Latest / Karl and Crew / The Power of the Cross with Dr. Bill Thrasher & The Story of the Thief on the Cross with Colin Smith

Transcript

The Power of the Cross with Dr. Bill Thrasher & The Story of the Thief on the Cross with Colin Smith · Karl and Crew

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  S1: Broadcasting from Chicago, across North America and beyond. It's Carl
• 0:06
  S1: and crew. Come as you are an experienced guide. Overcome
• 0:10
  S1: what seems impossible and live as you never imagined. Start
• 0:15
  S1: your morning with a laugh.
• 0:17
  S2: Practical from the Bible. Tips and tricks to kill. Not
• 0:21
  S2: tricks but tips and tricks.
• 0:25
  S3: Tips and tricks to kill. Tips and tricks.
• 0:28
  S1: Delivering the truth daily.
• 0:30
  S4: All of my attempts to, you know, prop myself up
• 0:33
  S4: with achievement in good works. Well, God wasn't impressed by that,
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  S4: even if other people were.
• 0:38
  S2: The gospel changes everything.
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  S5: Freedom in Christ. Man, it's like that backpack of cement
• 0:44
  S5: just falling to the ground.
• 0:46
  S1: Now from the call of Hope Studios, this is Carl
• 0:50
  S1: and Crew.
• 0:52
  S6: Oh, you know how much I love blaze. Welcome aboard
• 0:55
  S6: on this bright and early morning. You know how much
• 0:57
  S6: I love my puppy.
• 0:58
  S3: Of course.
• 0:59
  S6: Six month old, a little bit older than six month
• 1:01
  S6: old now.
• 1:02
  S4: And you got him when he was just over two months.
• 1:05
  S6: Eight weeks old. Yeah, right. At eight weeks old. Wow.
• 1:09
  S6: And he has grown exponentially, shall we say. He's grown
• 1:14
  S6: like a weed. We need a new picture. So I
• 1:17
  S6: got to get a new picture. Okay. I promise I'll
• 1:19
  S6: do that today. Today that is going to happen. Um,
• 1:23
  S6: so here's the deal. I have to have him on
• 1:26
  S6: a leash. He is not trained, and he is a teenager,
• 1:32
  S6: and he'll go on a runner in a heartbeat. And
• 1:34
  S6: I had it happen last week.
• 1:36
  S4: What did he do?
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  S6: I had my 30 foot leash out. I'm walking him,
• 1:39
  S6: not paying attention, walking through a park, chasing sticks. 0BOBO.
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  S6: I'm walking along and bam! All of a sudden that
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  S6: handle snaps out of my hand and he is free running.
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  S4: Oh no.
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  S6: And I did the worst thing. I started yelling.
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  S7: I was like, the only place.
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  S6: And then I calmed down. I realized, no, no, no.
• 2:01
  S6: And he's about the other end of the park. Bolton
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  S6: looking back over his shoulder, going, this is fun.
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  S2: I love.
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  S3: This.
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  S6: This is unbelievable. Either you're keeping up with me. And
• 2:14
  S6: then he realizes I'm not keeping up with him, and
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  S6: he's starting to get some questions in his head. And
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  S6: I just knew one thing. Whoa. And I said it calmly.
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  S6: Because when I say whoa and he's on a leash,
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  S6: he'll slow down and stop. So I said, whoa. And
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  S6: he slows down, stops, and then he runs a little
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  S6: bit more like, I don't think I want to stop.
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  S6: And then he did. Well, I said, whoa, I'm calm.
• 2:35
  S6: I'm trying to stay calm inside because there's traffic driving around.
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  S4: Oh no.
• 2:40
  S6: And he goes into the road and we got trouble.
• 2:43
  S6: So I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. And then he finally
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  S6: stopped and I got up within 30ft of him, got
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  S6: my foot on that leash and reeled him back in. Oh, man.
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  S4: That's kind of scary.
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  S6: Yeah. It was it was kind of scary. So needless
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  S6: to say, I have a firmer grip on the handle nowadays.
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  S2: That's a good one.
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  S6: But there's so there's some things you don't want to
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  S6: unleash and there's some things you.
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  S3: Do.
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  S6: Want to unleash.
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  S3: See you there. I see they're.
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  S4: Not. See that coming really good.
• 3:21
  S6: Oh, we got a party going on in here.
• 3:24
  S4: Oh, yeah. Big announcement. We want you to help us
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  S4: unleash the gospel. So we're asking you to do something
• 3:32
  S4: very simple. Share the Moody radio app with ten people
• 3:36
  S4: in your life before Easter. And we got a little perk.
• 3:40
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• 3:43
  S4: helping us out, unleashing the gospel, sharing the Moody Radio app,
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  S4: all covered. One key word just text unleashed to (800) 555-7898
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  S4: If you are willing to share the Moody Radio app
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  S4: doing a giveaway too.
• 4:09
  S6: Now, how this is going to work is when you
• 4:11
  S6: get that done, and hopefully you're finding people in your contacts.
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  S6: And this is super simple to do, by the way,
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  S4: You could send it to everybody in your life, but
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  S4: with ten people before Easter. That's the challenge. Just text
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  S4: unleashed to 855 five 7898. We are unleashing the gospel.
• 5:09
  S6: Yeah, unleashing the gospel. How cool is this? Get off
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  S6: that leash.
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  S7: And talk about the perfect week. Come on.
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  S6: This is the week to do it. This is the
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  S6: week to do it. You're right. Super day. This is
• 5:23
  S6: the week. Text unleashed to 800 555, 78, 98. And oh,
• 5:29
  S6: did did you get that little thing there that we're
• 5:32
  S6: going to send some prizes to some of you folks
• 5:36
  S6: that do this. We're going to randomly select those that
• 5:39
  S6: text back done. And we're going to put you in
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  S6: a hopper and reach in there and grab out a
• 5:44
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• 5:45
  S4: Yep. Our way of saying thank you for helping us
• 5:48
  S4: unleash the gospel. Just text unleashed to 800 555 7898.
• 5:53
  S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
• 5:56
  S6: Well, you know, Resurrection Sunday, my personal conviction, number one,
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  S6: I'm not big on goal setting anymore, believe it or not,
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  S6: even though that's my personality bent that way. I think
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  S6: it's the blocking and tackling the X's and O's of
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  S6: living a life that's guided by the Word of God
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  S6: every day. The score will take care of itself. Stealing
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  S6: a title from biography of Bill Walsh. Great football coach.
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  S6: But there are times in seasons when we need a reset.
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  S6: Conventional wisdom is January 1st, I say to you. Resurrection Sunday,
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  S6: Colin Smith with me right now. Boy, Resurrection Sunday is
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  S6: a great day for a reset in our life, isn't it, Colin?
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  S8: It absolutely is. And what a great week to talk
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  S8: about this together.
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  S6: Oh it's beautiful. Okay. What strikes you about the last week?
• 6:48
  S6: The final acts of Jesus. I mean, yesterday, there's some
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  S6: uncertainty about the exact timeline. But we do know that
• 6:55
  S6: when he approached Jerusalem, he went in, he looked at
• 6:59
  S6: the money changers, the overpriced pigeons, and he said, boy,
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  S6: you've taken the house of prayer and you've you've turned
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  S6: it into a den of thieves. And then he goes on,
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  S6: he even talks, most probably today, the equivalent of today,
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  S6: about the widow's mite. So he deals with monies and
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  S6: those kind of things that had gotten in the way
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  S6: of real worship. But there's so many things that are said.
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  S6: What are a couple of the high points for you, Colin?
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  S8: Yeah. You know, I find it really helpful to prepare
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  S8: for Easter by doing exactly what you're saying, just going
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  S8: through day by day what happened during this Holy Week. And, uh, yes,
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  S8: I mean, Tuesday, Jesus was in the temple and, uh,
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  S8: the priests and the Pharisees and scribes were just peppering
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  S8: him with questions, trying to bring him down. And then
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  S8: Jesus asked a question about his own authority to them.
