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Crusade with Me! What is good? Don't give me that garbage! · Crusade with Me

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Welcome to Crusade With Me, the podcast that
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challenges the status quo and explores timeless
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truths through the lens of faith. I'm your host,
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Dave, and today we're diving deep into a single
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word, one that gets tossed around so often, but
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one that we rarely stop to truly understand.
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That word is good. Well, hello, my love. Good
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morning. Groundhog Day. Right? It's like deja
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vu. This is our second round of this episode
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since I'm firing the technical advisor for the
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podcast. Yes we are. He did not hit the record
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button and we did the entire episode to the air.
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So now we're gonna try to reenact it and do it
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again. act surprised and it was good it was very
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good you had to calm me down a couple times but
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uh and now he thinks we're gonna do it exactly
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you know it's all spontaneous it's not scripted
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i know and you're right you think we're gonna
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get that exactly the same then the spirit was
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leading at times yeah i don't know we'll see
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what the spirit does this time Oh, you know what
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the spirits gonna do this time what You know
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what if we're found if we're if we are firing
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the tech guy we got to fire the cleaning lady
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too cuz Well the other day you picked up you
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move the computer and I saw dust all underneath
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the laptop Mike Oh that cleaning lady Well, look,
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and I want to be real clear and real honest.
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So the last couple of, last episode we aired,
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I think it dropped last night, and this will
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drop this coming week. We tried to, this is the
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cadence. We tried, I'm... Not working generally
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on Saturdays. So Saturdays we try to get together
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and do two or three episodes And then I schedule
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them to drop because I'm kind of busy. I work
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50 to 60 hours a week and I travel right and
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so I'm not necessarily always around and so and
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We just explained we had kovat this last week
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and We're on the men's I went to work yesterday,
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Friday, and I'm feeling much better. So I'm still
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drinking copious amounts of coffee, but it is
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Saturday. So I have converted from the coffee
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made Italian sweet cream to my coffee today is
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now Buffalo Trace bourbon cream, which I much
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more prefer. And it's morning. We usually record
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in the evening. So the voice is a little bit
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stronger this morning than last night. We have
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a little bit more energy and maybe a little less
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than the one that didn't get recorded. An hour
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ago? Sorry. But it's okay. All right, let's jump
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into Mark 10 verse 18. My beloved, could you
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read that from your... Well, I was going to do
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a little backstory of why... uh how this came
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about because this morning I was doing my morning
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reading my lint reading which I think I've shared
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before I'm I'm in mark and of course you know
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this last week I'm behind because you know covid
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will do that to you rona my my my rona um so
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obviously the challenge you know that you've
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been challenging us all to do a deeper dive,
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which is basically just don't read it, dive into
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it. So, I was reading this morning, and this
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is just one scripture that I read, one verse
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that I read, which is, and Jesus said to him,
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why do you call me good? No one is good except
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God alone. And so, it hit me, what does good
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mean, realizing that the Bible has been translated
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from the Greek? And so I came and found you and
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I said, can you do a deeper dive for me as to,
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I'm not a very techy person. I know you say you're
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not either, but you're definitely way more than
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I am. You have the resources. I said, what does
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good mean? And of course, you just lit up because
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that's your geeky thing. And you said, that's
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a good one, that's a good one. I have never been
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called a geek and you called me a geek. Anyway,
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so I feel like I took your challenge, your crusade
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to do a deeper dive. And that's why we are where
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we are now. So yesterday we did a podcast and
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I dropped last night. And I would encourage episode
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32 on Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Apple. We stayed
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with me, it was episode 32, and I don't even
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know what we called it. What did we call the
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episode last night? Something about, oh, you
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like to have those catchy tag lines. Oh, I do?
