013 - Redeemed

Welcome to the Pure Desire Podcast where we partner with you to bring hope and freedom on your journey to purity. Hey there. I'm your host Trevor Windsor and we are so thankful you're taking time out of your day to hang out with us. Today we have something special and new for you. Today's podcast will be Nick Stumbo's message from our Redeemed Men's Conference titled Redeemed. Enjoy the Podcast August 5, 2000 the Los Angeles Rams, known then as the St. Louis Rams, were defending super bowl champions. The New York Yankees were well on their way to winning yet another championship, a 41 series victory over their crosstown rival New York Mets. The Shaq Kobe led Los Angeles Lakers are fresh off of yet another championship season. A 15 year old skinny kid named Michael Phelps would make his Olympic debut in Sydney, Australia, beginning a remarkable run of Olympic medals. A president by the name of Bill Clinton would be wrapping up his final year in office. And on August 5th, we would just be a few short months away from George W. Bush and Al Gore running off in the closest election in history where we all learned phrases like recount and hanging chad. The number one song on the billboards in August of 2000 was It's Gonna Be Me by that classic band NSYNC. And yet, as important and significant as many of those events were in world history, none of them compare to what happened at Fox Island Alliance Church just outside of Gig Harbor, Washington, when a 21 blond haired, beautiful young gal named Michelle Lorraine Rolfson walked down the aisle to a nervous yet thrilled young man named Nicholas James Stumbo. And she said, I do. And he said, I do. And on that day we were married and something of deep significance took place where I transferred from life of singleness to married life. And on the one hand, I went from being one to two. Because now, rather than just looking out for myself and my own interests, from that day on and evermore, I would be looking out for the interests of two. And now, as our family has grown to six. And yet in other ways we went from two to one because we became one. Spiritually and emotionally and physically, we were one. And as important as that day, August 5, 2000 is in our story. And it is important because perhaps, like you, we have it on the walls, it's written on plaques, it got crocheted into pillows. It is a day that will never be forgotten if I value my own life. And yet, as important as that day was, it is far from far more important to my wife that I remember today that I am Married. Think about the distinction. Yeah, I was married. And that's the entry point into married life. But it doesn't make a whole lot of difference if I walk around only remembering that 17 years ago I was married. It's because present reality determines our behavior. Past celebrations have a place, but it is our present realities that determine behavior. And so, because I am married, I put her needs ahead of my own. Because I am married, I guard my eyes and my heart from what I could see or the involvement with other women. Because I am married, it influences the way I live each and every day. And so take that thought to our conference theme, Redeemed. I loved our speakers, but you might have noticed they didn't really use the theme redeemed. And yet I built today's message around that idea of redeemed. And what I wanted to start with is this idea. And it's there in the message outline. It's that there is a monumental difference between having been redeemed, past tense, and walking in the reality of our redemption presently. You getting that? That there's a monumental difference between knowing something took place. There was a transaction occurred. That, yes, was deeply significant. Because on that day, whenever you and I put our faith in Jesus Christ, we went, the scripture tells us, from being dead to alive, that there was this transfer that took place, that my sin went on Jesus shoulders and his righteousness went. Went on mine. And on that day, I was redeemed. But I wonder if for some of us, that's kind of where it still sits. I was saved, I was forgiven. I was redeemed. I was given heaven. And then we read all these scriptures and these promises, and then in our minds, they're still past tense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm in the door. I got in the family. God kind of opened it up to everybody. So when I said my prayer, he had to let me in. But how does he feel about me right now? Do I know the truth of my redemption presently? Because present realities determine behavior. I wanted to have you here or to read a portion of Scripture with me. And it's one that it launches a book. And there are other verses we know better from later in the book. And so we kind of breeze by it like the introduction, but it is so packed with statements about our present reality in Christ that I wanted to invite us to hear it with new ears. So I want to invite you, if you would, to put down paper and pencils for a minute and to stand to your feet with me. Put everything down, stand up. And I know it's printed in