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  S8: And so the focus, I think, is of Jesus being
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  S8: in the temple, being asked questions and answering them. And
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  S8: what's very striking to me out of all of this, Carl,
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  S8: is that the events of Tuesday show me how much
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  S8: I need Jesus. Because what's revealed in the questions that
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  S8: are asked of Jesus is the cynical and hard hearts
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  S8: of those who ask the questions. Apart from one person
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  S8: who asks the question, there's one scribe who asks him, now,
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  S8: what's the greatest commandment? That he clearly has a tone
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  S8: that is much more positive than the others? And what's
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  S8: astonishing about this is Jesus answers the the question that
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  S8: you love God with all your heart. You love your
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  S8: neighbor as yourself. The scribe then agrees with him, and
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  S8: Jesus says, you're not far from the kingdom of God.
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  S9: It's like, what do you mean, I'm not far?
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  S8: I assume that I'm in. I agree with the teaching
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  S8: of Jesus. That must surely be enough to get me in.
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  S8: And Jesus says, no, you're not far. In other words,
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  S8: something more is needed than me living a good, loving
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  S8: life and agreeing with the teaching of Jesus that points
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  S8: us to what he accomplished on Good Friday and what
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  S8: he accomplished on Easter Day.
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  S6: It's beautiful. Colin Smith is my guest right now, pastor
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  S6: emeritus of the Orchard Evangelical Free Church, six campuses across Chicagoland.
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  S6: And he is obviously the host, teacher, founder of Open
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  S6: the Bible, heard right here on Moody Radio. And I
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  S6: just want to encourage you to take it in. It
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  S6: is powerful content. You know, let me get your take
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  S6: on this one. Mark's gospel has a really tight timeline. Uh,
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  S6: the first gospel written and it's love the Lord your
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  S6: God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Why
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  S6: those four things captured? Their calling.
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  S10: Yeah. I think that.
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  S8: What Jesus is describing is the whole of your being.
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  S8: And so these four factors really are the makeup of
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  S8: our intellectual emotional being, the strength that God gives to us.
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  S8: It's with everything that is within you. And of course, um,
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  S8: the point of this is when you look at that,
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  S8: you say, well, who in the world has actually done that?
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  S8: I certainly haven't. I mean, I love God, there's no
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  S8: question about that. But with everything that is in me.
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  S9: I mean, you.
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  S8: Just can't get to a point where you say, I
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  S8: have kept the commandments of God, and it's that conviction,
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  S8: you know. And until we feel that we actually need Jesus,
• 10:38
  S8: the events of Easter are going to seem like they're, um,
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  S8: a wonderful story that are inspiring and uplifting. But when
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  S8: I see that I am a sinner who has failed
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  S8: to fulfill the most basic commandment of God, the most
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  S8: fundamental commandment of God, then I begin to see that
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  S8: I need a Savior. Then I begin to see why
• 10:59
  S8: Jesus came into the world. He is the Savior. I
• 11:03
  S8: see why he had to go to the cross, why
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  S8: he had to rise from the dead, and the whole
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  S8: thing comes into another dimension.
• 11:09
  S6: Yeah. It's fascinating. A lot of people look, we could
• 11:12
  S6: look at the law and say, okay, those are impossible.
• 11:16
  S6: The irony is that even in the sermon on the Mount,
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  S6: and then again, with the great commandment in Holy Week,
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  S6: he raised the bar so high that all we can
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  S6: do is cling to the grace of God. And that's
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  S6: the point, isn't it, Colin?
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  S8: Yeah. That's right. And of course, the classic example of
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  S8: this is the wonderful story of the rich young ruler
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  S8: who really did think that he had kept the commands
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  S8: of God. You know, I don't steal, I don't commit
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  S8: adultery and so forth. I've kept all of these commands. Um,
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  S8: since my youth. I'm a good moral person. And so
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  S8: Jesus really goes for the jugular. And he says, well,
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  S8: here's just one thing that you need to do. Then
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  S8: why don't you sell all that you have, give to
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  S8: the poor and come and follow me? And of course,
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  S8: he couldn't do that. He's absolutely astonished because, um, he
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  S8: hasn't actually kept the first commandment, that is to love
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  S8: God and to have God as, as, as your only God.
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  S8: His God is his money. And and so he can't
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  S8: do it. And so here's this man who thinks he's
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  S8: kept all the commandments. Jesus makes plain with a single question.
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  S8: You haven't even kept the first one.
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  S6: It's so good. I love that, you know, Colin, there's
• 12:28
  S6: we've got such rich people listening here. The boom crew
• 12:32
  S6: are amazing folks. And there's, there's a conviction point that
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  S6: comes by God's grace that says, search your heart for
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  S6: any unknown gods or idols that have crept back into
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  S6: your life. How does a person identify what Jesus gladly
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  S6: identified for the rich young ruler? How do we, by
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  S6: the power of the spirit, identify those things? Because this
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  S6: is an opportunity in this week for us to clear
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  S6: away those idols from the high ground of our heart.
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  S6: How does that work, Colin?
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  S8: Yeah. Well, I think that we identify the idols of
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  S8: our hearts first through the scripture and second, through the
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  S8: work of the Holy Spirit. I don't know of anything
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  S8: other than that. What I find to be so helpful, Karl, is,
• 13:18
  S8: as I'm reading the Bible from day to day, to
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  S8: be asking a number of questions. And one of them,
• 13:24
  S8: is there a sin here that I need to avoid?
• 13:27
  S8: So I want to learn about, um, God, I want
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  S8: to learn about myself. And I want to believe the
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  S8: promises of God. I want to heed the warnings of God.
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  S8: But one of the things I found most helpful is
• 13:40
  S8: just to start identifying, is there a sin here that, uh,
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  S8: that I need to avoid? So, I mean, if you're
• 13:45
  S8: reading something as similar as simple or familiar as First
• 13:48
  S8: Corinthians 13, love is patient. Love is kind. Have I
• 13:52
  S8: been unpatient? Have I been unkind? You know, this is very,
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  S8: very simple. This is not rocket science. It's simply learning
• 14:00
  S8: to read the scripture with an eye to becoming convinced
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  S8: of where I need to repent. And of course, where
• 14:08
  S8: I need to believe. Um, so I'm looking at the
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  S8: commands of God to bring me to repentance. I'm looking
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  S8: at the promises of God to bring me to faith.
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  S8: And with these two I's, I think that's the way
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  S8: to read the scripture in a way that moves a
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  S8: person forward.
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  S6: In agreeing with God and moving on that walk of
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  S6: faith on that narrow path. I love it, pastor Colin
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  S6: Smith with me right now coming up here in a moment.
• 14:30
  S6: There's some teachings and some stories. You've got ample evidence
• 14:34
  S6: for what to do or what not to do. But
• 14:37
  S6: from one man in particular, it's the absence of what
• 14:41
  S6: happened that could prove the power of the gospel. The
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  S6: thief on the cross. More with Colin Smith straight ahead.
• 14:49
  S1: Your spiritual pit stop to keep you going in the race.
• 14:53
  S1: You're listening to Carl and Crew.
• 14:56
  S6: If you are a person who is trying to do
• 14:59
  S6: enough to earn heaven, boy, have we got some good
• 15:03
  S6: news for you. Pastor Colin Smith with me right now. Uh,
• 15:07
  S6: he is the founder teacher on Open the Bible. Oh
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  S6: my goodness, the thief on the cross. For all those
• 15:14
  S6: who labor under trying to be good enough to get
• 15:17
  S6: to heaven. Colin. What? What a paradigm buster this young
• 15:21
  S6: man was.
• 15:22
  S8: Yeah, there's no question about it. I mean, here's a
• 15:25
  S8: person who clearly has not lived a good life. I mean,
• 15:29
  S8: he wasn't just a thief. He was a robber. The
• 15:31
  S8: Bible says, which implies violence. And of course, the fact
• 15:34
  S8: that he was being crucified indicates that his crimes were significant.
