Dr John A. King Live

Hey folks, how you doing? Getting ready for Man Church. Fellas, if you want to get on the Zoom link, www.manchurch.com/online. I've got a couple of minutes before we start. I just wanted to give you a chance to have a chat if you wanted to chat. So I'm gonna put the URL in the chat. We meet every second Saturday, 8 AM. And so You're more than welcome to pop on. And let me just put this in here and talk about short beds and narrow blankets out of Isaiah today, about the role of doctrine, poor doctrine, good doctrine in the church, and unfortunately how we've got a lot of A lot of church preaching nowadays and Christian preaching that is very shallow and very detrimental to people. So, we'll be dealing with that. I'm gonna kick off at 8 o'clock because we always do. So I'd pop on here a little bit early and just see if— just have a chat to folks before we start. Good to see you, TikTok. Good to see Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn. Can't get Substack yet to link up to my streaming stuff. TikTok's also a little bit difficult. But it's good to have you here. Hey Max, good to have you here. So how is that? You wanna hop on manchurch.online, fellas? Why we do that? Why I, why I, why I do that is because I wanna give a place for guys to have a conversation about being better men, husbands, and fathers. And men always talk more openly When they're not around women. When we're around women, we tend to puff our chest up and firm up a few biceps. And so I wanna give us a chance to have a chat, a conversation, talk about things that are important, help us be better men, husbands, and fathers. Disciple our sons. It's your responsibility as a man to disciple your family, not mine. I don't think it's appropriate for a a pastor to disciple, particularly wives, particularly, you know, I understand if they're single, and I think there's always ways you can make safe. But I've always felt a responsibility as a pastor and a preacher to disciple men, to enable them to disciple their families, because as the prophet, priest, and king in your own home, that's your responsibility. And it's not my place to usurp things. It's not my role that I want to do that, to usurp things. So I want to encourage you to invite your friends. Invite your family on TikTok. Invite your brothers. Make your husband give him a cup of coffee and send him out to watch TikTok. He'd probably enjoy that or Instagram. TikTok often bans me from smoking a cigar. So we'll see how we go. Instagram is a little more lenient, but Zuckerberg doesn't really care as long as anyone's watching it. The Chinese don't like Why is it the Chinese now? They don't like tobacco, maybe. Why do they all smoke? Live restrictions for some audience contain themes that mothers may find uncomfortable. Reason: regulated goods and services. Um, my live does not contain the content mentioned in notice. There we go. So we've argued with TikTok as we always do. So people on TikTok, please, I got restrictions. Here we go. I got my restrictions. Current live, your live contains themes that are uncomfortable. So obviously people get hurt feelings if men wanna talk about being Christians. So maybe it's just TikTok who has those feelings. But why don't we beat the algorithm, eh? And send it to your friends. Talk through the format for Man Church. So we sit around, we pray, talk around the word. Probably have a— probably talk about, discuss the scripture about 30 minutes, 25, 30 minutes, then give it time for questions and answers. And that'll just be on the Zoom call for the guys. That's why I encourage you fellas to join. And log on to www.manchurch.online. So you can enter into that question and answer time. And so, yeah, so that's what we do. So, and that's why we do it. So I try to be respectful for your time. I am like, we don't go more than an hour, 45 minutes, because we've all got things to do on a Saturday. We meet every second Saturday. And consuming substances featured in this live could harm your health, TikTok. So the nanny state's telling you that. So they say nicotine is good for you. I just like mine in organic cigar form. Coffee 4 times a day, they reckon, is good for neurotropy. Got your Bible? They kick off in 4 minutes. It's your Bible. I can increase an estimate of 289 live viewers with a $40 promotion. No, I'll just ask you to share. That'll do. Invite your friends and family. So yeah, bring a Bible. Make sure you got a Bible, because unfortunately we've stopped bringing them to church. And the digital ones change. They've already made major changes in some of the major translations of the Bible to move them away from the original intent and definition of the words. So that's the reality that's happened. So to have a physical Bible is a good and solid thing to do. So I wanna encourage you to have that. Hey, Rob. How you doing, mate?

What do you say, Doc?

It's all good, man.

How's my buddy?

I'm excited to hear about your new job sometime.

Oh yeah.

Yeah, that sounds fun.

I'll absolutely fill you in.

Yeah, it sounds good, man. We started doing something on Friday afternoons called Finally Friday, talking to people in the arts community. writing community. And with this company I've been doing some consultancy with, we've worked out a whole platform for how to rank people on Amazon, etc. We've got a very, very large database of, you know, 1.6 billion people.

Wow.

So yeah, we can really specifically scrape it down to people, publishers, agents, all those sorts of things. Well, then we definitely need to talk. So that's, That's pretty, that's pretty amazing work. Ben, how you going, mate?

Good to see y'all.