the message notes. But I don't want you to fall along right now. But what I want you to think about with me is what it was like in the first century when people in Ephesus received this letter from their friend, the Apostle Paul. By this time, they would have had the Old Testament scriptures compiled in what was called the Septuagint put into the language of Greek so that they could read it. They may have had some stories from the life of Jesus that were circulating in the early church. But when they would meet together on the first day of the week, which is why we do church on Sunday, by and large, because the first day of the week for them was Sunday. And at that time, it was countercultural. They would gather early in the morning before they had to go out to work. And when this letter came, the awe that would have filled. We have a word from Paul. It would have been one sheet of paper. They didn't get to hand out copies. So I imagine like this, the room probably stood as their leader unrolled the parchment and very carefully, making sure not to damage anything, because even then, there's evidence that they understood what Paul wrote, what Paul said had an authority to it as an apostle of Jesus Christ. And so they're unrolling it and picture that we're in that room. We're in a simple Greek home large enough for us to gather and to hear these words written to us that we realize Paul is about to open the mysteries of our faith to help us understand what it is that we believe. And this is what he wrote to us. He said, all praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and He forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ, which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan. At the right time, at the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God's purpose was that we Jews, who were the first to trust in Christ, would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the good news that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him. Him. Amen. Wow. Take a seat, guys. Think on that passage with me for a little bit. As you heard those words read, and maybe as you now look at the words printed there on the outline, what jumps out to you? In fact, I want you just to shout out a couple of the words or phrases about who we are in Christ that grab your mind or your attention. What are some that stood out to you? Purchased, adopted, chosen citizens. Accepted. It gave them great pleasure. Yes. Errors. A guarantee without fault. Every spiritual blessing. Think on that for a moment. How many times do you feel like I don't have what it takes? I don't think I have enough to get the job done or to do what God's calling me to do. And here Paul says we have been given every spiritual blessing. There is nothing lacking. Wow. What else? Yeah. Showered kindness. I love that imagery of shower, because that's not just like a drop, it's like a douse kindness. He did it so we'd praise and glorify Him. It's what he wanted to do. Yes. So God wasn't working on a holy plan and trying to build his holy people. And then somehow we snuck in the back door and he went, ah, man. That one I thought was not my idea, but I guess you heard the story. So come on. I mean, from long ago when he knit you together in your mother's womb, he was planning and waiting on that moment when you would enter into his grace and then he would lavish every spiritual blessing on you. And kindness and wisdom and mercy, and all those things began in a moment you were redeemed by. But every single thing we're talking about carries forward into our present reality that this is who I am. The question I want to ask is, do we believe it? There are differing views out there in theology of purgatory, and I'm not entirely sure what I think about purgatory after death. But I do believe there's purgatory prior to death. There are three ways that I experience purgatory. One is building IKEA furniture. I'm certain if there is a purgatory, there will be boxes of IKEA furniture lined up for me. Second is watching home decorating shows with my wife. And the third is attending this place known as Chuck E. Cheese. Anybody else with me on Chuck E. Cheese? Just in case you're not familiar with this gaming emporium known as Chuck E. Cheese. You walk in with your children, you open up your wallet for an insane amount of coins and really bad pizza. And then your kids get to go and play all these video games and they love it. And they're playing, you know, whack a mole and they're playing spin the wheel stuff and the skeet ball. And I mean, I'll be honest, I actually do enjoy a lot of those and I'm competitive so I'm, I'm beating my 8 year old son at stuff. But what we really start to get into is the tickets, right? Because if you've got 200 coins and you're playing all these games, the tickets are starting to add up. And if you do the skeet ball and it goes in that middle circle, that's 100 points. And you can do that a bunch. It starts shooting out that whole line of tickets and it's like, whoa, this is pretty cool. And then you start gathering those tickets up and