• 15:39
  S8: I mean, this is not a person who's stealing apples
• 15:41
  S8: from a market stall. He actually says to the other thief,
• 15:44
  S8: we are getting what our deeds deserve. So this was
• 15:47
  S8: a guy who had lived a really bad and most
• 15:51
  S8: likely very violent life, and he's at the end of
• 15:54
  S8: his life. So, I mean, there's absolutely no hope for
• 15:57
  S8: this person at all, except that he finds himself next
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  S8: to Jesus and hears a man on the brink of hell.
• 16:05
  S8: And because he turns to Jesus and because of the
• 16:09
  S8: grace that he finds in Jesus, he has the promise
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  S8: of everlasting life.
• 16:13
  S6: What are the theological anchors that the thief on the
• 16:17
  S6: cross drives a stake in the ground around?
• 16:20
  S10: Well, I think that.
• 16:21
  S8: It points to all of the central elements of the
• 16:24
  S8: gospel itself. First, there's this person who is in rebellion
• 16:30
  S8: against God, and he's at the end of his life
• 16:34
  S8: and he's still pouring abuse on Jesus. Matthew tells us
• 16:38
  S8: that both of the robbers, plural, were ridiculing him, but
• 16:43
  S8: there seems to have been a change in his mind
• 16:46
  S8: and in his heart. He realizes he's getting towards eternity.
• 16:49
  S8: He's really not prepared for it. And what does he
• 16:54
  S8: know about Jesus? Well, he knows that Jesus has said, father,
• 16:58
  S8: forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.
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  S8: Perhaps he figured, well, if he could forgive the people
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  S8: who nailed him to the cross, perhaps he can forgive me.
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  S8: He knew that Jesus was a king. He had the
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  S8: sign above him, King of the Jews. And he says
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  S8: to Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
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  S8: So he seems to have recognized, and this is faith. Um,
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  S8: that that Jesus has a kingdom and that Jesus was
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  S8: able to bring him into the kingdom. So he has
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  S8: a change in his attitude towards Jesus. He puts trust
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  S8: in Jesus and Jesus gives him a promise which he
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  S8: then has to believe. Today you will be with me
• 17:38
  S8: in Paradise. But I mean, these are very foundational things
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  S8: you have to turn towards Jesus. You have to change
• 17:45
  S8: your attitude towards Jesus. You have to recognise your need
• 17:49
  S8: of Jesus. You have to ask of Jesus. Um, that's
• 17:52
  S8: what the thief did. And then believe the promise that
• 17:55
  S8: Jesus gives to you. But it is a story of
• 17:58
  S8: an amazing transformation.
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  S6: Yeah. You know, let's touch on finally that you touched
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  S6: on it, but let's drill down his acknowledgement. When he
• 18:07
  S6: looked to the other thief and said, we did it,
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  S6: we did it. That is the evidence of the spirit
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  S6: of the living God, quickening this man's soul with the
• 18:19
  S6: reality of his own sin and missing the mark. Expand
• 18:24
  S6: on that a little bit as it relates to every
• 18:25
  S6: person listening today.
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  S10: Yes.
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  S8: And the other thing he says to the other thief is,
• 18:30
  S8: don't you fear God? So he has some awareness that
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  S8: he finally comes to terms with, I've been running from
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  S8: God all of my life, but I am now at
• 18:41
  S8: a point where I can't avoid him any longer, and
• 18:44
  S8: every person is going to come to that point. At
• 18:48
  S8: some point, every person stands before the living God. Death
• 18:52
  S8: takes us out of this world, and we have to
• 18:54
  S8: give an account to him. And suddenly it seems that
• 18:57
  S8: at the end of his life, he comes to this awareness.
• 19:00
  S8: I have to deal with Almighty God and I'm not
• 19:04
  S8: prepared for it. I haven't given it any thought. I
• 19:07
  S8: can't backtrack on the way that I've lived. And he
• 19:10
  S8: realizes the urgency of that. And yes, there's no more lying,
• 19:15
  S8: no more denying, no more, um, presenting himself as the victim.
• 19:20
  S8: We are getting what our deeds deserve. There's honesty, there's
• 19:24
  S8: recognition of that. And that's actually the trajectory from which
• 19:29
  S8: he turns to Jesus and puts his faith in Jesus.
• 19:32
  S8: Ask Jesus to help him, and Jesus responds with the
• 19:35
  S8: most marvelous grace.
• 19:36
  S6: Oh, it's so beautiful. Sometime we get you on here.
• 19:40
  S6: I want to talk about prevenient grace and how even
• 19:43
  S6: with Lydia, God fearing woman, Cornelius, God fearing man, thief
• 19:47
  S6: on the cross, acknowledging, God fearing. It's. It's a work
• 19:50
  S6: of God through and through, isn't it, Colin?
• 19:52
  S10: Yeah, that's exactly right.
• 19:54
  S8: You know, there's a great comment. Bishop Ryle, a pastor
• 19:57
  S8: from a previous century, said about the two thieves on
• 19:59
  S8: the cross. He said one was saved, that none may despair,
• 20:05
  S8: one was lost, that none may presume. And that's the
• 20:09
  S8: danger that we hear this story and we say, oh,
• 20:12
  S8: isn't that wonderful? And that we don't actually turn to
• 20:15
  S8: Jesus in the way that the thief did. Ourselves. It
• 20:17
  S8: is possible to be lost, but it's gloriously possible to
• 20:21
  S8: be saved.
• 20:22
  S6: Wow. Beautiful. Okay, listen. Boom. crew. Colin Smith has been
• 20:27
  S6: my guest here. He has written one of the greatest
• 20:29
  S6: works on the Grace of God. Yes, unmerited favor and
• 20:35
  S6: Unlimited power. And it's called Heaven how I Got Here
• 20:39
  S6: The story of the thief on the cross. Now, I'm
• 20:41
  S6: going to give you a key word, and it's going
• 20:43
  S6: to take you to the site of open the Bible.
• 20:48
  S6: But I am praying that many of you are prompted
• 20:51
  S6: to go pick up this little book, grab it, and
• 20:54
  S6: maybe grab a couple extra copies to give to some
• 20:58
  S6: people that you love. Text the word open right now.
• 21:01
  S6: Open to 800 555 7898. One word open to 800
• 21:08
  S6: 555 7898. We are in a phenomenal week. So much
• 21:17
  S6: to learn. So much grace to be tapped.
• 21:20
  S1: This is Karl and crew on Moody Radio.
• 21:25
  S6: With us right now, doctor Bill Thrasher. Oh my goodness,
• 21:29
  S6: what an opportunity. You know, I've always thought Holy Week
• 21:32
  S6: is a great time, especially coming up on Easter. If
• 21:36
  S6: you're ever going to have a goal setting or a
• 21:38
  S6: restart or a reset, my goodness, better than January 1st
• 21:43
  S6: is Easter Sunday. You know what I mean? Bill.
• 21:46
  S11: You're so true.
• 21:47
  S6: Yeah, it's a great opportunity. This is quite a season
• 21:50
  S6: and we don't want to lose this week. We want
• 21:53
  S6: to redeem it for all that it is. What do
• 21:55
  S6: you think? Uh, let's kind of go Screwtape letter here
• 21:58
  S6: for a second. What do you think Satan would want
• 22:01
  S6: to try to do to derail us from really embracing
• 22:05
  S6: the power of this week?
• 22:07
  S12: Well, you know, I think there is such a Godward
• 22:10
  S12: focus to every holiday, but Easter is the pinnacle of it, right?
• 22:14
  S12: And we live in a land of religious freedom. But
• 22:18
  S12: sometimes we celebrate holidays as if we were had total
• 22:23
  S12: no freedom. You know, I just say approach any holiday. Saying, Lord,
• 22:28
  S12: my goal of this holiday, my goal is to enhance
• 22:31
  S12: my relationship with you. If that happens, you've had a
• 22:34
  S12: successful holiday because many times there are many other things
• 22:38
  S12: in regard to our frantic life we do in regard
• 22:40
  S12: to the celebration. And they're not bad, but let that
• 22:43
  S12: be the forefront. Lord, I want to enhance my relationship
• 22:46
  S12: with you. And secondly, I want to be a vessel
• 22:49
  S12: of love in any way you want me to be
• 22:52
  S12: to those around me and my loved ones in the
• 22:54
  S12: world in which I live, the church. The answer? That'll
• 22:56
  S12: be different for every one of us. But if you
• 22:58
  S12: have those two goals, I think that's a good start.