Good to be seeing you. You popped on earlier, I think, Ben, just to check if the link still worked. That's good. I thought I panicked. I thought, bloody hell, it's 7 o'clock, Ben. What the hell are you doing, mate? I'm trying to read my notes and I popped on just to see if you were still there and go, mate, listen, settle down, go get a coffee. Don't scare a fella. All good. So, yeah. So here we are. Give them 2 more minutes, boys, and we start because we said we start at 8 and that's when we start. So if you're still out there in the social media world, go to manchurch.online, fellas, register, join us on the Zoom. Have a chance for questions and answers at the end. Make sure you bring a Bible or have a Bible in front of you. I was saying before, fellas, that they've started to change some of the digital versions of the Bible and without telling anybody. So get you an old school paper one, have sitting around the house just in case the zombies turn up. There's enough of them anyway. So when do you start with this new job, mate?

Well, I've been doing some trainings this last week and Wednesday is their first, the first live event that I'll take part in. I'll get you a link for that if you wanna jump on and—

Yeah, yeah, I will, mate. Yeah, I will. Depends on what time. I've got something I normally do on Wednesdays for, actually, it's a group of about 130 writers. that I'm a part of here in Dallas. So yeah, this platform I've been consulting with, mate, they've taken all the Seamless and the Apollo AI and those things and put it into our thing. And with the cold emails that I'm currently running, I'm getting like a 50% open rate and a 12% click rate. So it's really targeting this ability to be able to target things niche-wise.

G'day, Greg.

And it's been really helpful in terms of getting a message out.

Right on.

Yeah. So that's been really good. They had these people approach me about wanting to do another documentary. So I'm actually getting the director in tied with getting the director tied up with these groups so they can identify angel investors and those sorts of things. So, yeah, it's pretty old building.

Put you in that too.

Yeah, thanks, man. Hey, Rocky. Good morning, brother man. Doing well. So make sure you got a coffee or something, fellas. Cup of tea. So how's everybody been? Good. Yeah, doing well. Man, it's a little bit hot here in Texas at the moment.

Oh, hot and humid here too, man. Sticky.

Al's up in Alaska. He sent me a photo of— you should see these fish. I've got to send you these halibut he caught, Rob. Uh, they were standing around in bloody parkas, puffy coats, and beanies. You know, we're butt sweating in Texas, and he had a great time. I mean, the line of fish these guys caught was pretty amazing.

Well, that's next year for us, man.

Man, it sounds really interesting. I'd love to see Alaska.

Anybody that is on the call is invited. The camp can hold eight.

Wow, that'd be good. Man Church Alaska, that'd be fun.

Like to get eight good guys up there and we'll.

Whereabouts is the camp?

It's on the Igigik River on the Alaskan Peninsula. So the flight. looks like wherever you're from flying into Anchorage. Then we board another flight to King Salmon, which is about, I don't know, 600 miles from Anchorage. Then we get on a bush plane and then we get on a boat.

Perfect.

It's more remote than anything in Africa. There's, there's no roads to it. There's no, no way in and out other than float plane or, or boat.

Yeah, that sounds fun.

It's a good time, and you get treated like, like absolute kings when you're there.

Have you been up there before?

I have. This is, this is my go-to, uh, it's my go-to river. The silver salmon is, is world-renowned on that river. Um, wow, best in the world. Like, yeah, I promise you, you're coming home with a box of fish. You'll have 50 pounds of salmon fillet, I guarantee it.

So there's a cost of getting there and then there's a cost of shipping your fish home.

You know what, the fish goes right in the belly of the plane. It's just shipped as luggage. Um, really, guys, they provide you with insulated bags, so they hard freeze everything at the camp, goes right in the bag, and, and it, it's usually good. Uh, I had a buddy come in from, um, From England, the UK, last two years ago, we went up there and he said he got home and the fish was still frozen. So really? Mm-hmm.

So Al's gonna want to do some pig hunting here in a little bit, coming up to deer season. So he wants to clear his land out there so he can come down to Texas too. So so we should do it.

He's in where Georgia?

No, Al's in Texas.

Texas.

He's about 40 minutes from from my place.

Okay.

So that's gonna be good to do.

Time.

Yeah. Yeah, it is a time, man. It is a time. It'll be good. Well, good to have you on there, fellas. Good day, Angus. Good day, Nate. Good to see you, mate. Good morning.

Good morning.

So. Any other news? Any prayer requests? Anything going on, fellas, before we kick off? Anything we could pray for? We'll pray at the end. And yeah.

My, uh, my sister-in-law is at the end stages of lung cancer. So, uh, I think at this point it's just really for her comfort. And I mean, she's been really strong in her faith to the end, but I appreciate your prayers for her. Her name is Dottie.

