Latest / Pursuing the Heart / Ephesians 6:1-9 with Tracy Blewett - Parents, Children, Slaves & Masters

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Ephesians 6:1-9 with Tracy Blewett - Parents, Children, Slaves & Masters · Pursuing the Heart

• 0:53
  SPEAKER_06: This is uh pursuing the heart.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_06: God pursued me.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_06: Now I get to pursue him.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_06: And uh this is Scott Blewitt, and I have a special, wonderful gift, a guest tonight.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_06: She is a gift from God for to me, and it's my wife, Tracy Blewitt.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_06: How are you doing, Tracy?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_06: So how's everything going?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Good, good.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad that well, I'm not glad to be on.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sad that someone had to cancel, and I said yes.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And uh God has a sense of humor because I've always said, Well, if someone cancels, I'll step in for you.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's been over a year.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then the one time they um cancel, I'm like, oh, it has to be this first.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_06: It has to be this uh this topic.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, this is the one I dread the most.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: God has a sense of humor.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_06: So uh tell everyone how many Bible studies are you in now?
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Two.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_06: Two?
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_06: So uh which one do you like best?
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: I like them both.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_06: Are they both different?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: They are both different, but I am so so happy as answered prayers.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Been praying for years to have mentors.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think it's very important to mentor to children, you know, people younger than you and have mentors above you that are Christ-centered, you know, and give you good advice whether you're doing something wrong or big, you know, set your breath, you know, iron shy is iron.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_06: So did we get a good message just a minute ago from our grandson?
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he's um gonna he's a freshman at Pendleton uh Heights, and uh he is gonna suit up for the varsity.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is his second time, so we're always um proud watching him as a ninth grader.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: As a grandma, I'm always like, oh my gosh, this is the end of his freshman year.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: I only have three years left.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm some Debbie Towner instead.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I just want to hold on to them being young for as long as I can.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_06: And uh you want to tell everybody you had a carload of teenagers to go to church the other day?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, me and Scott have been praying for our grandson for about ever since he was born, 14 years that well, we don't pray just for him, we pray for our our whole family that they know and love the Lord.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And uh about five or six weeks ago, we got to see that come to provision with uh Chandler.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: And um, he came with us.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: He answered uh after he attended one of the uh well, he always attends a summer Christian camp, but this year it's kind of held a little bit longer and he has to go and then he has his friends to go, and now he even has his girlfriend go, and now girlfriend's friends go.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we are we enjoy picking them all up and taking them every Sunday.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_06: I think the conversation was hey, they're only 15 minutes away.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but it's uh it's worth it, that's for sure, because you know, he is 14, he won't need me to drive him very much longer.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_06: All right, well, um thank you for coming on.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, and uh this is pursuing the heart.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_06: So we go through um scripture, show to everyone that you can have a casual conversation.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_06: You could disagree with uh some of the interpretation and have a casual uh conversation on that.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_06: At the end, we also share a personal story, and um so that's how we we set ourselves apart from other uh Christian podcasts.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_06: Um, but we appreciate you listening.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_06: Um, and uh we thank you for coming back uh week after week.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_06: We have taken a little two-week sabbatical.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_06: Um last week was really hectic.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_06: Uh the week before was hectic, but this week we were able to squeeze it in tonight, and uh we do have another guest already lined up, said yes for next week.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_06: So uh can't wait to look forward to that.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: But um so it was a good hectic.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was for you know giving back to the Lord, and you're gonna talk about that later.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it is.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_06: All right, so um I'm gonna say a prayer and then we're gonna get into discussion on Ephesians 6.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, and we're gonna read out of the ESV tonight, and um, so if you got your Bibles, you can open that while I'm praying.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_06: So uh Lord, just uh thank you for um just allowing us to go through your scriptures and process them and let us have good discussion between my wife and I.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_06: And uh Lord, we just thank you and we love you, and uh we pray for the one person who might be listen listening that uh doesn't know who you are, uh that maybe this pushes them to follow you and pursue you.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_06: Or if it's the one person may be thinking about walking away from their faith and this might push them back, we pray for them as well.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_06: We hope that happens as well.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_06: And then if the one person who just wants to grow in their faith and listen to us talk, um so we'll uh we pray for them as well.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_06: They just want to grow in their faith.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_06: So um we love you and uh thank you for what you're doing in our lives.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_06: So we've been um going through Ephesians and uh it's it started off as these are the things uh who you are in Christ.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_06: Who you are in Christ, yeah.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: First three chapters.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_06: The first three chapters, and those are like very rewarding.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_06: Like you're sealed with him, you're seated in the h heavenly places, there is no distinction between Greek or Jew.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_06: Uh went through that and then the last several chapters have been um okay, now you uh know you're in Christ and this is who you are.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_06: How to walk in it and how to walk in it.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_06: And then it transitioned into relationships.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_06: Uh we um last time we had David Lee and Lisa Lee go through the uh podcast um of um husband and wives, and I thought it was they did a terrific job in breaking down the husband and wife section.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_06: And today we start in six one, and it's gonna talk about kids, parent relationship, fathers, and then uh you'll see a transition in five, verse five, and it's gonna go into um servants or bondservants.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't you read it?