• 23:02
  S4: Doctor Bill Thrasher, our guest this morning, he's served on
• 23:05
  S4: the faculty of the Moody Bible Institute since 1980. Also
• 23:08
  S4: author of quite a few books, including Putting God Back
• 23:12
  S4: into the holidays, co-authored with his wife, Penny. That's a
• 23:15
  S4: great prayer. Enhance my relationship with you. Let anything I
• 23:18
  S4: do around this season. Certainly no more meaningful than Easter.
• 23:22
  S4: Some of it. The starting point would certainly have to
• 23:25
  S4: be a refreshing of the understanding of even what we're celebrating,
• 23:30
  S4: because that can become dull, even those of us who
• 23:32
  S4: have been in Christ for many years.
• 23:34
  S11: That is so true.
• 23:35
  S12: In regard to one of the greatest series a person
• 23:38
  S12: can preach and teach. Owen. Share with their family is
• 23:41
  S12: the accomplishments of the cross. I usually, I encourage people,
• 23:45
  S12: I send out emails in regard to think about. I mean,
• 23:48
  S12: just one word. Does it capture it? But think. Think
• 23:51
  S12: of the word redemption. You know, in the particular redemption
• 23:54
  S12: means we were enslaved. The Bible tells us six things.
• 23:57
  S12: We were enslaved to. The only key that could unlock
• 24:00
  S12: that prison door was the blood of Jesus. And then
• 24:04
  S12: it talks about the new relationships or the on the
• 24:06
  S12: other side of those prior six bondages. But when you
• 24:09
  S12: see yourself as redeemed, you know, he redeemed us that
• 24:11
  S12: we might be a people of his own possession. Sometimes
• 24:14
  S12: you hear the phrase pleading his blood. Well, the idea
• 24:18
  S12: is that what Christ redeemed me. That I belong to him.
• 24:21
  S12: The devil has no right to any hold on me.
• 24:24
  S12: When we go to bed angry, we can give him ground.
• 24:27
  S12: But he has no ground. We can even reclaim that ground.
• 24:30
  S12: So to take our position as a redeemed child of
• 24:33
  S12: God is really very powerful.
• 24:35
  S4: Doctor Bill Thrasher, our guest this morning. Let's talk a
• 24:38
  S4: little bit about the redemption, the propitiation, reconciliation, deliverance from
• 24:43
  S4: sin's power. You take your pick and just go where
• 24:47
  S4: the Lord leads you on it.
• 24:48
  S13: Yeah, let's do it.
• 24:49
  S11: Propitiation.
• 24:50
  S12: I think I was in seminary when that really just
• 24:53
  S12: came alive. To me, the idea, it's the Godward aspect
• 24:55
  S12: of the cross, you know, where we're under the wrath
• 24:59
  S12: of God. Now, false religions basically want to hold people
• 25:03
  S12: captive almost with an irrational fear. When is God going
• 25:08
  S12: to throw a fit? And somehow I have to make
• 25:10
  S12: him satisfied so he doesn't do that to me. That's
• 25:13
  S12: totally opposite in the biblical concept of propitiation. We are
• 25:17
  S12: under the wrath of God, but God is slow to wrath.
• 25:19
  S12: God wants to deliver us from his wrath. He has
• 25:22
  S12: given the propitiatory sacrifice so that now as a child
• 25:26
  S12: of God, you know when I saw that he is
• 25:28
  S12: totally satisfied. When you know the father is pursuing the
• 25:32
  S12: prodigal son, he kissed him before he made his confession.
• 25:36
  S12: There's one wise, godly mother when she would discipline her children,
• 25:40
  S12: and after they had confessed their sin and she would
• 25:44
  S12: look them in the face, says, you can be happy now. See,
• 25:46
  S12: part of that is the idea we somehow we feel
• 25:48
  S12: like we're still on a little bit of probation. You know,
• 25:51
  S12: we know we've done wrong. He disciplines, but he disciplines
• 25:53
  S12: out of love. You know, he says, I'm writing these
• 25:56
  S12: things that you may not sin, but if you do sin,
• 25:58
  S12: we have a propitiation with the father not only for
• 26:02
  S12: our sins, but for the whole world. So the idea
• 26:05
  S12: when you see he's totally satisfied. I still have a
• 26:08
  S12: three by five card. I remember riding on the three
• 26:10
  S12: by five card. Lord never has living a holy life
• 26:13
  S12: being so joyful as seeing that you are totally satisfied
• 26:17
  S12: with Christ's death on the cross. That's propitiation. And there's
• 26:21
  S12: reconciliation that we have. What? The barrier has been broken down.
• 26:25
  S12: We can now come boldly with freedom to the throne
• 26:28
  S12: of grace. Class was just starting one day, and before
• 26:31
  S12: it even started, this student just sort of spontaneously shared
• 26:34
  S12: this testimony. He said, I was I was struggling with
• 26:37
  S12: an ungodly habit. I was asking God to deliver me
• 26:39
  S12: from that ungodly habit. Nothing was happening. I still had
• 26:43
  S12: that ungodly habit. But he says, a discerning, loving man
• 26:46
  S12: of God came to me and looked me right in
• 26:47
  S12: the eye and said, why are you asking God to
• 26:49
  S12: deliver you from that? You don't really want God to
• 26:51
  S12: answer that prayer, do you? You love that ungodly habit.
• 26:54
  S12: He said that was the absolute precise truth. He said
• 26:56
  S12: one of the most humbling things he ever did. He
• 26:58
  S12: came to God and say, God, I'm ashamed of this,
• 27:01
  S12: but I love this ungodly habit. He also told me
• 27:04
  S12: that was the beginning of breaking the ungodly habit.
• 27:07
  S6: Drill down on that. Doctor Bill Thrasher is our guest
• 27:09
  S6: right now. I think a lot of people, I don't
• 27:11
  S6: want to fly past that. That's huge. When we talk
• 27:15
  S6: honestly with God, not just deliver me from this sin
• 27:19
  S6: that's holding me back, but God, I want to be
• 27:21
  S6: honest with you and tell you it's very evident from
• 27:24
  S6: the pattern in my life that I like it too much.
• 27:27
  S6: What is that doing in our communion with God?
• 27:30
  S12: God does not honor a dishonesty, even if the dishonesty
• 27:35
  S12: is almost has a spiritual tone to it. Now that
• 27:38
  S12: person did not want to say. He wanted to say
• 27:41
  S12: deliver me because he knew that's what he should say,
• 27:43
  S12: but his heart wasn't there. And so, you know, to
• 27:46
  S12: be able to when wherever we're praying and we're not
• 27:48
  S12: praying our heart, we're not praying. So it's usually underneath.
• 27:51
  S12: It's where the battles are. That's where the fear is. Ah,
• 27:54
  S12: that's where the anger is, and that's where God wants
• 27:57
  S12: to meet us. If he doesn't meet us there. I mean,
• 28:00
  S12: is God relevant? Of course he's relevant and he wants
• 28:02
  S12: to meet us there. But it takes an environment of
• 28:05
  S12: love to allow people to be met there. A critical
• 28:09
  S12: spirit will just shut it off instantly. And sometimes it
• 28:12
  S12: takes time. That in our culture, we don't really feel
• 28:15
  S12: like we have the time. We move too fast to
• 28:17
  S12: even discern what's happening in our life. Ecclesiastes says anger
• 28:21
  S12: is in the bosom of a fool. In other words,
• 28:23
  S12: you just bury it. That's the glorious thing. God is
• 28:26
  S12: the most reconcilable person you'll ever have a relationship. He
• 28:29
  S12: loves you in a way beyond what you love yourself.
• 28:32
  S12: He wants to minister to you in a way that
• 28:34
  S12: you don't even know how to ask him to.
• 28:36
  S6: So let's pair those together. Propitiation. He paid the price past,
• 28:41
  S6: present and future. And you're right. First John, chapter two.