Dottie. Well, let's start by praying with Dottie. Anybody got any other quests? Anything health-wise or financial? I know Rob's starting a new job. Want to pray for Rob for his job? I think it's going to be— I think it's a great opportunity for you, Rob. I just— when I was really excited when it came through, you've been looking for it, mate. You know, you've been hunting around for it. You haven't given up. You've had opportunities to be discouraged and you didn't. And so, you know, that's commendable. And I think that's going to speak to— I'm really interested in our discussion time today. Because I'm hoping this is, you know, time to put our big boy pants on and ask some questions about some of the things we've been led to believe and some of the things we've talked ourselves into. So I think, you know, feel free in discussion time to really mix that up a little bit. I think that's gonna be interesting.

And any other— Doc, one of the, one of the great things about this company is it's all faith-based.

So, oh, that's great, man.

Any project they take on is Is is based on the foundation of Christ.

That's great. That makes for a good work environment, which I think is getting more and more important to make sure you've got some sort of semblance of you know that there. Well, let me pray, fellas, and we'll get into it. Oh Lord, we we come to you as men today, and we lift up first of all Dottie and her situation. She's fought the good fight. And even though we know where her eternal rest will be, it doesn't make it easier for friends and family. And I just pray for Angus at this time that you give him the strength and courage to be what his family needs him to be. It's at times like that as men we feel leaned upon, and often we don't have the time to grieve because we are helping others grieve. And walking them through that process. So we pray for Angus as well as Dottie. She's obviously been sick for a while. So this process of grief has been going on for an extended period of time. And I just pray that this time is a season that they come in where they can celebrate life, and not just the tragedy that sometimes befalls us because of our fallen nature. We also pray for Rob and his new job opportunity. God, I pray that he puts roots down deep. And this is the one that he's been looking for for years. Rob has been constantly and persistently pursuing passionately the next thing for his life. And we just agree as men together that this could be a tremendous opportunity for him, and he'll prosper greatly, and he'll prosper quickly. Because in any new endeavor, there's always hesitation as to how I do this, how I deliver this, how I get this done. And so we just commit him to you. And the situation in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So everybody get your Bible out. It doesn't matter what shape or size it is. It's good to have one. Some of you'll have it on your phone. Just want to encourage you to make sure you've got a paper Bible somewhere because they're starting to change things digitally. And if your Bible, the only Bible you have is online, or the only Bible you have is an app, then you do not have an external source to check it by. And I think that's very important. Some of the translations now around sexuality, sexual practices, all those sorts of things have been changed already. And so I think it's very important to have a firm foundation of the word, because if we don't have a firm foundation of the word, then, then we have something— our life becomes shaky. And that's really what I want to talk to you today about. Start there. 2 scriptures for you. The first one is Isaiah 28:20. And if you don't know where Isaiah is, um, it's in the index in your Bible. That's why you have indexes. So go back. It's in the Old Testament. That's the front half of the book, and New Testament's in the back half of the book. Index is where everybody goes. Don't ever be scared about not knowing where something is in the Bible. That's why they have indexes in it. And anybody who gives you a dirty look because you use the index, throw your Bible at them. And tell them that they have to develop the fruit of the spirit, which means they get to be the patient ones and you get to be the dick. But anyway, so Isaiah 28:20 and Mark 4 will be popping into that. For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. So the bed is too short to stretch oneself on, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. I want to make a couple of statements, and then we'll have a look at it. You feel— I feel like at times that the gospel, the good news, isn't good news. We've all had that. It feels like a bed that is too short and a blanket that is too thin. Um, to wrap yourself in. It's uncomfortable and inadequate. And, and be honest, there are times when you felt like that. We've heard a message and you're living this life and it's like, man, this just doesn't meet up. You hate yourself for thinking that. That's the challenge. You don't know why you can't just get it like the real Christians do. You're always short for your breakthrough. You're narrowly missing out when others just always seem to get through and get the breakthrough. You're not wrong to feel this way. In fact, it's factual. It's an accurate feeling, and there's a reason for it. Because the good news that we have been told and sold has been misinterpreted and poorly conveyed. I believe a short bed and narrow blanket preaching fills our TVs, our pulpits, our books, and to be honest, our minds. A lot of the time. It will grow a church, but it will stunt a Christian walk. It will fill up a building campaign coffer, but will decimate your personal finance and your business account. It will promise you healing and bring you no comfort when death comes. So, however, don't hear what I'm not saying. I believe in abundance. I believe in prosperity. I believe in generosity. I believe in divine healing, but only from a big bed that is covered with coverings of grace and mercy, resting on a pillow of sound doctrine. Only from that place can you truly walk in those things. The rest is falsehood and possibly, um, very demoralizing to you, um, at different stages in your, in your walk and your faith. So what do I mean when I say small beds and narrow blankets? It was a time, uh, where the Jews were believing for false things about their nation. There were prophets running around saying everything's good, everything's fine, everything's hunky-dory, all good things are coming our way to the Jewish nation. Even after hundreds and hundreds of years of apostate living, doing the wrong thing, uh, these prophets are