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_06: Okay, I will.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_06: All right, so six one children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_06: Honor your mother and father.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_06: This is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_06: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them in up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_06: Bond servants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ, not by the way of I service as people pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_06: Whether he is a bond servant or is free, masters do the same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_04: So it seems like a lot of those verses had to do with the heart.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_04: What'd you say?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: I said yes, they're talking about mostly relationships, you know, um the give and take between both sides.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: And but ultimately it's the relationship, you know, with Christ, keeping him number one with all your relationships, I think.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it kind of started that with husbands and wives.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_06: Um, so Lisa loved the um verse 21.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_06: Uh well, actually 20 of the previous chapter says, giving thanks always and for everything to God, the Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another, one another out of reverence for Christ.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_06: And then it's Paul started going through one was the husband and wife, and now children and parents.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_06: So both submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_06: Um so and submitting is give and take.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Give and take.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: I love how he um shows both sides, like Christ, you know, with the church, you know, the husband with the wives.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's just not like obey the husband or children obey your father.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: He shows both sides, like both have a responsibility, but ultimately we're doing that relationship to honor Christ.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: You don't really want to do some things that you really want to do, like when your boss is really on you or a coworker or whatever, uh, you have to take those emotions under control.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, he's telling you to keep your eyes on Christ, and you should live out certain ways to show that we're different from the world, which is very, very hard.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, because it goes in uh the first verse in six says, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, children back in uh Paul's day, which I love how he addresses the letter to the children because this letter is to written to Ephesians, and um, you know, this letter probably was carried around and they're probably in big groups that were listening: wives, children, servants, bond servants.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so he included them in this letter, you know, like if they were listening, saying, you know, like children, you know, obey your parents.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: And um also back in Paul's day, children were like a minority.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: They were kind of like treated not as, you know, they could be beaten or thrown out, you know, and stuff.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: So and Christ is saying that is no longer, we're all children of God.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And this is kind of like um he Christianity put it a wrench in uh what Romans um, like, you know, the hierarchy of, you know, like slave is you know, a master's above a slave, parents above a children, but he's saying, you know, we're all equal, you know, in Christ.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so these children are no longer just supposed to be discarded, you know, like we're supposed to have, you know, they're part of God's creation, you know.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: So he what he's saying has been a big riff in what they what they believe.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_06: And then uh going into the um verse two and three, that's actually a direct quote from uh Exodus 20, 12.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_06: It says, honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_06: So is that like a calling back to like the Jewish person that would be in the audience that they would remember that?
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's under the Mosaic law.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um that was like if you obey um your lives will be longer and you would be given, um, it says living long in the land.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: They were given the land of Canaan, but he um they have God puts this verse in the Bible ten times, and so I he says it's pretty important, you know, it's in the old testament and then in the new, so he um he finds it very important, which I try to avoid this uh coming with at all times, and so um this is you know, um I think this is why he wanted me to be with talking to you about it today.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_06: Well, I think uh both of us probably um have struggled with this based on our parents, probably weren't the ideal perfect parents, and it's really hard to obey your parents when they most likely weren't operating out of the tree of life being a Christian.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think when God he's when he's writing this through Paul, he is saying things as a this is the idyllic situation when Chr, you know, when the husband loves the wife, you know, honors her, puts her first, would lay down his life for her, her natural thing is to fall into place, you know, and like loving, bringing that in.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And he's also going in in this when he says, Children, you are parents in the Lord, this is an idyllic situation that they love their kids, they're trying to bring them up for the war, they want to mold them to be more Christ-like.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: This is under idyllic situations, which we don't live in that right now, and so it's kind of hard when a child or a wife or anybody that's been physically, mentally, sexually, you know, verbally abused to um honor and love their parents, you know, or a a spouse or a co-worker or whoever that is, God wants us to pray for them, forgive them, and show them, you know, the love of Christ.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so when it's when you had a whole not a great relationship with your parents and didn't, you know, feel like you know, they they put them first, you know, being a I was a foster parent for a long time and you it's just hard to watch, you know, the say the honor your on your parents, but we are called um to use his holy spirit to do that.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's extremely difficult.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: I have, you know, you know, in my life, you know, like a coworker is taking advantage of you or, you know, or whatever it is, you know, my first once response is complain about it or say, why are they treating me like this?