• 28:44
  S6: Chapter four loaded with, uh, evidence of this past, present, future.
• 28:50
  S6: It seems to me that if we're doing the the
• 28:52
  S6: hard work of discipleship and we're coming before the Lord, honestly,
• 28:56
  S6: that reconciliation is made much more possible and within reach
• 29:02
  S6: when we realize that the very sins that we're wanting
• 29:06
  S6: to get over, God has already forgiven us from. That's powerhouse,
• 29:11
  S6: isn't it, Doc?
• 29:12
  S12: That is powerhouse and in the provision of the crosses also,
• 29:16
  S12: you know obviously to have a relationship with the Holy God,
• 29:19
  S12: he has to forgive you of everything past, present, future, everything.
• 29:22
  S12: But he's also enable us to enjoy intimate relationship with him.
• 29:28
  S12: Imperfect me. The idea is we walk in the light.
• 29:31
  S12: That's one of the most freeing verses in all. The
• 29:33
  S12: Bible to me is we walk in the light, walk openly, honestly,
• 29:36
  S12: transparently before him. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from
• 29:39
  S12: all sin. Yes, the fellowship, forgiveness that he. And he
• 29:42
  S12: wants me to be intimate with him.
• 29:44
  S4: Doctor Bill Thrasher, our guest this morning. If you want
• 29:46
  S4: more from Doctor Thrasher, he has lots of resources. He's
• 29:50
  S4: got a website. He puts out some encouragements. Just text,
• 29:53
  S4: pray to 800 555 7898. Text pray to 800 555 7898.
• 30:02
  S6: You know, uh, Doc, I want to let you riff
• 30:06
  S6: on one last thing here. The resurrection of Christ from
• 30:09
  S6: the dead. This incredible hope rising is what we're capturing
• 30:13
  S6: as at our campuses this year. We can just focus.
• 30:18
  S6: I guess we could go celebrate. The tomb is empty.
• 30:20
  S6: But boy, that has implications for our day to day life,
• 30:24
  S6: doesn't it? Give us a couple of high points?
• 30:26
  S12: Well, you know, resurrection power, what Paul prayed, you know,
• 30:29
  S12: that we would know the power of his resurrection. That
• 30:31
  S12: was his aim in his life, that I may know
• 30:33
  S12: him and the power of his resurrection. Not only is
• 30:35
  S12: it the power to live a new life. Romans six
• 30:37
  S12: four now we can walk in newness of life, uh,
• 30:40
  S12: because one of the accomplishments, the cross, he's delivered us
• 30:42
  S12: not just from sins, penalty from sins, power. Another thing
• 30:45
  S12: that really ministered to me in regard to resurrection power,
• 30:48
  S12: resurrection power is the power that gives victory out of
• 30:51
  S12: apparent defeat. I think I saw this for the first
• 30:54
  S12: time in revelation 11. Two future unnamed witnesses. They have
• 30:58
  S12: a glorious ministry and then they are martyred. And then
• 31:01
  S12: not only are they martyred, but they are lay in
• 31:04
  S12: the streets and they're mocked. They don't even give them
• 31:06
  S12: a proper burial. And they celebrate the deaths of these
• 31:09
  S12: two godly men. But out of this apparent defeat. Then
• 31:12
  S12: there's what they're raised from the dead. And so that
• 31:15
  S12: is really the message of, you know, it looked like
• 31:18
  S12: the enemies of righteousness had won when they crucified Christ
• 31:20
  S12: and laid him in a tomb. And the disciples fled,
• 31:23
  S12: and they were scared. But out of that parent defeat,
• 31:26
  S12: God wins victories. Now that's a way of God, and
• 31:29
  S12: that way will be experienced in all of our lives.
• 31:33
  S12: But when God's done something special, it's usually been preceded
• 31:36
  S12: by a difficult time, a thing that caused me to
• 31:39
  S12: be low almost. I could have despaired, but God brings
• 31:42
  S12: us low. For would you cry out to him and
• 31:44
  S12: win those victories in the midst of apparent defeat? So
• 31:47
  S12: I pray that God will put hope into each one,
• 31:50
  S12: listening to us in regard to whatever their struggle may be,
• 31:52
  S12: whatever their difficulty may be, that God wants to do
• 31:55
  S12: something very, very special. On the other side of that.
• 31:58
  S4: Doctor Bill Thrasher, just text, pray to 800 555 7898
• 32:04
  S4: for more. Just text. Pray 800 555, 78, 98.
• 32:10
  S1: The gospel changes everything.
• 32:13
  S4: Where else am I gonna find peace? Joy. Eternal life
• 32:16
  S4: not found in anyone else.
• 32:19
  S1: You're listening to Carl and Crew.
• 32:22
  S6: Yeah, you get that, right. I didn't want to leave
• 32:24
  S6: us there. And Holy Week is a great reset. By
• 32:28
  S6: the way, when you get this link unleash and you
• 32:32
  S6: text it to ten people, don't forget to text back
• 32:35
  S6: the word done. That gets your name in the hopper
• 32:38
  S6: so that we can we're grabbing ten of you that
• 32:41
  S6: have texted the word done after you send out to
• 32:44
  S6: ten people the app so that we can spread this
• 32:47
  S6: word far and wide where they're not sticks in tents
• 32:50
  S6: in some cities or countries. So when you do that,
• 32:53
  S6: when you send out those ten links, text the word
• 32:57
  S6: done to us here, we'll get your name in the
• 32:58
  S6: hopper for this cool gift pack. And it's awesome, man.
• 33:02
  S6: Moody Bible commentary, Killing sin and the seven resolutions. I'm
• 33:06
  S6: going to sign my two books. Michael Riedel is going
• 33:09
  S6: to sign as general editor, the Moody Bible Commentary, and
• 33:13
  S6: we're going to send ten of you this cool little
• 33:15
  S6: prize pack. But make sure after you do it, text
• 33:18
  S6: the word done. Now some of you are just tuning
• 33:20
  S6: in going, hold it a second, I want a text done.
• 33:23
  S6: I want to get my name in the hat. But
• 33:25
  S6: what am I doing here?
• 33:26
  S2: That's right. It's a little Easter. Unleash the gospel challenge
• 33:30
  S2: and we want you to be a part of it.
• 33:31
  S2: Share the app with ten friends. How do you get
• 33:34
  S2: the app link? To get this all started, text us
• 33:37
  S2: the word unleash. Unleash to (800) 555-7898. That gets the whole
• 33:43
  S2: process started.
• 33:44
  S6: Yeah. Really cool. And we're grateful for you doing this.
• 33:47
  S6: What a win win guys. Okay. There is a cool story.
• 33:51
  S6: It's the widow's mite, two copper coins. And by the way,
• 33:53
  S6: let me just tell you about this story. What would
• 33:55
  S6: have been really interesting is there were these vessels that
• 33:59
  S6: had kind of a trumpet effect, and they would have
• 34:01
  S6: dropped in their offerings in the temple courts, and the
• 34:06
  S6: widow's mite wouldn't have made much noise. Others made noise,
• 34:10
  S6: and they probably loved to advertise it. There would have
• 34:14
  S6: been those. But there's a bigger plot going on, and
• 34:18
  S6: in order to see this, I want to back up
• 34:20
  S6: just in front of the mark account of this story.
• 34:23
  S6: Jesus said in his teaching, he said, beware of the
• 34:26
  S6: scribes who like to walk around in long robes and
• 34:30
  S6: like greetings in the marketplaces, and have the best seats
• 34:33
  S6: in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts
• 34:38
  S6: who devour widows houses. Isn't that interesting? We don't normally
• 34:43
  S6: back up to this text, who devour widows houses and
• 34:48
  S6: for a pretense, make long prayers. They will receive the
• 34:52
  S6: greater condemnation. Then he says this, and he sat down
• 34:56
  S6: opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into
• 35:00
  S6: the offering box. These are these trumpet little vessels. Many
• 35:05
  S6: rich people put in large sums. So it's going. Clang
• 35:08
  S6: clang clang clang clang clang clang clang. And then he
• 35:11
  S6: says this. And a poor widow came and put in
• 35:16
  S6: two small copper coins which made a penny. And he
• 35:22
  S6: called his disciples to him. Hey, guys, come over here.