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Something about happiness and... Don't fall for
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it or something. Oh don't buy the BS. Don't buy
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the BS and I say that because I want I Recognize
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this and I am just putting this out there to
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people. I want everybody to recognize I'm I don't
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know what happened this week, but it's kind of
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hit me. I guess while I was between meetings
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and Laying around and I spent a lot of time on
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social media this week, which I don't normally
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do And because you know why I did that because
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there's absolutely nothing on television And
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just feeling kind of miserable suffering mm -hmm
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and I just kind of got pissed off angry Just
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for lack of a better term the world's going to
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hell out of handbasket seriously, the world is
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just jacked up and I'm about tired of it. I'm
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about tired of the BS. I'm a tired of I don't
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know how to describe it, but this relativism,
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things are at stake. My little sweet pea, while
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we were, she's got some, I don't want to say
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issues, she's 10. But she had an experience with
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my daughter, her mother. when she had COVID and
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she did not go to the doctor at all and she was
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bad and actually became unresponsive that Sweet
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Pea had to jump into action, God bless her, she
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did, and was able to reach out. And we live three
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hours away, so she was able to reach out to Jim
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the horse whisperer, as I call him. It's her
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horse trainer, right? Yes, who's very local to
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them. And Jim was able to come over and get Abby,
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my princess, to the hospital, taken care of.
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And so when Sweet Pea heard that we had COVID,
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she was mightily concerned. Right. And so she
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was texting Dave on one couch and me on the other
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couch, back and forth. And so she says to, I
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mean, she's like, you know, tick. I'm just worried.
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I don't want what happened to mom to happen to
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you and Papa and I said, oh, you know, we're
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we're okay Well, you know, we're taking we're
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old but we're taking care of each other and she
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her response to me was I get that Not Mimi you're
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not old I get that She's a doll she's a doll
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but you know, she's one of five We've got the
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Fab Five. And I think I was because she was texting
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and I was thinking about my grandkids, the Fab
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Five, and thinking about the world going to hell
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in a hand basket, for lack of a better term,
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and it kind of irks me and pisses me off. And
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I'm like, what can I do about that? And this
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podcast is what I can do about that. And I am
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sick and tired because what's at stake? is the
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Fab Five. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let...
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I gotta fight for them. And cannot let this world
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take over their worlds, which it's viciously,
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aggressively trying to do with all the BS that's
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out there in the world today. And it's so absent.
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And that's what this episode today is about.
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I was so glad that you asked me to do this deeper
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dive into that scripture because I hadn't done
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it. I hadn't. So Jesus' words are simple here.
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I'm going to just tack off of that and then we'll
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move on. And I just want to add that any persecution
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that you face because of this podcast or I face
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because of this podcast, I don't care. I don't
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either, but I wanna put this to bed, this is
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the only thing I'm gonna say about this. I stand
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beside you and I will walk through fire for you,
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for this, for the Fab Five, for our kids, and
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for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is
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it. Stand behind me, Satan. I'm done. That's
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it. Crusade with me. With me. I love it. So that's
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the end of that, and I won't comment on it anymore.
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No, that's beautiful. But I'm so glad that you
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came to me with the scripture, because Jesus's
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words are simple here, right? It sounds very
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innocuous, but anytime Christ speaks, it's loaded
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with implications, and then we often overlook
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those. And I've overlooked that and this. And
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what does it really mean to be good? Who determines
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what is good? And let's be honest, why does our
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world seem so confused about what goodness even
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is? So into this episode, we're going to unpack
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the Greek word used for good and dive into how
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society defines goodness and explore the dangers
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of moral relativism. and take a hard look at
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how evil is being redefined as good in our world
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today. And if you're comfortable with the truth,
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this episode will challenge you to question everything
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you thought you knew about what it means to be
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good. So grab your Bible, maybe a notebook, and
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brace yourself, because we're about to get real.
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Okay, my love, I guess we're going to jump right
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in and get started with the Greek word at Mark
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10, 18. And Jesus says, no one is good except
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God alone. The Greek word Jesus is using here
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is agathos. This word is more than just nice
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or morally accepted. It carries with it a sense
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of absolute goodness, a quality that transcends
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mere human understanding or measurement. The
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agathos is a good that is perfect, holy, and
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without blemish. It's not the kind of goodness
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that can be found in a man -made set of rules
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or standards. It's the kind of goodness that
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originates from God alone. So Jesus is challenging
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this man who's calling him good. He's asking,
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Do you understand what that means? The only God
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is perfectly good. This isn't just a theological
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statement. It's a mirror held up to our own definition
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of goodness. It's saying, if you're going to
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call me good, then you need to understand that
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goodness is defined by God, not by your own.