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: When I should be taking that hold of that feeling and saying, you know, you pray for them, you know, it's easy to love and pray for and be around people that you love, but it's extremely hard.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: And he says, pray for people that you know are your enemies, and you know, we're supposed to pray for them and forgive them and show Christ through them.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so that is a in my season of life, he's trying to work that through me to like love people that have not shown you kindness.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, and it's really hard when um you as a parent probably I can speak for myself, made mistakes as raising kids.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_06: Um, I think uh most parents, if they were uh uh truthful with themselves, they probably would agree the same way.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_06: And then um trying to raise them or show who Christ is through you, if you're given that opportunity again, hopefully they can see Christ and they hate they can see yeah, he made mistakes, but now look at him, look at the parents.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_06: Like later on in my life, my parents, my dad, was very sold out as a Christian, and I couldn't imagine like if I was younger and he knew what he knew at that time, how he would reacted at that time when if I were young, right?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_06: And um if I knew what I knew now.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_06: Yes, and I had and when I was raising my kids, I probably would have done things somewhat a little differently.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think we all would because you know, hindsight's 2020, but um I know, you know, when I I just feel like we're all generations go through a different pattern, like you know, the baby boomers, you know, kids were more seen, not heard, you know, and and not really loved on very much.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_06: And so I can remember uh I was uh talking to my uncles, and I think I was probably 10 or 12, and I was told to go because this was the adult hour.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_06: And so they were like, and then my dad's like, hey, when adults are talking, you're not supposed to be around.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so that generation comes and it produced, you know, exes like Gen X, and so they want to do something completely different.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: They come in and they um they want to show that love and they want to be around the kids, and they that's I think sometimes we have gone too far, and it says, you know, we put the we change that hierarchy that God wanted, you know, God, father, husband, you know, the wife and the children, and we put the children up there.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we're sometimes we're seeing a generation of kids that are not obedient, and that's just as bad as being too obedient.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: There has to be, you know, God's way when we look at it is the perfect way we want to mold our children, you know, to you can't just have a child running ragging without obedience, you know, and you know, guidance and discipline.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like you want the best for your child, you don't want them to, you know, grow up badly.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's the way God wants us.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: He knows the parents have the best interest at heart for the child, and so that's why you should obey him, just like we should obey him, but we know that never happens.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, because um the very next verse is like talking about what you just spoke about.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_06: It says, Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in discipline and instruction of the Lord.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_06: So discipline and instruction is hard because okay, how far do I go with the discipline?
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_06: What's the instruction behind the discipline saying why I had to discipline you?
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_06: Right?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, kids are born to fallen people in a fallen world, they are born to rebel.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: No one has to tell a child, you know, they're gonna rebel.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: No matter they don't like being told no, they want to do what they want to do.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so if it's if you're a more of a loving, nurturing way to the you know, into the world, they're more responsive to that.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you're more of an angry, you know, yelling at your child, highly critical, you know, parent, the child does go angry, wants to rebel, and sometimes those cycles repeat themselves.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we want to break that.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: We want to, you know, do it.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think God's you know says that we should always do everything in a loving manner.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: So that's not always the case.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: We all fail at that, you know.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: We let our stress of the day or whatever, and just let them know that that wasn't that wasn't it?