• 35:26
  S6: I want to tell you. I say to you, this
• 35:28
  S6: poor widow has put in more than all those who
• 35:33
  S6: are contributing to the offering box, more than all those,
• 35:38
  S6: for they all contributed out of their abundance. But she
• 35:41
  S6: gave out of her poverty and has put in everything
• 35:46
  S6: she had. All she had to live on, all she
• 35:50
  S6: had to live on. So is this a story of generosity? Yes.
• 35:56
  S6: For sure. Is it a story of radical generosity? Yes,
• 36:00
  S6: but there's a bigger subplot going on here. This is
• 36:05
  S6: a woman who looked beyond the obvious at an earthly level.
• 36:11
  S6: She could have looked at the Pharisees. She could have
• 36:14
  S6: looked at all this pomp. She could have been listening
• 36:16
  S6: to the big jingle going into the container going, oh boy,
• 36:20
  S6: what is mine? But more than that, she could have
• 36:23
  S6: looked at the hypocrisy. See, on Tuesday of Holy Week
• 36:27
  S6: is when Jesus spoke about this widow's mite. But the
• 36:30
  S6: day before is when he had flipped over the money
• 36:33
  S6: changers tables. Pigeons are going everywhere. Coins are going everywhere.
• 36:39
  S6: And he's saying, this is the house of prayer, and
• 36:42
  S6: you've turned it into a den of robbers. You got
• 36:44
  S6: to ask. Well then, Carl, if it's not just generosity,
• 36:48
  S6: what was it? Listen, it wasn't lost on anyone, including
• 36:53
  S6: this poor widow who gave everything she had, that the
• 36:58
  S6: system that she was giving it into was flawed big time.
• 37:03
  S2: Like. Like, no, I mean, like any other.
• 37:06
  S6: Like any other. Like it was, it was filled with grift, man.
• 37:11
  S6: Guys are skimming money. They're dressed in their finery, and
• 37:16
  S6: she's giving. And here's the point. Did she give sacrificially? Yeah,
• 37:21
  S6: she gave sacrificially, but she didn't let flawed humans and
• 37:28
  S6: flawed human systems become an excuse for her to not
• 37:33
  S6: worship God.
• 37:34
  S2: Amen. That's a big deal.
• 37:37
  S6: That's a big deal.
• 37:40
  S2: Because we've heard that before where I don't I want
• 37:44
  S2: to give to God. I don't want to give to man.
• 37:46
  S2: Man messes it up. So I'm just not gonna. I'm
• 37:48
  S2: not gonna be a part of anything.
• 37:50
  S6: Welcome to the world, man. Messes up everything we do.
• 37:54
  S2: We certainly do.
• 37:55
  S6: You know, I just think about all the pastors out
• 37:58
  S6: there listening right now. Here's the truth. The vast majority
• 38:03
  S6: of pastors are not fleecing people. The vast majority.
• 38:07
  S2: 100%.
• 38:08
  S6: Are out there sacrificially duking it out. And they are
• 38:12
  S6: all in on the gospel. Hug your pastor someday and
• 38:16
  S6: then tell them why. Thanks for being faithful with the gospel.
• 38:20
  S6: But here's here's the truth. I don't care how great
• 38:24
  S6: a pastors are, they're going to be moments when we
• 38:28
  S6: when we invest in something that was kind of a
• 38:32
  S6: kind of an empty hole when it comes like drilling
• 38:34
  S6: wells for God's kingdom. Sure. Are there going to be
• 38:38
  S6: times when we, uh, a pastor has a, uh, a
• 38:43
  S6: lunch meeting that really isn't too valuable, but, you know,
• 38:46
  S6: it went on the church credit card and it was
• 38:48
  S6: for 15 bucks. And it probably isn't going to result
• 38:52
  S6: in a lot of fruit. Yeah, it's going to happen.
• 38:55
  S6: You can find the smallest reasons from an earthly level
• 39:00
  S6: to not give. And this widow, she gave sacrificially, but
• 39:04
  S6: she gave to God, not to man.
• 39:08
  S3: Yeah.
• 39:09
  S6: At the end of the day, she gave for the
• 39:11
  S6: eyes of God, not for man. How awesome is that?
• 39:14
  S2: Because that's what it was all about. It was. It
• 39:16
  S2: had nothing to do with the men surrounding the situation.
• 39:19
  S2: It was, God, I love you and I want to
• 39:23
  S2: give everything I have to you. And so I do.
• 39:25
  S6: Yeah, it's it's absolutely beautiful. So here's my appeal on
• 39:31
  S6: this Holy Week. Don't get hung up on the fallenness
• 39:37
  S6: of people. The imperfection of a leader. The. When he
• 39:46
  S6: was talking to me, he was looking over my shoulder.
• 39:48
  S6: It's happened. It's easy to get cynical by looking at
• 39:55
  S6: imperfections in leaders or in churches or in organizations. It
• 40:00
  S6: is so easy. Don't let that rip you off from
• 40:08
  S6: what God wants to do in you. This is so
• 40:12
  S6: much bigger than humans or human made systems. This is
• 40:18
  S6: about a God who sees what you give, sees what
• 40:22
  S6: you do. He sees your time, talent, and treasure, and
• 40:26
  S6: it's for the eyes of God. And that's what the
• 40:28
  S6: widow teaches us. Because don't you know that wise woman
• 40:32
  S6: knew exactly all the grift going on around there? And
• 40:36
  S6: she goes, this isn't for you knuckleheads. This is for
• 40:39
  S6: my God.
• 40:40
  S2: Exactly. And it's not as if her gift was going
• 40:43
  S2: to impress any of them anyway. In fact, some people
• 40:46
  S2: probably would have looked at it and scoffed.
• 40:47
  S6: Oh, they would have.
• 40:48
  S2: You only got two little coins to give. Yeah. What's
• 40:51
  S2: the point? Yeah, well, the point was, she loved God.
• 40:56
  S6: Don't be a cynic. Cynics never bear fruit. Don't get cynical.
• 41:04
  S6: Someone needed to hear that today. The widow's mite is
• 41:08
  S6: an example of extreme generosity in the face of crazy
• 41:14
  S6: spiritual systems.
• 41:16
  S3: Yeah.
• 41:17
  S6: Don't let cynicism grab you by the throat today. Be grateful.
• 41:24
  S6: Be joyful. The tomb is empty.
• 41:27
  S1: This is Karl and crew on Moody Radio.
• 41:32
  S6: The great commandment was given during Holy Week. Jesus was
• 41:36
  S6: pinned down, asked a question. What's the greatest command? Might
• 41:41
  S6: have been seen as a trap by some, but it
• 41:44
  S6: was real for one man. The question is, what's the
• 41:49
  S6: greatest commandment found in Mark 1230? It's a beautiful passage.
• 41:55
  S6: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind,
• 41:59
  S6: and strength. The second is like it love your neighbor
• 42:02
  S6: as yourself. You know, that second part is exactly what
• 42:07
  S6: indicates that the real first one is really authentic. It's
• 42:11
  S6: a powerful insight. So I got a crazy open question
• 42:14
  S6: for you. When did God capture your heart to love
• 42:19
  S6: him with all your heart? It's that simple. When was it?
• 42:22
  S6: When was it? You know, the interesting thing about our
• 42:28
  S6: love for God is that I do believe it is
• 42:31
  S6: possible that you can have repented of your sins and
• 42:36
  S6: found salvation in Jesus Christ because you've acknowledged I'm a sinner.
• 42:41
  S6: I need a Savior. But it could have been some
• 42:44
  S6: time after that, that the full embrace of love for
• 42:48
  S6: God was realized and its ever deepening. Its not one
• 42:54
  S6: and done. Its a deepening and an understanding of boy.
• 42:59
  S6: He wants my heart, my soul, my mind, my strength.