standing up and saying we'll be fine, don't worry about it, don't follow the word of the Lord, everything's going to work out for us. So if you imagine a child-sized bed, I remember my son had one of those, you know, that movie Cars. There was a stage where every boy in the world had a plastic bed. And what the hell we did once the kid hit 8, you know, and his feet were hanging off and his arms were hanging off and he still wanted to sleep in the things, you know, he's 11 and 12 and you gotta have that son, it's time to grow out of your Cars bed thing. And, um, so no matter how you adjust yourself in that environment, you curl yourself up, you Your shoulders are exposed, the blankets are too small, your feet are hanging off the end. The result is frustration, restlessness, and vulnerability. What was meant to bring comfort and safety actually leaves you worse off. So it can't give real rest, it cannot cover guilt, it cannot protect you from judgment, and it cannot carry the weight of eternity. And the Jewish people were sitting during this time when Isaiah was prophesying and speaking That was what was happening with him and his people. So when a church, a minister, a preacher, a book, a cult, a Bible study inaccurately applies the scripture to serve an agenda or prop up a point of view, they are deliberately and inaccurately misapplying the scripture and the gospel. The result is that what is supposed to bring comfort and rest Will not bring it. The scripture is full of truths that are meant to bring encouragement and heal and deliver. However, when they're misapplied, there is a disastrous effect that happens in our walk, in our life. I grew up. Remember when you used to go out on Saturdays or afternoon when you weren't allowed in the house? You know because like you weren't allowed because it wasn't dinner time and you're too noisy. So outside you go. I spent my entire childhood covered in iodine. My whole body was orange, you know, that orange glow. And, uh, it was great for scrapes and cuts, but not good if you drink it. Um, if you drink it, it's corrosive and it makes you very sick. So that's what happens when doctrine and biblical truth are wrongly or deliberately misapplied to serve an agenda. It leads to shallow, unproductive Christians. It's corrosive and harmful to our faith and our testimony. That's why it's important to make sure that everything is in the word and is checked. You know, I like reading books by old dead guys because if it's someone's on my bookshelf behind me, they've been around for hundreds of years and their truth has stood the test of time. And what we're seeing a lot now is teachings that will be evaporated and disappeared within a generation. So that being established in Isaiah, let's have a look at what the New Testament teaches us about it. Have a look at Mark 4. Mark 4. Mark 4:16. So where's Mark? Mark's in the New Testament. And how do you find where Mark is? It is in the index. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the 4 apostles. Then it gets into Acts, which is the Acts of the Apostles. Then it gets into a whole bunch of writing by people, mostly by a guy called Paul. So if you're up in the Revelations where it gets really weird and funky, and some letters to some places you don't know, wheel it back a little bit. If you run into someone's name you can't announce, like Malachi, come forward a little bit and you've hit Mark. So Mark 4:16-17: And these are the ones sown on rocky ground, the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, and they have no root in themselves and endure for a while. Then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. So it says on account of the word. It doesn't necessarily mean because you did something dumb that persecution comes, although that can be the case. Often persecution comes because of the word, and the word that lives within you will bring about that manifestation in someone else's life. So What does misapplied or non-biblical or shallow doctrine give you? It gives you a shallow understanding of the Christian life. At first appearance, it's all about great joy, and like the plant that's mentioned here, it'll grow up and there'll be some semblance of fruit. You won't have a care in the world according to this preaching, um, because you're filled with shallow promises and hollow expectations. Uh, you're persuaded that life in your Christian walk is always going to be awesome and easy. Um, it will tell you that you have— all you have to do in any situation is say a little prayer, throw a little offering in the bucket, and things are going to be hunky-dory, and all your dreams will come true. What— so what does this non-biblical or shallow doctrine sound like? And I want you to stay with me through this. There's 2 parts to this. It sounds like every answer you've ever looked for. It sounds like you give your life to Jesus and nothing will ever go wrong. It sounds like awesome sauce 24/7. It sounds like all a life of comfort and convenience. It sounds like everything is lovely all the time. It is a series of false applications of scripture that states that faith is a state of mind and being where problems no longer exist. Now there's an inverse to that. So what does misapplied or non-biblical and shallow doctrine suggest to you? It suggests that the world and the flesh and the devil will give us no real serious troubles as Christians, nor will circumstances of life and personal relationships ever be a problem again. You give yourself to Jesus and your marriage instantly heals. Your relationship with your kids is instantly better. You, you will never be a problem again once you become a Christian. And you will never make mistakes again, and everything will automatically right itself. Well, for that, um, however, there's another side to this false doctrine, and that is the other side, and misapplied it's just the same. And it says that the Christian life is all rough stones. It says that they're all rough roads and everybody is spiritually oppressed all the time because the devil is personally hunting you down. Um, it rarely talks about the joy Um, it rarely talks about grace and the overcoming capacity of the Holy Ghost. It makes our time on earth to be hell, and our only respite is the sweet by and by. So that is the invoice of that. So at both ends of this extreme, there's an imbalance and there's error. And so, like anything in the Bible, like many rules make small men. That's why we only started with one commandment, then we messed that up, we ended up going to 10. Then that turned into 632, I believe, with Leviticus. But then we come through into the