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_06: That wasn't a good decision on their part.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I think I think you know it goes both ways.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_06: I think uh speaking for myself, I think most of the time uh when I disciplined my kids, uh they knew I didn't take my anger out on them.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_06: I would put them in time I used time out and I would put them in time out.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_06: I did not want to uh uh use spankins or anything like that.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_06: Just because I received those and I know that they didn't really, I didn't really, you know, it didn't do nothing for me, but I can tell you when my kids were disciplined, they knew why they were being disciplined, why they were in timeout.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_06: And I can remember Tyler, uh, my son, uh, a lot of times he'd come to my house, he didn't bring his homework or he didn't want to study.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_06: So I'm like, all right, buddy, you know that you're supposed to be bringing this, so I'm gonna put you in timeout.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_06: And Britney and I would be in the living room, and I would tell her, just start laughing, acting like you're having a fun time.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_06: So it was like, so then all of a sudden he wanted to bring his homework home, right?
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_06: Because he didn't want to miss out on what Britney and I were experiencing, my daughter and I.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_06: So sometimes it does um not being over-angry or whatever and showing peace and calm.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's patience, all the fruit of the spirit do help you raise your children.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I had um, I was just walking brand new when my kids were little, and so um, I wish you know I had this the knowledge I have now.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_06: Remember my mom calling saying, You need to whoop them like they need a good spanking.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_06: I'm like, that's not how I discipline my kids, mom.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_06: So let me discipline my kids, let me do this.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_06: And they came out.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_06: I mean, they're great.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_06: They're great kids, they're great kids.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_06: So it's like, but I know other parents who showed different discipline and they're great kids too.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: So um we're all just trying to figure out doing the best we can.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think if you doing out of love and patience and trying to but we're talking of when it's hard to honor your parents, it's if you did not have a relationship like that.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_06: If your parents aren't having a relationship with Christ, it's very hard to it with it was with me, um, to honor them.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_06: Um so we go into the next section um in five.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_06: It says bondservants.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_06: Now, Tracy, you and I talked about this before we came on the air.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_06: In the ESV, it uses bondservants.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_06: In most interpretations, it says slaves.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_06: Is that correct?
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, slavery was really big in um Paul's time.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: I was reading that there's 60 million uh slaves, there was more slaves than there were free people at the time.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then that one version is bondservant, which is totally different.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_06: So uh a bondservant, let me see if this is correct.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_06: So a slave, once he is set free, if he chooses to go back and stay with the master, he could be a bondservant and they put an awe in his ear.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_06: That's great, and he can have a family, and he still honors the master, and he's choosing to still be part of the family, part of their part of his family, the master's family, and he chooses to continue to be a slave even though he was set free.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's correct.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_06: And I go ahead.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: Most verses though do say slaves, which there was always seems like there's been slaves throughout history, and not that Paul was condoning slavery because that is not we we want to talk about God's commandments, trumps all earthly government, you know, parents, bosses, you know, if it goes against God's word, and God would never want anyone to be abused or go against God's loving will.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: But he just were realistic that there was slaves probably in reading with this letter.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: He wanted them, you know, to be mentioned, and you know, and also if they were believers in Christ, how they should, you know, behave.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I really like the interpretation bondservant because I think it flows with this um section here.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_06: It says bond in the ESV, it says bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart, as you would Christ.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_06: So most bondservants, I would imagine, were Christians because well, Paul calls himself a bondservant.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_06: So a bondservant, for when Paul says he's a bondservant, he's saying he's been set free from the law, and now he's a slave to Christ.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_06: And I love how Paul talks about that and how this correlates into it says, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye service or people per uh pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_06: So what's a people uh what is he talking about?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_06: People pleasers.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, when he says eye service, you're only doing good works when the boss is is there, you know, when the cat's away, the mice will play, you know, and so when the bronze servants away, they just do what they want.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: But when they're there, they're like, oh yes, you know, I'll you know party like it's 1999, huh?
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then they work really hard when someone's watching, when we should be we should be honoring God in all of our works, whether someone's watching or not.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because God sees all, you know, so yeah, and I totally get that.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_06: I think that's great.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_06: Um, and I really saw it says doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_06: So if you're a bondservant or slave, which interpretation you read, if you're operating out of a heart that has been changed by the love of Christ, and you're operating out of that with good will as to the Lord, you as you work, it looks different.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to just read uh Colossians 3 23.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: It says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you will know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as reward.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_06: So what does that mean to you?
