Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the Pathway And you're listening to Live for the Path coming from the Pathway Studios here in Johnston proper. You guys, you will I'm gonna tell a a thirty second interesting bit of trivia. I have no idea what the first two years of the show's episodes are called. Like we had hosted the show on things that don't exist anymore. Blip.tv

as an example used to be a platform where you could post your videos and stuff. Yeah. And that does not exist anymore. Our the the platform of which we've got started doing broadcasting and stuff, two of them actually also went under. And so I have audio, but I don't know what they were called. I'd have to go back and listen to them as soon amplified stuff you're talking yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so there's two years worth of worth of things. And so I went to go I asked the AI. I said, hey. Can you go find these episodes? Found about 30 of the 2,010 episodes. That is amazing. Yeah. And these are not good. Oh, man. These shows, these are not these are not good. But, anyway, I just with the AI figured this out. They were the foundation upon which we built. Hey. Okay. Two things. One, Ben, I thought of a way to talk about that thing from earlier. Okay. So if I if I prep you, you'll take it. Yeah. Yeah. Two the second thing is

the opening song, The Working Man is by New World Sun. Yeah. They're coming back out. What? Yeah. They're get they're they're they disbanded for a while, and they're they're they're coming back together. Dang. So I would really recommend, if you don't know the back catalog of New World Sun, it's all one word. New World Sun altogether. And they have I I I don't think they have a super strong Facebook following. Nope. But they need one. Do know what I'm saying? And I like, they keep saying, hey. What what cities do you want us to come to? And I didn't wanna, like, put myself out there and tell them to, like, come to Des Moines or something. And then only, like, 10 people showed up because they're not super well known in Iowa or something, and I'd feel real guilty. Because they're Canadian. Yeah. Because they're Canadian. Yeah. Private concert. That okay. Private concert is cool except for they probably need a full band's worth of wages. And private mic ain't got that kind of money. Oh, man. So but, anyway, go go find them. Go find them on the socials. Listen to their back catalog on Amazon. They really do. They put out very unique Christian music, and it's awesome. Like, it's really, really good. So we should we should we should stay the band. We could. Actually, I need to formalize our agreement because YouTube is starting to flag me for that opening song like we stole it. We need to become friends.

Yes. I'm sorry. You're copyrighted? Yes. I actually did settle with the band after a lot. I did if you have you haven't been listening to show for a long time, this is probably three or four years ago. But when we first started podcasting, like, it kinda felt like a wild west. Like, you kinda used music, music and it didn't matter. You could use clips of things that didn't matter. And then the the budget copyright stuff started coming up, and I just had we've always used the same theme song ever since the very first show. And I I just got to feel a little bit guilty about it. I'm like, hey. We're not paying for this. And but I couldn't find a way to license it. And so I reached out to them and they the drummer was still maintaining their website. And I said, look, I don't know how to fix this through all the formal channels, but I do I wanna do right by you guys. Like, you know, how can I license this song? He's like, well, you know, whatever you think it's worth. I'm like, dude, nobody listens to the show. I'll give you $300. And he's like, sounds good.

I'm hungry. And so I so when you said, hey. They're coming back. I thought, oh, no. They're gonna legitimize and go, we want 1,500. Okay. Wait. Wait. Can we can we, like, remix Prophet's Cry into this? Well, that's possible. That's actually why I started using that to end the show because we kept getting flagged at the end of show music. And so now, all like, the music I've been using, I have to start swapping out for AI. No one wanted it to go this way. Yeah. You should have regrets. Alright. Here's what's going on the program this evening. Mike has alright. Mike, did you do have like a two second two sentence way to frame up what you wanna talk about? No. Okay. Alright. Okay. The the one of the questions the question is is like, hey, does it seem like more and more people are hearing from God? Okay. I'm taking it back over. Okay. Go. Okay.

This is this is not gonna be a two second version, but I'll try to keep it in a minute. I listening to the book of Job while I was mowing. Okay. And so I listened to the whole thing. And like throughout my lifetime, I've tolerated these three dudes, right? The three Job's friends. And I thought, you know, I don't know based on the facts in front of them, like, I don't think they're right. And they're being overly judgmental. And obviously they're wrong about how the situation came because they accused Job of acting terribly and that's why all these things are befalling him. And then like, I I was I could remember it distinctly. I was making a turn on the mower, and, like, for some reason, like, the sound had gone up. And then Bill dad or somebody goes, and I received a word from the Lord. And I'm like, wait a minute. Now I'm pissed. Because what is just normally a bad argument from a human Yeah. They have now attributed to the fact that they that God told them. And you can't argue with that. That's right. And all three of them said the same thing. I've got it within my spirit. Has it always been within my bones that these things were true? Like, they talk in this super flowery language. But, essentially, what all three of them said is, how can I continue to argue with you? The Lord has given me this vision through angels and whatever. And I'm like, now this sounds like today. This sounds like today. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. So I wanted we wanna talk about that. What are the implications? How do we think about people saying that they heard something from God? And maybe if you're someone who uses this phrase a lot, like, is there some there's some reflection in here? And there's all kinds of phrases of which I think you should have some reflection. But this may be a question of like, do we actually are we discerning, say, his voice? Are we discerning that we have our own voice flavored like Jesus might flavor it? And it doesn't even have to be it's not can't doesn't mean it's untrue. It doesn't mean that it's not pointing in the right direction.

But, like, when you when you claim to voice the words of the Lord, I don't know. There's a heft to that. Even if it sounds like something he would say. There's all kinds of things like that. But, like, as soon as you say, I feel like the Lord told me or I the Lord said. It's actually the I feel like actually, I'll give you a little bit more weight because, like, I've I've been in that boat quite a bit where I'm like, I feel like the Lord is leading me to something or whatever. Mhmm. But, like, when it's like, the Lord gave me a word or the Lord told me this, I'm like, oh, you you better Mhmm. I took a dump and thought of something. Ain't the same Exactly. The same thing. Exactly. I've actually I think I've noticed a lot more of this on social media. A lot recently. It's where every once in a while when you're scrolling on Instagram or Facebook or whatever platform that you're using, every once in a while there will just be a video that goes, stop right now. God has put this on your For You page for me to tell you this. And I go, has he? Has he, though? Yeah. Has he done that? Sure. Has he? I'm like, okay. Well, how how do you know that? And it's like, there's no hashtags on this video. And I was like, does the hashtags bring up the videos? Is that what happens here? And I'm like, okay.

So that doesn't still make any sense though because what? And it's like But all kinds of people believe that. Exactly. Yeah. Not talking to me about I'm looking at, like, the comments of these videos and it's like, I really needed this today. I really felt like this. And I was That that's true. He's not. It's not true. Yeah. I have felt god, like, leading me in a certain direction before, but I will rarely say that part out loud. Yeah. Especially to Because then it's like, maybe I'm wrong, and I don't and I'm discrediting him. Okay. Wait. Hold on. Yeah. Hold on. Oh. Hold on. Let me finish with the other topics, and then we'll come back to this. Okay. Eric, let me pause. Okay. Other things that we're gonna touch on. Got me excited. I I had I had this this thought. I I've heard actually, I heard this from multiple places of someone saying talking about Christian as if they don't belong on the earth and

we're exiles on the earth. And, like, we say phrases like like, I'm not there's a song that's like, I don't know. I'm not home yet. I'm not where I belong. Be in the world and not of the world, things like that. And, like, again, I'm not sure completely wrong, but I don't think actually we're thinking about humanity correctly and our place in it when we think of it that way. Like, I don't know southern gospel music that took it deeper. This kind of, yes. Yeah. So anyway, I wanna talk about that a little bit. I also, I was at a church this weekend, and something the guy said, it was talking about kind of engaging with the culture, and it made me think that predominantly most of the places where someone represents that they are Christians being persecuted,

it's telling me you are either inept or too much of a sissy to actually engage. Like these are opportunities. If you think there's a clash, that's an opportunity. That's not a time for you to call wounded and be like, oh, the culture is after me. And so I need to knock that off. And so I wanna If you basically described Paul's life. You know what saying? Like, call that a rest of instinct. Hot dang. I guess I know who I'm talking to tomorrow. Yeah. Like like the place the place where the thing that you are trying to do ideally for Jesus and in a world that is not doing that for Jesus, where the clash happens, like, that's the key opportunity, boys. Yeah. Like those are the dudes that's Daniel in the lion's den. That's those are the three dudes who don't burn up in the fire. Like the guy who says I'm I'm I'm gonna not I'm gonna pray because I want to. Like these are the opportunities and like we voice for the Christian support as opposed to engaging opportunity in the right in the place where light actually should be shining. Does that mean I I have to stop being mean to people on social media who make fun of my Yeah, Dan. We've been saying this for three years. I know. Continually unrepentant This one I can identify. I'm like, okay. That makes sense. Yeah.