New Testament. Christ brings it back to just to love God and love others. So the result of this shallow doctrine is that the first one of those 2 aspects will have you seeking only earthly pleasures. The second part will— well, the second will have you shunning all earthly pleasures. The first will have you believing that you are not saved if you suffer. The second will have you believe that you're only saved if you suffer. The first is promising more than God has ever committed to doing, and the second is denying the fact that God has committed to doing a whole bunch for you. I believe both are cruel, both are unrealistic, both are non-biblical, both are lacking or twisting in doctrine, and both are short beds and narrow blankets. Both are rocky, shallow ground that will not produce any fruit that will last. So let me give you a caveat before we start to unpack this rocky and shallow ground. I believe that all of us are responsible as men for our— the depth of our soil and the seed of faith that is placed within us. If you're not seeing the fruit in your life that you need, then you need to start fertilizing the ground that's around you. Jesus talked very much about the parable of the fig tree. Talked to dig it and dung it to the steward. Basically, he said, I want you to scrape fertilizer or the crap that's around on the field, dig under the roots of this tree, and use that circumstance of life to fertilize this tree to bear fruit. And I think that's what we're supposed to do. I think as men, all of us— when I look at this scripture and I think about life, all of us at some point in time have been sown in a soil that is rocky and as hard and as shallow Now, if any of you have ever worked the land, my first degree is in agriculture. I, I, we often had to work clay land. We often had to work hard rocky soil. We had to pick rocks out of soil. I mean, one of the jobs I hated as an intern going through ag college was going to a farm, and my only job for the entire summer in Australia in 115, 130-degree heat was to pick up sticks and pick up rocks. I had to do that because then the farmer, when it came sowing season, be able to sow that ground. But see, in our own life, just because your life feels a little rocky and a little tough at the moment doesn't mean you can't pick out the rocks and pick up the sticks for next season. When springtime comes, you'll have good land, good land to sow into, good fertile land. Now, has the location of the block changed? Not at all. But the preparation of the block has changed. So I think as men, we're responsible sometimes to look at our life and say, okay, Why is my life not bearing fruit? And what sort of fruit does it bear if it's bearing fruit that's a little bit withered, not not giving its full? What what are those things? And it's a time for introspection. So what is rocky ground or shallow ground preaching and teaching? What are those things? It stresses certain things but leaves out other things deliberately. It's a lopsided or biased presentation of biblical truth. It's primarily used as I said before as a church growth tool. There's a church here in Texas. that very deliberately says, I'm here to catch fish, not disciple people. This guy's got a church of 11,000 people. He says, my job is only to throw the net out and bring the fish in and then leave it up to them. What happens if you throw a net out? I'm sure Rob will tell you this, and you bring in a whole bunch of fish and it just sits on the shore and no one takes care of that fish. No one prepares that fish. No one does anything with it. You end up with rotted fish. So unfortunately, in a lot of churches and a lot of people walking around, as someone has gone to the trouble of presenting the gospel but didn't have the integrity to follow through with the discipleship of the gospel, and I think that is an unfortunate thing. So it might be shallow and selfish to start with, as it is with all of us, but there comes a time where you've got to dig and dug your own faith. I remember when I had my tonsils out as a kid, they told me that if I had ice cream, I'd feel better. I did have ice cream and I didn't feel any better. So when the anesthetic wore off and the ice cold ice cream wore off, I thought I was dying and I'd done something wrong. Only then did they tell me it would be a couple of weeks before my throat got actually better. Truth by admission distorts and breeds distrust. A lie to a child might save and bring a measure of comfort. A lie to a man will destroy credibility and trust. And I find as a man, I'd rather be told that something is going to be difficult for me to do so I can man up to get on with the job, as opposed to being told that everything's going to be easy for me once I take this magic pill, be it a magic pill of faith or be it a magic pill of exercise. You have a look at what Ozempic is doing to people at the moment. It is hollowing out their bones. It's not reducing fat. It's reducing— it's hollowing out their bones. It's going to make these people incapable of withholding any stress and strain in life, uh, neurologically, physiologically, their immune system is going to crash. It's going to kill a whole bunch of people. Yet we want to do the same in our Christian faith. We want to do things that do not stress us, and we, we think and attribute stress to demonic or ungodliness as opposed to the process of sanctification. Sanctification is a big word, but all it really means is you're— over time, your relationship and understanding of who God is Um, so, so let's talk about the rocky ground. Rocky ground is shallow ground, and as I said, it's my job, um, in my job or in my relationships, we always start there whenever we come to Christ in different stages in our life. There's always rocky ground that we've got to go to as new Christians, I believe, and it was certainly my experience that there, there seems to be an extension of a special grace. As a new Christian, any prayer you pray gets answered. All prophecies are for you. Every every verse in the Bible applies to you. Every altar call you need to answer, and I think that's great because God is your yummy cuddle buddy. And I think we're in this stage where it is that very similar to raising kids in our own life. But there comes a point where we Should also discuss and be faced with the day-to-day realities of living life. Now, wanting to talk about the day-to-day realities of living life doesn't make me a pessimist or negative; it makes me a realist and an optimist, because I may be facing a challenge in life, but because I know who Christ is for me and to me, I know that He's going to