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That's major. And we have obviously, by your
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definition of good there, The translation the
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has been diminished Absolutely, absolutely Yeah,
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good better great, right? Mm -hmm. Absolutely
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Almost like on a survey right when you know,
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so he's a Good There's there's there's excellent
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beyond there. Sure I got a five -star, you know,
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you've got terrible or right average poor poor
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thank you average good excellent right so well
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in the greek it's agathos yeah you've got excellent
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was one of those holy holy perfect perfect without
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blemish yes that's a that's a five star plus
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right right good is a four so the agathos that's
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an important starting point Not just about being
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morally or neutral or okay, and that's what you're
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saying. Yes It's about a standard of goodness
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that only God Can give before we get too far
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into the New Testament? Let's trace the concept
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of goodness back to where it all began and the
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first chapter of the Bible You see when God created
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the world. He didn't just call his work good
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as it was just fine You and the girls like using
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the word fine Don't you? It's fine. I'm fine.
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Everything is fine, fine. You got t -shirts to
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prove it. We have a lot of t -shirts. We know
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a guy. We know a guy. We know a gal. Actually,
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not a guy. I think she is actually the one. She
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makes them. I watched her. She does it. But he
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declared it perfect, harmonious, and holy. A
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word we don't talk about much in the 21st century.
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Holy. So let's go back to the beginning. In Genesis,
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when God created the world, there's a recurring
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phrase after each act of creation. God saw that
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it was good. We first encountered this in Genesis
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1 -4 when God created lights and separated it
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from the darkness. God saw that the light was
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good. I wanna be clear, the word used in Hebrew
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here for good is tav. And it appears throughout
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the creation narrative that this is significant.
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Now the Hebrew word tav, doesn't just mean good
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in the sense of being morally right or virtuous,
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but also implies something that is complete,
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suitable, and fully functioning in its purpose.
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It's a word that denotes something that is aligned
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with God's perfect will, something that reflects
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His inherent goodness. So in the Hebrew mind,
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when something was tav, it wasn't just okay or
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fine. It was as it was intended, it was as it
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is intended to be. Everything God created was
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made in perfect harmony. Nothing was lacking,
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nothing was out of place. Boy, we really screw
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that up, don't we? Seriously, I mean. Let's look
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at how this plays out in Genesis 1 -10. After
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God gathered the waters together and allows the
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dry land to appear, He calls it good. God saw
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that it was good. The creation of land and seas,
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the plants, the trees, the stars, the animals.
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God's declaration over each is that it was tov,
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perfectly aligned with His will. When God created
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humanity in Genesis 1 -31, It's written, God
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saw that all He had made, and it was very good.
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The Hebrew here is still tav, but it's amplified
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by miad, meaning underscoring that the creation
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of mankind was the pinnacle of His work, and
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it was perfect, complete, and as intended. So
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this is critical. Before sin entered the world,
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Everything that God made was tov. It was complete
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and whole. Functioning in perfect alignment with
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God's will, the goodness of creation in Genesis
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is deeply tied to God's purpose for everything
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He made. That's just... We lose sight of this.
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In our 21st century society, we lose sight of
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the fact of how connected we are, not just connected
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as humanity, but connected to all that God has
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created. We are connected to the animals. We
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are connected to the plants. We are connected
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to the water. We are connected to the stars.
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It all works in unison and it's complete. Boy,
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we try to screw that up. And we try to separate
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and we try to silo and pigeonhole and separate
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and this group and that group and I'm this and
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I'm that and you were created perfect But we
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always want to play God and be God That's the
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problem with our society today in a nutshell
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We can talk about all this other, you know episode
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last night that dropped Don't buy the BS What
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is the BS? The BS is that I'm God. We're not
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God. We are created by God. We can do it better.
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We can do it better. You know what we're really
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good at? Messing things up. Screwing shit up.