I get it in there, Hartford. Okay. Oh, and we'll stay we'll start with this one one thing. I wanted to circle back on something we were talking about maybe like four or five weeks ago, and I'm I don't wanna talk about it. I just wanna say something more precisely than I had. I had on a couple different occasions, I had mentioned that, like, I'm not super comfortable when we're talking about the rec the resurrect or the crucifixion of the focus on the blood and guts and gore. And and I I I figured out I figured out more precisely,

I think, my how I wanna word the direction of it, which is like is you should focus more focus less on what Rome did and more on what God did. I like that. That's the right balance. Yeah. And so if we're gonna like, this is how I'm gonna help them feel it emotionally, and they're gonna connect and feel guilty and shame and think of how great our God did on this thing because of they could see the blood and the sweat and the business, which is part of it. I'm not saying it's not part of it, but I'm saying if the balance is I care and the the big part of my story is more about what Rome did to God, not what God did for me, that's where your balance is wrong, and so that would be my recommendation to fix. I feel like that's also an easy thing to apply to, like, our world now. Mhmm. You focus a lot more on, like, the things that are hurting you than the things that God is doing in return to that. Oh, sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You you're like, but they did all these horrible things. And he's like, I forgave them anyway, and I need you to do the same. Yeah. Like, we focus so much more on the things that are hurting us because they're easier to focus on. Sure. And saying like, if you get stabbed and somebody goes, boo. Sorry. That escalated. Sorry. You I

changed really quick. We jumped a bit. Dude, no one has ever apologized for stabbing me. Alright. Well, you're not talking a stabby joke, though. Okay. Everybody pause. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Stay with me here. But if somebody say somebody stabbed you and they went, I'm sorry, and it's obvious they didn't mean it, you're like, well they just stabbed me. Yeah. But Jesus is still over here like well forgive them. Well maybe They stabbed me. I first to maybe arrest the man but they They will do. Yeah. For sure. You're missing the point. I did it just there. When you focus so much on

you guys are hard to get along with today. Sometimes illustration overpowers what you're trying to say. Yeah. But, like, you like like, I need another metaphor. Oh, like, you focus so much on the wound that you have instead of just getting a bandage. Oh, for sure. You focus More on the wound than the cure. You're focusing so much on the bruise and the part that hurts than the part that could actually heal it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. That makes sense. There we go. Okay. Alright. Cool. Alright. So let's let's get to this thing since we're so excited about it. Bildad says a thing. Bildad says, Job, I I heard this from the lord. Yeah. The spirit has moved me. Here's my advice. And we have biblically this is bad advice. Yeah. Biblically, like quick I mean, you guys know the story of Job probably. But overall, like, Satan goes up to God and says, hey. God says to Satan, hey. Have you seen my buddy Job? He's nailing this thing. He loves me. He's doing all the good things. And Satan's like, you protect this man like he's your golden child. Yeah. Let me take stuff from him. We'll see how much he loves you. And he does. And he agrees to it. Say and then that fails to to thwart Job. And so Satan goes,

I can I can get him? You have to give me access to his health, though. You let me take his riches and his sons and all of his wealth, his his earthly comforts. But as soon as you go after a man's health and well-being, skin for skin, he'll give up. God goes, alright. You can do you can do all the things you said, but you can't kill him. And he does. Now now granted, it breaks Job a bit. Job becomes very sad, very depressed, and he's like, I wish I was never been born. But god gives and god takes away. Blessed be the name of the lord. Mhmm. And that and then and then his whole life is shattered. And, basically, his three friends show up to comfort him, and they nail it right off the bat. They sit next to him, they keep their mouth shut for, like, a week. And then here comes Eliphaz, the Temanite and Bildad, and they go, can a man sit here quiet? I will have to tell you. And from their perspective, God deals justly with the just,

and he deals unjustly with the unjust. So Job has done something to cause this. Now we already know from the beginning tome of Job that that is not the case. Right? Job is part part of a cosmic example of God's love and interaction with with the with the spiritual world, and it's falling on Job as an example. So we know that this isn't the case. Yet for the next 35 chapters, the boys, his three buddies are gonna be like, how long will you say that you didn't do anything? Obviously, you did. Fess up. Do I have to sit here and listen to your lies, Job? You know? And Holy man. The the growing problem is that when their earthly arguments fail, now all of a sudden they're like, I saw this in a fog and in a mist and in the visions that a man is would is just and reaps the rewards of which he has sown. And, like, he's saying, I heard from the Lord you're a liar. I heard from the Lord that you have done something, and if you would just repent, God is big to forgive. And they nail that part, but they continue to insist that Job has brought this calamity because of his own behavior and his own sin. And normally, like, throughout my whole life, I've listened to the story and I thought, I mean, these dudes are really annoying, but, like, they're not holding all the cards. You know, they're trying to figure out what this man was like to high on the hog, watchman of the gates. A big deal. Had 20,000 sheep and 1,500 kids or whatever. And then he's got nothing. All destroyed by storms

and competing armies that all decided to attack at once. And you're like, well, Yahweh did that for sure. This is a Yahweh event. And given the information they had, they're like, what did you do, Job? You screwed this up. But which is fine. From an earthly perspective, they're like, hey. Something happened. Yeah. But then they attribute it to god told me. And I thought, dang it. If this is not the hardest thing to try to contend with is when people show up and go, God told me. The holy spirit showed me. God gave me a word. Mhmm. And this is the deal. And and, like, I I've been noticing it more and more, like, on social media for sure. And, like, the people around me will tell me, like, I saw the Holy Spirit do blank. And I'm like, I mean, I was there. I didn't see the holy why do I is God excluding me Uh-huh. From seeing a cool thing the Holy Spirit did? Like, I don't understand how this is possible.

And so the the the question that came to my mind is is, like, my social media stuff is filled with people who are claiming, hey. I heard from the lord or this is god's word for you today or, like, even as Ella brought up on your Instagram page, it'll scroll and you'll be like, The Lord's trying to get your attention. He wants you to feel peace and love today. And I'm like, generally, I guess, maybe. But he also might be putting you in exile to get your attention. I can watch what you say. You know? So altogether, I thought, well, it seems from a visible point of view, more and more people are hearing from from the lord. And either that is fantastic or it's a lie and a huge distraction. Because then people who don't hear from the lord all the time like this guy's claiming, they feel like less than or that god isn't good or that god thinks that I'm not talking to that guy or I've bought a lies because, obviously, people who love and follow Jesus hear from him in all these amazing ways. And yet, I don't feel like maybe I've heard from him in, like, 10 separate occasions. Does that even count? This guy's getting a daily message every day. You know? Yeah. Yeah. So overall, like like the the question I was thinking about is like,

one, how do we help how do we help figure this out? Do you know what I'm saying? Because like, I it's really easy to dress up false prophets. And I think that like and Paul said this was a problem. The New Testament addresses this as a problem. Right? But they're so accessible to millions of people. You don't even have to get vetted out of your local church anymore. You can just get on Instagram and start posting as pastor Donald

Raul. And all of a sudden, you are just throwing whatever you want out into the world. People are like, well, he's a pastor. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. I don't know what you're talking about. Pastor Donald Raul knows exactly what's I'm gonna I'm make it. Yeah. He's credible. Obviously. He's so obviously correct. I just saw a man, like, in his study go, Me? Oh no, they're wrong to me. Okay.

So listen, it's yes. I actually think there is a significant amount of humility that needs to be like, just holistically

like, here's here's one thing. I could if I had it with me, I would pick up my big old fat well worn study bible and go, God has spoken. I know that much. I know this much. Does God continue to speak? Yes. I have every confidence. I think it has happened to me personally maybe twice directly, maybe five times where it's been clear that God used somebody else to give me some level of confidence or something. But that's I'm 45 years old and a pastor and five, maybe. I I there are people who I think this is a legitimate like, God God

works through them. And but it is often it's not like it's not daily. It's not like constantly. It's like but they are the people when like you you need help discerning. God gave you a rock to go to and go, okay. Probably also will use this person to help me validate. It's kind of like their role in the world. And then I think like the question, the key question you'd have to ask yourself is that like, am I sure I didn't baptize a preference of mine?

Am I sure that because of what it this is gonna get twisty, but like because of how I feel in moments where it feels like the spirit is in the room or the spirit is with me, at the same time those moments are created emotionally in other circumstances, am I sure that those two things are not getting bottled together where because it feels it could even be holy or it could even be like totally right. There's nothing wrong with something that somebody is saying. If someone said, hey, stop, listen to me. God wanted me to speak you and tell you to repent. Well, probably, but like that but the thing you are saying was the part that was misrepresented. God does probably want them to repent, but he already said that. It's the question is like, what are what's making you say like God sent you to talk to a faceless Myriad

or to a group of 10 people where like you saw an opportunity and thought of something that's probably true and then said it? But it doesn't mean that God said it. And like I actually maybe I said the maybe on the five because like maybe there's even one there's one of those or so where I'm like, I don't know. It's very possible that like it aligned with the Lord but He didn't act specifically. I don't care either way. That doesn't matter to me. But then there's but here's what I'll tell you. If I look at the New Testament, these people know when God is moving. You know when the spirit entered the room. And we very rarely see it actually done at a personal level. It And it doesn't mean it's not happening at a personal level. But what I mean is is that like the places where there's like

like the New Testament examples, it's not dodgy. It's not like you only get one person who knows a thing and then shows up kind of later on. It does tend to be a little bit more communal than that. And so I guess all those things are things are things to say like, one, how do you make sure that you have not co opted totally unintentionally an emotion that's associated with the presence of the spirit to any thoughts or ideas you may have had when you have that same emotion.

And two, it's perfectly okay to say just like Paul in scripture himself says, Hey, this thing is not particularly from God, I think it's a good idea. Like he didn't say this to me personally, but like I think you should think about it this way. I say that a lot. And if that should be okay to the Job point, if if it can't be made by me pointing about to back to scripture or extrapolating from the way that God's character is

to bring in this kind of external, yeah, I know this goes against things you may be thinking or no one's even talking about this, but God told me. I would just say, like, run that through about 10 filters and maybe pray with somebody else. Yeah. My my first reaction is always skepticism. Even if it's something I feel God's leading me to do, I think, okay, am I convincing myself of that? Like I said, you know, am I pulling something together? And that that's that's just my first reaction is skepticism.