• 43:02
  S6: Everything about me. But I want to get your story.
• 43:06
  S6: When is God really captivated your heart and what was
• 43:09
  S6: going on then that caused that to happen? I want
• 43:12
  S6: you to give us a phone call. When did God
• 43:15
  S6: really capture your heart, soul, mind and strength with love
• 43:19
  S6: for him? What was happening? My hunch is it was
• 43:23
  S6: a tough time. My hunch is it's when you needed
• 43:27
  S6: him most. Give us a call right now. I'm asking
• 43:30
  S6: you to be bold. Never called before. Today's your day.
• 43:34
  S6: 800 555 78. 98. When did Jesus capture your love
• 43:42
  S6: for him? heart, soul, mind and strength. And what was
• 43:48
  S6: going on then? Give us a call right now. Light
• 43:51
  S6: them up, guys. 800 555, 7898. Give us a call
• 43:56
  S6: on this one 800 555 7898.
• 44:02
  S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
• 44:06
  S6: Yeah, it's a beautiful thing when we get. And it's
• 44:10
  S6: usually related to coming to the end of our self
• 44:13
  S6: when we really experience that man, I love the Lord
• 44:16
  S6: my God with all my heart, my soul, my mind,
• 44:19
  S6: and my strength and the fruit. Then the overflow of
• 44:23
  S6: that is then we love our neighbor as ourself. It's
• 44:26
  S6: the greatest commandment. It was given during Holy Week, and
• 44:30
  S6: it's the engine room for everything good that flows out
• 44:35
  S6: of us. Everything that flows out of us flows from that.
• 44:39
  S6: Give us a call 800 555, 7898. Taking your calls.
• 44:43
  S6: We've had a couple come in here that couldn't stick around,
• 44:47
  S6: but we're taking your calls 805, five five 7898. And
• 44:53
  S6: the question is, what is God doing in your life?
• 44:56
  S6: What was he doing to capture everything about you? Sherry.
• 45:00
  S6: First time caller, Winter Haven, Florida. What's your story? Sherry.
• 45:05
  S14: I was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. Um,
• 45:09
  S14: not not much hope of of a five year survival.
• 45:13
  S14: And the Lord just absolutely put it on my heart
• 45:18
  S14: that there were several treatment options and that I just
• 45:23
  S14: needed to choose one and then totally lean into him
• 45:29
  S14: and stick with him. And it really didn't matter which
• 45:34
  S14: one I picked. The. The important part was to trust
• 45:38
  S14: the Lord And six and a half years later, I'm
• 45:43
  S14: still here.
• 45:44
  S6: Wow. That's beautiful. Sherry. We're so happy for you, sister.
• 45:48
  S6: Isn't it amazing what God does to drive us to
• 45:52
  S6: our knees in those moments? And then we find his
• 45:55
  S6: love like never before, sister.
• 45:56
  S3: Amen.
• 45:58
  S14: Amen. Amen. I, I never would have thought that I
• 46:03
  S14: would be thankful that I had that kind of a disease.
• 46:05
  S14: But oh my goodness, it's just made every bit of
• 46:09
  S14: difference in my walk with the Lord.
• 46:11
  S6: Yeah. That's beautiful. Sherry. Boom, sister. That's why we call
• 46:14
  S6: you the boom crew here, guys. Boom boom boom. Beautiful.
• 46:19
  S6: Lizette in Florida. What's your story, Lizette?
• 46:22
  S15: Um. Hi, Carl. So grateful for your ministry. Um, I
• 46:28
  S15: am walking through a divorce, and, um, you know, my
• 46:32
  S15: husband was really my everything. I didn't realize really how
• 46:36
  S15: much I had put him in front of God, And
• 46:39
  S15: it's only since this separation and subsequent divorce that I just.
• 46:44
  S15: I didn't choose to turn to another man or. Or
• 46:47
  S15: the worldly pleasures I. From the beginning, Jesus said, focus
• 46:51
  S15: on me. Look to me. Don't look left. Don't look right.
• 46:54
  S15: And while it's been the most the hardest years of
• 46:57
  S15: my life, because I did lose my father and and
• 46:59
  S15: my marriage in the same year. Um, it's just Jesus
• 47:03
  S15: has proven to be my everything. He's, he's really given
• 47:07
  S15: me the strength to walk through all of this. And
• 47:10
  S15: my heart is for him like never before. And that's,
• 47:13
  S15: you know, the years that are left in my life,
• 47:15
  S15: that's what matters to me is just running towards him,
• 47:18
  S15: running for what he has for me. I know this
• 47:20
  S15: isn't the end. I know this is my story is
• 47:22
  S15: way not over.
• 47:24
  S6: So I'll tell you, Lisette, I'm going to tell you something.
• 47:26
  S6: I can tell that you are drawn near to God
• 47:29
  S6: and you're finding love in him with your whole heart,
• 47:31
  S6: because you've got the piece of the fruit of the
• 47:35
  S6: spirit coming out of you. That's God, isn't it? Lisette.
• 47:39
  S15: It so is. Absolutely. It's only God. Because it wasn't
• 47:43
  S15: there in the beginning.
• 47:45
  S13: Did you get.
• 47:45
  S6: Blindsided with something in this marriage, or did.
• 47:48
  S13: You see.
• 47:48
  S15: A fair. He had an affair. Yeah. Midlife crisis is real.
• 47:52
  S15: Real deal. Affair with a 24 year old. Mhm.
• 47:55
  S6: Has he repented of that?
• 47:57
  S15: Nope. No, he's living with her.
• 48:00
  S13: Oh my God.
• 48:02
  S15: Yep.
• 48:03
  S6: Well, that's. That's proof positive that God can meet us
• 48:07
  S6: at our point of need. You got every opportunity to
• 48:09
  S6: be bitter, angry, and and disconnected from God. But you've
• 48:14
  S6: gone the other direction. What do you say to someone
• 48:16
  S6: that's in a crisis right now like yours, Lisette? Or something?
• 48:19
  S6: A crisis of any kind. You know, you say.
• 48:22
  S15: It, God's got a purpose. While he doesn't cause these things,
• 48:26
  S15: he they, he does allow things. And I realize, you know,
• 48:32
  S15: he called me years ago and, and my husband was
• 48:36
  S15: in the way. I mean, I hate to say that, but,
• 48:38
  S15: you know, because I really had made an idol out
• 48:40
  S15: of my marriage and my husband, but, but but Jesus
• 48:44
  S15: is truly my provider. You know, I was so afraid
• 48:48
  S15: because this man, you know, provided for me and everything else. Um,
• 48:52
  S15: but that Jesus has shown himself worthy in every way.
• 48:57
  S15: And the lonely nights, the sadness, the tears. I did
• 49:00
  S15: believe every tear I cried. And believe me, I shed
• 49:02
  S15: a lake full. That he was bottling them up and
• 49:06
  S15: that he is going to use them. He is watering
• 49:08
  S15: a garden. Um. It has been a hard process, but
• 49:13
  S15: the only way the world will offer many temptations and
• 49:17
  S15: many other areas to take your focus off of Jesus.
• 49:21
  S15: But the thing is, pour in. Get in a good church.
• 49:24
  S15: Get surrounded by good friends that pray you through this crisis.
• 49:28
  S15: Because there is. There is so much hope and healing
• 49:31
  S15: through it and and purpose. I have a new purpose.
• 49:35
  S15: Like I've never had before. Because I know I am
• 49:37
  S15: so not alone.
• 49:38
  S13: Isn't that.
• 49:39
  S6: Amazing? Oh, Lisette, you know, I. You must have a
• 49:44
  S6: couple of good buddies around you, don't you?
• 49:47
  S15: I do, I do. Yeah, I do.
• 49:50
  S6: Yeah. It's beautiful. Tell him Karl said thank you for
• 49:53
  S6: being a good friend through a storm, would you?
• 49:56
  S15: I will.