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_00: That means that we're not working for really our an employer, we're working for Christ.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: We should do it to the best of our ab Our ability.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because it says, you know, you'll receive good works.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_06: Good works, it's the fruit, right?
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_06: Um so it says knowing that whatever good anyone does, that he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or free.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_06: So is that almost like a law there? 'Cause in the old testament, if you do good, you're blessed.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_06: And if you don't do good, you're cursed.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_06: It kind of almost comes off that way, doesn't it?
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because it says you'll receive, you know, because God um sees those work, you know, and then we don't they don't all burn up because you know Oh, so you're saying at the end whatever you've done for Christ, that's how you're we are judged as Christians.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're doing it for people pleasing, that just burns up.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_06: Okay.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_06: In the context here, um uh so you m you might be doing good, but if it's not from the Lord, it's not worth anything.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, because he's saying you're just doing it for just because someone's watching to get favor with your master.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_06: And it says masters do the same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their master and yours in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_06: So have you ever been over people before, Tracy?
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say really over people, but you know, you're in charge, I guess.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_06: Like you've been a boss of people or whatever at work.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: I would not say boss.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_06: Boss of nothing.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're just in charge.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_06: Just in charge over some people.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like a charge nurse.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_06: Okay.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_06: Um, I know it's really hard, like, when you're over people, not to be like demanding.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_06: Uh I kind of like I don't like micromanagers.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_06: Do you like micromanagers?
• 31:20
  unknown: No.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_06: Do you like the managers that like give you tells you how to do your job and then trust in you that you can do that job?
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think that's why they hired you.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: They should trust on you that you know how to do it.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I was not a micromanager, and I didn't like being a micromanager at all.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_06: And uh, because I I believe if um the worker, you know, your employee, if it's a good if they're in a good employee, they're gonna give give their 100%.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, but not all.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_06: Not all of them.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: Not all employees are good.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: I just wanted to focus on that last part where he said, you know, that there's no uh favorite favoritism, you know, there's no partiality in them.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so um Acts, Acts 30 10, 34 says, I now realize it is true that God does not show favoritism.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so I as I was saying, this letter that he's writing is upheaving um the ways of Roman at the time because masters were over slaves, and you know, children were just thrown off to the side, and he's saying there's no partiality, no favoritism, we're all one in Christ.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_06: So I think um Lisa was correct going back to 521, um, says submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_06: If I'm submitting to one another out of reverence to Christ, then if I'm a husband, I would be doing what was in the next section as what husbands say, and then wives as well.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_06: And as this flows, if I'm a parent and I'm submitting to Christ, this is the way I'm going to raise my kids.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_06: If I'm a child who believes in Christ, they would be doing the submission to Christ and then submitting to their parents.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_06: So he's laying out that it starts with submitting yourselves to Christ.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of times when our relationships with people, we kind of put them in different compartments, like I'm gonna get up and go to work and I'm gonna do this.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's one compartment.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, this is another compartment where I I do put God first, you know, when I'm talking with other believers or I'm at church or we you know at home, but we're supposed to be all the time.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: We don't get to clock out as Christians, you know.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: That that should be the same that we're always putting him first and loving on one another.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_06: Anything you wanted to add in these verses?
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_06: Did we miss something from your notes?
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_06: There's one thing about my wife, she has really detailed notes.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_06: You good?