It's double that if it's someone on social media saying, hey. God wants me to talk to you. I'm like, that'd be a little more personal probably. Yeah. Not not everybody who sees this video. Gonna say, like, there's, like, 1.5 k people who have loved this video. Yeah. Do you think that your exact message is supposed to be for exactly these 1.5 k people? Do you really think that? That does feel irresponsible. Like like and the thing that I brought up, like, when we were talking about this before the show was, is, like, I'm comfortable like, if God made me an elbow, that I don't have to be involved in every spiritual conversation he has. And so, like, if he tells an ear

that, like, as part of the body that this is going on, I don't wanna be the guy in the corner that misses the whole thing because I'm like, well, I didn't see it. Yeah. Right? That's that's the pharisees. Right? They miss the lord in front of them for their own experience and preference. Yeah. That's right. And so I don't wanna be that. And so I don't wanna like, it was kind of, like, as an amalgamate of, like, some of that conversations we've had over the last month about, like, trusting other Christians. And I'm like, lord, I can't. I don't wanna do this. I wanna trust your body. You're in control of the body. You're the head of the body. I can't walk around going, hey, man. If an ear said this, like, I'm maybe I'll just on the side that it's right instead of erring on the side that it's wrong. But but on the other hand, like, I have a really hard time with people actually, hold on. Let me let me ask these two things because I thought of two examples while you were talking. Yep. And and they're they're like movements of the spirit as far as I would concern. Right? Like, I was talking to somebody here recently and, like, God's been connecting knowledge about him. This is what I would say, and this is what the person would say. That God has been connecting knowledge about him through, like, trees.

Right? So, like, when they see trees, right, for some reason, their brain automatically goes to, like, a deeper spiritual truth to, like, understand God better Mhmm. Through how a tree grows. Right? Yeah. Yeah. And, like, multiple times, like, it's happened. Like, for some reason, I just cannot get away that every time I look at like, I I get God introduces a new concept to me. It's, like, tied to this tree thing for some reason, and I totally get it. And so, like, I would go, well, it feels like the holy spirit's trying to teach you something. Now they didn't say, God said trees are important Yeah. Or you should pay attention to trees. But, like, that does feel like God was getting an attention and allowing you to see something without speaking on behalf of other people. Mhmm. So can we agree that, like, things like that could possibly be? Yes. Right? Is this is a comfortable place for the indwelling of the holy spirit to be doing work in people individually. That I think Yeah. I'm pretty comfortable with. Right? But it's when people go basically when they have, like, a message for more than one person, I start I that that breaks up my flag where I'm like, okay. Prophets do speak to a lot of people at once. Right? And I'm totally with you there. But, like, when it's a very specific message for a large group of people, then it starts to look like you're the focus and not the words that God would otherwise have spoken.

I I was thinking, like, imagine in the first century, there's social media. The church in Antioch is praying and fasting, and god speaks to them, set apart from me Paul and Barnabas. Mhmm. And they get on the social media and say, god has spoken to us to send you out. Well, who's you? Whoever's listening. So I mean, you know, it's much more specific in that kind of situation. Yeah. So do you think God talks to people as much now as he did in the Old Testament or New Testament or less? I was actually thinking about that on the way over here because I heard a little bit of a God just told me that. I knew you were thinking it. No, I'm just Everybody's lost out there. Hold up before we declare.

No, I was thinking about this a little bit, I was like, Well, the Old Testament is a lot different from our world now. Like, we're we got very different things going on, but it can still relate in some of the same ways. Mhmm. Like, in some of the same ways of Job. Get to that in a minute because I totally lost where I was going with there. But what I was thinking about was the Old Testament, we started growing there. Right? Like, we started growing like a tree. Like, we had the the two posts, and then we had the thing around the middle, the rope or whatever, and we're growing there. So do you think that in the same season that we are in now, god will speak the same then? Like, we were growing there, so he said things here so then we could grow.

Well, would he say the same things now even though we did that part growing there? I would say, like, I think the key distinction as we think about Old Testament, New Testament is the provision of the Holy Spirit itself. Mhmm. Right? And so, like, where primarily you're getting these words passed through prophets in the very presence of God with humans. So, is it more by volume? Probably simply because you have individuals who are having the experience that perhaps the prophets themselves only had from an Old Testament perspective.

But the I think the but the question becomes, is it like, do we think about the types of things that the Spirit is being involved in as fundamentally different? Like, the presence of an indwelling Holy Spirit, does it also

direct an expectation of what you might call like spirit micromanagement? Right? Like, where where God has provided, like, have direction. If I again, Paul back in Galatians goes, look, the the the notion of a Christian is we know we need Jesus. The how you live that life out is do the things that Jesus did, and where that's not clear, the spirit will guide as a helper. This is it. Like this is the core reality of Christianity. And so I think the question is

it more than the Old Testament? I think by volume, of course, more people, indwelling individual Holy Spirit. Yes, think that's true. But what I think it does do is I I where I'm hesitant is to some of the stuff, Mike, I think you were getting at, which is like, if there becomes an expectation that a loving God gives humans choices, but then says the indwelling of the Holy Spirit basically turns you back into individual microscopic chess pieces of which the spirit has of which you have no agency. Like you've actually removed the very notion of freedom,

free choice, love, and those types of things. And it doesn't mean like, God, I don't want God. I'd love to have God directing any given thing, but I don't think it's as hype it's as prescriptive as I think some of these realities are. And it does tend to be denominational in lines Mhmm. As as the experiences that people are expecting

for it to happen. And the the notion and I think this is the place where where I have a hesitance in this conversation. It's primarily because, like, what I don't want to do is embolden people or the thought that the spirit is not actively moving and that we are not should not be actively engaging with the Holy Spirit. That's a significant error,

a theological one at the Does it change your thought at all if instead of like a chess piece, they're invitations? Right? Because then your agency is to either go or not go. Like, you get to choose. Yeah. Kind of. But, like, I just it's it's interesting it's interesting to think about, like, if God is not predictable as much as consistent, of he went four hundred years saying nothing to his people.

Even when he was when the prophets was the primary way to they're not having daily experiences. That one I do buy. Yes. Yeah. And like and there is something different with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I just I wonder if we just have a because that becomes a possibility,

is it possible that we are just we've gotten maybe a little bit too cavalier or comfortable putting words in God's mouth? Okay. I'll give actually give you an example because it and there's two things that came up to something that was at some baptisms on Sunday. And two things happened. One thing, the the the church had this VBS thing, and they showed, a short video. It was cool. Like, look. All the kids were having a great time. And the guy the guy who was running the emcee of the thing showed the video, and he's like, hey, man. Look at all the cool things god is doing. It's a pretty common thing. We say it all the time, but it stuck with me. I'm like, like what? Like what though? Little Billy's playing Because you put on a VVS? Nice. And it scraps. Here's the thing. The VBS was on. There's no reason not to do the VBS. It was cool. I think I hope people were excited and they put their kids there and the kid did great things.

But is and I know what we're saying. Yeah. But it struck me to go, we say that actually pretty flippantly or like maybe the last song that they did on Sunday mornings like, oh God was in the room on that one. What are we what are you doing? It's it's this type of like we've become a little bit like we're not just like wandering in and out of the tent of meeting. We're coming in in a bathrobe and shaving our armpits in there. So Wow. Alright. And so like, I I just wonder if there's not just because the holy spirit indwells,

I I don't know that he tagged us as his mouthpiece. I'm trying to tag him as mine. Yeah. So I do think there's and we wouldn't do it intentionally. That guy didn't. I'm sure he loves Jesus. He seems like a great man. But it's the part that hit me. And the same thing occurred to me because like there was a there was something the guy was teaching and he was in it was it was it was about it was about

being engaging with the world. And he was using Jeremiah 29, the chapter, which has the the Jeremiah twenty nine eleven, which is like, I know the plans I have have set for you. Which that word is shalom? We keep people keep saying prosper. I'm not sure. Like, this is a peace. Like, I have intention for godly peace and

even for the place that they were indwelling. But anyway, he was like, hey, we're like we're exiles. We're not like Jerusalem. You know, like like they were exiles. We are exiles. And this gets we'll talk about the other part later. But he goes I'm like, that's not right. Like, we're not we're not exiles here. Why is he saying that? And then he goes to first Peter and he says first Peter one, Peter goes, hey, Peter writing to the elect and the exiles. Dot dot dot. And he's like, see, he's writing to all Christians. These are exiles. I don't know if you've read first Peter lately but the dot dot dot says the elect, the exiles from the diaspora in Turkey and blah blah blah. This was specifically the exile was the Jewish diaspora from Jerusalem not

Christians holistically. But if you cut it off there you can go, Exile, exile. This makes my scriptural point. Now you guys have heard me say multiple times, wrong scripture, right point. Everything else the man said and encouragement in Christian life and community was perfectly fine. And I thought about this for a while afterwards, why does this bother me so much? One, seems a little lazy. But two, it was but the thing was is that like it's innocuous here. There was no impact of misusing intentionally or unintentionally that scripture to make what is a point.

And sometimes when someone goes, look, God told me to tell you to repent even if it's the For You page guy, it's probably not wrong. There's probably a good pattern of life to be in repentance. Sure. But the thing is is like the pattern of that, the nonchalance, the like, if you told don't tell me God told you a thing if he didn't tell you a thing. Don't mistake your feeling even if the thing you're saying is true or righteous. Like, it does matter because that is the same pattern of which manipulations occur, of which subtle shifts of how we think about God speaking and scripture

and like, hey, no, God doesn't talk to me that way. And so now I either follow with this person or maybe God loves me less because God never does those things. I sometimes feel kind of anal on this type of stuff, but it's because of that. It's because of that drift related to it. And so does it matter? I think it does matter. I actually gonna like, because I was thinking about this earlier because then, like, taking taking a couple steps back, going to back to your original question. And, like,

what it boils down to is, like, how can you, like, tell the difference between you speaking and god speaking? Mhmm. And I thought of two things. Okay. First thing I thought of was we have a bible. Mhmm. There's a good chance that what god is telling you is also in that bible. So if you're like, god's not speaking. He spoke. It's in the bible. Read the bible. It's in the word. Yep. His word because he spoke it. Okay. Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment here. It does. It's making me it's making me cry just a little. Oh my gosh. Don't get emotional. Gross. No. But and then the other one the other thing I thought about was leniency. Okay.