lead me through these things. And that is what sound doctrine should do for us. Did my baby die because I was living in sin? Well, if you only believe that only good things happen to Christians, you're not gonna have a preparation for that. Did I lose a business account because I didn't pray enough? Well, that brings it in a works mentality, which that moves aside and steps aside the grace and opportunity for God to bless you. Why doesn't my business prosper? Why doesn't my marriage? Why is my marriage tough? Why is my wife psychotic? Why am I psychotic? Why do we as a couple feel different distance? So there's there's error on both sides of the things. You might think there is no bad motive in presenting a purely happy, go lucky Christian life. Okay. But the absence of a bad motive and the presence of a good one do not reduce the damage of expectations. Poor or different expectations. So in other words, you telling me rocky ground is fertile ground would not help me put my roots down. If I don't have roots that go down deep in life, in the storms, and, and is anchored to something solid, then when the storms of life come, I'm gonna be able to— I'm not gonna be able to withstand them. Now, I don't go around looking for storms. But after 62 years walking this mortal coil, I understand that storms come. Life is seasonal. I will not always be in springtime. Every year has four seasons. Every phase of life has multiple seasons. Now I'd like to reduce my winters, and I think there's things that we can do, and I'd like to extend my springtimes. But in order to get my next spring, I'm having to go through my next autumn and winter. So do I love a summer and spring? I love a summer and spring. But in order to get there, I have to go through an autumn and a winter. To have my life secured with a strong and firm Christian faith, a foundation on Christ and the Word, is where our security comes. So here you are. Say you're 5 or 10 years in your Christian walk. Maybe you grew up in church, but you've really just come back to Christ. Maybe you know you're sitting on social media and you've you heard about this Christian thing and you want to give it a go. Maybe you've been a Christian for 2 or 3 years, and things just haven't worked out the way someone on TV said they would, or the way the pastor in church said it would. You've been told that temptation will flee you, but here you are still with a problem with pornography, or stealing, or getting hammered. You were told that you would have no more heartaches or disappointed, but you're not. You were told that you can be healed of everything, and you haven't been. You've been told it will all work out for good, and it doesn't seem to be that case. In fact, temptations, bad habits, they haven't seemed to disappear. They'd say maybe they did disappear as a young Christian, but here they are, they're back with a vengeance. So the result is that when the trials of life come our way, you feel weak and unable to stand. And I think part of that reason is that, um, it's the error in teaching. It's an error in doctrine and biblical truth. It loses sight of what the purpose and method of grace is and a real understanding of that. And I think— and I'm not trying to be comedic— I think part of the crime is that it's been taught by men that have never really worked out. They've never really put themselves in situations to be tested in a physical trial. And I, and I, and I say this as a living example because any man Who has pushed himself to the limits physically and psychologically knows that on the other side is exhaustion, exhilaration, and growth. And if you've only ever been brought up in a comfortable environment where everything's always gone your way, you won't know those things. So you can't teach those things. And so I want to encourage us all to make sure we're in relationship with men that are in a good place. But, you know, I've walked through a bad place. Because when it's your time to walk through a dark valley of the shadow of death, you're gonna have some people who'll make a dinner table for you. And in the midst of your darkness, they'll say, come on, man, come and sit with the Lord. Let's have a supper. Let's have fellowship together in this place. Because I'm not gonna tell you that this place doesn't exist for you. I'm not gonna say that this death of this family member, this divorce, this business struggle didn't happen. What I am gonna say is we can still have fellowship and we can still sup in the presence of God in this place. So our Christian walks— obstacles and hardships, challenges and disappointments— are all part of it. They are not signs of lack of faith. They are not signs that God has left you. They're actually opportunities to grow in faith, an opportunity to grow closer to God. They are signs and encouragements to dig your wells deeper, to drive your roots down. To fertilize your own ground and be prepared to grow, to build bigger beds and cover yourself with new blankets. Struggling in your faith is not a synonym to lacking faith or being defeated. It's a call for spiritual growth and manhood. And I want to give you 4 scriptures. I'll read them out to you, and I will ask— I'll get— I'll send them out to you in an email or put them on the website, on the Man Church page on my website. 1 Corinthians 13. Take notes of these if you want to and read them later. 1 Corinthians 13:11. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became a man, I gave up my childish ways. It is childish to think that life will not have its battles. Um, it is, it is a fantasy. In fact, every fairy tale Has dragons to overcome. It's not Disneyland, and I believe what Paul is saying here to the Corinthians: You've got to give up some childish ways of thinking at some point. Job forty forty-seven. Dress for action like a man. I will question you and make it known. Dressful, prepare, act like a man. God says, "I will ask you, and you will tell me, and we will discuss this thing." But in order to do that, I need you to be prepared for action as a man. And if you read that, if you read that chapter in the context of that chapter, it's happening at a long discourse between God and Job where there's a lot of back and forth and questioning and arguments. And God basically puts his hammer down and said, no, let me just tell you about this. And a lot of people interpret that as a story where Job becomes very passive towards the end. I don't read that here. I hear the exhortation from God saying, dress for action like a man. I will question you and you will make it known to me. This is a 2-way discourse. If you've ever known a