at the very end you go to another place there in Chuck E. Cheese and you start feeding the tickets in into the machine. Which I remember one time my 8 year old son thought you had to do them one at a time. So every time he won tickets he was tearing them apart. And so we go to the machine, he's got this whole stack like we are going to be here all day. But you just keep putting them in until you know, and sometimes you got a whole long string, that's the fun one, just eats them up and it's counting a number and when you're all done, it spits out this receipt, this little piece of paper that has a number on it. And you take that receipt up to. You know, for an eight year old boy, what is like heaven on earth? That just filled with balls and games and candy and pencils. And then up there is like the bigger stuff, you know, a remote control car and huge stuffed animals. And you look at the number on your ticket and that's whatever's on the number ticket is what you can purchase, right? And I want to have you think about that illustration for a little bit. What is that piece of paper worth? What? I mean, as a piece of paper, it's. We might even say it's worthless. Like, if I had that receipt and said, will you pay me for this? You'd be like, I mean, if I have a penny, maybe, what value does that have? The paper, worthless. But what's printed on it is what matters. And I want to ask you this question on the next page. What value is stamped on the redemption certificate of your life? What number is stamped on the redemption certificate of your life? You see, in that passage we just looked at, Ephesians, chapter one, it says that when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own. That word identified is a great word in the Greek. The Greek word is sfraf gidzo. If James was up here, he'd probably say it in a Greek lesson. He'd help me out. But sfrafgidzo is the word more commonly translated as a seal. And in the first century, if you saw that word for identified or for seal, what would come to your mind is the kind of seals that in that day and age, everyone would stamp onto a letter or onto an official document. Sometimes it might be their signet ring, or sometimes it might be a stamp that they had nearby. Because whenever you wanted to identify that a communication or a decision or a letter was from you, you took your stamp or your seal and you pressed it down into that hot wax. And then everyone who saw it, wherever that letter went, whoever received it, would know that it was official because it had been sealed by the owner. And that's the imagery, the picture that we're intended to get when it says, when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own. He sealed you with his mark. How? By giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. And instead of being sealed in hot wax, that seal on our hearts is the blood of Jesus Christ. That opened up a way for the God of the universe, the. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to willingly limit a part of himself to live in us. And I don't know if you think about that very much, but I find myself coming back to that idea because there are so many days that I just don't get it. On the one hand, I feel like if the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is living in here, shouldn't I be a whole lot further along than I am? But it reminds me that he won't force his way. He's not going to turn me into a robot and make me obey or do things according to his will. But what I think I feel far more deeply and probably you do also. It's like, God, aren't you a little bothered by living in me? Isn't it kind of uncomfortable for you? Like, do you know what's gone on? And the things I see and do and say, and God, why would you want to live here? And yet it says, that was his good plan. That's what he wanted. He identified you and he identified me as his very own. And I wonder if sometimes in our lives we walk around with this redemption certificate of our life that has been stamped by the blood of Jesus Christ, saying that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords lives in us. And that number that is on there, the true value of that certificate that is beyond measure. And yet I wonder if, in a metaphorical way, we're looking at the backside and see nothing but a piece of paper. What's this worth? Well, not a whole lot. What value is stamped on the redemption certificate of your life? What are you worth before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? And then the second question that I think is equally important, the second critical question is, who has the right to determine that number? Because maybe it's Chuck E. Cheese, or maybe it was our family of origin, or maybe it was high school sports, But I think somewhere along the way, we pretty much got it into our head that that number comes from other places than where it really does. As we look at the value of our life, maybe we think the first option that it's myself that I write, the value, that first blank there is myself. Maybe I come up with the value that, like Chuck E. Cheese, the number on the paper is determined by my performance. And the better I play the game, and the straighter I roll the balls and the faster I hit the gophers, then I get a better score on my card and I'm valuable. And it's amazing to me how even in this journey of walking out of performance that led to my addiction to pornography, I can still find myself walking in freedom from relapse or masturbation, but still living in this performance mindset that says my value in this world comes from how well I perform. Even in my own group, my own Seven Pillars group, I can sometimes shut off our video conference call and feel like, boy, I, I was not a good leader today. Why am I here? And suddenly those old thoughts start to spin and the value on my little redemption certificate starts to be determined by My own performance? Or is it others? Who has the right to determine that number? Is it the evaluation of others that are scoring us? You ever realize that you live a lot of your life with this faith, faceless, nameless crowd of they or them over your shoulder? Oh, man, I can't believe. What would they think? I've probably let them down. And we don't even know who we're thinking of or talking about. There's just this sense that people looking into our lives would say, shouldn't have done that. That was a bad decision. Well, if I was the leader, I'd have done it better than you did. And it seems like they are never happy. Are they the ones that get to write the number in my life? Or is it third option? Is it God? Do I trust that the King of kings and the Lord of Lords, the God of heaven who said that gave him great pleasure to do this, to come and inhabit this sinful, failing body, that he gets to determine what number is written on my life? And that when I walk up to the counter, that in God's economy, behind the counter is his kindness, his grace, his gifts, his plans, his mercy, future hopes and dreams that I look down at the certificate in my life and it says, no limit, unlimited. And I say, I'll take some of that grace. I'll take some of those gifts. I. I'll take that wisdom. I'll take that blessing. In fact, I'll take it all. Take the lot, you know. And as I talk about that, isn't there something in us that goes, yeah, yeah, for other guys or for that, you know, our group leader? I mean, he's doing really well. Or our pastor, or that guy who's been married 40 years, probably for those guys, but not for me. Why do we live in that but not for me attitude? Because Paul told us here in Ephesians one that we have been given every spiritual blessing. And the value that's been stamped on your life is not your performance. It's the blood of Jesus Christ. And it says no limits on what you can get redeemed at this counter of my kingdom. All my grace, all my kindness, all my wisdom, yours. Not based on your ability to achieve it or win it or earn it, but because God is a giving God that takes great pleasure in showering good things on his children. Now, that doesn't make life perfect. It's no guarantee everything will work out the way we think it should work out. But it is a way of thinking. Going back to where we started. I was married August 5, 2000. But I'm living in a reality that I am married. And that's the one that really makes a difference. Today, you were redeemed. I hope that every man in this room knows there was a time in his life when he came before Jesus Christ. Acknowledging God, I cannot save myself, but I receive your plan of salvation that is the blood of Jesus Christ. And if you made that transaction with God, whether at a church service or a Billy Graham crusade or in the silence of your own room or the car ride home, you were redeemed. But now you are redeemed. You are walking in all of those things. And no matter what has taken place between the moment when you were redeemed and today, it hasn't changed and any of those truths. Here's the reason this is so important. In fact, James already said something very much like it yesterday, which I appreciate, because it only underscores the need for us to embrace this idea. This is so important because of the next note, that we can't help but become more like the person we already believe we are. We can't help but become more like the person we already believe we are. So if I believe I was redeemed, but now it's up to me and my performance and how well I can toe the line and play the game and sing the song and do the dance, then I will move in that direction of doing the things that I do best. Performing where I perform well, withdrawing where I have something to hide or don't feel good about. And the scary thing is how brain research tells us you'll do that without even meaning to. Just like, you know, when you're driving your car, they say, you know, look where you want to go because you'll steer in that direction. And when we look down at the radio and then, like, we're veering to the side of the road and our wife panics and yells, and we're like, I'm fine. I got it. Maybe that's just me. But just like we tend to steer wherever we're looking, so it is in life. And if I'm looking at myself in a way that says I've got to earn it or prove it or be good enough or live up or measure up, then I will move in that direction and only reinforce the things I already believe, that kind of scares me. But it gives me great hope that, on the other hand, if I will learn to walk daily in the reality of redemption and knowing that I have every spiritual blessing through Christ, I am a vessel for the Holy Spirit. God's showering me with kindness. He wants to bless me. He's given me all wisdom and courage. You know what direction I move in? That one that I walk in kindness. I walk in wisdom. I walk in mercy. Not because I'm earning it or deserving it, but because my eyes are where they need to be. We can't help but move. We can't help but become more like the person we already believe we are. And to underscore that point, I invited a friend here today who I wanted to have share his story with you because I thought he could illustrate it better than I could. So I'm going to have him come now. I remember the day the soldiers came. I was sitting in the house working on some wood, scraping out a bowl. I'd been crippled since the time I was 5 years old, so I'd never been taught to work the fields or take care of the animals like all the other boys. But I'd gotten pretty good with my knife and a chunk of wood. And most of the bowls and cups in our home were my handiwork. I remember I was carving out that bowl, the pounding on the door. And I knew as soon as I heard the voice, it was King David's soldiers said, open up. We're on a mission from the king. We're here from Mephibosheth. I remember my great uncle that we were living with, Makir said, who? I hadn't used that name in a long, long time. In fact, when I left Jerusalem, I left Mephibosheth. I'd just gone by Bow for the last 20 years or so. I said, uncle, that's me. They're here for me. And something in my heart fell because I knew what I had dreaded for 20 years had happened. That someone had remembered there was a descendant of Saul, the former king. And now David, as he rightfully should, was here to wipe out any challenge to his throne. The soldiers burst in and they picked me up off that chair and put me in the back of a cart on its way to Jerusalem on that two day journey it took for us to get there. As my heart just pondered the life I'd lived and how little I was leaving behind. Some bowls I'd carved and one young son. It occurred to me how I was on a cart headed to Jerusalem to be sacrificed before the king, much like the animals would be before God. And when my time came before the king, the soldiers hoisted me up and carried me into that throne room. Something much more glorious than I had ever seen it was a palace that my grandfather Saul had never had. David had built his own there in Jerusalem. And they plopped me down there on the floor in front of the king. It was the moment of my execution. I was convinced of it. And King David said, greetings, Mephibosheth. He knew who I was. And I remember I bowed down as low as I could, saying, I am your servant. And as I bowed down in that position, all I could see was my crippled feet. I only had a hazy memory of it, that at five years old, my nursemaid, in an effort to save me from what certainly would have been slaughter on that day, had rushed me out of the city. Only in her rush, as we pounded down some stairs, she. She had twisted an ankle and dropped me. And in the fall, both of my feet had been broken beyond repair. And every time I looked down, I was reminded that I was an outcast, a crippled, worthless nobody. And it seemed fitting, as I declared, I am your servant, that there I was with one last reminder of my infirmity. So you can imagine my surprise when the next words I heard out of King David's mouth were, do not be afraid. And I remember I looked up from my position, and what I saw in his face absolutely astounded me. I expected to find anger, power, authority. But what I saw was the fatherly look of compassion and love. And King David, King David, the man who had every right and authority to say to me, be gone. My throne is in control. Said instead, mephibosheth, out of kindness and loving compassion for your father, Jonathan, I am restoring to you all of his land and all that he had and giving you a seat here at my table. I don't know how to explain to you the astonishment that flooded my mind. It's. Perhaps you can think in your own world when there is an absolute reversal where you expected one thing and it's not even that you just got off the hook, it's that something entirely different occurred. I went into the room expecting death, and I lifted my head to find not only a reprieve, but so much more. All the land and a seat at the king's table. I was so overwhelmed and overcome. I tried to protest. I said, but who am I that you would show such kindness to a dead dog like me? David, I'm a cripple. I'm a nobody. You should get rid of me. It's like David didn't even hear me. He was already moving on. He called in his chief servant, Ziba, and he said, ziba, you and all your sons and all of your servants now belong to Mephibosheth. I'd spent my whole life serving no one but myself and my son. And in that moment, I gained 35 able bodied men to take care of my land, to take care of my property, my estate. And then David said again, but as for Mephibosheth, he will eat with me at my table. I was so overwhelmed by what had happened. It would have been enough if David would have simply pardoned my life. Do you know how long I had longed for that? To be able to not have to live in hiding and fear for David to simply say, I'm not going to kill you, God. Go live in peace back in your pastureless home. I would have been thrilled by that salvation. But the King went far, far beyond giving me servants, land, position and a seat at his table. And so now, every day, the soldiers still come. Every day they come into my room and they pick me up and they carry me down to the table so that I can eat there with the King. And every day, as we lean forward to eat from our bowls, they even use a few that I carve. There's always a moment where I look to my right, I see King David. And as I look back towards my food, I catch sight of my feet. See, I'm still crippled. Nothing changed. But each day I make a decision. Which one defines me? The King on my right or the wounding in my past? I'm Mephibosheth. And that's my story. So as we prepare to wrap up this morning and get in vehicles and go back to our families and homes, I want to send you with two questions. And the first one is this. You got in the room with the King, but are you sitting at the table as his son? So what I love about the life of Mephibosheth is the way it parallels ours, that we get brought before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and we are crippled, we are deformed. There's something about us that is wrong. And when he pronounces over us the blood of Jesus Christ, we're saved. And there's that joy of I don't have to die, I don't have to live in fear. But that is an entirely different place than believing. I've been given a seat at the table with the King and friends. I think all across our country and our world, there are men and women sitting in church that show up every Sunday that still think they're just lucky not to have died. And that's Great. I don't want to ever underplay salvation. I mean, it's the starting point. It's what crosses us over from death to life. It means everything. But we can stay stuck there thinking all God wanted to give me was a reprieve from my own death. And now I have that get into heaven free card. So I won't burn in hell. Thank God for that. But he wants to give you so much more. He doesn't want you sitting around wondering if I really belong, if I'm wanted, if I have ownership in this kingdom. He sits me at his table with him. He calls us sons, Christ calls us brothers. Just to maybe mark where you're at in your life, I want to invite you to do an exercise with me. Very simple, just where you're at. If you just take a moment and close your eyes. And I'm not going to ask you to get up or raise a hand or do anything. So keep that fear level down or that. I mean, I know what I do. It's like you can't make me do anything. Just close your eyes. And I want you to picture something. I want you to think about when you picture God. What look is on his face? And don't think of the right answer. I'm hoping you're being very, very honest, just between yourself and God, that when you picture him and you standing in front of him, if you had the courage to look up at his face, what expression do you see there? You can open your eyes. And the truth is, if when we picture the face of God, we see anything there but compassion and love, we have the wrong image. I remember I was asked that question right as I started my journey seven years ago. They said it the way, how do you think God feels about you? And I realized the word that came to mind without even thinking about it was disappointment. Because I said, I think God knows I could do so much better than I am. He's just disappointed that I haven't lived up to my potential. And I realize that even though that's a former way of thinking, it doesn't take too much for me to slip back into it. God, I've let you down again. I should have been more. I should have done better. And I have to stop. And Sometimes I hear Dr. Ted's words saying, you've got the wrong God. Do you realize that who God is is not determined by what you think of who God is? If we're honest, sometimes we think that God is just a glorified version of ourselves. And so if I Don't like me. God's just a glorified version of someone that doesn't like me because he's got even better reason not to. But the truth of who God is is not contingent on how you see him. It's contingent on who he is. And so we need to begin to see God for who he is and not for who our past or even a dysfunctional church or how others have made out God to be. Because if you see him as stern or disciplinarian or disappointed or angry or impatient or judging or all the other things that might come into our minds, that's not God. Because the Bible tells us when he looks at you, the first thing he sees is his son, Jesus Christ. And then, because I used to think that, like, yeah, yeah, that's cool. But then once he gets past Jesus, he sees the garbage in my life. It's like, no. After he gets through Jesus, do you know what he sees? He sees the you that he created, the one that in perfection was his will and plan, and he knit together, and he saw all that he had for you and the good plans from long ago. He still sees it. And no matter how much we've run away from it, messed it up, gone different directions, he still sees the us that he made. And he's not there tapping his foot or folding his arms. Would you get around to it already? It's this compassion of man. I made you. You're mine. If you were in Rodney's seminar kicking off Friday, I loved that imagery because it was true in my life when he said he held his first daughter on the day of her birth, how he didn't look down at her and say, wow, what a dirty little sinner. No, there's something in a heart of a dad that looks at your kids and just goes, holy cow, this is mine. I helped make this. And if we can feel that as human dads, how much more does our Heavenly Father look at you and go, wow, I made this. You got in the room. He gave you a reprieve from death. He gave you salvation. But are you sitting at the table with the King as a son? Because there's a name card there. There's a place set for you. You're not an intruder. You're expected. The second question is this. Who will continue helping you to the table? You know, I've read Mephibosheth story many times, and it never occurred to me that he might not be able to walk. And that just to get to the table, he had to rely on Others. But I think that is such a beautiful picture of what we need from other men in our lives. Because there are days when I get stuck in my room staring at my crippled feet and remembering what I used to be and wondering what good I am to the king. And I need strong men that'll walk in and pick me up and say, come on, it's time to eat with the king. Because once we're seated there, once you're in this room, once you're with your group, once you're in that worship service, it all makes sense, right? I don't know about you. That's me. Like, it's like, how could I ever forget what this feels like? Or that I've got brothers and. But this isn't where the challenge is for me. The challenge is, you know, maybe when I'm in my office on a Monday and I feel overwhelmed and I don't think I've got what it takes. And it's like, that's when I need people. I can call and say, will you help me to the table? It's when my wife and I have that same frustrating argument that we've had since year one, and it's never really going to work itself out, but I just feel unheard and unvalued, and I need people that help me to the table, and so do you. Because we're all tempted to keep looking down at our crippledness, but God is giving you men that will walk you back to the table and say, your seat is here. And my question is, who are those men in your life? And I want to invite you, if you currently have them, would you write down their names right there on your paper? So, you know, the guys that helped me to the table are Jim and Scott and Josh. And if you're not sure, because I've talked to guys this week, you said, well, I was in group and there's nothing right now. Or we moved and I'm a little disconnected. Would you just, right now ask the Holy Spirit if there are people that are currently in your circle, your sphere of influence, that if you asked if you started that relationship, if you invested they might be those men, would you write their names down? And if no one comes to mind, would you ask the Holy Spirit to make this priority number one in your life? Because I think that's where we get our journey messed up, is that we think, okay, the number one priority is I got to shape up, right? I got to stop acting out and have higher boundaries and do all my homework and all the stuff that I've got to do, and that's very important. But I'd say priority number one is to remember and to learn. I'm not doing it alone. And so right now, friends, if you're in a place where you're feeling like I'm doing it alone, would you just say, holy Spirit, I can't do it alone. Would you show me men that I can walk with that will help me to the table? August 5, 2000, I was married. And on August 5, 2050, we will celebrate that we were married for 50 years. But the key, I believe, between Getting from here, September 16, 2017, to that day, August 5, 2050, is that I remember every day I'm married. And in a similar way, you were redeemed. And one day, we'll cross from this world into eternity, and we will celebrate that redemption. But the key to getting from this day to. To that one in God's kingdom and in his plan is each and every day walking in the reality that I am redeemed. Thanks for listening to the Pure Desire Podcast. For more information, check out our website, www.puredesire.org. check in each week for new content on the podcast podcast and we pray that it will help you find hope and freedom on your journey to purity.