We are a lot more lenient with the things, like, if you I don't wanna make another big jump. Feel judged. But If you stab a guy in the face. If you cheated on your wife. A hot iron. If like, we're a lot more lenient with the things that we want to be okay. Yep. And I feel like that can also change our view of god. Mhmm. And it it makes me worry a little bit because when we do that enough, then we start changing what God's character is to some people. We start preaching a different character. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Start preaching different things than what God actually is. And I was thinking about this early because this actually came up earlier in my earlier in the week for me. Yeah. Because I was reading my bible and I was thinking and I was like, but imagine if somebody told you something completely different about God. Mhmm. But it was exactly what you wanted to hear. Yeah. Yeah. So they tell you exactly what you wanna hear, so you come to God. That but then when you get there, it depends on if you're actually reading the bible. Because if you actually read the bible and the thing that they told you is true because they wanted you to come to Jesus, then you're kinda mad. Then you're like, well, this god that you told me about is not the god that is actually here. Yeah. Yeah. Well, the thing was that was never god anyway. That's right. They just wanted you to come to church. Yeah. And I feel like we do that so much. And it's all about like, we're so lenient with the things that we do because we want

we want what we do to be correct. We want Preaching, fellas. Yeah. Yeah. We want what we do to be exactly what is aligning with god. Yeah. I feel like that's we assume so much that what we're saying is what god's saying because we are like, well, it's okay if I, like, if I it's okay if I get drunk on this Tuesday. Like, god god loves me enough. I'm already forgiven here. No. God is a God of justice. If you keep changing his justice, you're not talking about God. You're talking about you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, I had a conversation with someone last week about it was about theology and about lifestyles and all kinds of different things. And I'm like the one thing I'm not going to do is invite you to serve a God that's made out of either your image or mine. Like that's a mistake. And so there's things that I'm saying that ultimately you're not going to agree with, and that's fine. Mean, to human, you have the ability to do that. But, like, it would not be it would be wrong of me to try to point either of us to a god that I, like, I have no valid like, I'm just making up in my mind because I'm more comfortable with it. That's what I'm saying. It's like

telling someone like, if they hate broccoli, right? Again, with the analogy. I don't know where I'm going with this. If they really hate broccoli Mhmm. And you go, well, here's a piece of candy corn. And you're like, wow. I really like candy corn. I'll go do that. Well, that you're you're it's not the same. Broccoli the whole time. Alright. You don't get you don't get the same You dummy. Josh, you don't get the same spiritual nutrients that you get from the candy corn Yeah. Because it's not what you need. We've become really sloppy in our churches and our it's our spiritual walk. And part of it is we want to be the hero of the story. Yes. You know? So the church is like saying, hey. Look look what god's really doing here. It's like, okay. Yeah. Yeah. But but it's like it's because we're better than the other church. Mhmm. They wouldn't say it that way, but that's in the back of their mind. It's like, god's really moving here. Probably not down the street, though. And and god told me to tell you this because he really I got a great relationship with him better than you. I feel like I walk that line very carefully when I am like I almost never say, god told me this. Yeah. Yeah. Because I don't want because I don't wanna be saying, like, if I go tell this guy that god told me this and he didn't actually, then I'm being false. Yeah. But this is eaten by a bear. This is my concern in the opposite direction. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know what I'm saying? My concern in the opposite direction is, well, if god didn't tell me, he certainly didn't tell you. You know I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. That's just that's just arrogance. But but that's the thing is when is is is like if if if the if people are hearing from god this is why it is so important to be in a relationship

with him and have the indwelling holy spirit that you can interact with, understand, hear God's voice, that kind of stuff. Right? Is is to be able to vet and discern some of these things because you can sit on a lofty tower that goes, well, someone says, god was god showed me this, and you're like, didn't happen. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And you could miss out on the movement things that god is doing merely because god told someone else and not you, and you automatically discount it. Now I think you should test the spirits, and you should discern the crap out of thing and you should pray on it. But, like, merely because you're better than God should have told you, and there's an arrogance in that too. Just like there is, like, this person believes they're better because they got the word from God even if it's true or not. You know Okay. What Okay. So maybe a way to maybe a way to think about this then is, like, you should actually think of proclamations on behalf of the spirit

that someone claims as the same thing as a prophecy. And they're either gonna be false or they're not. If the things that people are saying cannot be proven one way or the other, then I'm not sure that they're coming from the spirit. Mhmm. Because the spirit is not giving you like, oh, oh, you know, like the the spirit says, I'm really feeling mauve in the corner of the room. Let's say my wife says, like, I prayed on it, and the spirit told me mauve. That's not provable. I don't and God does not send any spirits or any prophets that could not be tested. And to the same extent that that's effectively what we're saying, is that everyone has the same possibility that God will speak through them. I would be hyper cautious that these are things that cannot Oh, yeah. Be proven, but this is the difficulty because someone's to say, look, I've been praying, you've been praying, and like, I think, like

the example I've given before on where I felt like I heard from God very clearly, which is odd because this is gonna seem not clear when I tilt I reiterate the story is when when we were I was praying through whether I should start the house church, and I did not want to leave the church that we were in. I didn't like anything about what that felt like. And I was praying on and praying on it, and that there was like a dream thing and felt hyper realistic. It was wild. But the thing that I God didn't go plant the house church. It wasn't that. Mhmm. It was it was like I felt like I feel like Paul. I pulled up and did like this heaven thing, realest thing I've ever been a part of. And there was just like a there was like a neon sign that was like flashing or scrolling or something, and it just said Jesus is Lord. And the thing when I I woke up dead sweat in the middle of a hotel room in Orlando, and the thing that's or Jacksonville. And the thing that stuck with me was it was a confidence that like the things that you're getting twisted up about God is bigger than. Mhmm. I I know what you're trying to protect and I know what you're worried about. Jesus is Lord. Don't worry about it. And then and then it felt like it was okay to do that. Now, does that does that pass? Now that was to me personally. I didn't go I suppose I didn't go and say, Mike

Yeah. God said to me that you should do a thing. Because, like, those are hard to prove. Because like either you choose to do it or you're not. You can't tell whether it's false. And so maybe that maybe what I'm suggesting doesn't is hard, not as easy to follow is what I'm saying. But I do think it's of the same weight though. I think you should treat it as the same type of weight. You don't just get to say random stuff. Yeah. I think part of the test is, am am I bringing glory to God, or am I using God to bring glory to me? And and that that's a good way to to to test the spirit. Yeah. Right. Do you wanna be known as an awesome prophet? Yeah. Like, are you saying this because more people be like, man, this guy is just so close to the This guy is great. The Lord. Yeah. Mhmm. Like, even I would say the the thing that came to mind is Elijah and his buddy, you know, are like, is it Elijah with the with the angels and the, like, the the whole armies there, and then there's, the whole angels behind him? Oh, gotcha. Yeah. Like, the lord's army's behind him. And, like, his his buddies with him, and he's like, there's more of us than there's more of us than there is of them. Yeah. And then he opens his eyes, and he gets to see it too. Yeah. But what if Elijah just stand there and said, don't worry, there's more of us than I got this. Yeah. And then crickets happen. Yeah. His buddy's like, what do you mean? God told me I got What do though? Yeah. Yeah. Actually, that is interesting. Actually, I find and maybe

I have to think about this on whether I think this continues to be as true. But like most of the prophets were hesitant. They didn't want to go and go like, I'm a prophet of the Lord. I a bunch of stuff you want to tell you. In fact, I know this. There are people I know, and kind this kinda does happen with them, and they don't wanna tell you. They're like, I don't wanna get like, until God makes me do a thing, I'm not calling people. I'm not knocking on doors because, like, they there's a weight to that. And so I actually I think the suspicion of where it feels like there's a bit of a it's not an advertisement.