Jew, Jews love to argue. They'll argue with you about anything. They'll argue with each other about nothing. They do. I've got one of my business partners, a Jewish guy. He just loves to argue. He's always getting involved in an argument about anything, about nothing. It's just Thursday. Okay, so we're going to have an argument about it. And their attitude towards God in their conversations is exactly the same. If you read the Psalms, it's not a great book of comfort. It's a book of David whining and bitching to God about how his life sucks, and ends with David declaring, "My life sucks, but you suck less, and you're going to somehow get me out of this mess that I made for myself." And God is not insecure. He will have a conversation with you. And Job says it direct for action like a man. Come on, step on up. I'll question you, and you need to tell me what your thoughts are on this. 1 Kings 2:1, David's instructions to Solomon. When David's time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, I'm about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man. It takes strength to be a man, and you have to act like one, not like a child, not like a woman. You have to act like a man, and there is a difference between men and women. And your, your wives do not need you to act like women or children. They need you to act like men, because you certainly don't need your wife to act like a man. And I think that's part of what Solomon's declaring— David's declaring to Solomon, listen, there's time. You're gonna have to grow up into this thing. Here's a whole kingdom I've established. Only a man can take this on, a fullness of the maturity of what a man is. 1 Corinthians 16:13. Be watchful, stand firm in faith, act like a man, and be strong. There's 4 admonitions. Act like a man. Stand— act like a man is standing firm in faith in times of need. It's being watchful, attentive to temptations and to the onset of trials. The onset of trials is a place when you can stop your trials, but that's a whole nother thing that we can unpack. Be strong, be resilient, act like a man, not like a woman, not like a child. Women and children Act differently again. There's that exhortation: act like a man. It's not a sexist thing; it's a it's a role definitive thing. There's whole place things in the Bible where it talks about the nature and the character of women, and what they're to do. This is speaking specifically to you in your circumstances. So, how do I grow as a man? So here you are in life. Be honest. Here you are. You've either been this or you will be this. You're here. You're standing, sitting, lying, crying, or screaming. And because life has served you lemons, and the blender's broken, the power's cut off, there's no money for the electricity. So there's no bloody way you're making lemonade out of these lemons. You're stuck with lemons. So what the hell do you do? Welcome to manhood. We've all been there, or we are all there, or we've just come through it, or we're going there again. And I've lived long enough. We all have to understand that it may very well come again. Now, I'm not expecting it. But I have to understand that it's gonna come my way. So what's the answer to this? Grace. Unmerited favor. Grace in the New Testament means that God's love in action towards people who don't deserve it. Grace means God moving heaven towards earth to save a sinner. God— grace means God moving heaven towards earth to intervene on behalf of someone he loves. Does this mean he shields us from disaster and delivers us from disaster? Yes. But it also means that on occasion he walks with us through disaster. You know, Angus was talking about the death of his sister. Could God have delivered her from that? Could she have healed it? Yes. But this is— he's chosen in his purpose to bring— call her home. And how God is going to manifest himself to Angus Is walking with him and his family through this problem. We have been through challenges in life, and that means that God has left us. Well, that's the worst kind of lie. Why would God not shield us from everything in life is often a question, or why do we? Well, my answer to that is simple: is why would we? We don't shield our children from everything. I remember deliberately allowing my son to get into. To reap the consequences of his own actions, or putting him in situations and allowing him to get into situations where there was going to be a consequence. Listen, son, I would not recommend that you do that. But if you do that, this is where some of those possible outcomes are. And when those outcomes turn up in such a way that it makes him uncomfortable, then he understands that there is consequence to action in life. When we try to shield and protect our children from all things, we end up with these 22 or 30-year-old kids running around breaking and destroying everything because they've never had a paddle. And, and I think we, we as, as Christian, as men, we need to understand that God wants us to grow up the right and proper way. And sometimes circumstances and situations in life are allowed to be brought about because they enable us to bring the best things out of our life. So how does God use challenges and disasters to our advantage? Not by shielding us from the assault of the world or the temptation of flesh or the enemy, but by— not by protecting us from frustration situations, not by giving us a free pass, um, but, but allowing us to dig our roots down deep. And most of our confusion nowadays in church life becomes because we get so confused and focused on the wrong thing. If the preaching sounds like a burden to perfectionism, it probably is. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If it sounds all like misery and suffering and BS, then it probably is. So how do you drive roots down deep that no storm can break, but you might grow and bend with them, but not break with you? Now I'm gonna give it to you. I'm gonna, I'm gonna answer my own question. I'm gonna tell you how to dig your roots down. But I also wanna preface this by saying you're probably not gonna believe it. You're probably gonna say that it's too simple. You're probably going to say that because we're men and we like hard things, you know, you're probably gonna say that. But just remember this, like the garden, it was supposed to be easy. But then there was the fall. So in Christ, when we return to things, there are things that are very simple for us to do that bring an incredible result. But we want to do it the hard way for some reason. Now, does that discount everything that I've just taught for the last 40 minutes about this being an easy gospel?