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_06: If you want to talk about why you've been so busy, uh, we went through um several 30 guys, and I was included in one of those guys, just went through um this past weekend in Newcastle.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_06: We went to the Newcastle Maximum Security Prison uh in a Kairos weekend.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_06: And I happened to be asked to be um over agape, uh, which is um there are forms of agape meaning uh prayer chart.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_06: Um and uh also um we do uh posters, and then we also have agape from other churches or not other churches, other prisons.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_06: Prisoners send agape to our prisoners, giving them encouragement.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_06: And it's all forms of showing love to them unconditionally and hoping the best for them.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_06: And for every person that was on team, you get one prisoner.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_06: So this weekend we had 30 prisoners go through.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, we started Thursday and then we ended on Sunday.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_06: We try to give them hope.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_06: And um, just like the banquet, there's a series of talks, and um, they get to hear personal stories on how God or Christ has changed these individuals, and hoping that they hear these stories and um they are prompted to the answer the call of Christ in their lives.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's all we can hope for, that they hear something it sparks, you know, in the hopefully that in the long term it hopes that, you know, some of them were getting out recently that that has a ripple effect into the family and the children and the grandchildren, you know, to live a different life.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, and in prison there are different, just like they're in society, different religious groups, and out of the 30 people, I think they said uh twenty of them did not attach themselves as being Christian.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_06: So they attached themselves to a different religion.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_06: Some were Satanists, some were um, there was one Buddhist, uh, there was one that um believed Thor was uh God.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_06: It's more of a um, I can't remember what you call that religion, but uh then we had some Wiccans.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_06: But the crazy thing is because when Chris when we show up, the Holy Spirit shows up, and uh out of the 30 prisoners, 14 of them accepted Christ in their heart.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's that's that's amazing, right there.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_06: It gives me chills, don't and it's well worth it, and seeing how Thursday night they come and they don't really want to be there, but then by Sunday they don't want to leave.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_06: And um I'm sure some of them were just saying, Well, I'll sign up for this, I'll show up just to get out of get out of say their house, their whatever they do.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_06: Um but the thing about Kairos is they send you a you get a each prisoner, um someone will turn their name in and then you the chaplain will send them a notice saying, Hey, uh, you've been chosen to go to Kairos.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_06: Are you wanting would you want to go?
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_06: And at that time the prisoner can say yes or no.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_06: And if he says yes, then he goes on the list, and even if you're on the list doesn't mean that you're one of the chosen.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_06: So there's a great story this weekend.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_06: I don't even know if I showed it I shared this with you.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_06: So there was one of the prisoners, he wanted to go, he's been in prison five years, and he's wanted to go to Kairos every year.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_06: So finally it was his name, he got chosen, put on the list, but he also is working in in the chaplain's office, and he's a Christian, but he really wanted to do Kairos because he's heard all about Kairos.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_06: So the chaplain calls him in the office and he says, Hey, um I know you're on the list, but we just had a guy who's a devout Satanist that said they would go this weekend.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_04: The prisoner that's the Christian said he can take my seat.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_06: So I spoke to him, befriended this gentleman when we were s uh setting up on Thursday, and he was like explaining to me that he's always wanted to go, because I asked him what if he's been through.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_06: He said no.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_06: And he said, um, maybe next time.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_06: But he said, hey, chaplain came to me and said that asked if I'd give my seat up to this devout Satanist have the opportunity to go through Kairos.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_06: So we are doing uh so Thursday night, they go, they the prisoners will line up, the ones that have come.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_06: So he ended up giving his seat to this guy.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_06: So we are cheering and we give them loud cheers for every prisoner that walks through the door.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_06: They they it's like they're treated like royalty, kinda.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_06: So be like, John Smith, uh, yay, and it's all cheers and it's fist bumps and uh high fives to this John Smith prisoner, and then myself would be like, Okay, hey, I'm Scott, I'm your new best friend for the third for this weekend.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_06: Here's your name and name tag that you wear, and then uh you give it to them, and then they put it on if they choose.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_06: So well, I'm seeing all this go through, and the gentleman that had told me that he wasn't on team or he wasn't going through, all of a sudden goes outside and then comes back and they cheer for him.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_06: Well, someone had to have surgery, one of the prisoners had surgery the day before, and they couldn't get out of it, so he couldn't make it that weekend.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_06: So he ended up getting back into Kairos.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_06: Well, that's good.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_06: So get this.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_06: So guess who he sat by all weekend?