I don't think I think most people aren't mustache twisting. I just I'm this it's where I'm cautious in it, but like you're we are just you're playing with a holy fire in that thing. I think there's a possibility not that you've not that we've tried to co opt something, but we've become just a little bit too flippant at what it means to say a thing is on God's behalf that I think I think is probably worth a very

fasting and a humbling and just a making a sure type of situation. Yeah. So so I mean, some church groups, communities, whatever, that there's a culture that that that really feeds that, and it's almost an internal pressure. Yeah. I've got to have a word from God because, I mean, Sam does too. Yeah. And then then and I don't think it's conscious. Yeah. Think Yeah. That's what you're saying. Subconscious. Like Yeah. I wanna be spiritual too, so I'll make something up. And

and then they probably don't even know they're making it up. Or, yeah. And and like and I do think this is that is the hard part because, like, I I think I can think of a few examples actually of people around me that where I've heard them say something. He's like, oh, God told me this to do this thing, and I've never felt more encouraged to blah blah blah. And then like, but the thing did not happen. Yeah. Yeah. But did they have a connection with God? Yes. Did they have something that popped into their mind? This is what I'm saying. The the maybe I'm the wrong guy to diagnose it. I do think it's a mixture of

emotions and feelings that happen when we are actively engaged with God that can also be triggered by other situations and then maybe get a little bit flexy. So it's a social contagion within a church. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Which the same thing happens with pessimism Yeah. And not listening to the spirit for sure. For sure. Or like three people wanna get baptized, now there's 15 and you're like Exactly. Is the God move? Or is this camp? I'm so excited. Here we go. Okay. So Yeah. So what's like, I don't know that you can boil this down to is here's the three tricks of the trade to be able to discern

Yeah. Some of these things. Right? Like, I I think the thing that always scared me is okay. Quick story. And I'm gonna tell you this scared the crap out of me is is we had felt like god was asking us to adopt a a kid, right, from a foreign country. Right? And I remember, like like, my wife was like, yes. We're like, I just feel like god's leading you to do this. And I'm like, well, listen. I can't just I'm not gonna pick a country then. So, like, god's gonna have to help me. So I prayed on it, and I prayed, like and so one night, I'm I'm begging him. I'm like, look. I can't file paperwork until you tell me the country. Right? And

the next morning, I'm at work, and my boss is yelling at me for something. And I looked down at my hand, and it's sitting on a magazine from National Geographic that says adopting from Ethiopia. And, like, something in my brain clicks and goes, hey. That's it. Done. I'll file paperwork today. And I was very excited. Five years down the road, we are still waiting for a kid,

and the adopting from Ethiopia closes. They close as a country. You can't adopt from them anymore. And my first thought was,

I'm a false prophet. Mhmm. Mhmm. I've heard God wrong, And I've made a huge mistake. And I didn't recover from this for like two years. I'm like, I can't speak to anybody? Like, what have I done? And here's the thing. It's like, on this side of heaven, I don't know that I'm gonna know the answer on what all that was about. Mhmm. Because I did not adopt a kid from Ethiopia. Right? I didn't. I don't know why we were there. I don't know why I went through the process. I don't know why god allowed it. I don't know whether I made it up. I I'm almost certain I did not, but I would not plant my life on it. But I told people that exact story Yeah. To explain God's goodness. And I was so scared that I had proclaimed something in his name that was a lie. Mhmm. And I'm like, what do I do with this? Mhmm. And, like,

I to be honest with you, don't even know what to say about that story. I don't know how I feel about it to this day. Mhmm. Right? I think that that that people who love me and people who were close, who are, like, followers of Jesus, they just look like, look. You didn't do anything wrong here. Right. But it just didn't turn out what you thought was gonna happen. I don't know why god did all that. He'll have to explain that to you. But I don't see a bunch of sin in here. And I'm like, are you sure? You weren't telling other people to adopt from Ethiopia. Saying, god, let me to do that. Know? But, like Yeah. It scared me to death that I had misspoke on god's behalf Mhmm. Even if it was an encouraging story on how god had answered a prayer as far as I was concerned. And I thought, what if what if people take this false example that I've given and then, like, use it to to make their own fault? I'm like, I it it confused the crap out of me for years. And so, like, I guess what I'm trying to say is is, like, I don't know that I did that well when I was younger. I I wasn't confident about it then. I was less confident after it failed as far as I was concerned. And even looking back at back at it now as a as a wiser follower of Christ, I'm like, I still couldn't tell you exactly. I really think it was him, but but it didn't turn out at all. I can't see where his glory is in it. Yeah. So I don't know why. And I'm I'm still confused on the whole thing, you know? And so, like, does it get to be that gray maybe?

Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, I can't answer that. I can't even if someone told me that story, I can't be like, you obviously wanted to adopt from Ethiopia, which I didn't. I just wanted to adopt and be faithful in what I thought we were doing. And so, like, you don't say it? Like, the whole thing I put together, and I'm like, I don't know what to say sometimes where, like, god will do a thing that I can't explain. And, like, in all estimates of my own, it failed, but it did whatever god wanted it to do. Mhmm. Does that make it not the spirit because it didn't turn out how I thought? I don't think that's true. I think the holy spirit can have me do all kinds of human failings Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And accomplish his things. But, like, I I'm still I'm still a little gray on my own Yeah. Possibilities. I have a question for you. Yeah. So

Well, I had a question, I guess. Hold I have a question while she's thinking. Yeah. You go. So does that provide you more grace to understand what other people say when maybe they said God spoke to them now because it happened to you would or not?

Say that I am open to the human being the wink link, and I and it doesn't matter to me how they got there, whether they got there honestly or dishonestly. I I usually am okay with going, look. You're you're not

you're not intentionally sinful. I don't think that you're trying to speak on the lord's behalf, but I do need we do need to discern through this. Now what I didn't do is the same thing Ben didn't do is I didn't go, can can three other people actually, now that I think about it, there's about three other things involved there that led me to that Ethiopia thing. Yeah. Yeah. True. Now that I think about it. I was like, man, I can't believe I just busted out there on one thing. So there's more than one thing that pointed it in that direction, which is why I was pretty confident about it. Mhmm. But still, like, with it not coming out the way that I thought it was going to, I've had people tell me god told them to do a thing. And then literally a month later, tell me god told them to do something else that conflicts with the first thing. Mhmm. And then a month later, they tell me that god's really leading and they're all, like, god smelling things. Like, I'm gonna lead a VBS, and I'm gonna start this bible study, or I'm gonna quit this job and go do this. And I'm like, well, you can't do the first thing if you do the third. So was god you know what I'm saying? Like, a discernment with somebody else to go, this feels kinda wild. And so, like,

I think it does give me more grace to listen to people and go, here's how it happened. Here's what I what you think you heard. Let's just talk about it for a minute, and I'll pray on it too. But it also still makes me very skeptical of things that come out of people's mouths, especially if it can't be proven. And the only joy that comes out of it, God might get the glory, but the only other person that got to see it was that person. That I I it makes me nervous too. I'm like, why would God not collect his glory? Yeah. I'm often less concerned

with the depth of human fallibility in any of those things than I am in situations like the one you described. Like, they will eventually misunderstand God in the process. Because if they said, oh, God told me to do a thing, and they did it, and then it failed, and then they did something else. Well, I mean, we we've talked about this often. If I look around the walls on this room, there's been a number of musicians who have come in here and go, oh, yeah. God told me this was gonna be true, and it did not end up becoming true. And multiple of them have left the faith.

One of them became a different person entirely. Like, you're like and and and part of the thing was God said for me to do I heard God speak, and either God was a liar or God wasn't there. And the conclusions they people come to off of human fallibility is more my concern than the fact that like, hey. Did you hear it wrong? Okay. I mean, whatever. God's gracious. To that point, like what Carl was saying, like, I just I I think we should probably be real peaceful about it with each other and gracious about it. But I am guarded specifically because it only takes a few to set up where people will get in their mind and they will completely misunderstand God Him himself, not the stumbling, bumbling process of what it takes a fallible human being to hear from him correctly. Yeah. We we had a similar not not as far as you went, but, like, prior to getting married. Oh, we weren't as disobedient as you. We weren't as clad as you. Not be that way. I mean, we didn't go as far in the process. We we we we were gonna adopt a baby from China

late mid eighties to mid nineties, about a ten year period. I mean, I got a loan. I mean, I I I we went through all the hoops. We we were talking with an agency. And then at some point, something just clicked, and it was just like, no, we're not. I mean, they didn't shut it down. It was just like, I don't think god wants that. And then, like, two years later, the place got shut down. They were doing something crooked. Don't even know what they were doing now. In in that particular I think god just saved us from that. Yeah. But it was still like in our hearts, we were like, we were we we just really wanted to get a little baby from China and save that little baby, you know? Yeah. And we just were clear. We just knew that was what we're supposed to do. Yeah. Like I said, we were dating. We decided that before we got married. And then it's just like, nope. And then at the end, I can look at this stage, look back and say, man, I'm really glad it worked out the way it did because how things worked out was great. I mean Yeah. But it can I think to that example though, and to maybe to the broader point, Mike, that you were making, I like faithful

in the means can certainly mean that, like, just because God told me to order a hamburger doesn't mean that that's what's gonna show up at the window? And it didn't mean that you screwed up ordering the hamburger. Yeah. Like, that's kind of the notion. If everything had the exact same reaction that humans would have done, God isn't wouldn't necessarily have any means to a prerogative to intervene. And so, like, faithful may be, like, you don't do that. Your wife doesn't go to Ethiopia. You and I don't go to Ethiopia. Here's what I don't want to do. I don't have to look back and have to

recreate a story that makes me feel comfortable that you were faithful. The intent of your heart, the desire to faithfully follow Jesus is the only particular offering that we even have. And so that was your posturing at the moment. That was your family's posturing. That was the people around you who are praying and giving and doing all the things. And like, that's faithful in the means. Just like Dan and his wife go, we're gonna be faithful in this thing. They walk down the pipe. And then if that changes, it doesn't mean Dan and his wife weren't faithful.

And I actually think I I'm more on board with not having to try to figure it out. I just don't think that's that's where where it becomes difficult is is helping figure out, like, am I actually is there humility in there about it? Yeah. Like, am I is that was that true? Because if it's true, don't worry an extra inch about it. I don't I don't see Abraham being really upset like, why didn't you let me kill Isaac? Yeah. You told me. He's like, I was gonna say It was so clear to me. It's a real LO example.

Alright. Hold on. Oh, I'm sorry. Everybody pause. Okay. I had to write this down. I was paying attention, but I definitely had to write this down because I couldn't I was not connecting my things correctly. K. So what I wrote was,

god is already 10 steps ahead. Right? He's eternally wise. Sure. He's already got he already knows everything that's gonna happen. Mhmm. So go with let's go with this. That you heard him correctly then, that you were supposed to adopt, that that was what was gonna happen for you then, but then that door shut. So you thought maybe you heard him wrong then. Well,

do you think that if you heard him correctly and the door shut then that it shaped your testimony and your actions now? And, also, do you think that the walk to the door, just the the process and, like, the moments that you had to be faithful with god and that you had to trust god, even if that door shut, do you think that was the most important part than actually the adoption? Do you think that's what he wanted? Dang. I was good at disco, Mike. Those were great questions. Yes. If you need me to go over, I entirely understand. What was the first question again? Ah. Ah.

