Preparing The Way

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:40

All right, here we go. Welcome back, Dale. It's good to see you again. Yep, good to be back. How was your week?

SPEAKER_01 0:48

It was it was good. My uh I don't know if I can say this without somebody in my family hearing, because she's trying to keep it a secret, but I don't think anybody that in my family other than Connie listens to it. So my daughter Olivia is having a baby. Oh well, congratulations. Yeah, and there is a young lady that goes to goes to our church that's having a baby, and they are scheduled to have their babies roughly the same time. Okay. So it was a good it was we went to Columbus to to see her and we were hanging out and she spilled the news to us, and then she said, Don't tell anybody else because trying to make it like a family secret. She doesn't go in for all that gender reveal and stuff like that. Her her big thing is I'm pregnant. And then and then after that it's due date, and then after that it's baby. Yeah. She doesn't do the gender reveal stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Well, sometimes there's there's a small joy in just especially these days, just keeping something to yourself instead of doing all this work to try to announce it on Facebook and Instagram and get all this attention. Oh, yeah. It's like, yeah, how about just enjoy the experience? And that's where she's at.

Coffee, Creamers, And Small Comforts

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Yeah. She said one thing, one thing about it. She said, because she's uh she's a hard worker. And she said the one thing about it is like every time she sits down, she falls asleep. She said, I don't get it. She's like, I I'm I like to be busy. And if I sit down for like five minutes, I wake up an hour later. She's like, I don't know, uh, I don't know what it is. I'm I'm asleep. And she's like, I'm fighting that off and whatever else, like the morning sickness and things like that. But she said, My main problem is just I can't sit down too long. So if I sit down, then I'm out. And trying to avoid caffeine because she loves coffee and she likes pop. And so she's gotta yeah, so now she's gotta try and she's thank God we can't get pregnant, Dale.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Right?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Uh yeah, I always struggle with that all day.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

No way I could give up coffee. Yeah, nope. That would be bad. That's not working. That's I've tried to give it up here and there, and I do good for a couple days. Yeah. I've been a headache start.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Like I put less sugar in it than I used to.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Uh yeah, I try to try to do that, but then I always go back to the heaping toothpaste teaspoons of sugar.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Oh my gosh, that sounds like me. Yeah. Because like right now I have it where I have a a creamer that I like, and if I use it in the right proportions, I don't have to use any sugar with it. So I I got it, not to name drop, but I got it at Aldi's. My wife got it, and uh I'll use it and what is it? It's we go to Aldi's too. It's it's a caramel macchiato and it comes in a in a in a big creamer bottle, like a like a I want to say like a little bit bigger than a 24 ounce, like about 30 maybe. And it's caramel macchiato, but I don't know the name brand. So I would have to get that to you. But they have caramel macchiato and they have French vanilla, and I can pour it in and like like I said, I can just kind of measure it out and really don't need any sugar with it.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Now is it like a milk-based, you know, like yeah, it's milk-based.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

And uh Connie has she gets from Walmart, she gets one that's oat milk. Because she can't she can't have regular milk, it's bit bad for her stomach or whatever. So she gets one from from Walmart. I can't remember the name of that brand either, but it's it's an oat milk and it's brown sugar express shaking espresso. So it's kind of having her Starbucks experience.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

So yeah, I'm not big on flavors. Yeah. Things like I mean, I do like the French vanilla once in a while. Yeah. But usually I'm just sticking with half and half. So I don't, you know, I don't do all the pumpkin in the fall and I don't do the peppermint and stuff and you know, during the holidays.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

I don't do pumpkin because I can't I can't make fun of my wife if I start doing pumpkin. Because my wife does everything pumpkin when it when when it hits in August now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Really? Pumpkin spice latte?

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

It's it's earlier every year. Yeah. Oh like you gotta be kidding me.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Pretty soon it'll be July 4th, and that's how we'll kick it off. Uh pumpkin lattes.

Grieving A Pet And Why It Hurts

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Don't speak that into existence. Just it's bad enough as well.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

If we do have any regular listeners out there, so I'll give you a little update. Just I know we talked about the cat last week. We did end up losing the cat first of the week. So that was a little rough, you know. And at first, I didn't think it was gonna be so hard to bury him because he wasn't the most social. He was only like a year, nine months. So, you know, I the hard thing was, Dale, was you know, I I knew I had to go to the vet and pick him up, so I didn't really know what to expect. So I asked for him, and they bring him to the desk, and he's in this cardboard box like a pack, like a UPS package, all taped up. And for whatever reason, that just kind of threw me off. I'm like, yeah, oh, I'm like what, you just packaged him for us? Yeah, and I'm thinking, oh, now I gotta go home and I gotta open up this box, and I don't know what I'm gonna see when I open up the box. So that kind of that was a little upsetting. Oh, yeah. But I will say they did when I opened him up, they did a very nice job of wrapping him up and making him look good. Cause he because I was worried because he was quite sickly, but he looked really good. So despite the box, he looked really good. But yeah, it's just always one of those things where you think, oh, this ain't gonna be too hard. But there's of course there's just something about burying something, yeah. Especially, you know it's it's the end of something.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Yeah, you know what I mean? It's like but I can't imagine we have two cats and a dog. We and Sylvester, our little black cat, lives outside because he won't stop marking its territory if you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Yeah, we had a couple of those had to go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