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I'm just putting it out there, seriously. It
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just angers me. And people buy this. People believe
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it. It gets me going. I can see that. I gotta
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have a sip of my coffee. Okay. So am I hearing
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this correctly? So you're saying the word changes
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slightly pre -sin and post -sin in Genesis? Well,
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no, no, no. The word is the word. The word tov
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is... Just the completeness. Yes. Well, God declared
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this was before sin. Okay. Everything is complete
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and perfect. Oh, perfect. Everything changes
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after sin. Okay. When... Satan? He was actually
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given dominion over the world. Okay. I thought
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you were saying that, which I know there's several
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different definitions of tav, or the meaning,
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not definition of meaning. Yeah, the word is...
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I thought you were saying that the variation
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of it changed just a little bit post -sin. Yeah,
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no, no, no, no, no. No. So then let's zoom forward
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to our world today. That's kind of what we're
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talking about. The idea of what is good has become
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increasingly subjective. We no longer live in
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a world where good is synonymous with what is
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increasing or what is right or virtuous according
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to God's word. Instead, goodness is whatever
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aligns with current trends, societal expectations,
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or even personal desires. So who defines goodness
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in our society today? It scares the hell out
23:14
of me. If you ask 100 people, you'll probably
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find 100 different answers. One person may define
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goodness as being kind to others. Another might
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equate goodness with environmentalism or social
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justice. But here's the problem. All of those
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definitions are human -centered, not God -centered.
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And this is what I was trying to say and what
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I was talking about. and a postmodern world goodness
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has been detached from any eternal absolute truth.
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I love that phrase. Absolute truth. I get so
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tired of hearing it. It frosts me, it burns my
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butt. You know what burns my butt besides the
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flame three feet high? My truth. What the hell
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does that even, my truth. It's somebody's excuse
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to explain their victimness. That's brilliant.
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You're right. That is brilliant. My truth. It's
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a reason to give somebody platform to explain
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why they're a victim. That's my definition. No,
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I think that's probably perfect. I think that's
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right on the money. Every once in a while there's
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a... There's a light bulb. You're more than just
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a pretty face, my love. You're more than just
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a pretty face. Thank you, I say that to you often.
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But one thing I always used to, I have several
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different quotes, whether our children remember
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or not, but you tried to teach our children,
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you know, don't be a victim, be victorious. Correct.
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Well, but there's power in victimhood. There
25:00
is, and probably money too. You know, because
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you talk about what your influence, influencers,
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I think. They make a lot of money. And so they
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get out there and they talk about my truth, my
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story, that's my story. And then they're making
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money off of, half the time, I don't know what
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you even know what to believe anymore, what's
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real. Because people, if they profit off of something,
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they make up stories. Correct, correct, correct.
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No, and now, see you're... We're singing out
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of the same hymnal here, baby. That's good. I
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have my own hymnal, I don't know. We all have
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our own hymnal, because we're special. It's my
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hymnal, and my truth, and my... Sorry. Sorry.
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That's how screwed up we are. I mean, seriously.
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This is where the difference between agathos
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and tav on one hand, and goodness as we define
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it today, is most evident. Both in ancient Hebrew
26:09
culture and the New Testament Greek, goodness
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was grounded in the unchanging character of God.
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It was about reflecting the Creator's perfection
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and holiness. But today, we often define good
26:32
by convenience, or comfort, or what fits into
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our cultural narrative. Just everything's been
26:43
hijacked. for lack of a better term. I just feel
26:45
like everything's been hijacked. And I'll be
26:49
damned if I'm going to sit on a sideline and
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let this crap continue and drag my Fab Five to
26:56
hell in the process. That ain't happening. That
26:59
ain't happening. I think that's why we got to
27:00
claim it. We got to claim those we love. We have
27:03
to claim people in the name of Jesus through
27:06
prayer, through word, through whatever means
27:09
necessary. We gotta claim people. And why? And
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it's because we're seeing a dramatic reversal
27:16
of good and evil in our society. What was once
27:19
evil is now called good and what was once considered
27:22
virtuous is now deemed intolerant. And or, you've
27:26
heard this, outdated. Right? Yes. We've talked
27:31
about that on this podcast. I love her. I love
27:33
you. We've entered a time where darkness is being
27:39
called light and light is being called darkness.
27:43
And this just isn't happening in a vacuum. It's
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happening in the very fabric of our culture.
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Things like abortion, redefining marriage, the
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celebration of moral perversion, and the normalization
28:02
of violence are being painted as good and progressive.
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And I will pervert it too, because I'm gonna
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tell you what, I'm capable of holy violence.
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I'm capable. Mess with my Fab Five. Mess with
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my Fab Five. Messing with my family. And I have
28:26
an arsenal. And I mean, I will bring violence.
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And I ain't take it anymore. Isaiah 5, 20. Said
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the best. Woe to those who call evil good and
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good evil. Who put darkness for light and light
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for darkness. Who put bitter for sweet and sweet
29:02
for bitter. When the world celebrate what God
29:05
condemns, it's time for the church, it's time
29:08
for crusaders to step up and say, nope, this
29:13
is not good. We're not merely nice people trying
29:18
to get along. I'm done with that. We've tried
29:24
that. It ain't working. We are the light of the
29:29
world and it's our duty to stand firm on God's
29:35
unchanging standard of goodness. So how do we
29:41
fight against this? How do we combat the cultural
29:44
trend of redefining good as evil? We've talked
29:49
about it. You said you're doing it. Number one,
29:55
first and foremost, we must grounded in Scripture.
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The Bible is the ultimate authority on what is
30:04
good and what is evil. And if we want to know
30:08
what is truly good, we must know God's Word.
30:12
the top goodness of Genesis and the agathoth
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goodness of the New Testament aren't just for
30:19
theological debate, they're for daily living.
30:25
Secondly, we must live in obedience to God's
30:31
standards. Goodness isn't just for about agreeing
30:36
with God's word, it's about living it out. And
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I know you're gonna call me a hypocrite because
30:41
I've just threatened people with violence. So
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be it, so be it. When we align our lives with
30:50
God's standard for goodness, we reflect his light
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in a dark world. I purport to you that violence
30:58
against evil is actually tov. It's God's design.
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Third, we must speak the truth in love. It's
31:08
easy to get angry or self -righteous in today's
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world. I sometimes get excited. But we need to
31:16
remember that we are called to be ambassadors
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of Christ, so we speak the truth. And that's
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what I'm trying to do today, here and now, speak
31:25
the truth. Oh dear. We hit that time. Do you
31:37
have any closing thoughts? I'm just going to
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say, I don't, first of all, let me, I don't know,
31:45
you, nevermind, I'm not even going to touch up
31:47
with a ten -foot pole. I'm going to say that
31:52
I am not perfect and I know you're not perfect.
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I've never claimed to be. I know, I know, you've
32:01
said that many times. but we are trying to be
32:05
obedient to the Word of God. As best we can.
32:08
As best we can. And we're just sharing our thoughts
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and that's just it. There are our thoughts and
32:14
we're sharing the Word of God and what we're
32:18
studying. And we're just doing the best we can.
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And I want to be clear. Thank you. That's awesome.
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Just because I have a podcast. I've said this
32:33
how many times. I'm not claiming to be perfect.
32:36
I'm not claiming to be holier than thou as I
32:40
just finished my fourth lucky strike for the
32:42
day and I'm sitting here drinking my coffee and
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bourbon cream, Buffalo Trace bourbon cream. I'm
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just me, I'm just an average guy. I work for
32:54
a living, but I want people to crusade with me
32:59
to fight the evil because there's a generation
33:03
at stake. That's what I'm talking about. As we
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wrap up today's episode, remember this. Goodness
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is not what society says it is. True goodness
33:29
comes from God alone. It is seen in the perfection
33:33
of His creation, the holiness of His character,
33:35
and the life of teaching of Jesus Christ. The
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world may call evil good and good evil, but we
33:39
have a choice. We will align ourselves with a
33:41
world ever shifting definition, or we'll stand
33:45
firm with God. I challenge you to leave this
33:48
episode crusade with me.