• 49:57
  S6: Yeah. Proud of you, Lisette. That's why we call you
• 50:00
  S6: the boom crew here. Boom crew right there. I don't
• 50:04
  S6: know what you're up against today, but there's really two
• 50:06
  S6: directions to go. One is to kind of run away
• 50:09
  S6: from God, and you won't even do it necessarily willfully,
• 50:13
  S6: but in a panic in Heartbrokenness. You might look around
• 50:17
  S6: for some substitute God to fill that void. I'll tell
• 50:20
  S6: you something. Jesus is the only answer when you're in
• 50:23
  S6: a crisis. And for you today, because God's speaking to you.
• 50:30
  S6: I don't care if this crisis is small or large.
• 50:35
  S6: Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden.
• 50:37
  S6: I'll give you rest. You take my yoke upon you,
• 50:40
  S6: and you learn from me. For I am gentle and
• 50:41
  S6: humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
• 50:44
  S6: For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
• 50:47
  S6: Jesus is saying, come on, come near to me. And
• 50:54
  S6: you let that love for God, heart, soul, mind, strength.
• 50:58
  S6: You let that boil in your belly and he's going
• 51:02
  S6: to meet you in ways like Lisette just spoke that
• 51:05
  S6: you cannot even imagine. Did God cause it? No. Did
• 51:11
  S6: he allow it? Yeah. Does he leverage it for your good? Yes.
• 51:16
  S6: Yes he can. What a great promise that is.
• 51:19
  S1: Tune in whenever you like. Check out the Carl and
• 51:22
  S1: Crew podcast wherever you like to stream.
• 51:25
  S6: Carl and crew and Stella. Thanks for holding on. First
• 51:28
  S6: time caller from Running Hills, Illinois. When did Jesus capture
• 51:32
  S6: your heart to love him with all your heart?
• 51:36
  S16: Good. Monica. I love you guys and I'm glad that
• 51:39
  S16: I was able to call him today because the lady
• 51:42
  S16: last time, the one that just finished speaking, I believe Leslie, uh,
• 51:47
  S16: her story is similar to mine. Um, only that I'm
• 51:50
  S16: still in my marriage, uh, to the glory of God. So, yes. Um,
• 51:54
  S16: I really, truly surrender to the Lord and loved him. And, uh,
• 51:59
  S16: I've always been a Christian, raised in a Christian home. Uh,
• 52:03
  S16: but my marriage, uh, 17 years ago. Well, I've been
• 52:06
  S16: in the marriage, uh, over 22 years now, but, uh,
• 52:10
  S16: 17 years ago, before my second daughter was born, uh,
• 52:14
  S16: we were having so much crisis. And, um, for some reason,
• 52:20
  S16: the Lord just called me and said, Stella, I need
• 52:23
  S16: you to focus on me because I want to focus
• 52:25
  S16: on you.
• 52:26
  S3: Wow.
• 52:27
  S16: And I think that that call. Uh. Got me. Really? Uh, chill.
• 52:32
  S16: And I loved my husband. I felt like he was
• 52:36
  S16: everything to me. But at the minute. At the moment,
• 52:40
  S16: I just needed somewhere to, like, you know, to go
• 52:44
  S16: to and be hiding and just really see what what
• 52:47
  S16: is this for me? Yeah. And through that time, God
• 52:50
  S16: revealed to me that I am number one. Uh, and
• 52:54
  S16: every other thing comes second. So, um, and I decided
• 52:58
  S16: to walk in him. I plugged myself up into a
• 53:02
  S16: good community of, uh, you know, women. I was always
• 53:06
  S16: a single person, even though I was married in a group. Uh,
• 53:09
  S16: they poured into me. And, um, I just loved Jesus
• 53:13
  S16: every day, and I'm still in that marriage. So the
• 53:17
  S16: marriage is thriving.
• 53:18
  S17: Yeah. Way to go, Stella. That's so.
• 53:21
  S6: Cool. Boom! Sister. First time caller from Illinois here. Wow.
• 53:25
  S2: These are great stories.
• 53:27
  S6: Oh my goodness.
• 53:28
  S2: You know, what I love about these stories is they
• 53:30
  S2: all have a common thread that they their love for
• 53:34
  S2: God increased when they saw God's love for them in
• 53:38
  S2: a more clear way.
• 53:39
  S6: God initiated. They responded.
• 53:41
  S2: Yeah. And I think that's so important. I heard Susie
• 53:43
  S2: Larson say one time, and it's important, I think, for
• 53:46
  S2: all of us to hear that take time, to not
• 53:50
  S2: take time 15 minutes a day to to sit and
• 53:52
  S2: focus not on how much you love God and evaluate that,
• 53:56
  S2: but sit and focus on how much God loves you. Yeah.
• 53:59
  S2: And sit and think about that. And the more that
• 54:00
  S2: becomes a reality to you, the more your love for
• 54:03
  S2: him will increase.
• 54:04
  S6: Big time, big time. Great word. Stella. Boom, sister. That's
• 54:08
  S6: why we call you the Boom crew. Okay, couple news hits.
• 54:11
  S6: Let's go, my man.
• 54:15
  S2: The US has reportedly attacked a site in the Iranian
• 54:18
  S2: city of Isfahan with massive bunker buster bombs. Word of
• 54:22
  S2: the strike came as President Trump shared a video without
• 54:24
  S2: context yesterday of a massive explosion followed by detonations and
• 54:28
  S2: huge fires. The city is home to an air base
• 54:31
  S2: and is also the site of Iran's leading nuclear research facility.
• 54:35
  S2: TSA employees started receiving retroactive pay on Monday following weeks
• 54:39
  S2: of working without compensation during the partial government shutdown. While
• 54:43
  S2: many workers saw deposits hit their bank accounts, officials cautioned
• 54:46
  S2: that some payments may take longer to process and full
• 54:49
  S2: reimbursement could be delayed. The back pay follows an executive
• 54:52
  S2: order signed Friday aimed at easing long wait times and
• 54:56
  S2: addressing the rise in employee absences nationwide. I'm Jonathan. That's
• 55:01
  S2: your real quick update.
• 55:02
  S6: I want to give you a banner ad for something
• 55:04
  S6: we just unleashed today. It's only a three day effort,
• 55:07
  S6: but boy, we are leaning in and I'm asking you
• 55:10
  S6: you to be a part of this one today. And
• 55:13
  S6: this is kind of like share. Don't look over your shoulder.
• 55:16
  S6: I'm asking you to do this. Yes. And this is
• 55:18
  S6: not asking you to give anything except just a few
• 55:22
  S6: moments of your time, and what you're going to give
• 55:24
  S6: away is going to be amazing. Take it away, my man.
• 55:27
  S2: Yeah. This is the Easter week. Unleash the gospel challenge.
• 55:31
  S2: We want you to be a part of it. Listen,
• 55:33
  S2: we've been talking about the Moody Radio app for a
• 55:35
  S2: while now because it's such a great resource. You can
• 55:37
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• 55:40
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• 55:43
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• 55:48
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• 55:51
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• 55:53
  S2: who don't have a moody radio station near them. So
• 55:57
  S2: this challenge starts with you texting us the word unleash.
• 56:01
  S2: Text the word unleash to 800 555 7898 800 555 7898.
• 56:09
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• 56:12
  S2: to the app, share that link, and maybe even a
• 56:15
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• 56:17
  S2: with ten friends. Again, especially those who don't have a
• 56:20
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• 56:23
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• 56:27
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• 56:29
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• 56:36
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• 56:39
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• 56:42
  S2: ten winners who will get this awesome gift pack that's
• 56:46
  S2: got some great resources in it just for you.
• 56:48
  S6: Yeah, it's really cool. Moody Bible commentary, killing sin, the
• 56:52
  S6: seven resolutions. I'm going to sign my two most recent books.
• 56:55
  S6: Michael Wright is going to put a signature on the
• 56:58
  S6: Moody Bible commentary as the general editor, and we'll get
• 57:01
  S6: that out to you. Ten of you randomly selected everybody
• 57:04
  S6: jump in the pool and we're grateful right now. One
• 57:08
  S6: key word unleash to 805 five, five, 78, 98 one
• 57:13
  S6: word unleashed to 800 555, 78, 98. What a win
• 57:18
  S6: win for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.