, that two shall be joined together, become one flesh.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I I think that that the text is highlighting for us that this that this marriage relationship that God is forming here, this covenant relationship, is not trivial, and it's it is incredibly significant both in the combining of two into one, and it is incredibly important in the result of that, in the helping of one another.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so uh this leaving and cleaving, I think that this marriage relationship that God describes for us here in Genesis chapter two, we are to leave, we are to cleave, we are to be one.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Adam and Eve literally were both one in flesh, but they were one in spirit, they were one in unity.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so there's there's intended complex unity happening in this relationship that God is describing.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, uh going back to the movie quote, maybe this is the time to interject Jerry McGuire then.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: You complete me.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: You complete me, yes.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh uh but uh but I I love that visual.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: I do think linguistically that makes sense why this expression or description of marriage to become one fits right after the creation of the woman.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's beautiful.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think too it um Before we get to the next thing, this is just an another meditation idea.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um I've I've had the honor of doing a lot of premarital counseling over my 30 years of ministry.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I can't tell you how many sermons I've heard on this text talking about why it is important for a man and woman to leave their father and mother and establish their new home.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I agree that they should.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: There is, however, some built-in tension in the ancient world to the way this whole thing played out.
• 22:47
  unknown: Right.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Because they at first pass they seem to be a little not contradictory, but in conflict with one another.
• 22:56
  unknown: Okay.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because, I mean, this was a highly agricultural society, a community.
• 23:04
  unknown: Yes.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so pre-industrial revolution.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so what would normally happen is, you know, when a man and woman were to be married, uh, you know, the the man would begin the work of building a room or building a home on his father's land or attached to his father's house.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then whenever the time comes, he would go get the bridegroom and bring her home.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: And there's beautiful imagery of that, you know, in in the in the stories of Christ.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we'll go prepare a place for you.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's beautiful imagery of that.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: So on one hand, we know culturally the woman would leave her home and come to be with the home of the father.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: However, what I've often found interesting is in that specific text, it does not tell the woman to leave.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: It tells the husband to leave his mother and father and be joined to his wife.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: While the physical leaving an emotion was for the woman in that ancient culture, there is suggesting some emotional connection or detachment for the man that's a little different than the woman.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so where I have laid this observation in a meditative sense, yeah, uh, you know, in marriage counseling, I'll own that conflict between these two ideas to ultimately suggest you are now forming a new family.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: However, dude, you need to understand in a in a generalization, there are always trauma relationships and all that, but in a general scenario, dude, you need to understand your wife is gonna need a relationship with her parents differently than you're gonna need a relationship with your parents.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when in doubt, wait till you have kids and she's gonna need her mother or she's gonna need some support.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's just different.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so how we're wired, how we're made, how we're right.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's helpful to just uh kind of acknowledge and talk through that, but you know, more about that in uh a counseling session.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: But here's here's where my brain goes, though.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: If we look at two become one, correct, uh, with this side image, okay.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: So we're now for Adam and Eve, it sort of became a literal.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: When you look at uh heads up, I'm coming to personal, you and Berinda.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh-oh.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm giving you a heads up to think about how special she is, she's wondering, why she's your woman.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: I love you, Miranda, all those things.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I'm I don't want you to be caught off guard.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: But like reflect in your marriage how for these 24-ish years, 20 plus years, um, how you have observed God, you know, you guys complementing each other, or you strengthening each other, or you kind of being perfect for each other, all that kind of stuff.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: And if you play this right, yeah, you know, you score a point.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: So go ahead.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so Marina and I are very similar in a lot of ways.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then we obviously we have differences, right?
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an extrovert, she's an introvert.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: She's probably more of an ambivert.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: She, in other words, in terms of how you recharge your batteries, she recharges her batteries by having a loan time.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: I recharge my batteries by going out in the public where there are people.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: I just people, people, people, right?
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: Not um she has uh she's she's very she's much more organized.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: She likes to have things to have a place.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um I prefer to just have stacks of things because I know where the stack is.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so she she she parented Eli very differently than I parented, but together we parented him well together.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we have a lot of similarities in terms of our temperament, our style, but there's some things about us that are very different.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and as a result of it, it has it has provided opportunity for us to learn from one another, to um apologize to one another.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um and ultimately I think that together we are much we are a much better person together than either one of us are apart.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because she shores up my weaknesses, I shore up her weaknesses, she hones down my you know bad parts, I hone down her bad parts.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: She doesn't have any uh she's practically perfect in every way.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's what she tells me anyway.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: She's Mary Poppins.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: So, but it it it I think that part of part of that marriage relationship is that you're you're a helper, and she has shaped me, I have shaped her.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_01: You're helping her, she is helping you.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: There's a there's a to become more like Christ ultimately.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like she's helping me identify and realize where I need to get stronger or be more assertive or be more whatever.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm helping her see where she needs to.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: We're just it's a it's a pushing both of us to be more like how God has want how God wants or designs us to be.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so it's a it's a helping situation in that capacity.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I am better because of it.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_01: I I think um we may I don't know that we've ever had this conversation.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: We may agree or disagree, uh, but I'll go first.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: I personally do not think there is one human being on planet Earth designed and perfect for you.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't even okay, good.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: We agree.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't think um I think that um there are people that are better fit for you, but I think that if marriage is important, you can marry anybody.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: And if they think marriage is important, they can marry you and you can have a good marriage.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: If I mean uh you know there are many cultures in the world that do arrange marriages, there may be more involved than that that I don't know about.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, no, I I don't think there's one person in the world for each person.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I used to think that, especially in college.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's like I'm looking for her, I'm looking for the perfect one, yeah.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Or you I'm looking for a Proverbs 31 Galley.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: I remember that shirt.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um that was a literal shirt that you wore.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: I did.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: I I drew it on a sh on a white t-shirt one day.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: The the looking was two eyeballs for the L.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was great.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'd wear it on campus.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't get any girlfriends off of it, but it was worth wearing.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but no, I I I think that two people who love the Lord, who love one another, are fit for one another and are can be right, have a wonderful marriage.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: I tend to agree, and the reason I tend to agree with that is uh the narrative of scripture is one of redemptive nature.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so in our fallen world, at some point, whether through tragic separation, through divorce or disagreement, or death, like if it's only one person, there's no room for redemption.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, that was your shot.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I I don't see that anywhere else in scripture.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: God's always a God of more than one chance.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh however, I found this interesting.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: There's a there's a great book on marriage called uh strength-based marriages.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: A couple years ago, we even did our um on-site marriage conference and we went through this book.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: What uh what was awesome is it it takes uh Clifton's Strength Finders test.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: Which if if you're not if you're watching, you're not familiar with it, anybody could do this.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you buy the assessment and you answer all the questions, and it it rates you in, I think, 34 different strengths.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: There's two different versions, but the full version, it's gonna rate you in 34 different strengths, and it's gonna try to reprogram your brain to not dwell on the bottom five, right?
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because you're not gonna turn those into top five.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I could get 34 maybe to 32, right?
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: But it's not going to the top 5.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: So the encouragement for that is for you to acknowledge what your top 10 are, but more narrowedly, what is your top five?
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: Like what are the unique things based upon your personality, hardwiring, and experience that you bring to the table?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: What the book said, and I I fact-checked this today because I didn't want to make sure I was remembering uh correctly.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they've been doing this assessment for decades now.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: So they've got a tremendous baseline of data so that they can confidently say there is one in 33 and a half million people have the same top five strengths in the same order.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's a small number.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you if you extrapolate that and the global population, that means there are only 250 people in the world that have the same top five strengths in the same order that you do.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: So react to that.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think?
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: I um that mean that sounds to me like everybody is really different.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and the odds of you finding that one perfect match are pretty low.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: Not gonna say zero, sure, but they're pretty low.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, but that's interesting.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: There's a massive difference in people.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, and I I think it gives it gives data-driven um perspective to Psalm 139 that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and that the Lord knit me in my mother's womb, and uh I'm unique.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I am special.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so there's that perspective.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_01: But then when you look at marriage, and I look at I look at the top five strengths that I have, yeah, and I'm married to my wife now for 30 years, and I look at her top five strengths, yeah, and by God's grace, we have been glued together to become one.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we make a superhuman force.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that there is no other, there's nobody like us in the world.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so your top 10 is spectacular compared to any other one person.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's nobody else like that in the world.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: If we look at two becoming one, we are one team.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_01: There's nobody like us.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so the the the validation, the affirmation, the blessing of the Lord, the perspective that that gives us on where he has put us at this point in time for this season, like we're it.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like there's there's nobody else that can do and is called to do exactly what we're to do at this point, at this time, with these gifts and these strengths.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like, God's pretty amazing.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty cool.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: I find that very affirming and encouraging.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's awesome.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because uh when you lean into your strengths and your your shape, excuse the thing we do, um, as a couple that is joined together, um, the impact that you can have not only on your family, but just in your community, is pretty strong that way.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and because of you, because of how you're shaped and equipped to do things as a couple to becoming one.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think too if we're if we're vulnerable with one another, a lot of times um we can we can get we can endure a lot of conflict in our marriage because we are dwelling on the things that irritate us.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's irritability, things that irritability may be us focusing on their negatives, their weaknesses.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, that's not fair.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm asking you to be something you can't be.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or there's another layer of this.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't I don't we'll drop in the show notes.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: We actually recorded that whole seminar.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll drop it in the show notes with some information on the book.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: If somebody's willing to explore it more, uh, I'll just interject this would be free.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like all of your um, all of your strengths when activated and used well, they have um like a positive side when not used well, they can have a counterfeit side.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times that that could also be their strength not being used the right way.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's kind of some let me be more conformed to Christ and let me be more using my strengths as strengths, because my strengths can become a weakness.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_01: But I I I just want us to highlight that as we looked through this, um, we map through the rivers of Eden.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, and one potential meditation is how how God is uniquely pouring out heaven on earth as we are repres as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: The blessing of that to the nations, into our relationships that may be antagonistic or our enemies, into our broken uh family relationships where we need to demonstrate the gospel and reconciliation, into our spouse, yeah, uh, and the opportunity to really two becoming one, that the other side of me, um it's an incredible opportunity for us to live out the gospel, to live out heaven on earth, and even more infirming to see how God has blessed us, that we are unique and our our marriages are unique, and we're uniquely positioned um to this was the third point of the sermon on Sunday, to pursue Jesus together, to like live out that gospel mandate now as this unique representative of the bride of Christ to the world every day.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that's fantastic.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's good.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: Any other any other thoughts, comments, or complaints?
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think my only, you know, we talk about marriage, you're talking to people who are already married.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you if you have to make a moment of encouragement, maybe to those who are single who are thinking about wanting to be married one day or single again.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: Or single again, thinking about maybe one day wanting to be married again.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I would encourage you to identify what are the characteristics that you want in a spouse or feel you need in a spouse, and begin praying for them.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then begin to have some self-reflection enough to say, well, if if I want that kind of person in my life, am I the kind of person that that person would want?
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, or need, or be like, because it I think what happens a lot of times for people who are sort of falling into love, the emotional component of that overrules or overrides the reasoning portion of that.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so if you will, before you enter into the the throes and passions of of infatuation and love, spend some time praying about, thinking about what kind of man or woman do you need to be to be able to be the helper for the person that God is preparing for you.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um and work on yourself so that when God does bring you together in some way, you are prepared to be that helper.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: So that so that your Adam or your Eve can go, wow, what God has made for me, right?
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of times people don't, they just like, wow, I like them.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: I want to marry them.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_01: Or I'm desperate and I'm gonna step into something too quickly.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: Or just for whatever.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: And as a I if you are single, I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about if marriage is something you want.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like Paul suggests, hey, I wish you were all like me, single.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: You can devote your entire life to to serving the Lord.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: But if if not, then marry, right?
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I think that a lot of single adults or single people who are wanting to be married don't do the work that it they should be doing to prepare for marriage.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's a an opportunity for people to think about now.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's great advice, and I think that is from you, that is lived advice.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I got married right out of college.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: You had a few years of establishing your career, um, establishing your own home, you know, and those rhythms.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um I was single for several years out of high.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: For a while, I lived as a single bachelor.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I had spent time thinking about what kind of wife do I want?
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: And what kind of man does she would she want?
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I may, I may have a whole list of things that I want, but if that person wouldn't want me, then I that's a that why would she settle for me if I'm, you know?
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so that it was just an important process so that when Miranda and I did finally get to that point where marriage was inevitable, um, it it was not driven by feelings.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: There was lots of feelings, but it wasn't driven by feelings.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um because we had, she had, I had, we had, we had had those conversations, and we knew at that at some point we knew, well, we are a good fit for each other.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_00: And um, matter of fact, when I don't know if that you when um when I finally kind of was like, okay, I need to stop messing around because she's like obviously the most perfect person in the world for me.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we had gone, we'd gone to dinner to what was O Carizo that's now that it was down on Veterans at the time.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's now a car dealership next to the Daniel's appliance when we were there.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: And we went in and we had dinner and we just started talking.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I just began to ask her questions about family and children and theology and what do you believe?
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay, I'm at a point now where I think you meet, I want to know theologically, do we align, biblically do we align, family?
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: Do we align?
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um because if we don't, then I don't want to get involved in that, right?
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so we, I think we closed up the restaurant.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: We were looking around.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, I think we I think we need to go.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but but it was for for me, it was an important conversation because I needed to have confidence that I knew her well enough to know that I and her she and I are going to be able to work together for something.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: And um, but I had I had I had all these things in the back of my head because I had a little notebook that I was writing in and praying to the Lord over about these convert these conversations the Lord and I had.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I just think as a single adult, when you're thinking about what the future may look like, be proactive in that.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: To both pray for the kind of helper you need and work towards being the kind of helper she will need, right?
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_00: So that when you two become one flesh, God has equipped you both.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think too uh there is there are so many ways to do that.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because at the end of the day, this is about uh pursuing Jesus individually.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_01: But in in the context of this conversation, then if I am single or if I am single again, but take the strength finders test.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, uh be aware of what your your top ten are, really pay attention to your top five, understand the the positive and the negative, or the dark, or the counterfeit side of that, and really grow.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: And because that's part of being more conformed to his image by being or or using non-churchy words, becoming the best version of me that I can be.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but at least that is a uh most people when they say that they say, Well, I'm gonna start eating right and going to the gym because I want to look the best that I can be.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, no, like let's work on your heart, let's work on your mind.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get yourself in the in the best place that you can be to pursue the Lord, honor the Lord, and then if He wills, you're ready to give your best to that person.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_01: The other side of you.
• 44:59
  unknown: That's right.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: Man, these are some thoughts.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_01: If you got questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_01: Our URL address to our website, Calvaryga.com, is in the show notes.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we'll do our best to get uh producer Blake to put a link in the show notes to these uh the Strength Finder marriage workshop that we did.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_01: It is a raw, unedited.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it's a very open microphone recording in a room.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_01: So it is not produced at all, but it's informative and maybe it's helpful.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_01: So um can't wait till next week.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_01: Next week we turn to chapter three.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_01: Dunk dunk dun.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: The fall of humanity.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: So it's gonna be awesome.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think we spend four weeks in chapter three, like the whole total depravity, and these are just some teasers.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_01: These are some things that I hope in the podcast we can deal with, because we won't necessarily have time to go into great detail.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: Here are just some questions to meditate.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when in this whole timeline of Genesis 1, 2, and 3, before, during, or after, did Satan and the demons get kicked out of heaven?
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: Good question.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, was it actually a snake that Adam and Eve talked to?
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: Good question.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and more.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see what we get into.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if they were gonna die if they ate the fruit, why didn't they die?
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we'll talk about it.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: Fun questions.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be fun.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_01: So uh until then, again, bookmark, like, subscribe, share, leave a review, all the things, and we'll see you next time.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_01: Bye.