No.

I'm saying this is the hardest thing you will probably ever do in your life. These 2 simple things. I've been a Christian for 40 years. And I just still can't do this. It's the hardest thing I do, period, at all. So number one, number one, the Westminster Catechism, which was a group of teachings out of the, out of the Middle Ages that came when there were no Bibles in the church. People, the total populations were illiterate and biblically illiterate. And these church fathers got together and said, let's come up with a case of simple rhymes of questions and answers. that people can learn by rote so that all of the doctrine, basic Protestant doctrine, is covered. And if we teach these people these things, then they'll understand for their entire life what it is that— who God is and how he loves them. And this is their very first one: what is the chief end of man? What is the ultimate aim for all of man's life? What is the purpose, regardless of circumstance, that man Should live and how we should live. Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That's it. I'm gonna come back to that and unpack it just a little bit. And then Micah 6:8, and this is one of my all-time favorite scriptures. You know, I've got a kazillion favorite scriptures like I'm sure you have, but this is one of my favorite because for me, I'm a simple man and I like things that are simple. But this is one of the hardest things to do on a daily basis. Micah 6:8. He has told you, O man, what is good, or what is just, or what is right, or what you're supposed to do. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God? What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. He has told you, O man, What the Lord requires of you to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with him. To glorify God, you love him. That's how you glorify him. You worship him. You give him his due regardless of the phase of life that you're in. Be it a good season or a tough season, you acknowledge who he is. To enjoy him is to delight in him, to rest in him, to see him as your satisfaction, to have fun with him regardless of the circumstance and situations in life. Micah 6:8. To do the right thing is to protect the vulnerable, is to make wrong. Right wherever possible. To delight, to love kindness is to delight in compassion, to be loyal, faithful, and kind. To walk humbly with God is to walk in step with God, not out of step with God, to be modest, teachable, and to move through life with him. Sometimes when Things happen to us. You can't run from the palm of God. You can't. The palm of God is massive. You cannot outrun it. You will never get off his hand. But we try and hide when we hide when we're in fear and we think that something's wrong in our relationship with him, just like Adam did. And as men, when we go through rough and difficult times, if life is rocky for you, if it feels like it's not fertile. Then my encouragement is to run to him, to start to pick those things out of your life, to do kindness when no kindness has been shown to you, to do justice when no justice has been shown to you, to enjoy him when life is not enjoyable, to sit in the sun, to have smoke a cigar, to have a coffee, and just tell him how you love him. And these things will turn your rocky and your your stick-filled ground into fertile ground. You don't have to go looking for grass somewhere else. You don't have to go to someone else's patch. The place in life and the seed was placed in your life, not in someone else's life. And if you'll take these simple principles out of the First Catechism, to glorify him and enjoy him out of Micah is to do the right thing, to be kind, and to walk in an ongoing relationship with him. Then what will happen is that your circumstances won't change, but you will change, and all of a sudden you will start to bear fruit in your life. So take these things and fertilize them. Extend your beds. Extend. Don't get a new bed. Extend your bed. Don't get a new blanket. Get more blankets to go on your bed, and the course of life will change. Let me pray and. We'll have a chat. Father, we thank you for your word, for it is truth and life. Sometimes it's hard. The simple things are hard for us to hear. But we love you, and be with us today as we have a conversation around these ports in Jesus' name. Let me say goodbye to all our folks all over the internet. Cheerio, TikTok. Cheerio Instagram, Cheerio Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube.