Happy and Holy Podcast | Finding Joy in Faith & Culture with Social Commentaries & Trending News - Advice for Modern Day Christians
Welcome to the Happy and Holy Podcast, your go-to destination for uplifting discussions on faith, culture, and the pursuit of a joy-filled life! Join hosts Wennie and Jay, best friends and spiritual guides, as they delve into the intersection of timeless truths and modern trends, offering insights to empower and inspire your journey.
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Happy and Holy Podcast | Finding Joy in Faith & Culture with Social Commentaries & Trending News - Advice for Modern Day Christians
How to Find Your Chill in within Church and Culture, Celebrating 1000 Subscribers, and From Witchcraft to Christianity
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đ§ Get ready to hit the spiritual sweet spot with our latest episode of Happy and Holy! Weâre diving into the vibrant intersection where church vibes meet street style, and where devotion meets daily life. Itâs all about living your faith out loud, without missing a beat of todayâs hottest trends.
In this episode, weâre breaking down how to keep your faith fierce while fully enjoying the buzz of pop culture. From memes to miracles, weâre here to show you that walking in wisdom doesnât mean walking away from fun. Whether youâre scrolling through your feed or flipping through the Good Book, weâve got you covered.
Happy and Holy is your go-to podcast for a fresh take on Christianity thatâs as relatable as it is revelatory. Weâre all about creating a space where laughter and learning go hand in hand, and where being holy doesnât mean you canât be happy. So, if youâre looking to spice up your spiritual journey with a dash of humor and a whole lot of heart, youâre in the right place.
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bombcom. All right, let me hit the music. That's not the official music, but I liked it though. Welcome everyone, hello, hello. Welcome to the Happy and Holy Podcast. We are your beloved hosts. She is Jamie.
Speaker 2:And this is my best friend Wenny.
Speaker 1:Hello, hello everyone, welcome. We are the helpers of your joy here to bring you another episode of the Happy and Holy Podcast. What are we? Well, we're kind of like a, you know, social commentary, journalistic tongue in cheek witty. What else do we do here?
Speaker 2:Like basically a guidebook to having joy in your life in a way that makes sense, so that you are not just like oh yeah, I'm happy, but that you can actually be like I know why I'm happy and I also know why I'm not going to let other people bring me down.
Speaker 1:We love that. Yeah, we dissect the latest trends with a little touch of divine wisdom. Dashy humor, some biblical insight, some truth slaying, some of that stuff. You know, I like that. I like that what you said, though I have a reason to be happy, and also here's a reason for you to not not make me happy. Stay away from me if you don't want me to be happy and some of these things that we talk about from the news.
Speaker 2:Their aim is to make people worried and unhappy, and we're going to tell you why they should yeah, and the news is kind of geared for like an us versus them mentality right.
Speaker 1:A lot of divisiveness in the news oh, yeah, yeah like I want you to be the bad guy. And here are the good guys.
Speaker 2:Pick a side, any side see the fact that we fell for them painting the sides in the first place. That was our first mistake. We have let them make two sides because that's how they feel in their feelings yes, they take notes.
Speaker 1:We are a social experiment for these people. Um, we are a case study for these people and they take notes and they're like this is what works. Oh, fear, fear is a great motivator. Oh, hatred, hatreds are great motivator. You know? Oh, good news. Let's forget about that. I remember when the news used to have to make a whole like segment for just good news.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I highly, I highly doubt it. I think there's like now, there's like podcasts that focus on good news, there's websites that focus on good news. How bad has it gotten in this world where they're like let's dedicate a whole segment just for good news? Like, why can't we just sprinkle it into the show? No, no, this is the allocated segment for good news. Only during these 10 minutes can you share some good news.
Speaker 2:Wow, they really separated it. I hate that.
Speaker 1:They segregated the good news from the bad. They did that's terrible. Well, you don't have to worry about that here, because this is good news. All the time, at least, I would like to think so there's always a good news part of the story.
Speaker 1:When people give you news and they want to spin it bad, there's always a way to find hope right and agree, like, even if we have to bring you bad news, you know, like, for example, if somebody's releasing an album, a certain someone, if we have to bring you the bad news about that, we will paint up, paint it up, dress it up with some nice colors, maybe put on a necklace, some makeup.
Speaker 2:I love that. That took me a solid seven seconds to remember who that was God. I live in a lovely bubble over here.
Speaker 1:She who will not be named.
Speaker 2:I was like who?
Speaker 1:And then I was like oh, who would be releasing an album at this time?
Speaker 2:At this, at a time like this.
Speaker 1:Well, before we carry on and not walk you through the show, if you're new here, hello, welcome. Welcome to the Happy and Holy podcast. As we introduce ourselves, we are your host. We are not limited to, but we are your host here, and I'm sure you're wondering if you clicked and it wasn't our pretty faces that brought you here. If you're wondering where we got the Happy and Holy name from, well, allow us to enlighten you. Happy and holy is a phrase that was famously coined by the Duke of Bulgaria himself, mr Georgian Banoff, who is one half of the co-founders of Global Celebration. Yes, he had co-founded this ministry with his wife, winnie Coco Banoff. And Georgian Banoff has a lot of great sayings, he has a lot of funny taglines, he has a lot of punchlines, but I will say this one struck a chord. And here's the thing the world wants you happy but not holy, and religion wants you holy but not happy.
Speaker 2:But Jesus came to make you both, to make you both.
Speaker 1:To make you both.
Speaker 1:To make you both Like peanut butter and jelly. It just goes together. Happy and holy, yeah. So why happy and holy? Why do we care? Well, many reasons too. But, as we said, here we are the minstrels of bliss, here to be helpers of your joy. Why would we mention you know this famously coined phrase? Well, we're here to remind you that we are not brand ambassadors, subcontractors or representatives of this ministry. This is our disclaimer. We are not affiliates and we do not get royalties. We are just the byproduct of their joy.
Speaker 2:We are lucky beneficiaries of their wisdom, their ministry and, of course, their books.
Speaker 1:And, of course, their books. And, yeah, the byproduct is for us to not lord over your faith but to be helpers of your joy. And so here we are, the happy and holy podcast, and especially in this year, 2024, the year of our lord, he has charged us with a mandate. Those, those are big like Christianese words, right, big like Pentecostal words. Charged with a mandate, we have received the mantle, and the Lord had encouraged us to give you guys something to be happy about in the year. In this year, the year of many things happening and, as we were saying, a lot of things vying for your attention, and as we were just talking about Jason Silva, jason Silva was talking about the enemy of your bliss, and the enemy of your bliss being fear and anxiety, and a lot of people would love to see you unhappy. A lot of people would love to see you unhappy.
Speaker 2:Because if the joy of the Lord is your strength, what are you when you're unhappy, weak and they?
Speaker 1:want you weak, because weak people are easy to control. You know what's crazy. So the pastor, today I was at church, which is a good place to be you know, on a Sunday.
Speaker 1:On a Sunday, just you know. So the pastor was talking about Paul and Silas in jail and how, like, after they had been beaten and flogged and their clothes ripped off and they were mocked and spat on all the things and then thrown in jail. So it wasn't enough for them to go through that. But then things and then thrown in jail, so it wasn't, it wasn't enough for them to go through that. But then they also were thrown in jail and they said in the word, in acts, that the time that they spent in jail they were praising the lord and singing ready for action yeah, paul and silas doing a thing acts of scene right.
Speaker 1:So they're singing praises and a lot of joy in that moment, not a joyful experience, but a lot of joy in that moment. And, um, I was like man, I wonder what type of song they would have been singing in jail. You know, it definitely wouldn't have been maybe anything from like Maverick City. But I was just thinking that, like you know, like what song would they have been singing? It wouldn't have been like these little cutesy, like little songs that they've been coming out with lately. Like you are more than able, they're not singing that. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I believe you just made me listen to one line of that song triggered I'm so furious right now because, like they wouldn't be singing about themselves, you know, they would be exalting the lord and I'm like man. Those are the type of songs that just like break strongholds and those are the type of songs that set people free. And then we just try to be so cute, like in our in our worship nowadays, and we're singing like these dopey songs like why are we wasting like the 45 minutes that we have allotted to just worship? And we sing these songs about ourselves, over ourselves, and we've gotten real narcissistic in our worship experience and I'm like paul and silas would not be singing Honestly, they probably would be singing like Waymaker, they would probably be singing like Shout to the Lord.
Speaker 2:Yeah, those are total prison songs. Maybe like I wish you were rich enough to go to a church and say I'll give you a million dollars if you never play a Maverick City song again.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, I would be like I would give a million dollars to your admissions department if you would never sing City song again. Oh my God, I would give a million dollars to your admissions department if you would never sing the song again. And they'd be like, yes, what other songs? I mean? Yeah, there's so many songs, dude. I was leading worship over Passover weekend and you know what song I pulled out of my repertoire? What Michael W Smith's you Are Holy.
Speaker 2:It's like super.
Speaker 1:It's like kind of hokey, you know, because it's like you are holy. You are holy, you are mighty, and then the crowd goes you are mighty and it's so cheesy, but it's really.
Speaker 2:So 90s.
Speaker 1:Okay, so 90s.
Speaker 2:That wasn't hokey back then, it was just yeah it wasn't.
Speaker 1:But then, like you kind of feel goofy singing the verses until you got to the chorus and it was like. The chorus was like and I will sing to and worship the king, who is worthy, and I will bow down before him, um, and I will bow down before him. But then it would end and be like you are my prince of peace and I will live my life for you. But then the alternate chorus was like I feel the Lord. But the alternate chorus was you are the. I'm going to have to read it because I don't want to sing it. Sing it Did I read it? So you're a fool.
Speaker 2:Help me sound good, okay.
Speaker 1:Screaming. I don't want YouTube to be like hey, this isn't your song, Don't sing it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they would, they'd do that.
Speaker 1:They would do that. They would be like that melody. They would do that. They would be like that melody.
Speaker 2:That's ours.
Speaker 1:Doesn't belong to you. Okay, so the verse, the chorus.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry it was like, so I will sing to and worship the king who is worthy, and I will love and adore him and I will bow down before him. So that's the first chorus. Then the second chorus goes you are Lord of Lords, you're King of Kings, you are mighty God, lord of everything. You're Emmanuel. You're the great I am. You're the Prince of Peace, who is the Lamb. You're my living God. You're my saving grace. You will reign forever. You are ancient of days. You're the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end. You're my savior, messiah, redeemer and friend. And then you would think that's the end. No, then he refrains and sings that same part again and says you are my prince of peace and I will live my life for you uh, michael is a man who knows the word.
Speaker 1:He knows his word michael w smith knows his word, you know. Know, who's also solid, theologically wise in his songwriting is Chris Tomlin. Chris Tomlin has been consistently solid throughout the ages.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's absolutely never gets off. He's just solid in the word and then he puts the word in the song. You know who does? It's I. I really I feel bad saying this because I don't. I don't have any hate for this person. I actually think she's a great songwriter, but theologically I think she's great I think I know you're gonna say it's Brooke.
Speaker 2:You know it's Brooke. I know I love her writing. I think she's one of the greatest um songwriters that we have around right now, which unfortunately isn't saying much because we really just don't have a lot of great writers in the Christian world, not right now, right now, and that's not her fault, that's not. That's not her fault. So, but that being said, um, I think her writing is really theologically sound. I think she's just she just does a really good job of doing like solid Christian pop um, like worship poppy Christian, just that current, whatever the trend is now, like she's not doing anything, like she's not changing the game, but she's doing a good job of keeping it theologically sound and keeping it catchy. She's doing great when she leads worship. Do I wish Kim Walker Smith were singing instead? Yes, but the song.
Speaker 1:Raise your hand, if you agree.
Speaker 2:She wrote the song, so I give her credit. Girl I love, bless God.
Speaker 1:That song is so good that song is is absolutely fire. So brooke frazier also is consistently. I mean, like what was it? Desert song before, desert song was um, dude, there was. There was this song.
Speaker 1:I don't know why this song was slept on because it's so fire, but brooke frazier wrote this song called soon and very soon and I was like, oh, this song is so sweet and I used to like lead it for like, like altar calls ish moments, but it was like, oh, you have to, you have to find it. It's like it's a, it's short, it's very sweet, very direct, and it's like the chorus is like and I will be with the one I love, with unville face, I will see him and then my soul will be satisfied soon and very soon. And it's so sweet, it's such a sweet song and um brooke is, yeah, she's a great writer. I'll give her that like. I want to say, like our generation's, like great writer. Even chris tomlin, our generation michael w smith was a couple generations before, but then he's been consistent throughout. You know who's also Matt Redman.
Speaker 2:Matt Redman's solid. I was about to bring him up actually.
Speaker 1:Great theology in his, in his music.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely solid. So I would, I would say Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin are Gen X right? Really, I would say Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin are Gen X right?
Speaker 1:Really, I would say so because I think by the time they already hit the scene was when we were in youth group or youth group age.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my mom was jamming to him for a while, so he's 50. So, yeah, he's born in 74, Matt Redman.
Speaker 1:But, everyone hasn't. Just because they're that age, though, doesn't mean they've always been in the scene, but I know that Michael W Smith has been in the scene for like a long time. That's how I know, like he's been generations before. Who was with Michael W Smith? Darlene from Hillsong?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, Darlene she she basically came up in the nineties. Was she really doing much?
Speaker 1:Maybe in the late eighties maybe late eighties, didn't we watch like a music video where she was wearing like a blazer?
Speaker 2:Yes, bring back it, just like how we used to wear office wear to the club. Bring that back to church, because we used to wear office wear to the club. Bring that back to church, because we used to wear office wear to the club and we thought we looked great. Right, I wasn't at the club. I was too young to go to the club at that time and I don't think I've only been to a club maybe once or twice. But we need to bring that back so that we can see it at the church too screaming the the twill pleated pants.
Speaker 1:Bring those back for women. Those are cool yeah, I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, darlene looks like she's gen x as well, I think she's been around for a minute, dude.
Speaker 1:I think she has been yeah, she has been.
Speaker 2:Brooke is 40, so I think that I think she might be. What year does millennial start? She's born 83 well, I think the oldest millennial is like 47, 46, 47 that cannot be true yeah, it is like there's older millennials 81 to 96 is the is the age range of um the the birth year, so she's a millennial, yeah yeah, so brooke fraser.
Speaker 1:There was also some old jackie velasquez um. There was somebody else who came out around that time, dude, remember stacy arrico I was just about to bring up stacy arrico, you remember literally my brain, just like the second you said, jackie, I was like you know who. She reminds me of stacy arica there is somebody else rebecca, saint james oh, she was my first concert you went to see rebecca, saint james and then I met her afterwards.
Speaker 2:I I will be so mad if I, if somebody threw out the autograph I have from her. I have like an autograph photo of her and I have like a picture of her with me in this like oversized. I felt really ugly in the like this oversized like camp t-shirt and I was like oh my god, she's gonna think I'm gross, real, and she put that verse from first timothy. Like the do not like, like what it was about.
Speaker 1:Don't let people like despise you because you're a youth that's the one I swear. I think she did that for everybody who was like a child probably I don't care, it was sweet I don't care, it was my moment, it was my picture.
Speaker 2:I wonder what verse. I don't think my mom got an autograph, but I wonder what autograph my mom would have gotten from her.
Speaker 2:Like what scripture um psalm yeah, probably something really um, just cliche in general. But yeah, she gave me that verse, sign the picture and good for her and I think also just want to give her props because she really, when she said wait, when she's like I'm a wait, she did wait. She waited. Her and her husband Bando both waited for marriage and I think he's isn't he in that band? I need to look this up. I think he was in the band. I might be wrong. That did pumped up kicks and I'm forgetting the name of oh, tell me, yeah, when you tell me, when you okay.
Speaker 2:So yes, rebecca St James, she married Jacob Fink and Jacob Fink is the member of the pop, indie pop band Foster the People. That's a the band that did the song Pumped Up Kicks, which is about shooting um my gosh. Yeah, so they. They both waited for marriage. They got married in 2011.
Speaker 1:They waited for each other wow, isn't um unsung hero about her really I did not know this maybe it's not about her, maybe she wrote a song for it. I just remember seeing her name come up recently for under the unsung hero, which I have no idea what that's about isn't that candace cameron? Viret's production studio did that possibly isn't she wearing like a red-headed wig for that? I saw candace with like a curly red-headed wig and I was like what's, what's going on here?
Speaker 2:um okay, so rebecca saint james plays a flight attendant in it. First of all, okay, let's see. It celebrates the Smallbone family's inspiring journey and their enduring legacy as influential figures in the world of Christian music.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But who is it based on?
Speaker 1:I know the Duke for King and Country are in it. Maybe it's their story. This is all speculation, guys. I'm sorry. We're kind of figuring this out as we.
Speaker 2:We're literally like just hit record. We have things to discuss, Okay.
Speaker 1:We actually do, but we are not on track whatsoever, but go on, we do. Yeah, no, in our do, but we are like not on track whatsoever, but go on.
Speaker 2:We do yeah, no, in our defense, like we're prepared. We just weren't prepared for our. This is like our phone calls. We told you from the jump we used to have long phone calls. We still have long phone calls, but now we're letting you in on the phone call and when you have a phone call, do you call your friend and you're like, oh my God, I have to tell you a thing. Yeah, you absolutely do. But then you also go off on a tangent and you're like, oh my God, like this nail polish or whatever. And this is just that nail polish that just came up to, came to mind randomly.
Speaker 1:So we digress a lot.
Speaker 2:Realistic Okay Unsung Hero. It is written and co-directed by Richard Ramsey and Joel Smallbone. Okay For King. It is written and co-directed by Richard Ramsey and Joel Smallbone. Okay For King and Country. So, released on April 26th. Film follows Rebecca, so it is Rebecca based on Rebecca as well. Rebecca, joel and Luke Smallbone for King and Country and their life journey to become Christian recording artists.
Speaker 1:Wow, so they, oh, I guess they grew up knowing each other.
Speaker 2:They must have, or is it Rebecca St James, or is it a different Rebecca? It has to be a different Rebecca, right? Oh gosh, I'm so confused.
Speaker 1:But Rebecca St James is Australian.
Speaker 2:Yes, wait, so this makes sense. In 91, a small bone family moved from Australia to Nashville.
Speaker 1:So maybe that's her stage name, um david, and is she related to them? Is this, what is this what you're trying to tell me, right?
Speaker 2:now, wow. Okay, central to the narrative are three of the small bone siblings joel, luke and rebecca st james. She's their sister and we didn't know, hold on pause.
Speaker 1:I also would like to acknowledge that for King and Country has written some terrible music and for them to be of the same bloodline. I'm confused, I feel bad, I feel so sorry guys, please keep being successful I think they got away with being attractive and playing drums in a very unique way, but some of the music that they have written how people get away with everything I know some of you, some of you ccm christian radio people are going to be upset but for king and country has not written.
Speaker 1:A lot of you know what their best albums were were the christmas albums really yeah they. They put out some great, uh, christmas albums, but like compilations, like they have re-composed, like some you know basic, like drummer boy, like they did great with drummer boy and oh yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1:They did do a really good cover of that yeah, their best stuff was their christmas stuff, which is not saying a lot, but they were very unique and creative and but freaking country, I think wrote a lot of like yeah, some of their music was very okay. Well, they moved to nashville, made sense, like, hey, you guys are real attractive, you have a great smile, you're unique, you got curly hair. You don't like like, let's give you guys like abc one, two, three, four chord progression songs and then, like the girls are gonna love you, the moms are gonna love you, hey. But I want to say Rebecca, rebecca, st James, put them on the map, now that I know actually catchy.
Speaker 2:After I was like get me an album, right man, that's crazy. So I wonder who the unsung hero is in all that um. I still won't see the movie, but um I kind of want to see it just for candace for candace and rebecca san james, because you have the autograph I do, and I'm gonna find that autograph next time I dig around my childhood bedroom.
Speaker 2:I'm not just going to find the unofficial guide to baby spice. I'm not just going to find a worn cop Well, many worn copies of many different Agatha Christie novels. I'm not just going to find the official guide to degrassi the next generation you had that, oh yeah, um.
Speaker 1:So paul and silas um, so I was thinking about the songs that paul and silas would be singing in jail and I'm just saying it's not going to be this cute, like artsy, fartsy songs that they have coming out now, where I really think that half of the songs that are like top the charts that people think that they love like to worship with. I think people just like to hear themselves sing, like that song that has popped off, that um was an elevation that released that praise song. Like praise, um, that one. I think people just like to hear themselves sing the run, oh, yeah, it's not a hard run and it sounds good it's not a hard run.
Speaker 1:It sounds complicated, but also, as an ensemble, amazing. You know, get some nice voices together. It's incredible. Um, however, not the song that I would be singing in jail now. Remember what came out around that time. Um, israel, hooten and lord, you are good oh, I forgot about israel I wonder how he's doing with his wife, cheetah girl yeah, that's a whole mess.
Speaker 1:For another subject uh, another subject in another day I will say that there was protests outside of one of his uh performance venues and they had on their like pitchforks and poster boards. Um, they had a picture of his daughter's like instagram account where she was like posting all risque and they're just like it's insane and I'm like do you understand that you people who are protesting in the name of whatever religion you're following Cause it cannot be Christianity the people who are protesting do you understand the time it took you to go on the internet, took you to go on the internet, go on Instagram, save a photo, send it to your computer, print it out, put it on the poster board, and this whole time you're staring at this picture and you're like you witch, you Jezebel, and you're like staring at this picture of this woman that you printed out.
Speaker 2:And then you printed it out for other people to see it, on a sign. You were like, don't make us stumble, look at it.
Speaker 1:Right, so we're going to duplicate this photo, but don't make us stumble.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God.
Speaker 1:So that's how it's going in the Hooten world, but I will say that there are some songs. Oh, nicole C Mullen Remember when she came out with Call on Jesus. When I call on Jesus, all things are possible.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah. Why are we singing this in church anymore? I get, I okay, I understand we need to like sing new songs, like it's so important to sing a new song unto the Lord because that's so biblical. But the problem is, like all these new, like the new songs are flopping and none of these writers are giving us anything to work with.
Speaker 1:I don't think Jesus image is singing anything beyond 2015 and that's why I can listen to their worship sets. I love, uh, I get in there. And what were they just singing the other day, actually maybe this this past weekend? They were singing, actually, israel and they were singing your presence is heaven and I was like, ah that song, your presence is heaven to me. I used, oh that song, your presence is heaven to me. I used to love that song. Hello, you see, michael, do you think that any of those songs are going to get past him?
Speaker 2:No, he remembers. He'll have like core memory unlocked and then he'll like text, his worship leader. He'll be like play this, I just had a memory, texas worship leader.
Speaker 1:I'd be like play this. I just had a memory. You know they should have been like tagging for decades, since he has said it is. One time I was in Dallas and he was at Upper Room. Upper Room, very wisely had not like they, very wisely, have not.
Speaker 2:They did not advertise that Koulianos is coming oh, that would have made the already miserable to get into service the most miserable. It would have been so bad right it would have been that time that you two tried to film a music video on the roof of a building in downtown la?
Speaker 1:it would have been that right, it would have been a mess. The amount of you know, 18 to 25 year old men with mullets and mustaches. They would have been feral for Kuliano. So there's no way we would have had space if they had advertised.
Speaker 2:And the girlies are feral for him too.
Speaker 1:The girlies? Yeah, they, they, they tend tend to be, they tend to be, and then they see jess and then they back off. But, um, guys, love kuleanos, which you know what? He's? A man's man right he is. He's a man's man I love, I love kuleanos, um, but uh, so he was like coming, he came with like a word and again, this is all speculation. I cannot say and cannot confirm nor deny that this is actually what happened, or whatever.
Speaker 1:But he was like coming and he was speaking and he was like I was told to come bring a word and I felt like the word was for the worship team and we were just all in a room and I was okay with that. We were just all in a room and I was okay with that. But in that, in that very gentle, when Koulianos rebukes you, it's kind of like a scalpel where, like he cuts you and you don't know that you're bleeding, and then you're like oh, oh, look at that. And so he came and he's like bringing this word to them and then he says the phrase, phrase, sing the songs that still have oil. And I was like, oh, I'm never gonna forget, I'm never gonna forget that, I'm never gonna forget that.
Speaker 1:And, um, I think that's the place that they live. I think that's just what jesus image does, like they just hey, this song's oldie, but goodie, we're gonna sing. You know, give me all my lamp, keep me burning, burning, burning. They're gonna, they're gonna sing. Turn your eyes on jesus, they're singing. I just the other, the other set. They were singing uh, keith green lord, you're beautiful and I'm like paul and silas would have been singing that in jail oh yeah, that song slaps, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, I just kind of like, uh, and you know this is like a extra pro tip, and then we can move on another like pro tip for worship leaders when you're like trying to compile a set and you remember that we're not like compiling sets to please people, right, because we're we're serving the lord and we want to honor the lord and we're bringing him an offering. We're not here to serve people. And also, remember you have full permission as a worship leader to tell the pastor that you are under and you can say this with grace. Okay, colossians 4, 6 says to let your words be seasoned with grace. You can say this with grace, but tell your pastor you are not a karaoke machine you can say this with grace.
Speaker 1:But tell your pastor you are not a karaoke machine. Okay, because sometimes there are some songs that, like I will draw a boundary. I try to meet, I try to honor the pastor's desire as much as I can, because I am here to serve the body. I'm here to serve the body, not please them. I'm here to serve them and so I will be like, oh okay, like, okay, you like songs like this and I'll do that.
Speaker 1:But sometimes if there's like a song that I'm like I won't lead that song. I'm sorry, I love you so much but I will not lead that song. And it's not because I can't, but I won't Because I. This is me, this is my conviction. I do not sing songs that I am not convicted enough to believe. And so there are songs that I'm like I'm kind of wrestling with that right now, theologically. I won't lead it just because it's in, because I need to be convincing to the Lord, I'm bringing a new song to Him, I'm bringing a joyful offering to Him, I'm singing praises to him.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that's one, and then two. So one yeah, I don't sing songs that I'm not convicted enough to believe but also the second, or maybe third or fourth, I don't know, maybe one episode, I will compile a concise list. Another criteria I guess you could say episode I will compile a concise list. Another criteria I guess you could say that I go by when I'm compiling a set list is inspect and encounter. And if Jesus were to walk into the room, which he very much does, right, he enters in, he rides in on the praises of his people. And if we are compiling set lists with the expectation of the king to walk into the room, what songs do you want to be caught leading when he's walking in what song would I want to be singing?
Speaker 1:I certainly wouldn't want to be singing about myself, right?
Speaker 2:I wouldn't want to be calling him provider. You are enough. That'd be really embarrassing.
Speaker 1:You're just enough Wallet.
Speaker 2:You are enough. That'd be really embarrassing Wallet.
Speaker 1:You are enough Paycheck you are enough, literally, you know, and so like, if he's standing in a room like imagine, like just expect God to come, and if Jesus were to walk in and that's very much has happened in some worship sets that I've been a part of, worship sets that I've led, because, like, I have this like walking expectation that the King is is going to arrive, like he's going to walk in, that the King is coming. Yeah, one time I was leading a worship set and I felt like it was kind of dead, like I was just like kind of dull, and the Lord had whispered to me like how, how else would you behave if a king walked into the room? And I was like oh, wow and um, john Thurlow, is that John Thurlow song? Um, when you walk into, when you Walk Into the Room? No, is it David Brimmer?
Speaker 2:Which one?
Speaker 1:When you Walk Into.
Speaker 2:The Room.
Speaker 1:I want to say it's David.
Speaker 2:Is it David? But I might just be biased, because I like David.
Speaker 1:Really, I thought you were going to say I was going to be biased, because I love John. I love when John leads it. One of the most memorable recordings of that song is John. Like I hear John's voice.
Speaker 2:I do. I mean, obviously I love John. John is the only person I listen to, to be honest, like 95% of the time. If you're in my car, it's John.
Speaker 1:It's John. But I do love David but I just think, I don't know why it reminds me of David's writing. Yes, yeah, I think it is David Right now I'm just seeing that it's the Torralts and I don't think that's right, the Torralts right, oh, it is the. Torralts, they wrote it, though, or did they put?
Speaker 2:it on a map? Um, let's find out. Yeah, they wrote it.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, they wrote it I thought it came from ihop it's well, it's the tour waltz.
Speaker 2:What can I tell you? As far far as I know, they're under Jesus culture.
Speaker 1:Yeah no, the Torvalds are solid. We love them yeah solid.
Speaker 2:We're just shocked.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because it's giving David. I stand corrected, it was giving David for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I feel like David Brimmer, but yeah.
Speaker 1:I stand corrected. My bad, but I want to give Brian and Kate Torwalt their flowers because that song absolutely slaps. I was leading and that song was next on the set list and the Lord had asked me that, like how else are you to behave when the king walks into the room? And I was like oh, oh, oh, my gosh. And so I like turned up the volume, I was picking up the chords, like, and I didn't even have to say the phrase, but the room responded to the revelation and then, like the, the room popped off. And so I'm just saying that sometimes I'm just so deflated by, like, the choice of songs sometimes that I'm like really like a jesus where to walk in. Is this really what we want to be singing about? I want to sing about, is this really what we want to be singing about? I want to sing about our trauma. Do I really want to be singing about my trauma?
Speaker 2:right now the last thing, I want is to be worshiping my trauma. You know who's like, exalting it as a lofty thing above god's throne oh, oh, may it never be look some, some songs be doing that, some churches be doing that, some people I know be doing that.
Speaker 1:They're like my trauma, so right right, it was in the blood of jesus the only people who sing about their exes more than taylor swift is the church.
Speaker 2:Oh well we, don't we? That was the greatest thing I think you've ever said oh, I'm screaming you've said some brilliant things. I should start like a folder of things you've said that just have hit me like a truck.
Speaker 1:Oh, my god, say it again um, yeah, the only people who sing about their exes more than taylor swift is the church. We, we sing about fear, anxiety. Why do we have to include it in our songs? Sing about depression, sing about our brokenness, our poverty. We sing about that. And, yeah, I just want to exalt him with high praise. And a lot of people are going to be like, well, you know, you gotta, when you're in that low place, like not everybody, you know not everyone could be in perpetual state of joy 24, seven. You probably can't, but that is available to you.
Speaker 1:However, as I was telling somebody on Twitter I should later I should talk about like my, my mean tweets. I was going back and forth with a lot of people who were mad because I was just like okay, so it happened, get over it. And somebody was like, well, I hope you're not in leadership. And I was like, actually, but somebody was like, yeah, you have to acknowledge people and their pain, and like pain is real and deciding a thing. Anyway, I was like, yeah, pain's really real, but so so is the Lord, and I refuse to stay in a place where I've made my bed in my trauma. It's not gonna happen. And in response to the people who are under me in leadership, because he was like you gotta be able to meet, meet people in their their sadness and their depression and their pain. I said amen to all of that. Right, you mourn with those who mourn, weep with those who weep. Um, but the sorrow only lasts for a night and there's not enough leaders who take people to the sun.
Speaker 1:There's not a lot of enough leaders who say, oh, but joy comes in the morning, or leaders who will stay throughout the night season till you see that sun, till you see that joy. People don't do that Like a heart that is deprived, a heart that's disappointed, a heart that is despaired Over and over. We see what it does. David said that he was so depressed that his bones were brittle, right, and so we understand what depression, the effects of depression, and we exalt the effects of depression Like, oh, those are very real. So is joy, so is Jesus, so is truth, and at the end of my tweet I was like, the only thing that will set people free is the truth, and truth is a person, and so we just don't give Jesus enough credit about the Lord stepping into someone's pain and, yeah, now allowing people to just stay in their trauma.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think obviously, acknowledging pain is real as a necessary part of healing, but the problem is that most pastoral leadership enable people to stay in a place that actually, majority of the time, the enemy did something to them a loss, a trauma whatever and they allow the enemy to win in that person's life by enabling them to continue in a suffering state and not telling them hey, the good news of being in Christ is there is healing and there is joy and there is truth that you have like already.
Speaker 2:You have the mind of Christ, you don't need people to be constantly speaking over you, you don't need to go through and and inner healing ministries can be very helpful, as led by the Lord. I've been helped by them before. But I think the problem is people feel like they need that all the time. They need to be healing all the time and really codependent on external sources and not on the Holy Spirit, and the Word says that the Holy Spirit, the anointing in us, will teach us all things. We will not need anyone to instruct us, and the pastors in that are enabling immaturity and they're enabling someone to wallow in their sorrow.
Speaker 1:Right, right, yeah. And I think that immature, immature inner healing ministries not all of them are immature, but I believe that immature ones create enablement for people's pain. Um, enablement for people's pain, because if they can enable someone in their trauma, they'll never lose a client.
Speaker 2:It's just like the medical industry. It's like keep treating the symptoms, but you can't give them a cure.
Speaker 1:Hey, inner healing ministry is not supposed to be. Take two and call me in the morning, but they expect the phone call. They expect, oh, you're going to, I'm going to hear from you soon. What? Why did I just spend a session with you then? You know what I mean. Yeah, you know, walk me to walk me towards, towards my healer. Like, walk me, walk me towards the healing, walk me towards my breakthrough. But they're just like, yeah, you, I took care of some of it, but, um, we're gonna compartmentalize your pain, we're gonna compartmentalize your demons, we'll take care of this and then, when you pay for the next 90 minutes, then we'll take care of the rest. Well, I got you what? And um, yeah, the good news for you is that if you were under some of those inner healing ministries, like, the good news is that the Lord himself, he heals the brokenhearted and he binds up their wounds. Okay, psalm 147. He says he binds up their wounds. Psalm 34 says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Speaker 1:He saves those. And so I just want to encourage you, those who may have been in the carousel of inner healing where it's like, well, I'm coming on back, I'm coming back, I'm coming back. This is the merry-go-round the Lord himself. The Lord himself can redeem you, he can heal you, he is mighty to save, and sometimes we do need people to help us along the way to our healing. Mark 5, the testimony of the friends who ripped the roof. Ripped the roof off so they can lower their friend into this home where Jesus was ministering. And like. We need friends like that, yes, but also people can be a part of our journey to healing. But also, don't let people be your stumbling block either. Because later in Mark 5, at the pool of Bethesda, when Jesus was talking to the man the issue with his legs, he asked him if he wanted to be healed, and the first thing he brought up was other people. First thing he brought up was someone else, and Jesus was asking him do you want to be healed?
Speaker 1:And I think that this is the instance where the instance where the conversation that I actually was having with people on Twitter and Twitter is a place that you go on social media. When you don't want your pastor to see what you're saying, when you don't want your pastor to see how nasty you are, you go to Twitter Because some of these Christians, because some of these Christians, some of these Christians are wild. But on Twitter the conversation actually was in light of the whole situation at IHOP and I would love to transition to our next segment. But we have other things to in light of all that, when IHOP was going down, or things that IHOP perpetually are going down, some of the conversations were like, oh, this church hurt and this church abuse and this spiritual abuse and this church pain and this thing, and everyone's like I too, have been transgressed and I'm like when are we going to proclaim Jesus? Like when are we going to? He says, to proclaim me until I return. Do this in remembrance of me until I return. And it's in his body, in his broken body, is our healing, in his blood, is our redemption and they're offered to him. When he said to feast, you're going to feast on me, you're going to eat my flesh, you're going to drink my blood, and John six. And he says this is true food and true drink. But instead we, like, allowed ourselves to get fattened by our trauma and feasted off of that, and then we almost find pleasure in other people's pain. It's so weird.
Speaker 1:And so somebody came to me, someone was commenting to me about you know, this is what spiritual abuse is, and I forgot what I said about spiritual. I said it becomes cliche. It's a bitter cliche spiritual abuse. I've been spiritually abused. Tell me why? Oh, they never you know, they never listened to my ideas. I never got a chance at the pulpit, I didn't get to lead the worship team. But now that I've poured myself out and I've served so many hours at the church, now I just realized that I've been spiritually abused and I'm like that's not how it works. And so, anyway, all I have to say is I was like we have a healer, that's, that's the good news, you know.
Speaker 2:And do we believe him, that he will heal us and that that works, that it actually works and that, yes, you may have a memory of your past? Of course I hope you have a memory, you do not have amnesia, but that memory does not affect who you are right now. It doesn't have to because the healing can actually work. I don't know. King of Glory, god who created everything, god who created you, you think he can also heal you fully. Maybe Could you believe him Right.
Speaker 1:What if half these people in the chapter of healing and all of Mark 5 and a little bit mark six um, some deliverance happened in mark six and mark five, but in this fat chapter, right, all of these episodes of healing, what if somebody was like, yeah, maybe jesus can do it? You mean, they put all their chips on the table. The woman with the issue of blood, like they put all of their chips on the table. You know what, if she reached out to his, the hem of his garment, and nothing happened, she would have been beaten, probably to death.
Speaker 1:She wasn't supposed to be in the midst of people. She was considered unclean. I'm air quoting for the podcasters. She was considered unclean and so, like you know that those aren't the people who go, maybe he could heal. You mean when, when Jairus went to him because his daughter was sick, he didn't leave his dying daughter with strangers so that maybe Jesus could do it. You understand like their hope was in him and hope did not fail, and so we just need enough leaders. There's so many people who are like discipling us in our pain, discipling us in our trauma, and they want us to stay there.
Speaker 1:Because, if we, if we move on from it, we won't need the phone calls, we won't need the emails, we won't need to schedule the one-on-ones. Maybe you won't buy my master's class, if you actually do get this healing but if there were leaders who were pointing people to the cross, to him and him crucified, and show him, show them his wounds, do you know that everything that happened to you was paid for in his wounds? The sexual misconduct in his wounds was paid for in his wounds. The physical pain, the emotional pain. Maybe you've been contending for like, hey, I don't want this limp anymore. Hey, maybe I don't want this bum shoulder. Hey, I got a cancer diagnosis and we don't like, there isn't a cheap version of this hope, there isn't a cheap version of his grace, there's no cheap version of the gospel. It's Christ and him crucified. And when you behold the lamb, you behold your breakthrough, behold your. When you behold the lamb, you behold your breakthrough. We're looking, getting fixated on the wrong thing, and so I don't know how we got here.
Speaker 1:But I was just talking about, like, where we've been in this place, where we have, you know well, we've kind of alienated the purity not just of the gospel of grace, but the gospel of his healing, the gospel of redemption, the gospel of wholeness. Right, first thessalonians five like for you to be whole, whole, like holistically whole. Okay, like that whole message was almost like holistically spirit, soul and body. Okay, he doesn't put it in the word if it wasn't attainable, and so I think it's like 518 and then 522 was like he, he is faithful to do it, only the Lord, and so that's no poo-poo on the people who do inner healing, even if that's your ministry. There's no poo-poo on you, just take him to the cross.
Speaker 1:There's no poo-poo on you if you have done inner healing, like if you signed up for sessions, there's no problem with inner healing, as long as they're taking you to Jesus. Don't take you to your past. He's never like his past, like why are you going to a place that Jesus doesn't even remember? Like he's forgotten it, and so, like, the reason why we move forward is because, like the Lord has already, like this new day that he's always in, like Jesus is always in the new day. His new day, his mercies are new every day. He's not going to go back to 2010. He's not going to back to 1988. He ain't going to go back to 1976. Like, the Lord is doing a new thing in your life, and so don't go, don't dwell in the place that the Lord isn't in, especially if he ain't send you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I definitely think that that's a good reminder that the Lord will not bring you to the past unless he has something to say about it. And if he doesn't, then you're just digging there on your own without the help and revelation of the Holy Spirit. You're not going to get any healing, you're not going to get anything done that way at all.
Speaker 1:If he brings you to the past is only to redeem it. Yeah, he's not going to show you like oh, remember, when you like stole $5 out of your mom's pocketbook. Like we need to talk about that what?
Speaker 2:Yeah, usually, I think too, one of the ways that Christians get trapped when they start learning about the inner healing process is they begin to blame themselves for everything. And if you talk to people about, like a spiritual issue that you have and it's someone who's like very from that inner healing culture, they'll be like, well, what did you do? What did you do wrong? I'm sorry. Did you forget that the enemy comes to steal, kill, destroy and lie?
Speaker 2:Right, right you really need to ask these questions when it comes to Christians dealing with certain things, because a lot of times, like majority of the time, it's unwarranted and a lot of times, if you get in this like mindset of that inner healing culture, you'll have a memory and you'll be like I'm not over it and I'll screw you up for weeks, months on end. You're trying to figure out what's the solution or you could just reject it because maybe the enemy sent you a thought and wanted to get you thinking that you were stuck and unfortunately, like I said, a lot of inner healing ministries are great and I've gotten help from them, but that culture can be really damaging.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, the culture, you're right, and the culture it keeps.
Speaker 2:Oh God, it's like it's really insufferable to first and I think also the other issue and this is more of an annoyance than like so much of the deep problem that we've been discussing but it's so annoying that every single time I talk to somebody in a culture like this and the only thing they ever want to do is give you a sozo, they just want to like you tell them something and they're like maybe even like a joke, and it's like maybe a little bit self-deprecating, maybe it's just like I don't know. Just you say something and it's not completely to them kosher, and they'll be like well, where did that come from and why did you start believing that? And like they're trying to like psychoanalyze themselves each other and like there's no joy. It's always work, work, work all the time. Work, work, work on your soul.
Speaker 1:And is that why people, among other reasons, get burned out? Is that why, like, why so weary? Oh, my soul, like, why downcast? You know Jesus himself had said, of course, jesus said many things, but come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. That rest that he said, if you keep reading the verse, is actually the rest for our souls. So I will give you rest for your soul, and a lot of us get tired in that area.
Speaker 1:Right, our spirit isn't tired. Our spirit is incorruptible. We don't, we can't screw up our spirit. It was never ours to to tamper with, but our soul, like he said, our soul, so I mean our spirit, is redeemed by christ. If you're in christ, those you know um qualifications for your spirit being incorruptible is only because of christ.
Speaker 1:But, um, yeah, like, that's why some people are so tired. They're so tired and because they're they're carrying burdens that jesus longs to have. He's like, give it to me, my yoke is easy, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And so, um, because he knows, like having him being the great high priest who can empathize with every, every sorrow and woe that we've been through, among many reasons why he walked on this earth among us, so he's not talking out of like this estate. Like you know, like Mordecai said to Esther, like you know, don't think just because you're in his palace that you're untouchable. You know, jesus came among his people so that he can empathize with wow, this world is heavy. But then he said, like, take heart, because I've overcome the world. I can empathize with the tiredness, the heaviness. Sometimes you wake up and there are days where you feel like why am I even depressed? Like why do I feel, feel heavy? This isn't even mine to have and that's real.
Speaker 2:But you bring that all under the subjugation of christ and and watch it, watch it work, watch it work honestly, um as well, like what you said, like you, you find yourself under, under heaviness and once again, like when I was coming from a culture and a mindset of, like inner healing always goes to blame the soul. Honestly, put so much blame on the soul when I realized that a lot of things were actually just the enemy taking advantage of me, not knowing my identity in Christ and therefore my authority in it. Actually just the enemy taking advantage of me not knowing my identity in christ and therefore my authority in it. Oh, light switch on a completely different. I used to think that I was like moodier, and it's not. It's like the enemy just wants to accuse your conscience. Where's?
Speaker 2:your conscience, it's your soul. He just wants to bring things up. So that's what he does. Like that's the thing that the inner people, inner healing people, need to understand is, if you keep getting hit with past things, please be aware that that is like the enemy's main ammo, because if he's trying to accuse your conscience, which is a part of your soul, then he's going to use things that you are conscious of, things that have happened to you. He will bring up the past and so often he brings up things. And it's just him bringing things up and being a little dick what he does. And it's wild because I'll find, whether he does it in an atmosphere, just by, you know, being around and being obsessed with god as he is. He's so obsessed with jesus it's actually very embarrassing, um, because like, obviously it's not as cute as our obsession, but he'll, like, he'll use other things. He'll use other soulish things, whether it's like tv shows and films and and music, to trigger certain emotions so that he can get in your conscience Correct, and then you think I'm losing it, I have to go get help, and it's actually like you can.
Speaker 2:Just, it's like what Paul said it's so simple, take your thoughts captive. And this is when he's talking about spiritual warfare. In this part of the scripture. He is talking about spiritual warfare and what he says about it is to take your thoughts captive. It's so much simpler when people are making it out to be. It's like you can actually just crumple thoughts up and put them in the trash. If you're having trouble crumpling them, you need help from God. Maybe you have to work through something or maybe you just need help to crumple it. You ask you cross that bridge when you get to it. But with spiritual warfare, paul said take your thoughts captive, submit them to christ right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, something that should be told to the christian community is um, you are not your thoughts. And if Christians heard that and the alphabet community heard that more often, there'd probably be a lot less transitioning happening when people realize that they are not their thoughts. You are not your thoughts. I am not a murderer just because I sit in Dallas traffic and I get mad at the person who cut me off. I am not my thoughts, because we're not our thoughts. We have the ability to take that thought captive and cast it First. Peter 5 says cast your cares upon the Lord. That cast word was cast word was like about like throwing, like, throw it, like overhead, like just go like a dodgeball, um, and so that's like how fast we should rid of it. And these are like I love.
Speaker 1:I guess if I was more prepared to talk about this, I would show you that when it comes to things, the enemy of your soul, or, as Jason Silva was saying, like the enemy of bliss, I think he was saying. I have highlighted in one of my Bibles that when it comes to those things, every instruction the Lord gave were action words Like take the thought captive, cast your cares upon him, cast down. You know what I mean and I was like, wow, that is like an active part we get to play in, like our stewardship of our soul, and I love it. Like even the come to me all who are weary and burdened I'll give you rest, rest, like that is an action like. Come to him, like, uh, proactively partner with the lord in this, like, and he's like I do the heavy lifting baby, like I don't even worry about it, like my yoke is easy, like let's do the exchange. My yoke is easy, but most of the time is action, words and all of it.
Speaker 1:The best news ever I will give you guys all of it is by faith, right, because you're just kind of thinking like, oh, so do I have to? Like, is this something I should work out? Like all of it is by faith. But when we take these things and put it under subjugation of the Lord, like where he is sovereign and he reigns, even transform like, transform your mind, like these are action words and um, it's basically just the good news that you do not have an inactive faith, right, it is not like our gym membership cards, like it is not just there and inactive, like he's a very active God who wants to co-labor with you. Right, but he does the heavy lifting. It's the best news, but anyway.
Speaker 2:Can I read that verse from 1 Thessalonians that you brought up earlier?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah 1 Thessalonians 5. 5. Earlier. Yeah, yeah, first Thessalonians five Five 23.
Speaker 2:I'm going to read through 24. May the God of Shalom make you completely holy. May your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. The one calling you is faithful and he will do it. I think it's a good idea to point out the word shalom there. May the God of shalom shalom being peace. But peace in the Hebrew also means wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken. So may the God of wholeness make you completely holy. May your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. The one calling you is faithful and he will do it.
Speaker 1:He will do it. Were you reading the complete Jewish that I was Okay. The tree of life says. Verse 24 says faithful is the one who calls you and he will make it happen.
Speaker 1:Oh, we love that yes, now the god of show, now may the god of shalom wow. May the god of shalom himself make you completely holy and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord. I have notes in my First Thessalonians. Oh, this was pro tip. I don't always read my notes in my Bible to the public, but I wrote to myself. I feel the Lord I'm not trying to shake it off, but I'm trying not to manifest off, but I'm trying not to manifest.
Speaker 1:Yeah, in 2024, verse 16, he told me to take note of this this year, verse 16 through 22,. Actually he said all of these are your instructions for 2024. It says to rejoice always, to pray constantly and in everything, give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Messiah Yeshua. But also do not quench the spirit, do not despise prophetic messages, but test all things and hold fast to what is good and keep away from every kind of evil. And hold fast to what is good and keep away from every kind of evil. So, like those, I probably should have it on a like whiteboard, but those, specifically those verses he told me to take heed for this year, for the most part, um, yeah, maybe even like subconsciously, I've been doing it more than I think because I mean I've been doing a lot of testing, been testing a lot of things and not and trying not to despise prophetic messages, but I've been testing things.
Speaker 1:I don't be despising these prophetic messages Doesn't mean I don't have to despise his prophets, but I do not despise prophetic messages and always alleged prophets alleged prophets and always, and also keep away from every kind of evil.
Speaker 1:Praise god. Yeah, let's, let's do a quick little. Did you hear? All right? So, yeah, we're going to go to a couple of did you hear's? Because some things have happened since we've been here, or since we haven't been around, I guess, and we're just going to give our quick thoughts because people are popping in and out of the podcast. Some people are like oh, this was recommended to me by a friend. Some people are like, hey, I'm in and out. What's happening, what's not happening. We try to chapter mark what we're talking about, because sometimes people want to go straight to Bible, sometimes people want to do the pop culture stuff. Sometimes people are like what's the tea on this situation? Or like, what insight do you guys have? And so we're here.
Speaker 1:Thanks for checking out the podcast. Seriously, we are thankful that there's a number of you guys that would subscribe, that you would subscribe and care and have the notifications and get to know us. We'll, we'll get to. Did you hear? So much has happened and you know, we're just going to give you a little bit, a little popcorn. Hey, this is what we think. This is cool. Well, maybe not. Let me not, let me not. Let me not say that, um, to the best of our ability, to the best of our knowledge, we're here to bring what's happening modernly in the news, today's current news, and bring it through the lens of the gospel. To the best of our ability, that's what we're going to try to do, take it or leave it. We're happy that you'd hang out here, thanks for checking us out, but that's really what we are in, happy and holy right, we talk about a lot of biblical things, we talk a lot of Bible, but we talk about today's news, today's culture, because through the news is honestly how they shape your culture.
Speaker 1:I know a lot of people like Chris Valton I've heard Georgian Banoff also say this that, like, the world should be peripheral to the church. But the church is peripheral to the world and we should be setting the pace as kingdom people, as a church people. But we don't Not right now. Right, I don't think it's. I don't know if it's ever not been this way, but I'm just saying right now the church is really reactive and not proactive way. But I'm just saying right now the church is really reactive and not proactive. And so we tend to look at things.
Speaker 1:Like you know, I'm not a clickbait person. Maybe because I work in social media, I was, like you know, I have been immune to maybe the clickbait, but I'm not a clickbait person. I'm not like, oh my God, this just happened. We need to report on it, we need to give an opinion, because good things are worth waiting for and the truth is worth waiting for. And lately there's been a lot of things, jay, I had shared on my Facebook, which you know of, but there had been a lot of things that have been like regurgitated news, right, like, as soon as something happens, a lot of people are reporting on it and they immediately will copy and paste what somebody else has and they're just like boom, boom, boom, without checking the credentials, without checking the credibility, without checking to see if, like, this is factual. Somebody reported this. I'm also reporting news and so I need to copy what this person's saying and all she wrote. And so that easily, it is that easy to spread false news and to project fear and anxiety.
Speaker 1:Okay, so when Israel and Iran, they went back and forth and there was a clap back and this any other thing everybody was like, oh World know, they went back and forth and there was a clap back and just any other thing. Everybody's like, oh, world War Three. And like everyone's caption was the same Israel strikes back. World War Three is underway and we know Jesus's promise in Matthew was that there's going to be wars and rumors of wars, like we know that right over and over. He has told us. But it's crazy. I mean not only Twitter, twitter, like I've kind of been in the twitter world right now.
Speaker 2:Um, because, honestly, instagram's so boring.
Speaker 1:But like super boring is um israel instagram and facebook and twitter, like they were all people were all doing the same thing. It's like copy and pasting, downloading everybody else's video, like it was crazy, so that happened. And then a week later it's like the whole Mark Driscoll thing, but it was the same thing. Like everyone just copy and pasted each other's stories and they were just like male stripper in church and I was like something ain't adding up here.
Speaker 1:I may not know this church, I may not know this pastor, right? Like a lot of people are like, oh, I know this man. He wouldn't do that, I didn't know any of it. But I did know that it was a little fishy for so many people to have reported this headline in church news as quickly as they have without allowing the smoke to settle, and there was something wrong with that, and so I was just calling it out. As far as my thoughts on social media, it has been one of my least popular posts Because people are just like, yeah, but he, they need to be called out because this was the wrong. And so if you've been living under a rock, god bless you, you're not missing much.
Speaker 1:But we're referring to the story that happened in James River Church, right, and the story was that there was a male stripper at a men's conference and they were like yo, yo jezebel's gonna jazzy, right, and they were like the man's dancing on a stage pro provocatively, right. And then even somebody reported there was like a madonna screen behind him and he was seductively swallowing a sword and I was like this doesn't? This just doesn't sound right. If it's right, that's crazy. I mean, I've seen some churches do some crazy things.
Speaker 1:But something's off about this story and I guess this goes back to the Thessalonians 5, 18 to 20 to 22 about hey, test everything and, you know, try to stay away from some evil, run from it, despise it, leave it alone. And, like I said, it's not something like I have not been meditating on this scripture every day, but maybe subconsciously I've just been like this is what I have to do every day, but maybe subconsciously I've just been like this is what I have to do. And because we also as a community and as a church have been duped, how many times now, how many times now we have been duped? I mean, these past four years alone, we have been duped because of social media right and fake news, false news, misrepresentations of pictures, fake news, false news, misrepresentations of pictures the whole nine.
Speaker 1:We have been duped and so anyway, whole thing happens. Mark Driscoll I'm a fan of Mark Driscoll. Let me just admit now, before anybody finds out later, that I've been retweeting Mark Driscoll and they call me a fraud. I am a fan of Mark Driscoll. I love Mark Driscoll. I love Mark Driscoll.
Speaker 1:I've been listening to Mark Driscoll since back in the Mars Hill days and the only reason I fell off from listening to him was because he got, you know, kind of there was like a coup back, you know, back in Mars Hill, and they kicked him out of his position and so there he was. Then he fell off as far as was nowhere and I didn't listen to him. And then he popped back up a couple of years ago and I was like, oh, this is why I love this guy. Now, he wasn't for everybody. He's kind of a screamer when he preaches. He has calmed down a lot.
Speaker 1:I think. A lot of things have humbled him and he's older now, but even Chris Valton was like. I've kind of like in my older years there are things where I have softened up. He said so Mark Driscoll is just like not really that same guy. However, he's still as creative as ever. He's still as clever as ever. I think Mark Driscoll is that verse to be wise as a servant, but innocent as a dove. He may not come off and look innocent, but I think that his tactics are, and he's very creative.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, stuff happened and both of the pastors took heat. Mark Driscoll, who I think was living by his conviction, I don't think he, I don't think he played up what happened for the sake of his material to sell. I think it was very convenient timing, but I think he really believed he saw what he saw, especially if you, if he wasn't at the session, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree it looked like because he came in cold when that happened, Like he went from I just saw this to I'm speaking. I mean that happened same day, even if several hours passed between the performance and him getting to speak. Like you're processing that for less than 24 hours before being asked to speak, and I think he takes his responsibility as a leader, as a preacher, very seriously, and so his idea of what is the holiest response calling it out our recording around our work-life balance.
Speaker 1:I was kind of like I would love to share some things about what happened, but I don't feel like we need to rush to be the first people to say something about it, because the truth is worth waiting for. I felt like there was more to the story, and there always is, and so I mean, jamie, you can enlighten us more on those details.
Speaker 1:But I'm just going to say that I think that Mark was somebody who truly believes his conviction, and even the way that people were like demonizing Mark because they're just like, oh, he's a bad man. He's always been his way, because I think there are some people who are still offended by him. And then also for Pastor Lindell, who, very like he was being very honest. He's like, bro, like if you had an issue, you should have told me. Like we were in a green room and I don't know the reason for why Mark didn't say it.
Speaker 1:I know what it's like to have difficult conversations. You're kind of like, have difficult conversations and you're kind of like I need the window to say it. Like is this the time? And so, um, pastor Lindell was right in that I will say before you you share, jamie, one of my least favorite things that people were saying on social media. Um, my least favorite thing, I think one of my least favorite things is when people make up Bible verses and, and, um, I hate that worse than when people take it out of context. But this idea of, well, it was public sin and because it was public sin, it deserved an open public rebuke.
Speaker 2:I don't know where people read that it's not in the Bible. If anyone was wondering oh, I think that's in Leviticus. No, it's not. It's not in the Bible. The only layout we have for confronting someone in sin is privately. Then with some leadership, help. Witness balloons. For those of you who are not watching balloons, I don't know why I keep triggering these For some reason. Two fingers just really makes balloons pop up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can help you after. It's a setting on our computer. If you did an update, there's a setting on our computer. You have to turn off.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I appreciate you. Tech Genius yes, yes, thank you, I appreciate you. Tech.
Speaker 1:Genius.
Speaker 2:Yes, so yes, after step two, step three send public rebuke. And I've actually seen leaders do this well, where there was a situation in a church in New York City where it was confronted privately, it was then confronted with leadership and the person was still not repentant and the pastor had to publicly say we are breaking ties with this person who was in our congregation. And this is, and they said, the fullness of what happened. I love that so much because there was no gossip, because he was like here is everything that happened.
Speaker 1:That's a good way to not gossip.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was the best, I was so healthy. He was like hey, after the Sunday sermon he was like, if you consider this church your home, you stay because we have something very important to say to you. So all the guests left and everybody who considered the church home, he was like all right, here's everything that happened, the grimy, dirty details. Because you know what, we are adults and I am so sick of the church treating and I am so sick of the church treating grown adults like they are children. It's so condescending and it was so honoring as part of that congregation to be brought into something that was messy and to basically feel like, hey, you're responsible, like you're a responsible, mature adult and you can handle hearing this information.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And again, no gossip.
Speaker 1:You know why? Because nothing was left in the dark.
Speaker 2:Yep, which also makes no place for shame.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:I would just like to call the leaders of the church in the southeastern states of America to listen to me right now there's no gossip because everything's out in the open, so there's no place for shame. That will fix the bulk of the problems in your church. You are welcome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and also teaching your congregation the difference between shame and conviction.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and also teaching your congregation, the difference between shame and conviction. Oh, yes, you know, and so, yeah, that's really good, jay. So Matthew 18 is the principle on which everybody has been, you know, trying to live and die by. I guess, when it came to the situation which I will say, everyone would love to appropriate Matthew 18 until it's them. When it's them, then they're just like no, no, no, no, no, slow down, pastor. You know what I mean. But so this like it's open sin, so it deserves an open rebuke.
Speaker 1:That is regurgitated, hand-me-down nonsense that you probably saw on social media and then you reiterated it because it sounded biblical. But if you want to get biblical about sin, open sin, sin has happened in the public. Maybe there isn't a verse about it, but we can find an instance in the Bible. And what did Jesus do with someone who was caught publicly sinning, who was caught in the act of adultery? A group of protesters, to make it relevant to today, a group of protesters came to him bringing this woman before him who was caught in open sin.
Speaker 1:Okay, because need us to remind you that if she had been caught in the act of adultery, which means that she has been adulterous with this man several times, they had to follow her pattern, which means that they openly knew what she was doing with said man. And in this act of adultery, they ripped the woman off of the man and brought the woman before Jesus. And so, as all of her accusers stood there and they said to Jesus, the angry mob said to him what are we going to do Now? If Matthew 18 was meant to be applied and open sin deserves open rebuke, wouldn't you think that would be a great time for Jesus to openly rebuke her?
Speaker 2:If that were the case, yes, Wouldn't you think?
Speaker 1:And so at that moment, he says to the angry mob, to the protesters, to the rioters, he said to them he who is without sin cast the first stone. And that's what he did with open sin. Okay, so open sin got a dose of open grace, because the grace that she was given before this mob was who stands to condemn you? The mob actually left because they were looking for someone to shame, as you're talking about. They were looking for someone to shame makes them feel better that they could shame somebody, and those are are.
Speaker 1:You know, there are things where people are like, well, the Trinity is in the Bible, well, but instances of the Trinity is in the Bible, therefore the Trinity is real. And so when people are like you're looking for verses, but I can point to you episodes like you're making up verses that aren't there, but then when you need a biblical example, I can point you to it. Okay, and so open sin deserves open rebuke. Stop it. So let's just throw that out with the dog water. And so, other than that, this idea of every leader, especially our modern day prophets, leader, especially our modern day prophets, needing to comment on it, like we need to know what sin is, or we need to know what's bad from good, what's right and from what's from wrong. Like listen, if people are under profits and you don't know what's right from wrong, then you need to go back and check this profit that you're under.
Speaker 1:Because, like produces like a profit, should be telling you there is no gray area with a real profit. Okay, I'm not here to be like that's a false profit, but I'm saying that like someone who is a profit. Okay, I'm not talking about someone who's prophetic. I'm saying someone who is a prophet will help you to distinguish what's right from wrong, and so if this person needs to constantly tell you what's right and what's wrong, they are not raising you up in the way of the spirit, and so we didn't need to know the visuals in order to determine what was wrong and the way. Again, I think I told you before, jay, even like with the stuff that's happening with IHOP and some of the things, like the pictures and this, I'm like in this day and age, I don't believe any media and you know what helped me lose faith in pictures, in uh pictures and videos, not just ai law and order, law and order.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm in the law and order um, and not just ai, but you know what ruined it for me? Britney spears's account britney spears's account, for sure, but also amber heard and johnny depp.
Speaker 2:Oh, now remember that was some bs.
Speaker 1:Yes, remember she altered and doctored a photo where she said she got punched in the face by him and she like bruised herself in the face. Then she put makeup on it and then she slapped on some filters and they stripped it down by the metadata and they were like oh, you altered this picture on this date. This is when the original picture was taken and this is when you altered it.
Speaker 1:And it was like crazy and I was like, bro, you really can't even trust pictures nowadays so anyway just because somebody had a picture of a man has arms out like this and like his body and his shirt was off, and I don't care, I don't, I don't believe you. And so my last point about this open sin, open rebuke, um, and then I'll I would love to hear you share. Is that the point about that open sin? And the point about the like, not just prophets I don't want to make fun of prophets but like leaders in general, okay, because some apostolic leaders and pastors everybody's commenting on it, but I hated that everyone was starting their like posts with like. Some people have asked me to comment, some people were wondering my, my insight, like Michael Brown, was saying that like, oh, people have been waiting for me to chime in about this. Well, that is the opportunity.
Speaker 1:That is the moment when the angry mob comes to you, when the rioters and the protesters come to you with their stones asking you to comment on something. That tells me two things about you that you're somebody who's always in somebody's doo-doo. Like you're always in someone's drama. You need to stop that. Okay, you have a whole family Worry about that. All your children home. Like, is everybody in school? Like, what are you doing? Like, worry about that. Worry about your family, worry about your congregation, worry about the worry about the people who are under you. Don't be worrying about somebody whose church you're not even. You weren't even invited to speak at. And so weird that people kept saying that oh, people are asking me to chime in, so the angry mom comes to you. It is your responsibility as a leader to dismantle them. So Jesus did right. He dismantled and disarmed them. That's your responsibility, because what does it say about you as a leader that people feel like they have the permission to come to you so that you can talk crap on somebody else?
Speaker 1:Ooh, yeah crap on somebody else.
Speaker 2:Ooh, yeah, and I think it's interesting too that the leaders that said that same statement. People have been waiting for me to chime in. They tend to be the leaders that are always commenting on things that have nothing to do with them.
Speaker 1:Right, nothing to do with them. Even if that was your spirit, even if that was your realm. I loved a lot of people who had chimed in on it, who were like I was there. Or like the one guy whose blog I think I sent you was like. I've been under both leaders and I know them both well. I love that guy's insight that that was like so and he like didn't pull any punches right. He was like we know that Mark's kind of theatrical and we know that these guys are kind of over the top with their men's conferences, but he's like but let's get down to the meat and bones of the whole situation. This is what I think happened so wild.
Speaker 1:So this idea of like oh, a lot of people have been asking me to chime in turn. Turn around to those people and you remind them that he who's without sin cast the first stone. And of course this is proverbially speaking, because if you're a Christian, you should be living by the revelation that you are dead to sin but alive to God. But it's the whole idea that worry about your own stuff, worry about your own stuff. You should be saying. You know, a lot of people have been asking me to comment about what's going on in our congregation, in our church. These people don't develop overnight. Okay, the adulterers, the thieves, the slanderers, they don't become this overnight. They have been brewing and festering and growing like mold in your congregation. So worry about your people, worry about your students, worry your congregation. So worry about your people, worry about your students, worry about your region, worry about your state, worry about your governor, worry about your mayor, worry about your colleges, worry about your pastor. Before you comment on someone else on social media, I think.
Speaker 2:Also. I just want to point out how many of these alleged prophets have commented on things and jumped to conclusions and have said the things that were in the headline. When it's like you're prophetic at least. At least there's no need for you to jump on the headline of like a stripper was in a church. Be so for real. You know better. You know better that that wasn't happening. Just be honest. Don't do it for the clickbait, because now you look like a false prophet. If you did it for the clickbait, you look like a false prophet. If you did it because you didn't know better, now you just look dumb and, at at worst, not prophetic at all, because raise your team up.
Speaker 1:Raise your team up to do better. Because even the one person I'm thinking I won't say her name because she's friends with my boss, but the one person I'm thinking of, like, she just tweets and she's like well, I heard that. So there is a stripper in a church, what is the word? What does the church come to?
Speaker 2:like, that's the most there's somebody like a grandma who's so out of touch with like what's happening in the world, kind of comment like that she would post on facebook like if you're like a, if you're prophetic or a prophet, you're like on the cutting edge, you're like you're relevant. But that sounded like the reason why millennials say the thing okay, boomer. And I don't partner with that statement because I find that disrespectful and boomers are far better than extras and far better than Gen Z. So I'm not going to ever say that, but that is like one of those comments that would make someone say, okay, boomer.
Speaker 1:I love boomers. Yeah, I agree, and that was the implication why my voice sounded like that. But yeah, I was just kind of like, well, train your team to be better. Like you know, like, when I like my boss is like really big on social media and I don't send him smut, like I don't, I don't send him smut because I don't want him like one, if it's something that's not factual, I don't want to send it to him. And two, if it's something that I'm like you don't want to see these images anyway. Like you mean like why would I send you a picture of a man like being man, like being I don't know? Like I don't, I don't, I don't feel right sending that to you. And so train your team to be better than you like train your team to not send you that stuff or get better and maybe a little bit more investigative.
Speaker 1:Christians forget that you are social commenters and not journalists. You, you act like you're journalists because you try to come to us with news, but really you're a social comment commentator and and that's okay, that's okay like I, I don't care that you're a social commentator. Like like um, sean bowles is a great example. Like I think he's a little bit more journalistic than most, but he's a social commentator and I love it because he's always bringing like great insight or like optimistic insight or he's like, hey, this is what's going on. I love that about sean um. But sometimes some of these quote-unquote like well-known prophets or leaders in our church come and they're just like you're like you're breaking news, no, no, no. Like you know when you're telling me that war three is under underway because these you're breaking news. No, no, no. Like you know when you're telling me that World War III is underway, because you're making it sound like it's tomorrow and so like, if you don't have the whole truth, don't share the truth at all.
Speaker 2:Yeah, amen, all right, so let's get into it. We have some updates and we have some clarifications. For those of you who think a stripper was at a church, that, and you still think that after this past week of news, it's a sword swallower who was hired as entertainment at a men's conference, which entertainment at a men's conference is a separate conversation. Men's and women's conferences are both very embarrassing and that is a separate conversation for a separate day. But, that being said, I'm telling you right now we should have never divided us, because when we divide us, each goes off their own separate embarrassing trail monster trucks towards wild wars and all sorts like bmx bikes, whatever the boys like, and then they just give us the book of ruth and the book of esther over and over again and they tell us you don't need a man, but here's how to prepare for your husband. Both of you are very embarrassing. Please stop, okay, okay. So a lot of you know that after Mark publicly reb uh Lindell and um John, or is it John?
Speaker 1:is John.
Speaker 2:It's John, thank you. After Mark publicly rebuked John Lindell and James River church, he and John went on stage. They talked it out. They seemed to reconcile, things seemed cool and moved on, and since then John has made some comments on a Sunday sermon and he apologized for inviting both Driscoll and Magala which is the last name of the Swordswallow, his name is Alex Magala to the Stronger Men's Conference which took place in mid-April.
Speaker 2:Okay, so this is his comment. I want to apologize and let you know I take full responsibility for the decision that was made to invite Mark Driscoll and Alex Magala to the Stronger Men's Conference. I am deeply saddened by the division that our invitation has brought to the body of Christ. It was never our intent and apparently, days prior, during a Wednesday service, lindell revealed Driscoll had accused one of his sons, brandon Lindell, of a list of dark sins. He went on to call Driscoll's behavior in recent days as demonic and urged the Scottsdale based preacher to repent for his actions.
Speaker 2:So Driscoll responded via his Twitter account I'm not calling it X, no and he said tolerance is demonic when the church gets naughtier than the culture. They an abomination which let's. Let's not pretend that. Anything that happened that we know about. I don't know what he accused his son of doing, but, um, right, short short of a lot of things that I just don't even want to say out loud, I just don't think that that's true, because word swallowing a show definitely cannot be any naughtier than, um, the absolute abomination that is happening because of the ligabatococ community, correct? So, uh, uh, driscoll, of course, is capitalizing on the attention via the social media to promote his book, which relevant new days, old demons, and he must've thought, like when he, when he saw everything, like what a gift. I can just like use all the research that I've been doing, probably for this book, which also probably colored his response. If he's been doing a lot of research about old demons and then sees this, it's going to mess with his psyche.
Speaker 1:Really good point.
Speaker 2:That will be his lens that he looks through. I think we actually do need to just kind of back up a little bit and realize that the church has authority on earth and the church has righteousness, because the reason why it was so dangerous for the Jewish people to get involved in anything, even symbolically, part of the pagan culture around them was because they had no way to get redemption. So if they looked at a sword swallower and their conscience was defiled because of it, the enemy would have access to their lives and the lives of their family through them, and there was no redemption Correct. There was no redemption Correct In the days of the church.
Speaker 2:Can we stop acting like Jezebel and Bale and Molech have any power or authority unless we give it to them by giving this kind of attention? Or can we just be like? If a demon is like, oh, I have access to this church because you worship me, because you saw a sword swallower, you could be just like oh, I have access to this church because you worship me, because you saw a sword swallower. You could be just like, oh no, that was a man who was swallowing a sword and had nothing to do with you. If we could just continue to tell the enemy that he has no place here. He can stop violating our consciences and getting access to our thoughts, our minds, our churches, our culture.
Speaker 2:We have to let him know he's as powerless as he is right everything that he has done to maintain power in this age has been a total illusion. The only reason it's so effective is because there are a lot of idiots believing him. Right, he has idiots who are on his side, who are minions, who believe him, and then there are the most importantly. There is the church, the only entity that has power on the earth in this age, and they believe him. They believe he has authority. We are the problem.
Speaker 1:We are the problem, as Bill Johnson has famously been known for saying, that when you believe the lie, you empower the liar.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. And I think that whether if you're a person who really thinks that this is such a horrific thing, because obviously it was dumb it was dumb to invite a sword swallower. It would be dumb if they had monster trucks Both are dumb.
Speaker 1:I'm screaming. And he did say, right, like he was, like we probably shouldn't have um invited him. Did he say that? I think he did.
Speaker 2:I think he did say that and I think the the maybe the reason why this is probably the dumber than the other types of entertainment they've had is because it violates weak consciences. There are people in the crowd with a weak conscience. It is a problem for them.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Just like how Romans 14, Paul says hey, if you eat meat sacrificed to an idol, ain't no thing, but if somebody does believe that that has power to give you demons or whatever, don't eat it for their sake, because you're going to make them feel like they've done something wrong or something wrong. So really, I think, when it comes to to this, I personally like I don't. Well, I don't think the church is a place for this. But if a bunch of Christians went to see a sports wall, or, I don't think that's a problem, but I do think it could violate a lot of people's consciences and that is an issue, think that's a problem, but I do think it could violate a lot of people's consciences and that is an issue.
Speaker 1:It's like. It's like having a potluck at the church and then bringing a bunch of hard ciders you know our hard seltzers like, obviously, like you know, well, we shouldn't have a problem with alcoholism, but some people's story is that they've been delivered from alcoholism. Some people still struggle with alcohol. So you'd be like well, this is church, you shouldn't be an alcoholic, you shouldn't be a drunk. Well, why is it at the potluck? And it's because of other people's consciences, and do you just want to honor that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely so. Well, lindell didn't explain exactly why he was apologizing for inviting Magala, which I think was actually probably smart, because Alex is pretty unaware of why this is causing so much drama. He's not part of this crazy. This Pentecostal culture is a little bit weird. We're strange people and he's just not little bit. It's a little bit weird, um we're.
Speaker 2:We're strange people and he's just not. He just doesn't know what's going on. He didn't read the Bible like that. He don't know Right. So, um, he did reportedly tell his congregation last Wednesday this is from this article being written, which must've been this past week that Magala's performance was appropriate for a men's conference and that the sword swaller became a born again Christian a decade ago and attends Mosaic Church in Los Angeles. So Alex made a video on Instagram to talk about the things that Lindell said about him. So he did clarify that he did not become a Christian 10 years ago because he was born in an Orthodox Christian family and as such, he explained, he went through the ceremony of becoming a Christian as a baby. Um, so he's, culturally he's not familiar and, if you even just listen to his accent, like he's not familiar with the whole America born again Christian thing. And I think also we need to note that being like baptized as an adult probably wasn't widespread, most likely until the 70s.
Speaker 2:I would say People do forget that, but the Jesus People movement is actually what normalized getting baptized as an adult. Prior to that, most Americans who are Christians were usually baptized either as babies in Orthodox or Catholic ceremonies, or you are dedicated to a church in a Protestant place and then you get baptized, maybe in your older childhood or young teen years, correct? So this is just really not familiar to him outside, because he's not an american right um. He also added that driscoll's rebuke of him was completely misguided. He um was accused of by mark ripping his shirt off like a stripper. He removed his leather vest to prove that he was actually swallowing a sword and said that wearing the top was also unnecessary weight that could have hindered the stunts he performed on the pole. And I think this makes total sense, because if you're leaning your head back and you're swallowing a sword, you know, you think it's hiding. It's hiding somewhere in the shirt and it's an important part of magic tricks to show people. I mean, granted, he was really swallowing this word, but all magic tricks they do this. They're like see, I'm for real doing this magic trick and that's pretty normal within a performance.
Speaker 2:And he also noted that while he has attended Mosaic Church in the past. He's not a regular attender. He said he went because he likes Pastor Erwin McManus and his preaching. And he went because his likes pastor erwin mcmanus and his preaching. And he went because his friends go and um, as somebody who has been to mosaic church in la although this was in the 2010s um, as a visitor who's in my neighborhood very convenient, it's a. It's a nice church. Everyone's a good guy. It's. It's legitimate, it's. It's a. I would say you're like run-of-the-mill los angeles evangelical, non-denominational kind of church. Yes, and I don't have a problem with it. A lot of artists there and it's a great place to go. If you're in the industry and you want to network with the behind the scenes types of people, yes, really good. If you need to know like directors, writing guys, like lighting guys those very helpful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, shout out to our la churches and if you want to meet failed comedians and um up-and-coming actors, you go to oasis. So, oh, I like that church too, but but there are a lot of failed comedians there oh yeah, I wonder why they all conjugate there I don't know.
Speaker 1:Why particularly that one? But yes, shout out to our LA churches for holding it down out there. I will also add to the list of recommendations Evergreen.
Speaker 2:Oh yes.
Speaker 1:Love Pastor Tommy. He's a good friend of mine, but I shout out to Evergreen Oasis and Mosaic.
Speaker 2:And I have a friend who goes to Vintage Heard great things.
Speaker 1:Vintage, oh my gosh. Yeah, I haven't. I haven't dabbled in vintage yet. That's good to know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually, she just sent me an audio message today saying that the sermon was really good and it's from somebody who has high standards like us. Ooh Yep. So Alex went on to say I know my way of expressing my faith is different. When I perform, I swallow a sword and attempt attempting a death defying stunt, climbing on top of the pole and then going upside down. The moment when I dropped down, that to me is when I give my life to God, and the moment when I stopped one inch before hitting the ground, that's the moment when I get saved by God. It's a very artistic way of looking.
Speaker 1:Oh so it's a very artistic way of looking. Oh so it's like a human video.
Speaker 2:Yeah why didn't they just say that from the beginning? Um, all, all of the amount of drama the church has caused for for what and for why, um, and the other thing you know how you would have just dispelled that.
Speaker 1:He should have been playing Lifehouse. Just play Lifehouse while he was doing the trick, and people would have core memory would have been unlocked and like you're all I want, you're all I need, boom human video. Oh, this isn't seductive seductive.
Speaker 2:Yeah no, that's a genius idea, because when that song comes on the Christians are like sleeper agents.
Speaker 1:We're like youth group youth group. What do we do? Awakened All of a sudden, we look down and we're in all black.
Speaker 2:They should have just said that from the beginning.
Speaker 1:I would have understood it more if they just said it was a human video.
Speaker 2:Okay, one one, one final thing to say about Alex and his video Um, he was, as you know, um. He was, as you know, uh, accused of being like a new ager, um right, and a um, a well-known prophet.
Speaker 1:Should I name him? You know how I feel about him.
Speaker 2:I feel like if you're going to be foolish with your news, you need to be known that you don't be doing your research, okay, well, so I say the name, all right. Well, alleged prophet, and I love this man. Everybody knows I love this man. On a personal prophetic note, he does give really good personal prophetic words. I really love this man. He's got a beautiful heart, um, sweetheart baby I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2:I love you, know, I love you. Sorry, you just kind of jumped to conclusions here. Yes, I'm, I'm you know what. Honestly, maybe he will still disagree with me um based, but I I think that I'm I'm having a different understanding because of the cultural um situation that's happening here. But jeremiah johnson did um post some pictures from his instagram which you know makes sense, like. He posted these pictures where he's um in a meditation pose and next to all these, like Buddha statues. He posted a few other images, um, some of them may have been work, images from his job, which you know it's. It's a show and I feel like you can't really hold his job against him. Um, we already know what he does, cause he did it and we all saw the video, but the allegation was against his spiritual life and that he was dabbling in new age. So he went on to say he was on a tour in I forget the country that he mentioned, but he was on a tour in that country. That was a picture he took.
Speaker 1:Bali.
Speaker 2:It wasn't Bali. I think it was Bali, but if people really care, you can email us and I'll tell you, or leave a comment and I'll rewatch the video, so that you don't have to make the very easy move of going on Alex Magala's Instagram and watching the video for yourself. Or you can watch it and you can be petty and then be like it was actually this country.
Speaker 1:And they will.
Speaker 2:You can do either of those Any three, we're fine with that. So he's on a tour of this country. He takes a picture for, like the vibes, I understood what he was saying. Like when in Rome it's you know. He doesn't understand the implication because, again, pentecostal Christianity is weird.
Speaker 2:A lot of Pentecostals would believe that if you go to a place where there are Buddha statues and you sit in a meditation pose, that you will get demons. I will say if that is your conscience, then you will. If that violates your conscience, then do not go to Buddha places and sit in meditation poses. That being said, when the early church was early churching, they lived in a place with like idols everywhere and where they went to spread the gospel was idol central. Like they went to, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art Greek and Roman roman section. They were around all the statues of all the grecian butts and they spread the gospel there and they didn't get any demons. Granted, you might say, oh well, they were spreading the gospel and that happened.
Speaker 2:These people had to live and work in these places too, correct? They had to post up an ephesusesus known for its witchcraft and they just had to. When they weren't vibing with their church. They were like I am a blacksmith, I am a messenger service person. I'm trying to think of ancient jobs and I just don't know them very well. I'm sorry, but you had to live in these places, you had to sleep in these places, you had to just be living your life with the Grecian butts everywhere, and they were fine. They didn't have a conscience violated because they didn't have the theology that the church has now. Oh, how that's been so great, don't you think? It's been so great how we have gone into the future and we've developed all these fun theologies that have oppressed us. Isn't that so fun when the early church literally had to go to places and actually rid them of the demonic presence, not by causing a puke show, but by actually just displaying the authority of Christ? Notice, there are no puke shows in the Bible. No spit takes.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying Hand me down, nonsense.
Speaker 2:Where did we get this? So, when it comes to a person who's not familiar with our American theology which again, was probably also an offshoot of some hand-me-down stuff that was birthed after the Jesus People Movement it's brought us a lot of good, but it's also brought us a lot of nonsense as well but he's not familiar with the, the way that Pentecostals believe that you're partnering with certain things by sitting in a certain way.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:There are people that actually believe it or not. There are people that actually have enough faith and trust in God that they could sit in a little pose next to whatever statue they wanted. Like they could sit next to a Satanist statue and sit in a little pose and be like you can't touch me because I belong to Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Period.
Speaker 2:Now, some of y'all don't believe that, and if that's the case, you need to work on that, because it's not okay for you to walk around feeling like if you do something, if you sit a certain way, the enemy's got you okay, and that's the faith that you're gonna receive it can we like trust god church she's like can we trust god?
Speaker 1:that's what andrew womack said, that he's like I don't get sick. I. He's like I don't get sick because that's not like. My faith is not for me to receive sickness, and so, because that is the conviction he lives by, he said you get a head cold because you want a head cold. You just go oh, it's just the season. So I have a head cold, that's the season. And he's like that's why you have a head cold, you know. And he's like that's why you haven't had cold, you know.
Speaker 1:And like somebody last night, where was? Where was I? Was I here? Actually? Oh yeah, like a small group. I was leading a small group and, um, one of the girls has allergies and we were like, oh yeah, you and me both and whatever. And then we were just talking about like yeah, jesus is gonna heal our allergies because, like allergies, we weren't meant to be functioning with allergies, like this is not of God. And so, like she even was, like we were just like on the same page. She wasn't like wow, like she really was, like no, amen. And she's like I'm claiming that healing for your allergies too, like we should not be having allergies.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God, that means you know what I'm going to do. I'm going to claim that for my lactose intolerance, and then what I'm going to do is I'm going to keep ice cream at your house and we're going to test it by me eating ice cream at your house. But I will come with butt wipes.
Speaker 1:Perfect. Yeah, I just told that to my husband this morning because he was having some issues with milk and I was like this isn't your inheritance, but I was like we need to deal with this.
Speaker 2:Yep, we're going to pray, we're going to eat ice cream and we're going to test that this worked out, and we're going to bring butt wipes just in case.
Speaker 2:There, you go, but all right. So back to Alex. He was just posing on a tour to him, an Orthodox Christian who is not familiar with one Pentecostal theology and two American Christianity. He's just posing because he's on a tour. He's just doing that thing that you do with the Leaning Tower of Pisa, where you're like, ah, I'm pushing it up. That was what he was doing. Okay, let's not make it more than it is. A lot of prophets are going to try to make it that, and a lot of them are going to try to, but you know what? That, let me just tell you, that's your own conscience, that's.
Speaker 2:That's where your conscience got violated and I'm not going to let that violate mine, because that sounds like a really low level of faith.
Speaker 1:Honestly that poor man and I. Now I see why people private their accounts.
Speaker 2:Cause people are too to understand anything. The other thing that Alex said was that he has a lot of friends who are Buddhist monks and he saw him like posing with them, like oh, like friendship, and then like arm wrestling oh, that's cute. Which, by the way, if you are friends with anybody who is that type of like mystic, catholic or an international kind of Christian, you find that they love to be friends with other like mystics from other religions, and I don't know if that's like for some people. I think it probably mixes some things in their spirituality. That's bad, but I think for other people it's almost like an interesting way to see how other people see the world, and I think that's more his heart.
Speaker 2:Is he confused? Am I going to say Alex has great theology? You just don't know. I'm not going to tell you that Alex has great theology. Alex probably doesn't even think too much about being christian in the first place. He's. It's orthodox. Christianity is a lot of tradition, but what I am saying is that his, his heart is that he's an artist, he's a performer and, um, they often have a lot in common with the types of people that become monks and mystics, and I can see why he's friends with that type of person and I don't think that we should condemn him for that either. If the Lord ever convicts him like, hey, this person is confusing you and your walk with me. That's one thing. But, alex, and I think there's a reason why John did not apologize more specifically with him, because he's really not so much at fault. He's really just doing his job.
Speaker 2:It's really simple.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, he's unapologetic, like you know, I don't know I feel bad. I feel bad for just that whole situation that he was roped in and he's like what is with you American Christians, what is with you guys? I was just doing a performance and a drama, and then again social media and division, and I love that Pastor John also was like, if for the sole reason that this caused division, I apologize, like I kind of love that he did that, because obviously the whole point wasn't to be divisive. That's not why he, you know, had this man come and he wasn't trying to be like.
Speaker 1:So many churches, so many worship leaders, so many worship teams, so many Christian content creators want to be like risque, like they want to be so edgy, like that. They want to do something that pushes the envelope, like and. And then they end up like going too far off the deep end Right, and in some of them they they just jump off of a cliff and that's not like for us, like I promise you, however, and that's not like for us. Like I promise you, however, you ended up here. We pray that you stay as long as you would love to the door. We have an open door policy with this podcast. But I promise you we will never like we're not here to be edgy, we're not here to be risque, we don't say things, push envelopes so that you could be like, oh snap, like we are just being us, so that you could be like, oh snap, we are just being us. But for the sake of those people I don't think Pastor John was trying to be that guy.
Speaker 2:I think he genuinely was like first of all, this man had to probably have been booked years in advance. Yeah, and it was expensive. Yeah and it was expensive. So this was, this was something that was, was thought through in a way that, like there, there was obviously, like, so much innocence behind the booking.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like sports swallowing. That's so bad-ass Right, wow, but the dudes will love that. That's how men sound. That's how you guys sound that's how evangelical men sound.
Speaker 2:That's how they sound that's my impression with it um, yeah, I think they just thought it was cool and showy. So, um, there is a little bit more of an update, um, from john because, um, mark, after accusing his other son, brandon Lindell, who's also a pastor at James River, of a list of dark sins, and said something evil was at work at James River church, so, at this point, marky, that that that was.
Speaker 1:I don't know, I can't defend you there.
Speaker 2:I don't. I don't know about that, mark. If you saw something I don't know, I can't defend you there. I don't know about that, mark. If you saw something, I feel the way you approached that was just not it, sis. Okay. So Mark has a comment, because he's like threatening to cut ties.
Speaker 2:John is threatening to cut ties with Mark at this point. He says what Mark has done at this point was so egregious attempting to tear down the leader of the church, attempting to create friction between brothers, attempting to create discord between father and a son. It seems demonic to me and honestly makes me very, very concerned about mark linden. Lindell said that he has followed Matthew 18, 18, 15, which sets those guidelines as we discussed, and and he's using that kind of in reference to the way he is he's speaking to Mark through the surface service right now and he he's this is his quote If all, if that fails, seek mediation. If that fails, to tell it to the church. And if they refuse to listen to the church, treat them as you would, a pagan or a tax collector. So he was directly quoting that, that verse within this service. Um, during the service, lindell said that he sought the assistance of jimmy evans, a pastor and co-founder of marriage today and mediating with driscoll very responsible, by the way I love that if he doesn't listen to the rebuke of tonight.
Speaker 2:Any believer should not have anything to do with Mark Driscoll. Lindell said I get absolutely no joy or delight in doing this to someone who I've called a friend. Mark, if you're listening to this message, we love you and it's with a heavy heart we are calling you to repent. Lindell also said that those who spread the disinformation that they reconciled should repent and share the correct information with their followers as well. So these are the list of things that John wants Mark to repent for One, maligning Magala, who Lindell said was a born-again Christian, though Magala has clarified that he's Orthodox, was baptized as a baby. Two, attempting to sow disunity in James River Church. Three, making false and slanderous accusations against Brandon Lindell for trying to create division in the Lindell family. And five, trying to destroy James River church by attacking its leadership. So that is the final news update, as up to date as I know, that is happening with this whole situation.
Speaker 2:It sounds like, to my ear and to the best of my knowledge, that John is dealing with this very responsibly, and I think he also repented about booking Alex to the level of which he should, which was his heart was not to bring confusion or violate anyone's conscience.
Speaker 2:Conscience was really just a whoa this word swallowing is cool Sort of like we got to find a way to top the monster trucks we had last year kind of mentality.
Speaker 2:And so I think I don't think, just given that he was ignorant to how people would take it, I think he repented to the level that was necessary, and you know, prophets are known for being a bit dramatic, so just hoping that one that if Mark said something accusatory to John's son, that it actually had some merit, even if it was obviously done in a dishonoring way, and that, if I think it too like it sounds, like the way he's talking to the church and to these people is like he is coming to rebuke them, like an old Testament prophet, like if this is not good, it needs to be destroyed, which is like a very old testament mentality, versus say, hey, like there are things that are off and they need to be realigned and fixed, because I think, overall those types of words of like okay, like something went wrong, tear it down, destroy it, and so then you build something new and that's you know.
Speaker 2:I kind of think that's basically what's happening with the um, ihop, kansas city, and now upper rooms. Like now it's our turn because your ihop has been canceled, it's destroyed. Rather than actually wait a minute, do we believe in redemption?
Speaker 1:Wow, the thought. What about? Oh, I got an R word Reconciliation.
Speaker 2:Whoa. Do we believe that people who have made mistakes after receiving Christ have hope to actually be made new and healed and restored?
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, I have a new word for you that you wouldn't have to find in a Strong's Tell me. It's called grace no, grace upon grace upon grace.
Speaker 2:Not Karis.
Speaker 1:The.
Speaker 2:Karis In the Greece, in the Greek, in the Greek. Wow, what a revolutionary thought and idea.
Speaker 1:Here's a revelation for you Grace, and listen. His grace makes it easy. Grace is like the greasy ride upon. People are like greasy grace, hyper grace. If you think grace is too hyper, then you don't understand grace it is. By grace you wake up every day. It is grace that you draw a breath. It is grace that some of y'all still have positions in ministry.
Speaker 2:And I think as well, there's been a lot more harm than good that comes from scrapping something entirely when maybe the lord actually did have some hope and redemption for it. We can't let every lou angle word destroy every good ministry that exists. Sorry, papa lou screaming um, yes and amen.
Speaker 1:Look Sorry, papa Lou Screaming yes and amen.
Speaker 2:Look, if he never told Kansas City to stop doing the one thing conference, I don't think any of this would have happened. Because, okay, just my opinion. Do we know? If that was him, you know what? Actually, I don't know if that was his word, I do. I'm curious. Was?
Speaker 1:it somebody else's word? But if that was his word, I do. I'm curious, was it somebody?
Speaker 2:else's word, but I'm going to burn the prophet anyway.
Speaker 1:I'm screaming.
Speaker 2:But let me just say I personally think it might not have been Lou. I'm so sorry Lou. I know of another. You know what was was pinned that we'll deal with you later when we talk about your. I will say there was a word there was a profit next week, so I'm going to give you a break.
Speaker 1:Right, all right, we got if you're following Lou.
Speaker 2:He is fasting next week. That starts it that another week of fasting every month for Israel until the war is over.
Speaker 2:So Amen, put away your fork these spoons if you're following him, because next week you are not eating but screaming. I think that when it comes to Kansas City and them canceling one thing, I personally think that it's like what happened to David when he was on the rooftop I in Bathsheba at the time when kings were supposed to be at war Correct, he was chilling during the wartime. He should have been out there warring, but instead he he was looking at Bathsheba Is that what happened at Kansas city, I mean.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying the allegations are true, because we we really still don't know if the allegations are true. But what I will say is, if y'all were at the one thing conference, would you have time to be making accusations or getting people who are on your team who are problematic? Would they have had time to sow all this discord? Would there have been time and space for anything wrong to happen, whether it be people attacking mike or mike actually doing something? Because again, we don't know. We don't know you should have been a war at the one thing conference. I.
Speaker 1:I mean Harvey Weinstein himself, has been let off of his charges for now. Obviously, there's going to be a retrial. There's going to be a retrial. However, he, his case, got dismissed based off of bias, like there was some evidence that they used, that they were just like we kind of looked at this evidence very biasly.
Speaker 1:There's a quote. I've heard this quote a lot because you know I'm just watching some Law and Order. But justice is blind, which means that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, man or woman, you know, slave nor free, black or white when it comes to justice. And so, with Harvey Weinstein, everybody's upset and we know that he's a shady old man. But what I'm saying is that you need to let justice play out. We don't know if all these allegations I don't give a rip, who gets interviewed on YouTube, I don't give a rip who the Roy's report reports on, we don't know. I want to hear from this man himself, which he doesn't owe anybody anything. And if I don't know what happened in Kansas City, if I don't get to know that on this side of heaven, guess what, I'm asleep good tonight. Side of heaven, guess what, i'ma sleep good tonight i'ma sleep really good and i'ma be okay.
Speaker 2:And guess what?
Speaker 1:you will too, oh man but you brought an excellent point about david Bathsheba being at the wrong place at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing.
Speaker 1:Okay, the wrong thing and correlating that to now. We know David was a man after his own heart. David was a man of good intentions. David was a mighty king, right that now his sin with Bathsheba does not throw all of his works out the window. It's okay for y'all to be like I want to be like David, right? Like everyone wants to be like David until, like, then the hardship happens and then, like you know what I mean, now no one wants to be King David, and so if you want to be David, commit, commit to the role. And so it's very strange how you guys are all of a sudden wanting to backpedal. Hello, and the idea with the house of prayer, like, just think about it for one second, okay, take your mind, like, tell your brain to shut up. My spiritual dad likes to say tell your mind to shut up for a second In this year 2024, the year of our Lord, when we have the messiest election, okay the messiest election since the beginning of this country has been established.
Speaker 1:The messiest, okay, and I mean that was even before the election. There was like an election around the time where they like didn't like Republicans and Democrats literally beat the crap out of each other until they died. I have to find out. There was like actually an election where they like literally murdered each other.
Speaker 2:Wow, what was that?
Speaker 1:actually an election where they like literally murdered each other. Wow, what was their hands? Bare hands. Okay, american history is crazy. I think this election is even crazier. Um, I will, I'll bring a reference next time you record, but I'll tell you after our recording, jamie, um, okay, so this is the craziest election. Also, we are in the brink of all of these countries popping off, being like there can only be one, and that that that whatever country is going to be, whether it's Russia, china, whoever, have you right, these countries are like wanting to be world domination invaders in. Um, world domination invaders in.
Speaker 1:Wouldn't that be a good time to go to the house of the Lord? Wouldn't that be a good time to set up some houses of prayer? But instead we're looking for the houses of prayer to tear down and y'all are letting it happen. So you threw the baby out with the bath water because you're like oh, there was one bad egg. Now I have different opinions, but whatever, but from the one bad egg, you're like everybody, everybody, let's just completely dismantle kansas city. Let's start a new thing, even though you're to have the same bones. Okay, I'm saying that you're going to have the same bones, but you think you're doing something new. Whatever have you, whatever helps you sleep at night. So, um, now you're like let's dismantle kansas city. So, boom, house of prayer gone. Um, now more than ever we need people of prayer. Now more than ever we need people of prayer. Now more than ever we need intercession. And now we're all distracted.
Speaker 1:Do you think these haphazard, lukewarm Christians care about that? No, they don't. They just care about, like well, I don't feel validated because something happened between me and my dad when I was six, and now I want somebody else to pay for it. That's why you're so caught up in this business. It has nothing to do with you. It should have stayed in the house, it should have been dealt with in the house and it should have been judged by the house. Also, the Corey Russells of the world I don't care, I'm not. I don't feel bad saying his name. The Allen Hoods I don't feel bad saying your name. You guys who all think you're getting away unscathed because you distanced yourself from the house of prayer as far as Kansas City I know a lot of you guys are still serving the church Just because you weren't there when Bickle got accused, when the allegations started sticking, does not mean you're coming off without the smell of smoke on you because, as I said with carl lentz when the things of carl lentz came out, carl lentz did not become carl lentz overnight.
Speaker 1:So whether or not you were aware of Bickle and that could be one the reason you left you're still held accountable because you could have been dealing with it. Then you could have called it out before you left. You could have dealt with it so that you can leave, or you could have left it in the hands of somebody who will deal with it. But you left right. So, from a distance, y'all are like I knew this was going to happen. Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you shepherd? Why didn't you shepherd your flock? Why didn't you protect the sheep? Allen Hood's the same way.
Speaker 1:Now I do have a friend who's a pastor in Florida who said he was at an event with Allen Hood and on the stage he was like I also repent for my involvement with Kansas City because I was also there when Mike was doing the shady stuff. Now I said that to you, jamie, months ago when Alan Hood did his little tour, kind of like Ben Shapiro after Candace left, and Alan Hood did his little tour and was on everybody's little podcast and YouTube channel. He was like, oh yeah, mike, he just was uncontrollable, he was out of hand. So you were doing all that stuff. But I was like, but you were Mike Bickle's right hand man. I know because I was listening to the house of prayer circa 2005, 2008. I was, I was on the house of prayer. You could ask my college roommate I used to have the house of prayer streams on my laptop nonstop. I would leave, house of Prayer was on, I would come back to my room. House of Prayer was on my laptop and I know Alan Hood because I remember turning off my computer whenever he spoke.
Speaker 1:I was just not interested in Alan Hood, so I know he was there. So you were around when some of this craziness was happening. Where were you, man of God, to speak up and to say anything? Instead, you're like at least it wasn't me. So all of you dog water, okay. So now we're in this position where you guys are like, oh good, at least it won't be called Kansas City anymore. Who cares what it's called? Who cares? It's going to have the same infrastructure, the same bones's gonna have the same infrastructure, the same bones, some of the same staff. You just won't know and the way you guys are tearing each other down.
Speaker 1:I told you earlier, uh, last week, jamie, that they're even after jeremy riddle because they're just like that noah kid is like resurfacing in the news and they're after jeremy riddle and some of jeremy riddle's like appearances have been canceled because this, this kid is painting a hum up in a bad light and this was my issue with the me too. I guarantee you there will be a lot less me too allegations. If, when the allegations didn't stick, there would be a counter suit. If, if the women who cried wolf started getting sued for crying wolf, there will be a lot less women who cried wolf started getting sued for crying wolf. There will be a lot less women who can come forward. Am I saying that women should never say anything? Obviously, that's not what I'm saying. It will be intellectually lazy for you to assume what I'm saying. Listen to what I'm saying For the women who were crying wolf, because they are out there. Some of them have even been proven, even the Trevor Bauer, I think I did.
Speaker 1:I sent you that video about the baseball player who the two women who slept with him both try to say that he was abusive, beat him One thought. One said she was pregnant. Yeah, so this MLB player, they two separate women, they weren't friends. At least I don't think they slept with this MLB player who they alleged had like really rough sex. Beat the crap out of him, beat the crap out of them.
Speaker 1:And, um, you know, this girl was like I got a black eye, decided anything. The other girl was like I got pregnant but then I had an abortion because he made me all this stuff. They tried to extort him for money and he was like hell, no. So they went public and was like this is what Trevor Bauer did to me. He got fired from an MLB. He got fired from his team, could not get rehired, and because they were like we got to believe all women. And now the women are getting countersued. Now the one woman, her day in court has not happened yet, but the other one got served her papers and they're public and so, like the girls who are crying wolf are starting to get counter sued. And what's that?
Speaker 1:finally finally, you know what I'm saying, I love it. So like, if it happens in the church, I guarantee you a lot less people like y'all want to start playing the spiritual abuse game. Like, oh my God, like he didn't pick me and I was spiritually abusive. You know what I mean. And so like, if you start playing that game I'm not saying like, take even Jeremy Riddle out of the equation. Let's say it was Lester Young. I don't even know where that name came from, but Lester Young, I'm making up a name. Let's say somebody comes and says like hey, you know a public defamation, right, you're going around and you know the body of the Christ is stupid and they, they repost anything. And so like Lester Young's like, hey, this is what happened to me, I was under this leader and he did all these things. The church starts spreading this, this fake news, defamation happens, guy loses his following, loses his church, loses his ministry, all that stuff. What's to happen to that guy that Lester Young falsely accused? Y'all need to start getting sued. You need to start. I don't care, if you don't want to play by the rules of the Bible, then you don't have to win by the Bible. You know what I mean Because you're like oh, you can't bring me to court. Why? Why can't I bring you to court? Actually, technically, we can bring you to court, um, according to the word. So. But I'm saying is, like you, people think that you're untouched because you want to put out a bad tweet. I see a day where that's no longer going to stick, um, and people are going to stop doing it. And so with Mike Bickle? Am I saying that's what happened with Mike Bickle? No, what I'm saying is, if we don't know the whole truth, it is not worth spreading half the truth.
Speaker 1:That Roy's report, julie Roy's, whatever. I'm telling you, if I had half the time that she had to spread the smut that she does, god, to spread the smut that she does, I would have a Pulitzer. I would have a Pulitzer Because this woman is, she is quite a piece of work and she is at the root of every Christian tabloid. Like she, you know, she even prides herself in being the first one who reported on the Mark Driscoll thing. She was like I broke that story first. Of course you did. That's why the truth wasn't true. You know what I mean. That's why it was bad news because you reported it first.
Speaker 1:But anyway, all I have to say is that I'm seeing it from the outside looking in, that, um, it's like I'm seeing it from the outside looking in and y'all have people who just run their mouths and who just want to be heard and people are starting to pay for it. Ie, somebody like jeremy riddle to where, like the these people like jeremy riddle's not gonna like turn on his camera maybe, I mean, he could shock me, but like he's not ever, ever gonna just turn on his camera, like noah did, and just record and be like hello, I'm Jeremy Riddle and I'm going to tell you what really happened. You know, like Mike Bickle's not going to do that. Like these people, you are lucky, you're playing with demons and you're getting burned because it's costing you your soul. It is costing you your soul. You may think that you're getting retribution because you're on the face of people like YouTube's, like one of the girls who was like an alleged victim, like her video blew up on YouTube because she'd been interviewed by some couple who hates Kansas City, and we see it. All that stuff's out there and it's crazy because the Internet is forever. The internet is forever, so just remember that, because that's also a lesson that Amber heard learned during her lawsuit.
Speaker 1:And my last point, which is a really quick point you mentioned, like the houses of prayer and what happened with Kansas City and then, like, after Kansas City happened, like Upper Room's, like put me in, coach, this is like a opportunity for houses of prayer, like upper room not limited to, but like upper room to start taking, doing a survey of their people and being like, hey, are we okay? Like, are we good? Do you need a break? Do you have anything to confess? Like, tell us now, because we don't need this mess, because the ultimate goal is to dismantle the body of Christ. It's a demand dismantle the house of prayer. What are we if we don't have a house of prayer? What are we if we're not praying people right? So you guys want to like, tell us, like, oh, the solution to this election is like, you know, don't focus on who's in the white house, but who's on the throne. Y'all did that. It didn't work for you.
Speaker 2:It really did not. It's not working for the world either. There are people who are suffering because of our administration. They cannot afford things. They are losing their jobs. Do you not care about them?
Speaker 1:You would have to, and I think it's also you know it's. It's theologically manipulative to be like, oh, you guys care more about what's in the who's in the White House than who's on the throne. That's not true, but we do know that we have a God given responsibility to not only vote Voting is limited to, but the awareness to be aware to, to disciple our kids, to raise them, raise them up in a way that they should go to have conversations, to shepherd the amount of people who did not shepherd in 2020. You know how you shepherded? By succumbing to the worst virus that was ever known to man, that was here long before 2020, but it was the man-pleasing spirit that told you that putting up a black screen on your social media would pacify a community. It would pacify a community. That's how you shepherded, right? That's how you cared more about who was on the throne than who was in the White House by putting up a black square. And so it has not worked for you and it's manipulative for you, for us to, for us to, to, to disciple a generation by telling them um, our God given responsibility is, is, is not to know who's in the white house. We should know who's in the white house. We should know their policies, we should know the party, we should know the person.
Speaker 1:Okay, all of that matters. God is on the throne. He's always going to be on the throne. He cannot be dethroned. Okay, it's two plus two is always going to equal four. No matter what they teach you at college, it's like it's always going to equal four. God is on the throne and we get to co-labor as co-heirs with Christ seated in heavenly places. And it's for something, it's unto something. And so have the conversations, shepherd your people, lead, disciple, encourage, exhort all the things, but don't be ignorant. Ignorance has not served you well. Anyway, yeah, I don't know if I finished my thought about upper room, but a lot of the houses of prayer. You just you need to survey your people. Houses of prayer, not limited to houses of prayer, but other churches, like I know, jesus Image has that beautiful. Was it Bethany? House of Bethany?
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, yeah, they have their, have their beautiful community and, like you, don't want what's happening in Kansas City to take you by surprise like, oh crap. Like you know, even if it's people who have had something like, confess, confess in your community, where it's safe, within your own people, where it's safe and it's possible, it it is possible, and the beautiful thing about grace is that we have the ability to use it and that it's available to us. He's rich in mercy, it says in Ephesians 2. God, who loves us so lavishly that he's rich in mercy. Right, but don't allow another house to judge yours. And that's where we've been running into this mistake and that's why this has been so messy. We've been allowing other houses to judge ours. Who has the right to judge the people of God, these uncircumcised Philistines? Who? Who has the right to judge the house of God? We are his body, he's the head of us. We don't belong, we're not connected to anyone else, and so y'all need to figure it out, you messy, messy. Y'all need to figure it out.
Speaker 1:But, these churches. Get ahead of it. Get ahead of it. Apply that John 21 to people who like, let them make their mistake, but restore them back into their dignity, into their role. If Jesus himself can go to Peter, jesus himself, who was denied by one of his like you even say like best friends, one of his good friends, someone he was under, one of his people denied, denied, knowing he would deny him, knowing that even Peter even gave up, gave up what he was doing. He told Peter I'm going to build my church upon this rock being Peter. And Peter knows he had the charge. And he still went back to fishing and Jesus met him where he was and restored him back into ministry. Where would Peter be if he never had that conversation with Jesus? Where would he be, you guys?
Speaker 2:called him the unlikely disciple. We didn't. That's not in the bible, and I think as well. People give peter a lot of crap for this, but they will give him so much crap for drowning in the in the sea, when he walked on water, and a lot of pastors like to. They'll bring this up and they'll be like, well, peter was the only one who walked on water. The other thing I want to say is we actually don't know how long he walked until he started to drown, because, keep in mind, jesus was far away enough from the boat that they did not recognize him. They were like that's a ghost, and so there's some distance.
Speaker 2:Okay, this may not have been a couple of steps. The other thing is that, because the sea of galilee is in a valley, the way the wind whips with all the mountains around, those waves can get as like really high, like they can be taller than you, okay, so let's just have some perspective. This is not like your ocean storms that you've seen. This is human height and higher waves, and he's walking and he's walking through them. And again, we don't know how many steps he took. I think he took more steps than we think he did.
Speaker 2:Did he get halfway there, did he get three quarters of the way to Jesus? He may have gotten three quarters of the way, maybe even, maybe more, but he had enough faith to start the journey and to maintain it for a little bit. And so he is. He's got a lot of boldness that a lot of the other disciples they either didn't have or didn't display, and like boldness will, like when you put yourself out there, your mistakes will be seen. Like when you put yourself out there, your mistakes will be seen when you are. When there are people that, like they, seemingly don't make mistakes, usually it's because they're not taking the risks.
Speaker 2:So people people who, who just kind of chill in the backseat like nobody's going to be, like oh, did you see that mistake? Of course you didn't see that mistake. Either they didn't take the risk or they made a mistake. But nobody saw it.
Speaker 1:Right Ooh.
Speaker 2:There are a lot of shy people out there making a lot of mistakes, and they're doing it behind the scenes, in secret, courageous, and he puts himself out there in a really risky way, and so he also puts himself in a place where his mistakes can be viewed. I bet that there are just as many mistakes that John made, that James made, that Bartholomew made, that Thaddeus made, that Philip made, but they didn't get the screen time because they didn't make the boldest moves. And you know what y'all?
Speaker 2:y'all will give peter bs over a lot of things, but keep in mind, we know next to nothing about a lot of these disciples bartholomew, philip play the same like I don't know a thing about them because they and again, they might have had just as many mistakes, if not more, than peter, but they also didn't have as many cool stories that were worth writing down. Putting the bible in the first place, right, peter got screen time they only had so much room, right, that's what john said.
Speaker 2:John was like kenny there's not enough books in the world to contain all the things that happened, like miracles upon miracles exactly and, and I think too like, as far as stories involving John, I actually feel like I can't think of many stories involving John unless he wrote them himself. He's like. Fyi, I was faster when we, when we got to the grave, it was me who got there first. Um, just so you know jesus loved me.
Speaker 2:I was the one he loved and we know that because john wrote it but, like other people wrote about peter, peter, peter. Obviously his secretary mark was writing down. So yeah, you know he had a book, that but but he was kind of low-key embarrassed about some of his stuff. He's like one of the disciples did this and the others were and John was like it was Peter.
Speaker 1:It was Peter.
Speaker 2:Peter did it. But let me tell you, you didn't have a story to write unless Peter did some stuff. And all of the disciples, they wrote about what Peter did because he did some stuff.
Speaker 1:Because they were like he gonna be messy. But he did some stuff. Because they were like he gonna be messy, but he was messy for the lord and ironically enough I mean this is a crazy sentence to put together, but ironically enough he was messy for his glory yes he was messy for the lord's glory.
Speaker 1:And so, um, peter got re, you know, reinitiated into ministry, re-initiated to be a minister of the gospel, to be a servant of the gospel. Jesus was like, hey, get back up again. But I will say that that's what Jesus did as the good shepherd. The good shepherd everybody's like. Well, he'll leave the one for the 99. Not only that, but he'll nurse the one until it's able. Well, he'll leave the one for the 99. Not only that, but he'll nurse the one until it's able to enter back into the flock. It's not about like, just, I'm gonna leave the one for the 99. There's a purpose, but also the health of that one mattered. And so, to jesus, it was about, like, pursuing peter so that he knew that's what shepherds do. And that's why I'm like, in a time I understand, I'm not even saying shepherds need to have all the answer, but you have to gather your flock, your flock needs to be protected, your flock needs to be fed, fed, you need to feed your flock. Jesus said to Petereter feed my sheep, feed them and feed them, not beat them. A lot of people are beating sheep. That's why they're making crazy noises yapping, yapping upon yapping, because some of y'all beat your sheep too much and so, like you need to protect, you need to serve, you need to love, you need to cultivate, you need to direct shepherds, direct the rod and the staff. They comfort me, right, and these shepherds, like you're just, you're leaving, like um, when did jesus said that you, y'all, were acting like a, a flock with no shepherd? I'd have to look for that verse, but he was was like you guys are crazy, You're acting like a flock with no shepherd. And that's where we were, we were, we were well, some of us, not all of us, but that's where the church was. Like people were acting like you had no shepherd and some of you didn't. In terms of a pastor who was supposed to speak up, it was like the avatar. When the world needed him most, he just disappeared. And so, like, I understand the complication, but this is your chance to have at it again. Go and get yourself into a community where you can be shepherded, shepherded and loved and fed, nourished Maybe somebody who even does your hair and fed, nourished Maybe somebody who even does your hair, you know, like a good shepherd to give you a good haircut, but all that to say is that you know there's actually, there's supposed to be joy in the house of prayer. Also, by the way, that's in Isaiah.
Speaker 1:When I pray for houses of prayer, I usually pray that they receive joy. I'll bring that verse up later, like I'll bring it up at another time, the reference, because I know some of y'all fact check me. It's okay, I love it, bring the heat. But sometimes, when I sometimes I'll go. I don't want to say that because then people will be looking for me, but I'm just saying sometimes I'll be going to a certain meeting where they let people release certain words at a certain house of prayer and that what I would be. I always read it from the word. Sometimes I bring a different translation, but let's let joy be in the house of prayer.
Speaker 1:And maybe some of y'all weren't protected because you didn't have that oil. You needed the oil of joy, that oil of gladness. And then, like you started off the whole podcast. It is our strength, don't be caught slipping, don't be caught weak. It is your strength. And so some of you guys start, start doing a little, start taking a little inventory, take an inventory of your people. Hey, are we okay? Anybody need to talk about it.
Speaker 1:It, danny Silk was the best at talking about reestablishing leaders back into ministry. It's like when a leader falls, you don't take them out back and put them out of their misery like a wounded sheep. I believe that's in a culture of love. He talks about this story about two leaders who made a mistake and he was like what are we going to do? But their goal was always to nurse the sheep back into the sheepfold and a lot of you guys just want to put the sheeps out of their misery. I mean, we need to talk a little bit quickly, quickly, maybe we'll do quickly the next segment about witches. That's amazing. Um, oh, we're gonna talk about which is jamie Amazing Ooh we're going to talk about witches, jamie.
Speaker 2:Enlighten us Well, since they are so insecure that they need constant attention and validation. Yes, ah, of our listeners are aware that she, who shall not be named, has recently come out with an album and the lyrics are pretty explicit that she is actually practicing witchcraft. Some people who are delulu are going to make this out to be art, but I'm telling you right now that girl is not creative enough to make something out of nothing art. But I'm telling you right now that girl is not creative enough to make something out of nothing, because if that were the case, she would not have been writing about her exes all this time and we would not have been able to track all of those to each ex. So obviously she's not that she's not making stuff up when she writes. She's not one of those writers that's really poetic and makes up a wild story.
Speaker 2:Maybe the best example I can think of right now is Sunny Came Home, which is a song based on a painting of a woman with a burning house behind her, and it's literally the story that the artist made based on uh, her inferring what happened with this woman and the burning house behind her. Taylor is not this artist. Taylor is not tracy chapman riding fast car. Okay, she is writing directly about her experiences. From the day she started, she was like drew, you're the reason for the teardrops on my guitar. Okay, she told us his name. It wasn't very creative. We found out who Drew was. I think it was even literally his name. Every single song to a T has been.
Speaker 1:That's wild.
Speaker 2:This is about this X. This is exactly what happened. We can tell, we know who King of my heart is about. We know whose style is about. We know who all these songs is about you you don't even have to know. You can literally just read the headlines from us weekly, not even read the articles and hear a taylor swift song once and know which x it's about so who is uh, dear john, about?
Speaker 2:oh, let me tell you, it is the delulu idea that taylor swift had that her and john were ever a thing. Her and john, they were never a thing.
Speaker 1:I've had fights about this more than I care to mention, but, um, I will say that there was actually one time I was playing a game with friends and it was teams against each other and one of the categories was list uh, taylor's exes and we, like this team versus this team, and I was on the other team and we lost by one point. And you want to know what the one x they mentioned that the team won by it was john mayer. And I was like, wait a minute, that he, he wasn't an x. And they're like, yeah, he was an x, like that at all. Like, oh, we won, we won. And I was like, but he, he, he wasn't an x. Like, actually was like that's not factual, so anyway, it's. It was kind of crazy, like, and then, like you know, the team drowned me up because they're just like well, we won anyway. And I'm like well, we lost by one game, which we lost by one point, by a lie, but anyway, wow, I'm so sorry that you didn't get your justice there.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna call those people to repentance right now because john and taylor never were a thing, never dated. Uh, they wrote together and that's really hard and he never did as far as it went, so um.
Speaker 2:But of course, taylor has to make a mountain out of a molehill in every situation, because she is an endless victim, and if there's an opportunity for her to be a victim, she is going to paint that story screaming. So, that being said, like I said, her lyrics are not, they're not metaphorical. They're not, they're not poetry and art. They are just simply what her life is, um. So when it comes to taylor talking about, um, any kind of witchcraft that she is practicing or has been done to her via her lyrics, I am of the inclination to believe that it is 100 true, right, um? But that's because that's her track record, correct. That's just based on, that's just based on you boo, so um. And of course, we also have this week the pop pop star, ariana grande, uh, who does have a very beautiful voice, and that's kind of as far as a compliment I'm going to give her.
Speaker 1:But she is a couple of frequencies away from me, not being able to tolerate her voice though.
Speaker 2:I will say that that's fair. That's fair. She's very talented. She's to me, she's almost like Christina Aguilera, where it's like Christina Aguilera is a very talented vocalist who has great control of her voice. That being said, I don't enjoy listening to her, but I will give her props because she's technically very proficient. But what's in his technical proficiency.
Speaker 2:If you don't want to listen to the person, agreed so that's kind of the the realm that Ariana falls in for me, although I will say I I actually do prefer her voice to Christina's but I will say technically proficient. And you're going to get a lot of accolades from singers and people who know how difficult it is to control a voice. But at the end of the day, I'm going to be listening to people that maybe aren't considered to have great voices or great control of their voices, simply because I enjoy the tone of their voice, um, and maybe they also don't release darkness when they sing. Maybe that's that's part of it as well. So ariana uh, publicly stated that she is a witch, that she does tarot readings for people. She does all sorts. I think it wasn't just tarot readings that she does for people. They come to her on set, allegedly. So, I think, more so than all these people fessing up to being witches, which those of us in this world I feel like our listeners are the type who already knew. We knew We'd done been knowing.
Speaker 2:But what I think is interesting is that for the past 10 years, we've really seen a shift in who the good guy and the bad guy is in the story. First of all, there has been painted a good guy bad guy in the first place. And the good guy went from being Christian because Taylor Swift claimed to be a Christian up until, I would say, at least her 1989 album, her documentary, where she was like I'm a Christian, we don't stand for this Um talking about I think it was some Trump stuff, but she, yes, she said that during her documentary and that was released after 1989. And I think was filmed during 89. Tour, if I remember correctly, I only saw clips of it. As my roommate who was obsessed with her was watching it, I walked into the room and I saw the clip and I walked back into my room and heard it through the door, because the walls of New York city apartments are made out of crackers. Yes, but that is um, so that's pretty recent Um in my opinion, the 2010s weren't that long ago.
Speaker 2:Please don't make me feel old in the comments. Okay, I was cool in New York in the 2010s and we're just going to hold on to that no. But yeah, up until recent years, that's something that Taylor claimed to be, it's something that a lot of celebrities claim to be, and it made their lives easier to act one way and then say another and and be like yeah, I act like this and maybe you misinterpreted me, but I'm a christian. I'm a christian like I'm innocent.
Speaker 1:I'm a christian saying that she was a christian honestly was just a sedative for the christian community. It was enough to say. It was enough for Christian girlies to be like, oh she's safe. And then some Christian mommies were like, oh she's safe.
Speaker 2:Exactly, it was really just to get her fans, who were mostly young girls, to get their parents to allow them to listen to her, because really, when you look at her demographic, it's a lot of girls who were raised in Christian homes, youth group girlies, and she really got a hold of a generation and made them really bitter witchy women, bitter and juvenile, absolutely Not allowing anybody to grow up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or let anyone actually get over anything in their lives, or forgive or move on. Just hold on to it. Oh, it's like that tweet. Taylor swift's music is for people who have never gotten over anything in their life ever. I.
Speaker 1:I mean, where's the lie? And I understand. So people are like, oh my gosh, please understand that if you like this artist, then like him. You could pack it up. You don't have to be here. Thanks for playing. But like, just know, this is our opinion and when we share our opinion it does not have to equate us damning anybody to hell. You can be just an artist who has bad theology or an artist who makes poor life decisions, but sure, if you like their music, you like their music. That's your prerogative. If you like their music, you like their music.
Speaker 2:That's your prerogative, so we are privy to believe this way. However, there is a majority and there is a minority. You might want to check with who you're with. Yeah, yeah, um, so now that, uh, now the taylors fans have aged to the point where they are old enough that their parents are not regulating the music they listen to, um, they are in control of their own phones and iPods and et cetera. Nobody has an iPod anymore. Oh my God, that's crazy. I'm a young person. Ipods were just really iconic, okay, but now that her fans are old enough to control their music listening and what they intake, now she's totally okay, because in the past 10 years or so, media, musicians, television films have all shifted the cultural opinion of witchcraft and of christianity to the point where people like taylor and ariana can comfortably come out and say I'm a witch and people won't think they're evil. Yes, and they did that.
Speaker 2:Firstly, they started this back when they started to really hammer in gay rights and they were like hey, saying gay is not okay is an insult. That's where it started, correct, don't kid yourselves. That's where it started. Correct, don't kid yourselves. That's where it started. And so it went from the point of oh, like, let's accept gay people to then, if you don't accept gay people, that you're evil and that you're um, you're wrong and that you are a horrible person.
Speaker 2:And of course, the people that stuck to their guns were people who had scripture and God and actual values that had an anchor, versus people who have morals and values that are anchored to nothing. So the people that stuck to their guns were actual Christians who really believe the Bible, and so they made a villain out of Christians. So now people are of the mindset of the bad guy is the Christian and the good guy is the witch, and the culture got duped. And now they're looking at Glinda the good witch like she's the hero of the movie, when you know, at the end of the day, you killed someone. Right, you killed the Wicked Witch of the East. At least the Wicked Witch of the East was like hey, I'm wicked, don't come down here, glenda. And being like in a bubble, like oh, yay, you killed her. Where were you when the munchkins were scared?
Speaker 1:Where were you when they?
Speaker 2:were being bullied. You were in your little bubble in the kingdom of the north or the south I forget which one, because it was the east and the west that were wicked and the north and the south that were good, allegedly. Where were you in your bubble when the munchkins were abused? When the monkeys had to do labor for the Wicked Witch of the West. Where were you, Glenda? You know why you weren't there? Because you're a mean girl, Glenda. You're a f***.
Speaker 1:Now, did you know Ariana is playing a witch? You know she's in wicked which, which?
Speaker 2:which is she playing? I actually don't know she's probably playing edina menzel's role, the green witch right I don't know.
Speaker 1:No, she's playing galinda, I think, because the actual the green witch is black she's playing galinda?
Speaker 2:I think so, and I made this reference that's what I was saying.
Speaker 1:I was like did you know that? Did you know this was a thing?
Speaker 2:that was god, that was the lord, because I forgot I didn't. I think I vaguely knew that she was in the film, but I didn't know who she was playing, as you can see, because I was like, oh, she'd probably want to be a dina menzel's character, because then she could do defying gravity of course, yeah, nope, arianda's literally going to be Glinda. That makes sense, actually, because she did do a version of Popular with Mika or Micah. It's Mika, Mika he's actually. I miss Mika.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:He was great back in the late 2000s. I'm young.
Speaker 1:There was a trailer in February. I didn't realize it was. I knew it was a thing, but I didn't know. I was like, oh, this is really a thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wow, okay, yeah, okay. I stand by what I said. That was the Lord.
Speaker 1:You see, you didn't even know Because I was like I don't think she knows. But now I'm actually realizing that the interview in which she said that interview in which she said that, did she say that, was that an interview for wicked? And I'm like, are you just dumb and trolling and think that you're like?
Speaker 2:oh yeah, I'm a witch, ha ha ha. Um, I personally would would think like and I worked in the entertainment industry so I can judge everybody. Yeah, but most people in the entertainment industry are very spiritual. People like artists are very spiritual. You won't really find any artists that don't have some kind of spirituality yes even when they're like confused and general about it.
Speaker 2:They're at least like they're kind of like aware of a little bit of what they believe and what they're doing, but none of them are, are like, not like. There's nobody who just like looks at the world like duh, the physical world is all there is within that industry, which is, I think, the a big mistake the church makes. I think the church makes this mistake like oh, they're just caught up in the world, in like, the like parties and the like, the sex and the drugs and all that Like it's just all there's in the world Like. No, these people are not in the world in the physical sense that you guys think that they are.
Speaker 2:No they're certainly not in the world the way that the Southeastern church believes, because they go to church on Sunday, but then they do sleep with their boyfriend and girlfriends and they do go out to parties every once in a while and they feel super guilty for it. That's your sin, vice, your physical world's advice, that's yours. Don't paint that on artists, musicians, people in the entertainment industry, because they are not like you For real.
Speaker 2:They are artistic. They're the people that did not fit in in school or in anything. They are not the normies that you guys are, where you were trying to fit in in school and trying to fit in with your friends, trying to be popular. These people did not fit in. They were either bullied or they thought they were better than everyone else because they were different.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes One or the other and either way, they come into this industry and they have something to prove. These people are not sidetracked by relationships in the way that you are. They're not sidetracked by parties. They're not sidetracked by shopping. These people, while they do enjoy all of those superficial things, for the most part they are all extremely spiritual and they seek spiritual things and they seek God and they seek spiritual things and they seek God. And usually their experience with Christianity has been this is a three-dimensional, four-dimensional religion where, outside of what you are physically seeing an emotional response to something, there is no response from the church about what do you do with that? They're just like get back in the box right, that's been there so they're done with the box.
Speaker 2:They perceive that as the box, so they've left the box and they're fully diving into any other spirituality that they can find, and usually that's eastern it's. It's either buddhism um or witchcraft, it's usually those are the top two. I would say I hardly ever be like someone's. Like I'm exploring spirituality so I'm become, I've become hindu or I've become um muslim. Like I don't see that. No, these are like artsy-fartsies.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, so if, anything they're going to do. Maybe they'll like worship some African gods, maybe even like dabble in some other, like mythological gods, but for the most part they're going to go Buddhist or witchcraft. And so when it comes to Ariana being like I'm a witch, I don't think she's being like ha ha, ha, no. And so when it comes to Ariana being like I'm a witch, I don't think she's being like ha ha, ha, no, I think she's serious. I think she's been diving into this for a while and I think she got deeper and deeper and deeper, to the point where she was testing out her spiritual abilities. And, of course, humans have spiritual abilities, because humans are not just a physical being. Right, everybody knows that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and.
Speaker 2:Christians know that your spirit, soul and body, so you actually do innately have spirit, spiritual skills that God gave you because he actually intended you to use them and, of course, if you use them apart from Christ, he says that anyone who enters through any other way other than me, through the door they are. They're a thief and a robber. So, you're entering the spirit realm illegally when you do it without Christ.
Speaker 1:Which is dangerous.
Speaker 2:You absolutely do have spiritual abilities that were prepared for you to use as a member of the body of Christ, because every person was predestined to be adopted into the body of Christ and to use those giftings for the kingdom. So, even though I obviously despise Taylor Swift and that's my own issue like God doesn't despise you, taylor If Taylor ever listens to this like my beef with you is not God's beef with you, the church's beef with you is not God's beef with you he has a lot of patience. I hate you, but that's just me and you. We're not going to be friends, okay, we're never going to be friends, don't even try. But Jesus loves you and has redemption for you.
Speaker 2:Ariana, I don't have the patience to be friends with you. You sound really dumb, but that's just me, because I'm a sometimes Okay. But Jesus loves you and Jesus has redemption for you and he wants you to use your spiritual gifts fully and not half blinded mostly more than halfway blinded through the realm of the dark spiritual forces that you are working with that you're not aware that you're working with. I'm sorry about that, but I'm just saying she's, she's. That's the progression. You, you start to dive into it and then you notice, you have abilities, you begin to use them. That's what happened.
Speaker 1:That's straight up what happened. Yeah, that dissertation was that was, that was good.
Speaker 2:I got heated.
Speaker 1:I'm so sorry sorry, because, as they say, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes, right? And people who want illegal access to the spiritual realm, like you're kind of asking for it.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about some Christians.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, you forgot to talk about Gaga.
Speaker 2:Oh, I always forget about Gaga. I forget about her all the time. Gaga, Lady Gaga for those of you who didn't pick that up from just the Gaga has a longstanding relationship with a very evil witch, Marina Abramovic, and this is well known. Just go on, TikTok Lord, please protect our TikTok.
Speaker 2:Gosh please talk. And um, and she is, uh, definitely, um, she's been upfront about being trained by her and, of course, her music um very evident of her opinion of christianity, particularly within the song judas, where she basically claims to be in love with judas. And anybody who's seen that music video? Oh my god, that music video is crazy. I can't believe we allowed that to happen the like. How so wicked it the like, actual, like like anabolic sexual movements weird, it's just nasty.
Speaker 2:It's like yeah, but I did see a video on our blessed TikTok. Lord, Protect Our TikTok from all evil, hurt, harm and danger, including Joe Biden, as puppeteered by Obama, and she was performing Judas, and was it what felt? Was it a plank, like some kind of beam?
Speaker 1:it was like. It was like a beam, it was it was wood it was.
Speaker 2:A hearty piece of wood fell on her head mid-performance and she had to cancel the show she had. She got a concussion. Look you, you left yourself open to that. You, I'm just. I laughed. I'm sorry, that was funny. Um, I just want you to know that god could have done far worse. So obviously he still has mercy for you. So I don't want you to get, I don't want you to get twisted. Let me talk to god. I like she would talk, listen to me. But I'm just saying he obviously has a lot of mercy. It was just a concussion.
Speaker 1:It was just remember he, he is rich in mercy um definition, the definition of you play stupid games and you win stupid prizes absolutely, and it's like how many times has she performed this song?
Speaker 2:She put out this music video, the whole music video shot. He allowed that to happen. He allowed all this stuff to happen and then you know, I think there must have been something about the, the ignorance that she started with when she wrote the song, when she filmed the video, when she performed it. In the past there was, I think, a lot of ignorance, but I think that now obviously she knows and understands a lot more of what she's doing and knows that it's bad, opens you up to get a little smack on the head, and I love to see it.
Speaker 1:She went too long with being unscathed.
Speaker 2:And I also just want to say to all you Christians who like to vote with your dollars we're not buying If you watch the Happy and Holy podcast we're not buying House Labs, lady Gaga's makeup line we're just not doing it. We're also not buying Ariana Grande's REM Beauty or her fragrances. We're just not doing it beauty or her fragrances.
Speaker 2:We're just not doing that. So then, if you feel like taking up a personal beef with someone um, I was personally victimized by pat mcgrath's team, so if you want to also stop buying her makeup, I'd appreciate that if you're looking for a cause, that would be, you know, help her boycott Pat McGrath.
Speaker 1:So we're, we're. We're not trying to be like, oh, gasp, sorry, I didn't want to trigger my dog, I didn't. We're not looking to be all like, flabbergasted by the world, acting like the world. Okay, I know you guys are like, oh, my God, the lady guy goes. Lady guy, we're not surprised by that.
Speaker 1:However, however, some of you may be easily duped in the name of um emotional manipulation per se. Sometimes people are like, oh, but you like she's a soul, yes, she's a soul, she's a soul, she has a body and she needs the spirit of good and um, but when you're openly mocking, right, openly mocking, you guys are always like oh, but Paul, you know, he turned around overnight. Paul was persecuting Christians right, christians never persecuted God, because he thought he was doing this in the name of God. So a big difference be. You know, fighting battles you can't win. Um, when she got clunked in the head. First of all, I need to find that video and redo that video and add like looney toons, sounds to it. Um, maybe I'll do that for happy and Holy's Instagram. I couldn't help but think about Dagon the false god and how he was humiliated.
Speaker 1:Well, he couldn't be humiliated because he's not real, but how the deity and the Philistines got humiliated in 1 Samuel Because they were just like, oh, this is our statue. And then God's like really Beheaded him, you know, cut off his hands he had no hands and he was like falling over butt in the air and then anybody who messed with him got hemorrhoids. So like I kind of see the correlation there with Lady Gaga. It's just silly. It's a battle you're not going to win. The enemy stands defeated. We know how the story ends. Over and over I will say this.
Speaker 1:And then the whole thing about the spirituality that I quickly will touch on is that the world will give an answer for spirituality where the church doesn't. And so what happens is these celebrities who go like, oh, I'm having experiences, I'm having dreams, I'm having visions, I'm hearing an audible voice, I'm getting impressions, I have intuition, like all of these things, and they don't have words for it. And if they go to the church, especially a cessationist, if they go to the church and the church is like what did Eli tell Samuel? Oh, you're just hearing things. Go back to bed. How many times were they told to go back to bed, you know, until somebody who was spiritual came to them and was like, oh, let me show you the ways of spirituality. So it's the shortcoming of the church. I know you guys may think that I'm just like a church bully. I love the church, I serve the church, I work in the church. But some of y'all are crazy, some of y'all are lazy and some of y'all need help, and so I'm only saying this for the good of your people, so that we can like buck up. We need to buck up, and so if you're wondering like well, how do these people fall off and how this happened? And like you know, oh, like you know, how can they be saved? We need to take ownership in the church.
Speaker 1:And I will never forget I have this opinion because I will never forget one of my good friends from Philly told me he was having like these crazy dreams, crazy prophetic dreams and these visions. He was like a heavy seer, and this was even before I had a grid for it. But I remember he said he went to his pastor and his pastor kind of shooed him away in a sense of like yeah, you know, oh, what'd you eat last night? You know pizza and pepperoni, like you know, all of a sudden started like oh, what's the word that the young kids say, gaslighting him, and was like oh, yeah, yeah, no, that was nothing and he was just like I was just looking for answers, and so he gravitated towards our community and so he gravitated towards our community.
Speaker 1:I went to ministry school when I was younger and he gravitated towards our community because we were giving him answers in areas where he had questions that no one wanted to touch. And so, like we're grateful now that he like understands his God-given dreams and not the dreams have a purpose. But he tried to go to his church and instead of his pastor just being like you know, I don't think I really know a lot in this area, so let me point you in this direction. Or like, I might be ill-informed or may have been ignorant, which is a thing in this area, but let me point you in a direction that would have been a lot better than hey, you're just must've been the you know the cheesesteak you ate last night.
Speaker 2:You know, like.
Speaker 1:That's not fair. So we, we have to do better as a church. So, as we like, talk about Ariana and, of course, we talk about the Gaga and she, who will not be named, who we have named Taylor Swift. We have named Taylor Swift. We thought that we would celebrate the celebrities who have been professing Jesus and not witchcraft, because it would be very much playing into their hands if all we did was freak out about the amount of celebrities who are openly practicing witchcraft, and to that I say we just we need to bring shame. We need to bring shame back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you need to be ashamed that you're practicing witchcraft, but like we're all like it's their truth and let them be them and like anyway. Um, that's why people are like, oh, but like we're all like it's their truth and let them be them and like anyway. Um, that's why people are like, oh, but like they feel comfortable. You need to know that people feel comfortable and that's why they're like, really like they're laughing at being witches, whether they are they aren't, whether they just think they're taking, whether they think they're taking, like, ownership. What was the girl who got like, who got rebuked by paul for the divination?
Speaker 2:oh, um yeah, the girl who was like these are the like men, who men are serving the most high god or whatever, and he rebuked her and the spirit came out yeah, it was like act 16, and it says that paul got annoyed, which praise god.
Speaker 1:Um, so he got annoyed, and so these people feel like comfortable. They feel comfortable around the people that they are. I can't imagine that they're not encountering any Christians, but these people are feeling comfortable and people are being duped, especially younger people Not that I'm old, not that we're old but especially younger people who are like oh so you can kind of get the same thing that Christians get, but we're practicing witchcraft. Oh, okay, it's like the same thing, it's all under one umbrella and it's like no, no, it's not. So we're not here to be like panic mode. Everybody's professing to be a witch. We're just kind of like, hmm, how's it feel like to be on the losing team, but? But instead we want to celebrate the Christians who are professing Jesus, and so I would love to bring in some clips at some point, some point I don't know when, but at some point I'd love to bring you, or maybe we'll post it on Instagram. Check in on our Instagram and I'll post like some cool clips of people who have been professing Jesus.
Speaker 1:I heard a really cool clip from Ryan Garcia earlier, who just won an amazing fight. He was on Patrick David, patrick Bet David's podcast and Patrick Bet David was like yo, so tell me about your like routine and tell me about your strategy. And he was like oh, yeah, I just asked the Holy Spirit and this guy, this guy's like off the walls. You need to listen to his like his interviews. He's like, he's wild. He's very abstract. I love the way he talks. You can't, you don't see where he's. He's kind of like he talks like how he boxes, you don't know, like if he's pulling the left or right, like he keeps you on your toes. Wow, he was like yeah, I asked the holy spirit for a strategy and part of his strategy was he pulled the king david and he pretended to be crazy and he let he let a lot of people be like um, like oh, this guy's gonna lose this fight. He bet, like I think, 12 million dollars on himself, even like, and he won because he let everybody think he was crazy.
Speaker 1:So, ryan garcia that's so epic my dude, but you gotta hear the clip, like y'all, I don't want y'all thinking I'm making it up. He like, literally, was like holy spirit gave me a strategy. So, ryan garcia, another peep, another peepity peep that we want to shout outs to black china. Black china had professed jesus like two years ago. She's still going strong. We love her, adore that. Um shia labeouf, like hey, he's somebody that like he's. Every so often I'm hearing a clip of his and I'm like this guy still got it. He's got it, he's got the juice. I think he's kind of leaning a little bit more towards eastern orthodox, which is do it, we're all listen, same spirit. So, um shia, we want to applaud you. Um mark walberg right, mark walberg, I think, is on hollow. Is he doing hollow or is he on the other one?
Speaker 2:okay, he's. He's on Halo. I'm pretty sure he's so consistent.
Speaker 1:So consistent, like he's doing the Catholic jazz. We love it.
Speaker 2:Boston Catholics I will say they are loyal people. I love me some Boston Catholics.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they may be tied to the mafia, but they, you know Boston Catholics, don't be supposed to be my family.
Speaker 1:right now they you know boston catholics don't be my family right now. Um, candace owens had recently got baptized in london in the catholic church. So she went from being, I think, protestant to just to catholic. So some people are just like, how could you do it? It's the lesser gospel, listen, who cares? Um, I'm not surprised because her husband is catholic, so she's just doing. This is what the family's gonna do and, yeah, we just pray that she um receives the gospel in its entirety. For all that, it is her and her entire family. Um, what's the point of being upset like? She loves jesus. That's one thing I do know, and so we applaud you. Who would I say? I said Chaya, I said Mark, I said Candice. Let's give it up for them. Earlier we talked about Daddy Yankee. Daddy Yankee and, uh, kat von d. So shout outs to kat von d, daddy yankee.
Speaker 1:And, of course, alan richardson, who is a um, who is the star, the forerunner of a show called reacher that is on amazon. He um recently was getting some flack because his, his show is gory. Okay, um, even there are episodes of like law and order, and I'm late in the game with law and order. I'm still very sensitive to some episodes, some things on on screen, like I have a weak stomach and I have a very imaginative mind, so there are some things I can't watch. And so reacher has a great storyline, but it's very gory, very gory and, um, I don't even want to say very vulgar, because it's more gory than it is vulgar, and so people are just like, dude, how could you take that role? It's just like not representative of you, jesus christ. So, um, he was given some pushback there and, um, I was giving advice not too long ago. No, it would have been a year ago.
Speaker 1:A year ago I was talking to an actor, um, she was getting into the game, she's been in some roles and stuff like that, and she said she was struggling with, um, this one role that she was supposed to play, like an addict, and she was like I just don't know, I don't want to corrupt my witness by playing this addict and I don't want to get too lost into it. And I was like, well, you kind of have to have to disassociate your spirit from your soul. You're playing this role and, um, your spirit covers you, right, and in your souls, what you're engaging with, even maybe your body, because you kind of have to do all these things and do the role and whatever. And I was just like you're covered by the blood and you have to let your spirit govern your soul, which protects your body. But sometimes we we try to like, um, yeah, compartmentalize everything as a christian, where it's just like one box, one box, one box. And then we think that we put them on different hats, like now it's time for my soul hat, now it's time for my spirit hat. And I was like so when you are in these roles, you have to let your spirit govern and that's how you don't get corrupted.
Speaker 1:Again, we talked about it being an incorruptible seed, but that's how you don't allow yourself to be corrupted in any industry that you're in. That's why there are some Christians who can be, can be, in the music industry. There are some Christians who can be in the music industry. There are some Christians who can be in the film industry, acting, playing some crazy roles, but not being succumbed to it, not being a slave of that role. Allow your spirit to govern your soul and it leads your body. And so, alan Richardson not sure if he has had that piece of advice, if you listen to this and this piece of advice, that's what I would say to you, as I said to my friend who's an actor. But till then, daddy Yankee, kat Von D and Alan Richardson, we applaud you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And, of course, last but certainly not least, the reason why he's not least is because our dear now brother in the lord russell brand who's just been baptized baptism thing congratulations, russell.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the fam I mean so cute russell, what a crazy redemptive story. Because he was like a sex addict, drug addict. I mean he was the lowest of the low he was in, he was acting, he was married to katie perry. I mean, look at him now. Does he not deliver?
Speaker 2:and it's so sincere. Like watching his videos, he just seems like a kid who's just like asking questions and full of wonders.
Speaker 1:And open, like so open. He's like how did it happen when you got baptized? What books are you reading? That's so good, it's so good, it's super good.
Speaker 1:I think what separates people from the Russells and the Connie's of the world is that, at some point, these celebrities, who are no different from us as people, right, except for now, they're in the limelight. That's what makes them quote, unquote a celebrity Doesn't make them greater of a Christian, doesn't make them lesser of a Christian. They'reian, um, but some, at some point, they get cut off from community and this is not a topic for tonight, um, as we don't want to hold you guys five hours but, um, these, these people who disconnect themselves from community, but they, they want to run like a rogue mission, solo, be a lone sheep instead of a lone wolf, but a lone sheep. You don't last long in that, and so that's why I talk about, like TikTok ministry, like a lot of people, if you follow the flow chart and you're like, oh, and are you connected to a church? And it stops there, like they got the following slash fans, they got the, the money coming in, they have the public praise, but then you're like, oh, and what house are you under?
Speaker 1:crickets these celebrities like maybe where some of them get it wrong, because I know that people are saying, like kanye's off the deep rails and it's like, well, where were all? Were all the people who were with him when he became Christian? Where were all those people? Did he kick them all out of his life? Did they leave after the paparazzi left? Same thing with Justin Bieber Not saying that there's anything wrong with Justin Bieber's walk, but all those people who wanted to publicly be there when Justin Bieber was professing Christ and then now it's like he's struggling and crickets.
Speaker 1:Publicly be there when Justin Bieber was professing Christ and then now it's like he's struggling and crickets. So Russell Brand's kind of going with a different approach. I'm sure behind the scenes he also has like some like real people connecting him, but I love that he's so engaged with the community where he's like, oh, what did it feel like for you and what books are you reading and what community and do you pray the rosary and all these things, and so it's really beautiful to see. But I would love to see, yeah, just the sustainability of people who are in the limelight, who already have the weight and the pressure and the anxiety of having to perform and be all the time, and them to just come into a community that just receives them for them. But till then, we just celebrate, we celebrate.
Speaker 2:Wait, what was it? That's a great word to celebrate celebrities. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate for celebrities only Only Tillate. Celebrate For celebrities only.
Speaker 1:Only so then we celebrate. We celebrate these people who profess Jesus, who proclaim Jesus. That's what we're going to celebrate. I think I have a sound for people who who profess witchcraft. I just I had it in the chamber. I just I might as well use it.
Speaker 2:I actually did want to point out, when it comes to celebrities, that that either practice witchcraft or in any kind of like new age, and that includes like Buddhist and like those meditative lifestyles versus Christians, kind of like new age, and that includes like buddhist and like those meditative lifestyles versus christians. What you will see is, when someone enters into witchcraft, buddhism, new agey types of religions is, you'll see a progression. It happens like bit by bit, like they kind of toe their way in. Um, maybe they start by allowing someone to do a tarot reading, maybe they start with horoscopes and then it goes into birth charts and then it just escalates. It just escalates more and more. It sneaks up on them until they're casting their first spell and then it's like now it's a lifestyle, now they do readings on set for people and they just kind of get, yeah, they just tow their way in until it's just quicksand, whereas when celebrities become Christians, it's a dramatic overnight shift to a lightness, a joy, a total change of their ways and of their heart and conviction of things. All of a sudden, they're getting rid of things in their life. It is suddenly, and so I just want to point that out.
Speaker 2:There's no other religion that does a suddenly shift. When it comes to convicting people of wrong behavior, even like, say, I feel to bring up Andrew Tate, where he, like he, went from being Christian to being Muslim. That didn't dramatically shift his behavior. He was already living this same lifestyle and then he just shifted the team he played for he didn't have a lightness or a joy, because I think maybe some people bring that up like, oh well, he suddenly switched to Islam.
Speaker 2:He did not suddenly change anything about himself, he just kind of switched the label. He's pretty much living the same, as far as I know. So when it comes to people switching to an Abrahamic religion, sometimes they suddenly change as far as suddenly I'm labeled this way, but there's not a sudden change of their lifestyle, of their mood, of their character. Christianity is the only one where people have a sudden shift and I think next time somebody brings this crap up you might want to bring up that point. So you're welcome, you can use it. You could credit me, that would be nice, but you don't have to, just as long as you win the argument.
Speaker 1:If you don't credit me, you better win the argument, okay, at least at least at least please, yeah, at least at least please, and yeah, yes and amen. I just got a recent, like a flashback to you. Were talking about the spirituality and also the progressive how it kind of the little bit of leaven that just comes in right, just leaven, leaven, leaven, boom, ruins the whole, the whole dough. And I'm a total. I'm a total housewife, except for the fact that I work. But so I watched the housewives of fill in the blank, some better than others, some of them I don't care for, but the Beverly Hills one it was that it was like the coffee readings and like this other thing you know. But I've always noticed in those scenes, when it's like that, that the christians that are involved in that have like a strong conviction like they don't go like well, I'm christian, but you can do mine. They're like no, and it's like a huge dramatic scene, like one will storm out and they'll be like what's wrong with you? It's just a coffee read, and they're like absolutely not.
Speaker 1:And um, they have a show like that for the wwe divas and there's this one diva, her name is trinity. She's like I grew up in a christian household, I am christian, and they went through like new orleans. And the girl was like, um, this girl who had an injury was like, oh, maybe a witch doctor can like heal me. I want to go to this witch doctor and voodoo shop. And, like trinity threw a tantrum. She's like I'm not going with you guys, come on, let's go as a group. And she was just like, no, because of her conviction. And it was really interesting to see.
Speaker 1:And you don't find out that they're a Christian until something like that happens. Well, they're not open about their Christianity. Not saying it like condemning them, but I'm saying it's just like when that line in the sand was drawn, they were like, oh no, because they're like you're not about to catch me slipping. So I do appreciate that in this realm of um celebrityism. So that's cool. Uh, well, guys, we're gonna shift over to our, our next segment. Guys, we have our Word of the Day segment coming fresh back into our show. Jamie's got a little hot biscuit for you guys. She's our resident theologian here and as we study the word, please take out your notebooks, your pens and especially your Bibles and enjoy Word of the Day with.
Speaker 2:Jay. Hi guys, I would love if you would turn with me to Matthew 5. You may recognize this very iconic scripture as the Sermon on the Mount. Let's start in verse 3. How blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. How blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. How blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. How blessed are those who show mercy, for they will be shown mercy. How blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. How blessed are those who make peace, for they will be called sons of God. How blessed are those who are persecuted because they pursue righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Speaker 2:The word that I would like to zero in on today is blessed. All right, so we're going to we're going to do the Greek and the Hebrew in this word, but the, the Greek and the Hebrew in this word, but the Greek is in my screenshots. The Greek of this word is markarios, and this is to mean blessed, as stated and happy. It is usually used to say blessed in the Bible, but it's used as happy and happier as well. So blessed is also to be happy. This was not enough investigation for me. I had to know what this word was in the Hebrew, and so the corresponding word is is Oshare, meaning happiness? It shows up once in the scripture and it is in Genesis 30. So I'm going to have you go to Genesis, I'm going to have you flip to Genesis, chapter 30, and in verse 13, you can see here this is the Leah is just outshining Rachel in her childbearing abilities, because God saw that she was not loved. So she had a lot of sons. So we just say thank you, lord, for seeing those who are unloved. So in the verse 13, it says Leah said I am happy that the woman call me happy, so she named him Asher. So there's a few kind of variations of Osher in this scripture, but this exact corresponding word and we know that corresponding word.
Speaker 2:For those of you who don't know, why is there a Hebrew corresponding word for the Greek New Testament? That is because of the Septuagint, which was written about approximately 300 years before Jesus's birth, and it is a Greek translation of the Old Testament which was used for the Jews who were living in Greek territories, the Hellenistic Jews as they were often called by historians, and this Septuagint was also the Bible of the early church. Because, well, the Bible was either being written or, and for parts of it, not written at all yet. So the reason why there is a corresponding word for the Greek is because in the Septuagint, the word osher in this verse was markarios Happy. Am I? Osher meaning happiness, osher meaning happiness.
Speaker 2:And you could also say that Leah is blessed because she has a child.
Speaker 2:That made her happy, asher Aw, and the blessing of her son brought her happiness. So there's a great correlation between blessing and happiness and an assurance that comes with blessing. Blessing comes from God and blessing that comes from God makes you feel the love of God in a tangible way which makes you happy. How many times do we get a new job and we're like, thank you, god, get a new car, we get a raise. We get all these things, these blessings. We recognize them as coming from God and they make us happy, and that is the way we experience the goodness of God in the land of the living.
Speaker 2:Can we experience the good of God through hard times and through suffering? Absolutely yes, but God shows his goodness often through blessing, shows his goodness often through blessing. And when God saw that Leah was unloved and unhappy and I'm going to blame her father more for that one really did her dirty there. But he saw her unhappiness, he wanted her to be happy, so he blessed her and he gave her a son. So I just want to point out this great connection between happiness and blessing, that we do well to receive the blessings of God, we take them gratefully and we experience the full happiness God wants us to experience, the full happiness that comes along with his blessings. So be blessed and be happy.
Speaker 1:I was going to say and be very and be happy. I was gonna say and be very, very happy. That is good news. A couple um episodes ago, we were talking about the beatitudes and I was seeing the two translations in which blessed is interchanged with happy, and so in the young's literal translation, like it'll say normally, blessed are the poor, um, it just says happy. Happy the poor in spirit. Um, happy the morning, happy the meek, happy those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. That verse alone, that verse alone I think it's like verse six blessed are the poor and it says happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. That's a powerful verse.
Speaker 2:And that must be because I think his name is Robert Young who translated it. I think it must be because he likely used, in addition to the Hebrew manuscripts in the Old Testament, he also probably looked at the Septuagint, which is probably how he knew the connection connection right, praise god, um, because it's beautiful, like written that way, blessed, and it's very cool, right, right, we, we adore blessed, but happy.
Speaker 1:Happy the clean and heart for the. Happy are the clean and heart, happy are the kind, um, happy are the peacemakers. Happy peacemakers, hello, we're the happy peacemakers on social media. Anyway, I am just, I adore it, and so thank you for that. That yummy, yummy word, that yummy word study. I hope you guys were blessed and very happy, sweet. Well, guys, thanks for hanging out with us, thanks for being here. We loved having you. Thanks for staying a while, and we mean a while.
Speaker 1:This is the Happy and Holy Podcast. We're here to just be helpers of your joy, and we're listed where all podcasts are meant to be found. That is Apple Podcasts, that is Google Podcasts. We're even on a YouTube RSS feed, whatever that means, and so our podcasts are also on YouTube. But, of course, we're even on Spotify, the same platform where Joe Rogan, who has episodes longer than us, is listed, and so we love having you hit us up on all the socials. We got instagram, we got facebook, we got tiktok, all the things, all the above.
Speaker 1:We flashed the email somewhere halfway through the uh, through the episode, but our email is happy and holy co. At gmailcom. Please list all your questions, comments, concerns and complaints, because we have a trash can for that, and, uh, send them to our email. And, of course, we have our website happy and holy cocom. Please check it out. We got the merch there. Um, by the time this episode has been edited, we will have already announced a winner for our merch on the website, and so shout out to our winners. Guys, let us know in the comments that you are watching, let us know where you are watching from. We love having you. Thanks for joining us. Remember to be happy.
Speaker 2:And stay holy, so you.