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_06: The guy that he gave his seat to.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_00: Aww.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: So he got to love on him.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_06: And he told him that he gave his seat to him.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_06: The prisoner that was a devout Satanist couldn't believe that someone would give up their seat for him.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_06: That prisoner accepted Christ.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_06: The Satanists accepted Christ and stood up on Sunday and said, I am a Christ follower now.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_00: The little kind of actness, you know, kindness can change a life.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_06: He could not believe that this prisoner would give up his seat for him.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_06: And it meant a lot.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_06: He could not get over that.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: He answered the call of God.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, he did.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_06: And he ended up sitting by him the whole weekend as he went through.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_06: And God has a sense of humor.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_06: Yes, he does.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_06: And it was just the most incredible thing to see go on because we as leaders that weren't sitting at the table, we were sitting this, sitting at the back table watching all this play out, and every day we were seeing this go on, and then one of the leaders said, Hey, that guy wants to talk to me.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_06: He asked questions.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_06: So, and we just saw that walls started coming down, just like a lot of the guys in there were build a lot of walls that that had walls build up and a lot of hurt and a lot of pain.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_06: We all do, and just seeing that and experiencing that just makes m myself want to go back again.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, this is your third time.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_06: Third time in a row.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: But up all your Saturdays.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_06: Well, yeah, because we go through training.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's uh But it changes you as well.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it does.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_00: Changes everybody involved, it changes.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_06: All the leaders, they get to see this.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_06: And um, each person on team has a different part to play.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_06: The head's no greater than the foot, and the foot's no greater than the arms.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: No favoritism.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_06: We all do the same.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_06: We all are working in unison for the common good of hoping the prisoners would accept Christ or planting seeds.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_06: Yes.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_06: And just because 14 only doesn't mean this week, next week, or the week after some of those guys have questions and go to the chaplain and start asking him.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_00: We can only hope.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_06: So uh that's kairos.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_06: If you ever um there's kairoses all across the United States and all across the world.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_06: We got agape from all the way from Australia that said to our prisoners that they were praying for them.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_06: So it meant a lot to these prisoners when they saw around the room all the different encouragements, the verses, the pictures, and the names of people that were praying for them.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_06: And then the prayer chain, it went around, it was five hundred and feet long, and each link is someone praying for them.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_06: And it meant a lot to those guys um seeing it wrap around two and a half times around this huge room that we were in.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_06: So it's all part of the uh weekend and all part of the experience.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_06: But uh we appreciate all the prayers that were given, uh, because I mentioned it, I think the last time David Lee and I said we were about to go in.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_06: And uh we just uh thank you.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_06: And um it was a very godly weekend and there was some a lot of lives changed there.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh you want to say something about this coming weekend search today?
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_06: Uh tonight is the men's banquet um at uh Crossroads.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_06: So I'm not sure how many men are going through.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_06: Um but I have friends that are on team and uh we can pray for them this weekend, you can pray for them this weekend.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_06: Same thing.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_06: It's just not in the prison, but it's at a church.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_06: And these are prisoners, they're just like everybody else.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we wanna cause it as we said, we were just the men or the they can they're the temperature of the home.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_00: If a man is coming in to his home, loving his wife, his children, that home is you know, transformed and for Christ.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if he comes in hypercritical, has his eyes elsewhere, you know, could care less about his children doing drugs, it's a totally different home when you're not putting Christ first.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: So that's I think men are I don't want to say more important, but I just feel like a lot of men don't like keep it all in, like be manly and you know, don't have anything to s you know, a lot of friends, mostly their friends or their wives.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's just it's a good time to lean on other men and reflect that other men are going through what they're going through and just you know keep your eyes on Christ.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_06: Well men are called to be leaders and in the home.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think things fall into place when you know it's easy to be a good wife you know, and r and both of you raise your children in a godly manner when you're both just speaking from experience when having I was married to someone that wasn't a believer, it's a t it's a 360 degree difference having a husband that puts Christ first.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_06: And speaking for a husband, it's easy to love a wife that's pursuing Christ and it's it makes a world of difference on both sides.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_06: So um we appreciate uh each one of you listening tonight and uh thank you for coming back to uh pursuing the heart to check us out.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_06: I hope you continue.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_06: Um I highly encourage you to like, share, and subscribe.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_06: You can send comments as well.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_06: There is a button there for fan mail.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_06: And uh if you want to share anything, feel free.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_06: Anything you gotta say, Tracy, before we end this?
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_00: Keep your eyes on Jesus.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_06: K-Y-E-O-J, keep your eyes on Jesus.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_06: This is probably the first time that her and I did not get in one argument going through the Bible.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: They are something you'd think that we were, but I just feel like um I put a lot of work into it.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have an original thought.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: I read what other people are saying and you know, getting the word and stuff, and then he always likes, uh-uh.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so he has known the Bible, and you know, he does know a lot more, but I just feel like I put a lot of effort and I'm like, I heard this, I read this, and sometimes he discounts me, so I have to stand for what I what I read.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_06: Sometimes it's just a teasing.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_06: All right.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_06: Well, um, thank you.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you for coming on, hon.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_06: Uh I hope you enjoyed it.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_06: I hope um you as a listener loved it.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_06: So um thank you for listening, and uh, we're going to let the band play out.