So uh he's outside.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

But I guarantee you, if I ever go out, because I feed him every day, I go out and he's passed away, I I will fall apart. Because that cat comes up, I can he can be down the block and I can say Sylvester and comes right over, knows what it's for, has every everybody in the house uh in the neighborhood is feeding him and and taking care of him. And I guarantee you the the day he passes away, I'll be I'll be broken up. I just won't be able to take it. And it goes with it that goes for any of my pets. We just got we just got maple, our cava poo dog. And if she were to pass away tomorrow, I would, you know, I'd I'd be a shell of myself because she's she's a well pastoral tell you she's a throw pillow. It's like she don't bark. And she'll jump up on one corner of the couch. That's her spot. She j she'll just she'll lay there, and you gotta when you grab the leash, she goes right to the door. No, she's got a potty, goes out, does her business, comes back in, right back to the couch, and doesn't do anything short of maybe putting her head on your on your lap. Other than that, she you've you'd think she was dead. And I'm like, um like the one day that she's there and you shake her and that ain't and she don't move. Yeah, yeah, because you get attached quickly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Oh yeah, there's a couple cats that when they pass, I already told uh because my company was so great about letting me leave work early the first day when I had to go take him to the vet. And then when he passed, letting me leave early to go get him and just spend the rest of the day, you know, just doing what I needed to do. But I already told him, I said, you know, there's gonna be a couple cats, you're probably gonna have to give me three bereavement days when it happens.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Yeah, you're gonna have to give me some family things because you you they and they understand, I know they do, because anybody who has any kind of pet, I don't care if it's a gerbil or hamster, a dog, a cat, a shark, I don't care. When they when they passed, they were family. Because you talk to them, they console you, they don't ask for anything short of being like fed, watered, and and a place to call theirs. Yeah. And when they get all of that, you have them for life. When you have, you know, have a bad day. I I I can't tell you how many times I've like had a bad day in my mind, come home and I'm a little down, a little whatever, and my cat Callie will jump up in my and will not move until I'm like cheered up in some way.

unknown 10:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

And she'll like nudge my hand like pet me, pet me, and I'm like, like, good gosh, I'm not gonna get away from you until I and you start petting them, and then you're for some odd reason you're better.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

And they don't ask for anything. So if that's why d you get that emotional attachment to them, like that.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

One of the owners said that he has they cre cremated all of their dogs, but his favorite dog he keeps right on the nightstand. On his nightstand. I'm like, I don't think I could go that far, but yeah. So they definitely he definitely understood the situation. It's like a nightstand. Yeah, he said, Yep, keep her right. She was such a good dog, keep her right there on the nightstand.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

No.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

I'm like, I don't know about that.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

I love all my pets. I love all the pets I've ever had.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Not one of them on the nightstand. No. No, not not even like the mounted head or none. Nah, no. That's a little too much for me. Like, I love you, but I'm gonna bury you.

Preparing The Way: Enter John The Baptist

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Oh yeah. Yep. Well, I don't know how I'm gonna segue into this subject, but there is no way, so we're just gonna go right into it. Straight in. There's no way. So tonight we wanted to talk about preparing the way. And we're getting into the Easter season, so this is really our first, I think, Easter-based episode for the month of March going into April. So, yeah, preparing the way, we're gonna talk about John the Baptist. You know, and we've been over the last few weeks, we've been talking about a lot of people. You know, we had that episode about intensity. John the Baptist would definitely fit in that group. Definitely fits. Yeah, he definitely fits within that group. And he definitely when we do the Bible study at home, my wife's nephew leaves the way. He's the one that started it. And he refers to John the Baptist as a rock star. That's how he labels him. That's and I guess when you think about it, when you think about sometimes I for some reason I picture Fred Flintstone. Like when it describes him in the Bible, you know, he's wearing wearing the camel hair. Yeah. And, you know, I just think for some reason, I think that's what I think. I don't think rock star, I think, I think Fred Flintstone.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

That's funny because I kind of I kind of see the rock star because he was what like he there were even people that thought he might be the Messiah. Yes. And so he had that rock star status. Because that's what because Jesus was definite rock star because he had multitudes, throngs of people following him. And John wasn't the same way, but John made it clear, not a rock star. Somebody coming after me, that's the rock star.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:12

I'm just I'm just opening a door for this guy.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Yeah, he was just creating the hype.

unknown 13:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

Which yeah, he had a large. He was the hype man. He was like, get ready, because there's somebody coming that's that's got it more together than I do. And he's he he's bringing more than I ever could. So you're you're looking at the wrong guy. If you think it's me, it's not me. It's yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

And he and he does share some similarities with Jesus, because an angel will come to Zachariah and tell them about his birth. So they do have that connection that you know both of them have this angel that appears and tells somebody, you know, that you know, that they're gonna be born. So I think that's a really cool, interesting little fact about about his birth and about the beginning of his life, is that he does share that with Jesus. Yeah.

Authority Versus Appearance

SPEAKER_01 14:04

And and another thing about that is that I think that was something that drew John to do, he knew he had a duty to do what he did as far as baptizing, as far as baptizing Jesus, because he knew it was important as far as prophecy goes, to uh to do what he did. And because I think without that, without that connection of, you know, his his past and the angels speaking to his to his line and then angels speaking into Jesus line, they they instantly connect on that. And it it's it's a truth. He knows that this is the guy. He's had he's had the same experience I've had. This is the guy. Because it doesn't happen every day. Everybody's not, you know, having an angel saying, hey, you're having Joe, and he will come to you, you know what I mean? So it was it's an extraordinary experience, and for both of them to share that, he was like, Yeah, I know this is the guy I'm supposed to baptize and take care of things, and he's gonna change the world.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

So but I I I don't know, I just think that kind of thing is pretty cool how God uses situations, uses circumstance because He's he he puts people in a position where they can do nothing but, you know, recognize that they have this role to play. It's the same as like Jonah and the whale or Noah and uh and the Ark. They're put in a position where they they have no other recourse than to say, Yeah, I I'm I'm gonna do what you've been asking me to do.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

And well, and so often it's if you put them in a lineup and said, Okay, which one of these are gonna, you know, bring forth the Messiah and be the guy that, you know, the hype guy, yeah, the rock star, who would have picked out of that lineup John the Baptist, just just by looks alone and where they've come from, and you know, he might have been the last guy to be picked on the team, so to speak. You know, absolutely. So I always I think that's amazing too, is that people in this day and age, especially, when we're talking about idols, when we're talking about people that get looked up to, you know, there's just certain qualities they have to have, they have to be good looking, they have to be financially successful.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

You know, they have to be authoritative. They have to be. I think that's where he got people. Was I I picture him, even though he was like and you know, his garment wasn't wasn't the best or any of that stuff. I feel like he's that one person that like when he said something, he said it with authority. And back in that day, you could not be wishy-washy about anything, you couldn't be, you couldn't hem and ha about your faith. You couldn't be well, I I don't I don't know. I I think he's coming and no, you couldn't be like that. You had to be you had to be forceful, and I think he was that kind of person, and so being that kind of person is why people thought to elevate him in that way. They looked past the other stuff, the superficial stuff that we would nowadays that we were like like you see some gospel.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Now it's yeah, you he would never be, I don't think he would be considered that guy. He wouldn't be considered the guy.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Yeah, I uh I don't want to throw us completely off topic, but it always reminds me of, you know, there's a lot of great singers, especially singers that were pop popular, say 70s, 80s, and you hear the records and it's like wow, it's really good. But then you see the guy and you think there's no way he would make it today because just the way he looks, they wouldn't give him a chance. Because they just look like everyday Joes, like a plumber or mechanic, you know. Yeah, you know, or just like I'm even thinking like Billy Ocean. Yep, people like that. That when you look at them, you would think like that voice wouldn't come out of him, and they just aren't, you know, they're just not they don't look perfect, you know. They don't have you know, so it's just that's kind of how I think of it is like, you know, but in today's world, quality, quality from the inside comes last. Like you got to have all the other stuff first, you know, you have to look good, all the tangibles first.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Before we look at your talent. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Yeah. Where John the Baptist, he doesn't have that problem.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Because I used to think this, and he doesn't he doesn't fit the mold, but I used to always think that about Michael Bolton. Yeah. Yeah. Because I listened to him on the radio before I ever saw him. And I and I was like, oh, I like this dude. And then I went in the store and I looked at his album. I'm like, what?

SPEAKER_00 18:54

What I can't be saying, I can't be seen walking around with this.

Inside-Out Calling And Obedience

SPEAKER_01 18:57

I still I'm like, I thought I was gonna see Teddy Pendergraft. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I'm like, yeah, no, that's not how that's supposed to go. Yeah. But but yeah, and it it is we have to remind ourselves, as you said, in this day and age, we have to remind ourselves that God works inside out. He doesn't he doesn't work outside in. He doesn't like, oh, that guy looks good enough to to do what I'm asking. That guy, you know, he's got enough people following him to do what I what I need him to do. He creates the change on the inside and creates the creates the the vehicle that he needs. Because Moses, I I haven't the tongue for what you want me to do. I stutter, I do you know, all of those things. So you ain't gonna do the talking, I'm gonna be doing the talking. You just Yeah. You just be you. You have a presence about you. You may not know it, you have a presence. So just do what I'm asking you to do and you'll you'll make big. You'll do just fine. Yeah, you guys will be fine. Yep. And that's and that's always what we have to do, is we have to remember to follow what God says because we we get away from it. Yeah but like you said, I don't want to try and stray too far from John, but I really think that's important that we start to do what God's asking us to do and not lean to our own understandings like I I you know, nobody likes me, nobody this, nobody that somebody out there relates to you. So don't worry about it. Just do follow God. But yeah, and John and John definitely followed what God was asking him to do.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

Yeah. Well, yeah, that's his message is repent and turn away from your sins. And again, he's a guy that he's not hem hawing around. He's he's not uh at all. No, so he fits right in that mold that we talked about a few weeks ago. That uh he gives it everything he's got, he's consistent. And the main point is that no, you know, as we said, he's got a lot of followers, he's baptizing a lot of people, but he makes it clear that I'm just baptizing people with water, and there's gonna be somebody greater that's gonna baptize by the Holy Spirit. So that's such an important lesson for us, is in our service, we always have to keep in mind that we got to get out of the way, we got to prepare the way for something greater. It's not about us, it's not about how much attention can I draw up by preaching the word. It's not about how many YouTube hits I can get. How many likes, you know, how many shares. If we would take this podcast and really try to start pushing it, if we would start trying to get subscriptions and you know, starting to get clickbait, so to speak, so that we start promoting ads and so we could see. That's that's like a whole different to me. That's like a whole different type of advertising.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

I feel like you would lose what you're actually trying to gain.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Yeah, we wouldn't be genuine anymore. Exactly. I think because I think we would start playing to all that. You know, that we would become more concerned with how many, you know, how many clicks did we get today?

SPEAKER_01 22:28

You know Well, the entire podcast becomes becomes a commercial. It's like, Yeah, we'll be right back after these words from soapy suns, you know

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Then instead of the listener getting a full hour of a really good message. They're might be getting thirty-five minutes by the time all the ads are done running. You know, and I hate that. I hate when I'm in the middle of a podcast and I'm really into it and all of a sudden like you said, you know.

Repentance And Getting Out Of The Way

SPEAKER_01 22:56

Yeah. Talk some product that that their promoters have pushed on them. And now, let's say that's two or three minutes, and then they come back and they have to build that all back up again. And sometimes I lose it. Sometimes I lose the the message of what they're trying to say to me because it's 30 minutes and a break. 15 minutes and a break. And I'm like, I I just want to hear the podcast. I just want to I just want to feel what I was feeling before you went to break, and I lose all of that with the sponsors and the subscribe. Hit that follow button and all like Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

Your whites could get whiter thing.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Yeah, and and it's just things like things like this are important because like I like we're kind of roundabout saying is that we're not trying to push any other agenda than having people understand that find, you know, to find your place in God. Find, you know, and that and that's all we're trying to do. We give you a couple examples of people who have, you know, put God first in their life, have put Jesus first in their life, have people that did not put Jesus first in their life, and tell you, and you know, just put options out there for you to say, yeah, I can see where they're going with that. I can I can understand what they're trying to say, and not in the middle of it, break off and branch into something else that may take away from somebody who's starting to get starting to understand what we're saying, and then all of a sudden we're selling soapy sets.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 25:00

So it's we have our own little niche, and so we I just hope people understand that we're not trying to preach to you, but we are trying to let you know that God's always there for you. Yeah, we're and all we're doing is providing some examples of how he's there for you, consequences for following him and not following him. Yeah, and then you go from there.

SPEAKER_00 25:26

You know, and there's some things about John the Baptist that I I think we can all find relatively easy to follow. You know, I think we could all understand that, you know that you know, that we do need to repent of our sins, that you know, the Lord is the the true way in the life. But, you know, there's some some of it that is not easy, you know, because because he's got he's got such passion that and this is his life's mission. Like he's not going, he's not working ten hours in the steel mill and then just doing this when he's got time. Like he's devoted his whole life to this principle. So that one can be a little hard because we all know how busy everybody gets. So we all can't quite follow that example of giving up everything that we have and every minute of our day to this mission. But I think we can we can decide that no matter where we are in life, no matter what we're doing, no matter how busy we are, no matter what our faults are, uh no matter what we're working on from day to day, we all still can contribute to preparing a way for the Lord. We can we can get the word out to as many people as we can that you know he's coming. We don't know when, you know, that a point in time only he knows. But but we know he's coming. And the more people that we can reach and talk to about Jesus and prepare that way, then you know, then we're like you said, we're doing our duty. So I think we can understand that. I think we can find that in common with him.

Everyday Witness Without The Hype

SPEAKER_01 27:18

And it's just like a pastor of mine said once, said that he may not come today, but we are a day closer to when he does come. So no matter whether he comes today or not, you're closer and it and he's coming, and that's what you have to understand, that's what you have to believe, is that he is coming back, and if you're prepared for it, it's gonna be a great day. If you're not prepared for it, not so great. But throughout the whole thing, you you have to live your life as a you be a living sacrifice for God, whatever that entails, whether it's just you know, when I go to work, I'm people know that I'm I'm for Jesus, I'm for God, and whatever whatever that means to uh to other people, they know that that's who I am. And just you have to just live your life without shame, because he even tells you, if you're ashamed of me, I'll be ashamed of you. But without shame, just I I n I'm not trying to blow my own horn here or anything, but I've told you before I'm kind of a shy guy and whatever. And so there's a gentleman at work and I prayed for him because I yeah I felt like he needed it. And it's little things like like that. It doesn't have to be big and flashy because we did it in a place there was no one else around. I didn't do it for looks and likes and oh Dale's praying for him, and you know what I mean, and he's such a I didn't do it for that. I did it because he looked like he was hurting. And so found a spot where it was just me and him, prayed for him real quick, he told me about his situation, and moved on. You can do anything like that. And and it doesn't have to be like you don't have to come right out to them. If you know somebody's struggling, you can put the add them to your prayer, do what do whatever it makes you feel comfortable because the more things you do that are out of your comfort zone, the more God will make you comfortable with it. It's like I don't usually do this, but you know, and then the next day you're like, well, I don't usually do this, and then the next day you're doing something else you don't usually do, and before you're before you know it, there is nothing that you don't usually do because you can become comfortable with pretty much anything because you've let God do the moving. And so I don't know, I just we have to we have to become comfortable telling people who we are because sometimes we don't want to do it, and we're we're supposed to spread the word. You can't spread it unless you unless you say something.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

We may have gained another listener, Dale. I had a truck driver, and he might be listening now. Had a truck driver come into our shop and he was delivering some steel. And I'll take maybe I'll take back what I said because this guy was definitely more like John the Baptist, because he walked in, his ball cap said Jesus is king. He had you know crucifix around his neck. So he just his presence. There's no put it this way, there's when he walks in a room, I'm sure there's no mistake who he is, yeah, or what he believes, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:49

Yeah, because he he puts it all up, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

And so I'm unloading the steel, yeah, and I had that thought like should I say something? You know? So we're working a little bit, and he's just rolling his straps up and stuff, and and I just said, Oh, by the way, I said, I like your hat. And he was like, Oh, you're a believer, and I said, Absolutely. And so we got into a little bit of conversation, just shared back and forth a little bit of stuff, but he was really, he was really intense. And he definitely fit fit that bill of of somebody who, you know, is is always, you know, that's his style is not my style, and we've talked about that before. But I could tell like he he's always prepared to share the word. Yes. And not only that, but with a lot of enthusiasm. See, and and you need those kind of people, and you need to And I know they can scare people sometimes because the way he was speaking, like he was very intense. Not that it scared me, but it did kind of like throw me off a little bit. Like I had to, I felt like I had to catch up a little bit. You know what I mean? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

Like you find somebody like that. It's it's the same. I liken it to if you were playing basketball and you're a you're a good NBA player, but you're on Jordan's team. It's like, and he's getting ready to give you the ball.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

You're like Can you imagine?

SPEAKER_01 32:16

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

I'm like That's a good example. I'm like Can you imagine playing with Jordan every day?

SPEAKER_01 32:22

Yeah, and that's and and that's the that's the thing because he has his he's got this conviction and he's energetic about it. And you're you have the same conviction, but you're laid you're laid back about your approach.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

So here he comes down court and he's got the gusto and yeah, you're like I'm always like trying to bring the little squirrel over, you know, like come on. So it's like he's just going right after the tiger. He's like, Yeah, I'm just I'm going for big, I'm going big game.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

Yeah. He's like, you can come if you want.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

And it's great, and it's great, you know. Like I said, it can be a little intimidating, but when you think about it, it's like, yeah, well, hey, you know, got you know, God needs those people too. You know, you need those people as well. Yep. So so yeah, you're right. Sometimes you you can be in those situations and you can be thinking to yourself, like, I don't normally do this, I shouldn't do this, but you'll start to feel that conviction. Like, I feel like I have to have this conversation, I feel like I gotta open that door, do something new because it's like I said, it's your duty to do it, it's your responsibility. And so, yeah, that that's a unique perspective on all that. But I I like the I like the Michael Jordan thing. Like I never thought of it that way.

Different Styles, Same Mission

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Like, yeah, it's just like I've I've always felt that way whenever because I I love speaking about God, yeah, but I am not like the Lord said, and if you don't do this, and and it's just never come out of me like fire and brimstone or or with any kind of intensity. So when somebody has it and they're talking to you, it can it can put you back in your seat a little bit, even though you may agree completely with what they're saying, and it's just the way they're the power of their delivery, and you're like, wow, I I'm not sure I can live up to that. Yeah, right. Don't pass me the ball. Yeah, don't pass me the ball. Throw it to that guy.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

I'll play defense. Yeah, I'll get back to you.

SPEAKER_01 34:28

It's like, come back to me. You know, so wait for me with the little 15 footer. Don't don't don't expect me to hit the three.

SPEAKER_00 34:36

I better be really open.

SPEAKER_01 34:37

Right. You throw me that ball. It better be a layup. Yeah. Because I'm I'm not ready any other way. Yeah. So yeah, it's like you say, we need everyone. You need all you need all types of people. You need I I'm gonna be honest, there's this little boy I watched, I watched these reels on Facebook. And this little boy, I don't know if he's a Christian, not a Christian, doesn't matter. He he's a paraplegic. And they him and his dad have little reels of him learning to use his his his cart. Well anyway, every time I watch I cry. Because there he is, his dad's always giving him encouragement, telling him like the one time he's trying to teach him how to get over this curb. And the little kids are just sitting there struggling, and and he finally, finally gets it, but before he gets it, he looks at his dad and he says, Where there's a will, there's a way. And I'm like, and I mean he's little, he has to be like about four or five. And I'm like, Where do you if your dad didn't give you that, where where does that come from? And it just makes me cry every time because I'm like, he's he's little, he's got these disabilities, and nothing stops him. I mean, they he they show him all the time doing little different things that he's learning how to how to use his his cart, and uh he never stops till he gets it. And I mean, like, his dad's like always there, like egging him on and everything, but it's that kid's personal determination that gets it done. And uh it it like I said, it makes me ball every time because I'm like, I watch you and I'm like, I I I got you. I can't and I'm like, yeah, Dale, he don't see you. You don't stop taking it so personal. But but it it's my point was that we don't all have to have this big voice. We don't all have sometimes we don't have to say anything to testify, because that's what that's what that does to me every time. I like I said, I don't know if he's a Christian or not, but because I am, and because I have belief in God, it just makes me think how how blessed I am, how you know, how blessed he is to have the drive he has, because I I have no doubt that that little kid is gonna grow up to be, you know, he may still need need help, may not need help, but with his drive, he's gonna do incredible things. And I'm like, I just how God God moves. And so you don't like like I was saying, you don't have to be eloquent, you don't have to be, you know, with the in crowd. You don't have there's nothing that you have to do. All you have to do is have a love of Jesus, love of God, and if you're sincere, God's God's gonna move on you in some way to affect someone else. So as long as you're long as your goal is to serve God, he's gonna put it put it put you in somebody's path, and he's gonna make the way for you to be an influence or a a catapult for them. Because that's that's what we're called to do. And so he's not gonna leave you out on he's not gonna make you walk the plank, basically. He's gonna he's gonna give you a net. So we just have to we just have to be willing to just dive out there. They're always saying leap of faith, but that's what it is. It's at some point in time you just gotta go and say, I know the net's if you jump, a net will appear. That like that kind of thing. So I just I I don't know. I just think we get hung up in fears. We have fears and anxieties, and we let those tell us who and what we are. And we have to we have to stop that.

SPEAKER_00 38:54

Yeah. We have to stop that. Well, and it's very easy, you know, the town that we live in, it's very easy to fall into that trap to be in this little box where X let's face it, expectations are not very high here. Nope. So you're not gonna make anything of yourself here.

SPEAKER_01 39:13

You tell someone. I mean, you can do some good things and they're happy.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

Yeah. But you know, where we live doesn't give us a whole lot of opportunity for outreach, for just you know, you can just like you say, you can get very caught up in just finding a job at twenty dollars an hour and eking out of living here for the rest of your life and never really doing much with it. You know, just kind of falling into that trap that so many people in small towns like we do. Where you know, you get into bigger cities, you have so much more opportunity for so many more so many more things, and you know, just education in itself, you know, all of those things. So yeah, it's very it can be very hard to not to find yourself to become unique, you know, because it's just not as easy here. Like a lot of times you gotta feel like you gotta fit in.

SPEAKER_01 40:15

Yeah. Absolutely.

The Pull Of Jesus’ Authority

SPEAKER_00 40:17

So it it can be a lot harder to to to have the courage to jump out of that box and be different and and to do, you know, to do something maybe like and that's an interesting thought for me is you know, John the Baptist, obviously he was a kid, obviously, you know, he grew up, and I'm gonna guess that he didn't grow up under the best conditions, you know, he was not royalty. So I'm sure at some point he had to at what point did he say, like, okay, I know this is my destiny. This is my path. I know this is my path, and this is what I'm gonna give my life. This is what I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 40:58

You know, no matter if you know, I never have a nice set of clothes or you know, I'll never you wonder what makes that happen for him because they don't really let you know when it clicks for him, but a lot of a lot of people throughout the Bible, I always wonder how they could be so strong because I I look at the way we are now and it takes a lot of takes a lot of coaxing for us to want to do anything. And I'm always always reminded of when God went to the Fishers and said, Hey, follow me and today I will make you fishers of men. And the Bible says straightway they left their nets and followed him. In other words, they didn't hesitate, they didn't, I don't know, the fish are really biting Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 41:59

We wanna Yeah, how much profit are we gonna lose today by sitting our nets down? Yeah, I guess their whole livelihood.

SPEAKER_01 42:05

Yeah, this is what we do, and you're telling us we're gonna But they didn't. They straightway they followed him. So he came, for one thing, he came with authority, and we have to understand that he's in us. So if he came in authority, we have authority. So we don't have to be timid about anything, we don't have to be well, I don't I don't have the words, I don't have the charisma, I don't have whatever it is you think you don't have, you have it because he gives it to you. You're not ask he's not asking you to do anything he's not prepared to prepare you for. So if you didn't have it before, he's going to give it to you. And if he doesn't give it to you, then it means you don't need it. Because we always think we have to have a certain amount of whatever it is for the job he's asking us to do, and all he's asking us to do is do the job. I'm I'm gonna be the one that's going to do what needs to be done anyway. All I'm asking you to do is X and whatever that is, do it and I'll show you I'll make the fruit from it. It's like Peter and not Peter, Paul was talking about him and Apollos because they they were people were arguing, they're saying who's greater, Paul or Apollos and whatever. And Paul was like, I don't know what you're talking about. Paul Apollos is a great speaker, I'm a great speaker, but it's not us. I Apollos waters and whatever, but God that provides the increase. So and that's what we we have to remember because we get away from that. We get away from the fact that uh it starts we start to get wrapped up in in daily life and we get wrapped up in, you know, we have a little success here and it goes to our head, or we have a little failure here and it goes to our head. It's like I'm not built for this. But God, if you stick with it, if you do what God's asking you to do, you're gonna have tough times because the world hated me, but they're so if the world hates you, they hated me first. So we have to remember those things. They always should come to your mind that nothing you're gonna do is easy. But it's gonna bear fruit. So just just keep doing what you need to do. Because God will bless it.

SPEAKER_00 44:41

Well, and I think you just bring up a really great point. Because you do think he if some if anybody else would have just said, Hey, throw your nets down, come with me, they've been like Yeah. I don't know who you are.

SPEAKER_01 44:57

And it's like, yeah, that's not happening.

SPEAKER_00 44:59

I don't think so. But he spoke with such authority. That's why it happened. Yeah. It didn't happen because they already knew who he was. It was like they came to he came to him and he spoke with such authority that it's almost as if they had no choice.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

Like it was that strong.

SPEAKER_01 45:20

Can you imagine how that sounds though? No. I mean, I yeah, it it it's like um when you hear someone and you get like I compare it to people who sing that are like really good singers, like operatic singers, and they sing with so much power, like a Pavarotti or whatever, and you hear them sing in an opera, and it's like and it's like you can't turn away. You you have to listen to them sing. You have to listen to what they're saying because what they're saying is being said and sung with so much power, it's just I'm I'm I'm locked in. And I feel like when he came to them, whatever he said and however he said it, all the multitudes he spoke to, that people just locked in. It's like he's he's he's the one. He did he even without miracles, it was just he speaks with so much authority, even when he was a child, and he said, Who is this? He's yeah, uh huh. He's educating people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:29

I'm in my father's house.

Authority Balanced By Love

SPEAKER_01 46:30

Yeah. And so to speak with that knowledge and authority, and people just Yeah, as a kid, he's got all them people surrounding him listening to what he has to say. I mean, soon as he as soon as he knew he had to go about doing what his father asked him to do, he had that he had that that power, that authority, and just rested on him. And it didn't matter what his age was or where he was at or who he was with, he was always at the forefront because he just he carried the authority. And I don't know. I I just I I find it hard to believe that we don't appreciate who he is like we should. Because we don't. We're like no.

SPEAKER_00 47:21

Yeah, it's such a great point. Like we don't we know who he is. I mean, a lot of people know who he is and a lot of people consider becoming a Christian. You know. Even if you're not a Christian, most likely you've grew up knowing some of the stories, you know some of his backstory. But his authority. Like that's hard to that that is hard to imagine. It's it's just such a great thought, is that you know, we don't listen to him that way.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

No, no.

SPEAKER_00 47:59

I think that's what we're trying to say, is like even even those of us who know him so well a lot of times take that for granted, or I'm not saying we forget it, but we just Well, we kind of do.

SPEAKER_01 48:15

I mean, I we don't forget it, but we put it we put it on the back burner.

SPEAKER_00 48:19

A lot of Well, I think sometimes we're so focused on the love that he has and the love that he's spreading throughout the world and the love for us and the fact that he's gonna forgive our sins and he died on the cross for us. So therefore, maybe sometimes we forget how much authority he carries.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

Like we don't focus on that as much as we should.

SPEAKER_01 48:42

We just focus on focus on the loving kindness. Yeah. Like, yes, he has loving kindness.

SPEAKER_00 48:47

But what would make these disciples just drop everything, not knowing him?

SPEAKER_01 48:52

Yep. They didn't know the loving kindness.

SPEAKER_00 48:55

No, they weren't there, yeah. They had no idea, and they're only going to come to learn that by walking beside him every day, as we do.

SPEAKER_01 49:03

And it's uh it's a power, it's a powerful thing then to have experienced the authority, and it's a powerful thing for us now to experience the love. But without his authority, the love, we don't feel the love as much because you have to know that he can he can do what he says he can do. Because it's one thing for your dad to come in the house and say, I'm gonna spank you. It's another for him to lay hands on you and actually give you that spank, and he's talking about dad, you know, dad says that all the time, he's not gonna do it. But when Jesus, when Jesus spoke, he spoke with authority, and what he said, the promises he made, he lived by. And so it just you know, it just kind of I know I keep going over the point, but it's just that he's the authority balanced with the love is just something that you don't get in any you don't get in anybody, you don't get it in other people because some people they get lovey-dovey and wishy-washy, and some people are authoritative to the point that you just can't, you know, tolerate, or you don't care if they are a a nice person. But Jesus came through and he came through with authority in love. Because a lot of us don't know how to balance that. We come through and it's like it needs to be done this way, this way, this way, and we don't come with the love. But Jesus came through with authority founded in love, and so when we we hear the authority balanced by the love, it's it's it it ca it draws you. And I think that's I think that's what happens when he talked to the fisherman, when he talked to the woman at the well, when he talks to whoever he talks to, they hear the authority, but they feel the love. Because like you know, I know everything you've done, and he's not pointing fingers, he's saying plain and plain as day, I know what I know the sins you committed, and when he's talking to the woman at the well. And it's that authority of knowing you know what I've done, and yet I don't feel like you don't love me. I feel like I'm somebody to you. And so that it that draws. If if you have somebody, you've we've all had coaches, mentors, you know, pastors or whatever that have spoken with authority on our life and spoken well, and we're drawn to them, we remember them because of how they how they spoke to us. It was the same for Jesus, only magnified because because you knew he had the power of life and death.

SPEAKER_00 52:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:10

And so.

John’s Humility And Baptizing Jesus

SPEAKER_00 52:12

And that's exactly what John the Baptist is promoting. Yep. Is this you know idea that no matter how great you think I am and how powerful my words are, and maybe how much authority you think I have, you know, I'm not even fit to tie this guy's sandals. Like it's this is a whole, it's gonna be a whole other level. And so, you know, he's I just think that's one of the great points about John the Baptist is that he's preparing the way and he's making making it clear to everybody that you haven't seen anything yet. It's almost as what he's trying to say. Like you haven't seen nothing yet.

SPEAKER_01 52:51

Yep, the best is yet to come.

SPEAKER_00 52:54

And so he's just he's gonna preach that, and of course, you know, he's he's gonna do this to the point of death. You know, he he's gonna stir up so much excitement over this that he's gonna find himself imprisoned, you know, and Harold the only reason Harold won't kill him, you know, is because the people love him so much. It's one of those situations where he'd love nothing more than to take this guy out right now, but he knows he can't. So he eventually, you know, gets his gets his wish. You know, yeah. You know. But uh yeah. So he's definitely an interesting character. I mean, we could go into a whole, you know, episode just you know, on who he truly was, and all, you know, we haven't even talked about, you know, he's eating locusts and honey, and he's such such an oddball, I guess, even even to the people at the time. They've even made it's not like we reflect back on that. They were saying at the time, like this guy was an odd fellow, like he wasn't your normal, you know, but but man, he he brought it, you know. He and of course, you were you were talking about the baptism, and it's you know, John the Baptist who says, you know, no, you should be telling Jesus, no, you should be baptizing me. Yeah, but of course, Jesus was like, No, you know, for you know, for prophecy's sake, you know, this is this is how this has to happen. So I can't imagine what that felt like for John the Baptist to oh yeah, perform that.

SPEAKER_01 54:32

Yeah, it's that Jordan thing. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:36

Yeah. Because, you know, I've I've been asked to pray for people. I've been asked to pray for a few people that are in their last days, and that's that's a tough one. Because a lot of the times I'm I'm I wasn't even prepared for it. Like, you know, there's a lot of family around, and I'm thinking, like, this person over over here is way more qualified or knows this person way more than I do. And they'll be like, Nick, you want to pray for them? I'm like, that's that's like and you know, and it's and it's such an honor, but it's a lot, it's heavy.

SPEAKER_01 55:21

Oh, it you know I had to I had to pray for my friend Shelly, who just passed. And two weeks ago, when she was well enough to say so, she wanted me to pray for her. And I'm like, I don't know if I should be the one doing this, but yeah, I you know, then God puts the words in your mouth.

SPEAKER_00 55:45

Yeah, you do just have to be like, okay, yeah, I don't think I'm qualified to do this, but I'm gonna put my full heart in it, and I'm just gonna have Jesus walk me through it, and I know what I'm gonna say is gonna be from him. So just yeah. Yeah, it just then like you said, it just happens and you do it.

SPEAKER_01 56:03

That's always what has to happen. You have to at least trying to be genuine, that's what has to happen. You have to just let go and let him let him put the words on you. Yeah. Because they do, they do come that way too, because I had no idea what Well, and I was always so scared because I'm thinking, now do they want me to pray that this doesn't happen?

Impact, Opposition, And What-Ifs

SPEAKER_00 56:24

Mm-hmm. Like this doesn't come to pass, that they're gonna that they're gonna die. I'm thinking, but my mindset is always like, no, you know, my prayer is always that it's gotta be his will. It's God's will to, you know, this person is already in God's hands. Yeah, and we just have to remember that and honor that, and whatever happens, happens. But it's gonna be in God's timing. Not my will, but thine. Yeah, and so just giving it up to God in that moment makes kind of gives, well, it kind of gives you the authority as the one praying over this situation to say the right thing, you know, that is going to not only give it up to God's will, but but it does bring comfort as well. Oh, absolutely. So it's that right combination of you know, just trying to just reflect what God has already, you know, what he's already storing up, what he's already stored up in that person's life. Yeah. And you just have to remember that. But like I said, that's that's an heavy thing to you know, just kind of be thrown on you in the moment.

SPEAKER_01 57:41

Yeah, well, and that's that's what John the Baptist was dealing with, I think, when he get when he said, you know, you should be uh you should be baptizing me. Yeah. Because he he felt, you know, in that moment, I think he felt he was like, I'm not worthy of this. You you should be baptizing me. So he was in that spot of, you know, do you want to pray for us? And he's like, uh, well, I I think you should be doing the whole baptizing thing. He's like, no, you gotta do it. He's like, and and it's probably one of those few times, as far as John the Baptist goes, of him not being the gung-ho authority. Oh, yeah, I'm sure it humbled him. Yeah, I'm sure it did. That's what I mean. That's probably one of the more humbling times in his life because you have the actual rock star. You've been you've been like opening act, yeah, you've been the karaoke and stuff. And then all of a sudden an actual power ballad singers through, and you're like, I I can't lead for you. You're you're people are gonna laugh me off the off the stage.

SPEAKER_00 58:54

It's like opening for Whitney Houston or something. It's like, yeah, no, but I ain't gonna do it. There's no way.

A Fractured World And Nearing Hope

SPEAKER_01 58:59

He's like, no, trust me, you'll be fine. Just go ahead and sing the notes as they're laid out on the sheet, you'll be fine. Yeah. And that's kind of what he did. He's like, okay, here we go. And and all the, you know, we all know what, you know, transpires after and everything, but we don't even get into. I mean, we we are talking about how much we can go on about John the Baptist. We don't even get into uh his his death and all of those things because all of that was important too. Yeah. Because he he was so powerful and so, you know, like you said, so popular that they really didn't have any choice. Because you imagine if you let him do what he's doing and be who he is, that the the amount of people that would have turned their life over, not just because Jesus is now preaching and everything, but you've also got this powerful person that baptized him, announced his coming, all of those things, and he's, you know, coming at you with so much gusto and drive and everything, and the number of people that would have turned their lives over at that point in time, and they're like, nah, we gotta we gotta we gotta do something to this guy. We gotta we gotta nip that in the bud more or less. And so that I don't really feel like they they felt like they had an an option to do anything else but get rid of him because the the explosion that was coming would have been even bigger, I think, because he would be there to to back and all this other stuff, and you just you just don't know. And it's like what how many people how big what God is doing now would be if you didn't if he didn't because I'm I'm always wondering about what would uh what would change in our current world if something in the past had gone a little differently. So like if he had lived would it would we be like more in love with God than we are? Because right now we're struggling to to keep a loving world. There's a lot of turmoil, a lot of controversy. Everything's made for division. Ohio State, Michigan, Republican, everything is made for division, you're right. And it's just I guess we just need to relish and that division.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:50

Yep. Yeah, we live for it.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:51

Yeah, and we're we're becoming more and more happy with bad things being looked at as good and good things being looked at as bad. I mean, the number of people that'll sit there and videotape someone getting beaten up as opposed to jumping. Yeah, instead of jumping in and breaking it up. But they're the first ones to sit there and video that. Oh, this guy took a beating. Well, where were you? You know it's like I got the whole thing on video. But yeah, it didn't help him. But yeah, so I just I can't imagine doing something like that. Oh that would that would make that would hurt my mom's heart if she was alive to if I did something like that, videotape something and not help out. It just I always I always wonder what is in those people's heart that is just sitting there video. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:44

I I know that you know, every time you see somebody broke down on the side of the highway, you can't pull over and help them, right? Yep, you can't. But I do always pray for those people. I pray that no matter what got you in that situation, hopefully you get through it quickly, hopefully you get back on the road or something, you know, you get a hold of that loved one that is gonna come help you. Yeah. And you know, you're not gonna be out there very long with a cost accident.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:08

Yeah, you know, it's just a wreck on the road. I'm like me and Connie, Elsa even will pray for 'em. Cause like you say, you can't stop for all of them. And as far as an accident goes, you shouldn't stop for them because you're just gonna get in the way of the actual people who can help. Yeah. So we're always throwing out a prayer for 'em, and but it it's just it's tough to see when people aren't aren't that way. Yeah. Because they're like it all it all it does is remind me we're getting closer. Because the more the more people don't have feeling in those situations, the more they're sitting there filming instead of protecting or or at least saying something, the closer he is to coming. Because we've all read our word. We know how we know how things go. So the more the more bad things that are going on and controversy and all this stuff and turmoil, the closer he is. So I don't want to say take comfort in the fact that there's turmoil, but take comfort in the fact that if there if you feel let down, if you feel discouraged, if you feel like this is all getting out of hand, he's he's getting ready to put it in hand. It's good the more you feel let down, the more he's lifted up because he he's he's coming. And so it's not all bad. There's there's good coming, and we just have to hang our hat on that. There is good coming. Amen.

Lighthearted Wrap And Closing Prayer

SPEAKER_00 1:04:53

Well, I think that's a fine place to wrap it up for tonight, Dale. What do you think? Any uh got anything else? You got anything else you wanted to get out? I was trying to think of a wrestling reference, but well, I I was gonna say it and I thought enough of the wrestling. But since you brought it up, I will say that John the Baptist and Jesus are kind of like the mega powers. Yeah, they're kind of like Macho Man, Randy Savage, and Hulk Hogan when they teamed and they shook hands.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:22

Oh my god. Yeah, the world just was not ready for it. It was not ready for it.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:32

So yeah, they were the mega powers of the Bible. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:37

Absolutely, you never know.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:39

See, you never know what's gonna happen. Things blown. Absolutely. Look out.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:44

Dynamite.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:46

People were looking at us like, no, you two are not the mega powers. I'm sorry. No, you have overstepped your bones, but I'm uh yeah, I'm 170 pounds soaking wet.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:57

Yeah, I'm lucky. I weigh more than you. That's ridiculous. I'm five.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:02

I'm hollow, man. There's nothing, I'm just hollow. My bones are hollow.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:05

I am not hollow. Thick bones.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:10

Hey, before Margie got a hold of me, I was like 130, 140. And after I married her, yeah, I I gained like 30 pounds. So but beyond it's like, but I can't I haven't gone beyond that. Which I I guess I should be grateful for. I used when I was young, I used to go on these five thousand calorie diets trying to lift weights and you know yeah, watching the wrestling, trying to lift weights, get bigger. I was making Myself sick eating and doing all this stuff, never gained any weight whatsoever. And finally I was like, okay, it's enough of this. Grocery bill's way too high. You know, sick to my stomach every day. You're eating mac and cheese three times a day right now.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:50

Yeah, well, I've never met a donut I don't like.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:52

So oh, I love it. Yeah, me too. But I just so far, so good. I you know, I mean, I might get diabetes, I might get whatever, but as far as gaining weight, so far so good. I just yeah, nothing uh seems to put the pounds on. I officially hate Nick. But there's time. There's still time. So yeah. All right, you want to pray us out now? Absolutely. I mean music going here.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:26

Father God, you are so good to us. We thank you for allowing us to explore yet another one of your um your children and realizing that we can we can follow in that path, Father God. We don't have to follow to the degree he followed and live by the example he lived by, but we can be who you've called us to be. And pray that we have traveling mercy as we leave here and just bless the families and bless this church, bless this community, Father God, that we live and work in. And thank you for uh uniting me with my brother and my friend Nick. And I pray that we just continue to reach those who need to be reached, and just touch somebody and let them understand that you are the way, the truth, and the life. And there is no way to the Father but by you. In the name of your Son Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Amen.