It was, do you think that if you heard him correctly and the door still shut, even if you heard him correctly, it shaped your testimony and your actions that you take now. Yes. I think if if, like, if I I might actually be more publicly worried about being thought of as a false prophet than I am that I didn't hear it correctly. If I'm being a 100% honest. Mhmm. Like, to my bones, I heard it correctly. Yeah. But it scares me that I would be so ignorant and had missed it. Mhmm. Mhmm. And I wouldn't ever wanna proclaim that I heard correctly when the outcome didn't turn out. But, yes. Like, yes. I for sure. And and I and I walked very confidently

in the thing that I got that I thought God had us doing. For sure. Yes. K. My second one was, do you think that the walk to the door, even as it shut, do you think the walk was the important part? The fact that you had to be faithful in the middle of your uncertainty in the thing because that's I think everybody has that moment in their life where they are they're in the deep water, and they are very uncertain about pretty much everything in their life right now. But you just have to hold on, and you have to be faithful, and you have to keep running back to god. Do you think that that was the most important part than the actual door? I I guess I haven't thought about it much. That's fair.

Like like that part of it. I I would say that, like, I experienced a lot of god's faithfulness in the midst of that. Like, I don't remember that that I think god provided every lick of money that had to do with that adoption. And I remember specifically when it shut down, giving

all that money away or or making it go to Ethiopia. Do you think he also just your example with money. Like, that money came from somewhere. It did. Do you think that that also opened your eyes to another way that god has you in his hands? The fact that he will deal with that. If you just if you be faithful and you do the things he's told you, he will handle it. Yes. Yeah. Actually, in a very pointed way. It's an it's a godly sum of money to adopt from from an African country. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. That I did I certainly did not have. For a 100%, yes, I think that's true. And that probably has

it probably has largely influenced the way that we opt that our money operates our our house. Mhmm. For sure. And what you did with that, who knows what god really ended up doing with that? Maybe that was the original plan. Yeah. But he he couldn't tell you that. Maybe he won't. I don't know. Yeah. Apparently, he thinks if I know that information, I'll act away. Right. And so he's just not gonna tell me. You're on a need to know basis, buddy. And here's the thing. And that maybe that's the thing about hearing from God. Yeah. Is is at the end of the day, he's God. And, like like, lenient is the right word. Like, lack of of reverence might be another. That, like, there is something that I find both, like, comforting both in the fact that that that my father is king of the entire world and he knows my name. And sometimes he calls me into the courtroom and says, hey. What are you doing, son? Like, there's a there's an intimacy and a familiarity that's awesome, but I never lose the fact that he's the king.

You know what I'm saying? Mhmm. It's the king's throne room that we're in, which makes it all the more special that I'm invited. But when we when we when we lose that part, you know, it's like there are things God has refused to tell me, and I was so mad at him about it. And I've definitely talked to him about it. And as a loving father, he goes, I'm not telling you. I'm just not gonna tell you because I know you, son. I don't know how you're gonna act, and I'm not gonna tell you. And so, like, there's there's a there's there's faith and holiness and blessing in him not telling you to. Mhmm. There's the good example of that is the crucifixion. Like, Jesus didn't tell his disciples in the week of. He didn't tell his disciples he was gonna get crucified. He didn't. Because he knew that if he did, they would try and do something. Yeah. So that waiting period that you're in, even if you're, like, praying for an answer right now He kinda told them. Didn't he hint it? He did say that. Yeah. He did hint, though. And Oh, sorry. Tell him straight out. You're gonna have to take that back.

Hey. So never mind, guys. Reverse that. I'm kinda new to Christianity, but I still think he gave a few clues. Okay. To Ellen's point, Ed Dollard didn't get it. Okay. Y'all haven't seen the chosen. I don't know how that y'all thing is, Winston was clear. It's not for us to ask Yeah. Questions of Yeah. He would just do what you're just do what you're told. Which way You say do this, you say, okay. Once again, like, this is extremely difficult for us in our society. We're not a high honor society. We don't hold people, offices,

or authority in any esteem at all. Mhmm. And I'm the number one sinner here. So hear me. I'm with you, boys. But, like, we don't do this. Culturally, they did this better. We don't do this at all. Mhmm. And so because someone is merely a king, Western culture, America in general goes, you don't tell me what to do, king. You know what I'm saying? Don't care what office Yeah. And but like like in Eastern culture, they're like, it's the king. I don't care if he's evil,

gracious, benevolent. We will listen to them because it's the king and that's it. And we struggle with this. Yeah. Yeah. I would yeah. So so it's like if to to tie off that the king metaphor, I think like you should like the king is your dad and that's great. And you can you should think of him and treat him like, and you're familiar with him like a dad. It is a far different thing, however, to draft an edict in his name and stamp it. Yeah. And so I would just make sure

like, just make sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe that's the overall I don't know that we solved the Internet's problems or the world's problems or if you're an elbow in the ears telling you they heard whatever, but just realize that it is a very it's a very heavy thing

to speak the words that the Lord has spoken. And all the prophets in the Bible will echo that exact same sentiment. It's like just be very very careful, very discerning, and and realize the weight that like, God's words have way more consequences than yours. Mine, I can waste. His, I will, cherish. Don't build dead that situation. Don't don't be build dead in that situation. And if it makes any of you guys who are listening to this,

if it makes you feel any better, like, actually, I was thinking about this when Mike was when you were talking about kind of that Ethiopia thing, is that, like, I I I would probably say a good maybe every few years. Like, I I get hyper I'll get worried for very short very short amounts of time, but like, I know I'm a stick in the mud on some of this stuff. Like, I'm I'm very well aware of this. And there's parts of me that like, dude, if you are suppressing the movement of the spirit somewhere because of the caution that you express in some of these things, like, that's not gonna work. And so being on the wrong side of what feels like something that is valuable to protect, like, I'm not unaware of that. And, like, no joke. If my wife were to listen to the show, she'd be she's gonna be disappointed. Not because she doesn't love him, but she's like, dude, you're just being a turd. Like, why like, you're hyperanalyzing a thing and, like, you're overreacting to stuff. And, like,

the the same the same thing. Like, I've I've an emotional connection to, boy, I just don't wanna be on the on the wrong side of this thing. And so, like, just so you know, in case it comes across that I'm a stick in a like, I pray on this a lot because I know what this feels like. Dude, they just said, look what God's doing in our VBS, and this jackwagon comes in here and is like, oh, you shouldn't speak on God's but, like, it I'm just saying I pray about it a lot, and I'm telling you that I think it matters. But maybe just you gotta know the extreme version so that you apply the less extremes in your life. Mhmm. But, like, it's not because I have the same healthy fear of, like, I don't wanna be on the wrong side of what God's doing. Yeah. I think spiritual integrity is so important. Mhmm. And that's kinda what you're talking about. Yeah. Just integrity. But know that's not what it says. So Yes. Why why are we why are we doing that thing? Can't do that. Why we doing that thing? Okay. I've got a simple question. Okay. It's gonna be really it's gonna sound simple. So I hear people say, Oh, the right song came on at the right moment. So are they lying?

Is it the Holy Spirit playing that song and it comes on at the right time? Or are they just making that like it's a feeling they have? Here's here's what I would say, actually, is I would say in honestly, I don't think it matters. Mhmm. You know what I'm saying? Like Right. Hey. I had a because it's faith. I mean, they're just taking on faith at that song. Yeah. If they pointed me to Jesus and something that aligns with his character and is otherwise good, if if God has been if if there's the sanctification of my life has me thinking these things or God is intervening in a moment that I thought them, I won't know the difference, and either way, it's fine. So I think as long as the intent of your life is to serve and follow Jesus and you're being humble about it, I don't think I have to sort it out, if that makes sense. I've relieved myself of the ability to have to toss it around. Yeah. Yeah. I think some songs can hit real hard. Sure. Like, that can definitely happen. Like, if you're in real a filthy mood and gratitude came on and you're like, oh my goodness. This is so great. And then opposite over here, praise came on, and then you're like, well, I was in more of a weepy mood. But, like, it can still it's still a good song. Yeah. It can still hit the same things. It, like, feel like it just it takes

your emotion matching up with the song to real, like Well and actually, I'm really glad you asked that because I think it's a really good it's not a clarification, so because I don't think it changes much of what we were saying, but I think it's a good example to illustrate that like, hey, man, you're listening to the radio and a song really gets you in your feels and points you back to Jesus, like, and said, dude, the spirit was moving me.

I don't okay. Like, did it matter? Did it matter? If it pointed you back to Jesus, again, if the spirit if the Holy Spirit intervened to stir up your heart or the very fact that you love Jesus so that when things otherwise point back you back to him, you have a reaction to that, I don't think it matters to me. But I I it's where it extends beyond that and goes, look, you'll have the spirit. If you don't listen to this song and get turned up, you don't have the spirit. Like, it's it's it's that the kind of implication Yeah. Where I think we start getting in weird territory. But, But, like, I expect people who are molded, who have the presence of Yahweh, like, Yahweh God in them are probably gonna get in tune with all the stuff God's doing and have feelings about that. And I just don't think we have to sort it out. If you aren't head banging to goodbye yesterday, I don't know what you're doing, man. You're not truly with the spirit. That's a 100 true, though. Like, I like, just even me personally, like, I've had songs that I remember listening to through windshield wipers on my eyes because the holy spirit like, the like, it just hit me in a way. And if you'd asked me if I preferred to be hit in that way today, I would have said no. This is not where I'm at today. And then all of a sudden, wham, that's where I am. And then, like, two years down the road, I hear the same song. I'm like, I remember this song did that, but I'm not crying again. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's just not what's going on with me. Yeah. So, actually, to be honest with you, what it feels like to me, it it that does feel like a movement of the holy spirit, like, concerning worship music or even bible passages that, like, I've read this 30 I've read Job, I don't know, countless times in my life. And this year, I'm mad at Bildad for his claiming that God told him anything.

I've read this so many times. I've never noticed it or it never bothered me. Actually, on this show, you've been mad at Bildad before, but not for that reason. Not different reasons. Different reasons. Poor Bill Dad. You know what I'm saying? And so like, I feel like that is discernment through the holy spirit that that like and what it actually what it all boils down to me, it just feels like my father loves me. Yeah. Do know I'm saying? That lets me let lets me in on something or feels like it revealed something in me or let my brain and my soul, like, make a click that goes, oh, okay. This is how I should see this. I think it can also matter on the timing. Like, matter on when like, I can hear the same phrase over and over again. And I'll be like, yeah. Cool. Nice. But then I'll hear it one day and I'll go, woah. Yeah. So a chick. Think about that more Yeah. This is revealed. Mhmm. And, like, I feel like that's that's a blessing from the father that for when like,

in the time that you're gonna need it most or even in the time when you don't need it the most, he's still gonna reveal something to you. Yeah. And you're still gonna be like, woah. Yeah. That's so cool. Yeah. And, like, I feel like that just stays on your heart a lot more. And then that like, not necessarily that it becomes that it holds that because god holds that. God holds that coolness. That god holds that power. Mhmm. But it can be super cool that you realize this now Yeah. Especially when maybe you needed it. Yep. Hey, you've been listening from the Path. Thanks for hanging out. I know that was a barn burner there. It was a long particular discussion. Maybe you got thought for it, or maybe you hate that. You said I like the spirit all the time. Yeah. The spirit told me I like what Ella said about the stabbing and such, and I hated what Ben said. Listen. You wanna use you wanna use the live from the Path complaint line. That's (515) 517-0085. Call or text. That's the Bob Eisenhower Live From The Path complaint line, and it is primarily for complaints because that is most of the time what people wanna engage in, but I suppose if you have a compliment, you can use that if you want to. 515. If the Lord leads. If the Lord told you today that you really specifically needed to hear this message, us know. Yeah. It's

gonna be for my wife. You sir are intolerable. (515) 517-0085. Okay. I think we're gonna have to pause, like push some of the stuff we're gonna talk about. We can give out some advice. I wanna tell you a moment of of spiritual frailty for me this this past week. Uh-oh. But it's just an anecdote, then we can kinda move on. But, like, I was my family and I went on vacation. We drove down south, and we spent a number of days in Pensacola on the beach. I my whole family loves this. I do not love this. I got burnt,

and I don't enjoy just sitting out in sweltering heat. I I don't know what I don't I'm not built for it. I grew up in an apartment. Not really a guy. Thank I don't it's not it's not for me. Anyway, and then we we went to we were gonna spend like a day in New Orleans, and then I think Memphis, and then kinda drive home. We ended up staying a couple days in New Orleans because I got booked a hotel with some points, and then they gave us like a really cool room, and they're like, Hey, can we stay in this room another night? And we did. It was great. So, I don't know, Mike, you've been to New Orleans, but like, we went down, like, one of the areas. I think it's the French 0.25 or something like that, and I don't like what it felt like down there. It felt it felt creepy. It's a darkness. Yeah. The vibe in New Orleans down there is, especially with, like, the amount of, like, bachelor or bachelorette parties happening. Everybody there's there's there. Yeah. I did not experience

the bachelorette parties. Ah, well then you didn't have a true It New Orleans felt weighty to me. I walked in multiple places in the city. There was another part of the city where I was walking and I did not have the same feeling. But in that area, we were walking around with my family and I it felt spiritually

heavy to me. And then and it was it was probably true for about fifteen, twenty minutes. I'm walking around and it and it just felt like that. I'm like, I don't know. I don't get vibes like this. I mean, I'm just praying a little bit. And then there was a part of me that goes, look. What if something if someone were to come up and start talking to me

and I felt ill equipped in that moment. And I didn't like that. I didn't because there was no reason for me to feel that way. God is god wherever. Right? But in that very moment, not generally being around kind of these darker spiritual feelings. And, again, I don't know. Maybe I got that vibe from something else. I don't know. But, like, in that moment, it made me feel

inadequate even though nothing about any situation like that should require any of my own things. Mhmm. And I didn't like it. And I I would've I prayed about it afterwards, and nothing nothing particularly happened. But, like, it's weird. I don't I don't find myself feeling like I'm back on my heels spiritually very often. I can think of very few amount of times.

And again, could just been I don't know what caused it. But anyway, I I'm sharing just because it was an odd. It was an odd situation for me, and I didn't I didn't care for that. Yeah. I I have felt inadequate more times than I care to admit. I mean, I totally I know what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a weird feeling because you know in your mind, you're like, there's no like, because it's not me anyway. I don't have to worry about any of this stuff. God will give me the words. Right? Still filtered. It's like, no. Funky. I have no clue. I know. I don't Have you felt that you've been to some some interesting parts of the world. Have you felt like that in any locations with that type of thing or any oh, you've even been in some situations where it's not location. It's like there's actual spiritual heavy things happening. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I mean, I definitely

I mean, it's it's a demonic presence. I really believe. Yeah. You know? And, man, I remember I'm trying to remember if it was Taiwan or China where funeral

just broke out all of a sudden. These people, I mean, I don't know, this whole thing, the whole setting was kinda like, I mean, it was just in, part of that was just a different culture than ours. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I was that was in 1994, so it was a long time ago.

So I was a lot younger too. And that was just kind of a a weird, like that's probably more just me going, I don't know what's going on here. But Yeah. I was waiting for some wild demonic thing to happen, which didn't. Yeah. But, yeah, yeah, I've been in settings where where things are a little You're feeling all in your heels a little. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I may have kind of a little relationship with a a trans guy in in the homeless camps. Like, I don't know what I don't know what to say him. Yeah. Yeah. Saw him Saturday. Hey, Sean. Shane. Shane. Sean. Like, I keep forgetting his name. Shane or Sean. Yeah. He's like, I'm like, okay. Now I made him mad. Shoot. Hang on. Okay. Let's get that straight. Anyway, you're listening live from the path. Alright, Mike. Let's give out some advice. Hopefully, it's not about any of that.

Dear dear Life From The Path, my wife and I have been married thirty one years. We have a great marriage. We work from home, so we spend pretty much every minute together and enjoy each other's company so much that it isn't an issue. That said, I will also share that I'm a basement musician. It's my hobby. I play guitar and sing. In the past, I have appeared in bands as well as solo formats. I'm also a pretty good songwriter. I have written a number of songs, including several about my wife and the love we share. My challenge is that my wife isn't very musical.

She can go days at a time without listening to any music at all. In the big scheme of things, this might not sound like a huge deal. I am cool with it. But in all our thirty one years together, she has never asked me to play anything for her. None of the songs I've written for her or covers of famous songs. I've pointed this fact out to her more than once hoping to drop a hint that even if she doesn't appreciate music, asking me to sing one of those songs for her would make me feel like she appreciated the effort and thought. When friends and family ask me to play them, she always says she likes them, but the requests never come from her. Am I asking too much to expect it, or should I just let it go and stop writing them? Yeah. Yeah. You you know what? My my my wife, Cheryl, has never once asked me to play a live from the path episode. Yeah. Nope. Nope. Ever.

Yeah. I was joking earlier. My wife don't listen to the program. Mine for sure does. Nope. Has your wife ever asked you to practice a sermon with her on once. No. No. With her? Okay. I'll tell her, hey. I got a big one coming up tomorrow. You wanna hear it? No. Really don't. No. Okay. I feel like I'm not gonna be of help in this situation. I heard this now. What is this? You sissy. You sissy. I'm not gonna be of help of advice. I'm more or less just you're going, are you kidding me? Really? Okay. I'd okay. So here's here's the places where I sympathize with this man. Uh-huh. Like, if this is your if this is your life partner and you there's something that means a lot to you and it doesn't matter anything to them,

it it's hard sometimes to not get that twisted up a little bit where it feels like how can they love me and not care a fig about this thing that I care a lot about? Does she go to her long burger parties or whatever they are now these days? Or whatever those ladies are doing. I'm sorry. Long burger parties? Know I can discontinue. Oh, they were. It's a basket party. Right? Yep. That would've been I'm just saying Point being, there's five things both of you do that the others don't do. I mean It's hell it's okay. Yeah. I think the point is is, like, it's perfectly fine and healthy

that you have she's not you. You're not her and to have these differentiating things. And it's probably the but there's a reason this catches you not all the time. Like, in moments, I wouldn't be surprised if there's not other things like everyone you get in a small snit or whatever. Yeah. So then you think about this and to have something that you do that's important to you feel like it's important or even here's the thing. You'll often put up with a facade. It would surprise if my wife just came up and said, hey. I'd love to listen to one of your podcast episodes, even if she didn't mean it. You'd like, oh, I know she doesn't mean that. But look. She cared enough to say it. Yeah. I get it. Okay. Absolutely. Coming from. But you've been married to this woman for long enough that, like, what are we doing, though? Well, you know what? Playing in the basement. She's heard them all. Yeah. I mean, she's just like, I've already heard it. Yeah. I've already taken it in. I mean Yeah. I just don't think like, I understand. Like, there's a there's a insecurity in it, and there's a there is a niceness. Like, sometimes you just say, yeah. Let me hear like, would it hurt you to just ask every once in a while? Right. Hey, play that song you wrote about me. Does your wife ever ask you to make a cabinet in front of her? She does not. Yep, nor does she really do much with the business. She goes, You do your little thing. I let her be a nurse and she let me be a business owner. Yeah. Okay. I think it's fine. I think he is actually, he felt pretty even keeled to me until the option that he gave, which is that like,

Do I need to basically, Should I be upset about this or do I need to give up writing the songs altogether? Like Yeah. That was heavy handed. So that that makes me think that you're being slightly immature about this when, otherwise, it sounded like, oh, you know, I wish she liked it. I feel like I've oh, I'm gonna say something so like, it's it's not that deep, bro. It's not that deep. It's not that overreacting. I'm sure she's genuinely not trying to scar you emotionally. I'm I'm sure trying to help, though. Like, she's made it okay. Hold on. She she's made it clear that she loves Oop. Right? You guys have a very happy marriage.

I do understand where he's coming from. Like, just hearing that she would admire. And even though she tells him he admire like, she admires what he does and appreciates the things he does, It doesn't I can see how it would feel different if she asked. I can see how it would feel different when she herself acknowledged it without something already happening. Like, she wants you to play for her, play a song for her. I can see how that would feel different. Yeah. I just don't

I I don't think it's very it's not that deep. Well, Dan, let me ask this question. Has your wife ever said after, like, after sermon or something, it's like, hey. That was great. Yeah. Sure. I mean, she but she's never said, can we watch it together? Oh, yeah. Yeah. We can get on the YouTube and watch it again and get some out of porn. Right. But there but there is something. For someone who knows you, sees you all the time Yeah. Obviously, she's I doubt she's saying this very often, but, like, there's sometimes like, it feels like something.

Thanks. Same The wife that doesn't listen to your program probably doesn't every day go, Dan, it was another great one. And I have to admit, if I haven't heard nothing, I might throw a hint like, so what'd you think? Because, man, this is the person who he hears something from. I think is the point. So Dan gave a sermon on Sunday, right? And I believe, didn't your wife say something to you one time, like I said, you should just stay on script, you're gonna say something crazy. Yeah, pretty much. She must have some interaction with him. She's like, here's what you shouldn't do. It's like, oh, you're a good point, good And

so I gave that example because I actually think about that. My wife also obviously goes to our church where I teach. And, like, I mean, very rarely will she ever mention anything. And every once in a while, if she will, whether she meant it or not, it means something to me. It does. Even though I care whether whether everyone it was good, and I have my own belief of like, okay, was I faithful to the scriptures or whatever. This woman that I care about who was there listening that she said, hey. You know what? That was really good today. It it means something to me. Yeah. And so anyway, I think of it like that. It it to Ella's point, like, it's not the bellwether of your marriage. If my wife never said that to me, it doesn't mean she doesn't love me. Right. But it does give me a little bit of a boost. Yeah. I just don't think you should quit making music because of it. Yeah. I think that's that just feels like that just feels like a major leap that you don't need to take. I I think what feels like is that she might not know him as well as she believes. Right? Like, the like, everything you got like, I I could get a left fig what anyone thinks of anything I've ever done except for that woman. That it's like she is my bellwether on whether like, she is my helper and my person. And so, like, Jesus is first, and then and then my wife, and then everybody else can I don't whatever? Yeah. You don't like it, you like it. I don't care. But if the woman says it's alright, it's alright. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And so, like, maybe it's just acknowledging that

the influence that a wife has over a husband Yeah. It's it's way more than he will probably accurately tell you about. Like, he means it, and he's not hiding it from you. He's just about as capable as a hill of beans of explaining it how much you like, your thoughts on him matter. Mhmm. He should he could take a different approach here. What what what if he records a few, uploads it to her phone, say, hey. Listen to this on the way. It's a gift for you today. I want you to hear this song I wrote for you on the way to work. Tell me about it later. Yeah. Or write her a song in serenader. Yeah. You know? That works too. Or you can complain on it. Like, why don't you like my tunes, dear woman? Okay.

Secular says, face it. The woman you married thirty one years ago has never been a music lover regardless of who the composer is. However, writing songs about your feeling is a form of free expression, I and don't think you should quit doing it if it's satisfying for you. Yeah. Sure. I guess. Yeah. I mean, here's the thing. It's like, I can't imagine. Like, if you have a otherwise happy marriage and you're a complete music nut and your wife does not like music at all, that's wild to me. Like it's opposites attract and all and I get it. But like, I mean, there ain't there's music piping at my house all the time. All the time. Twenty four seven. All the time. Like, I just I don't know how that how you cross that bridge, my friend. I like sweet, sweet soda, and my wife drinks none of it. Is that the same is that, like, similar? You're crispy. Unhealed, right there. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. Just grounds. Whoever did my biblical counseling failed me. Yeah.

Actually, I've been keeping notes like, you should ask this, should have asked this. Yeah. That's right. How do you feel about Shasta? Okay. Last one. Ready? Yep. Dear Di from the Path, I'm a single retired female. I have a personal side business that keeps me busy, and I'm blessed to have many friends. I'm also active in community and church events. My issue is that a lot of my friends who are inactive and retired invite me to dinners, to theater and parties, and sometimes at the very last minute. Then they become annoyed when I decline. They also endlessly keep me tied up on the phone or on text messages with utter nonsense. That's cold. Hey.

I love this stray shooting so far. What about I'm a people pleaser, and I feel bad when I must decline an invitation. I have proper manners and no etiquette, but this has become frustrating and annoying. I have endlessly responded with, I would love to, but I need advanced notice to no avail. What do I do? I tell you what. I'm gonna give you my phone number. We can be friends. Hold on. I don't hold on. This is my this is my this

is my favorite. Then they become annoyed when I decline. They also endlessly keep me tied up on the phone or on text messages with utter nonsense. Yeah. We're best friends. I'll be honest with you. My first reaction when she explained her business was that she was a lady of the night. No. No. Not lady of the night.

Didn't it sound like I got a I got a personal side business? Okay. Yeah. Because you did say that. Oh, I see what you're saying. Keeps quite busy. People are bothering me. Don't wanna go out at night. She's otherwise busy. Yeah. I think it's possible. Yeah. Here you you don't have to answer the phone every time it rings. Boom. You have that freedom. Or block them. Strong Block reaction. Right.

I feel like you have to sit. Carl goes, stab him. Why why use a handkerchief when a hatchet will do? Oh my gosh. We went from a knife to stabbing to a hatchet. So

y'all are jumping farther than that. I think coming from I've had to do this before. I think I've had this happen. On a serious note, I think she needs to set up some very clear boundaries. However clear you think you've made it, you've probably not made it clear enough. I'm gonna be super honest. It like,

I've I've had to tell friends if they just keep telling me or if they keep sending me large videos of them just walking around their house doing random tasks, I go, I don't want to watch this. I will tell you this now. And they go, well, why don't you love me? I'm like, it's not that I don't love you. It's that I don't care that you're loading I really thought you were joking when you said that. I will I will curtail that. That's my fault. Exactly. It came off playful in text. Knew she was kidding. No.

It's one way to say without hurting your feelings. Yes. Yeah. That's all I So you need you need to hire an agent. Yeah. Do everything through the agent. Yeah. Just say, you know what? Zuckerberg will fix this. Get an AI agent. There you go. And that'll screen your calls. Yep. Talk to you right now. Yeah. This is Belinda's friend, Sofia. Hey. Okay. To Ellis Pointo, like, all you have to do is ignore the ding. People will get the hint. Like, if you're trying to manage this, either either you have to be harsh, harsh, but I don't think that's necessary. Mhmm. Just say what you say to people. And then if you say, look. I'm I'm probably not gonna answer your text message, then just don't do it. Yeah. You give it a while. They'll they'll figure it out. I know there's been sometimes where I've told people

like that or I've had a couple people who they wanna hang out with me a lot and I don't have the energy to hang out with you a lot. Yeah. Yeah. I apologize, but I don't. And, like, they keep calling me, they keep texting me, and I told them, I said, I'm not very good at planning these hangouts. I'm not good at that. Maybe at some point we can figure this out. But I'm telling you right now, this summer or whatever time it is, is not gonna work because I'm busy and I got other stuff, so this is not gonna work. And they ignore that. So I just kinda slowly

take multiple steps back and just don't answer. Yeah. Because if you I told you clearly. And if they go, well, why aren't you why aren't you answering me? Well, I told you in the first place. I'm bad at it. So I don't I don't have anything else to tell you because I already told you. Yeah. So I'm just gonna keep stepping back until you accept what I said. Find this to be the most frustrating part of some situations like this is, like the thing that Ella said is, like, however you explained it, you you need to be very clear about it in a loving and respectful way. Right. But, like, just be honest with people. If you if, like I I have a standard rule with a couple three people in my life that, like, I don't ever pick up their phone call. I'll see what they wanted. If they don't leave me a message, I'm assuming they didn't want anything, and I won't be calling them back just to see what's up. Like, you gotta state your business because you've put me on a rabbit trail a couple times and I don't wanna be on that trail no more. So like, I will check and see what you need first. And then if I feel like you're not interrupting the thing that I'm doing, then I will call you. No problem. But like, you have to you do have to tell them that. Like, you do have to be honest with them that, look. I'm not I'm not gonna pick up my phone. Just leave me a message if you need something. Yeah. I'll do my best to get back to you. You know what I'm saying? But, like You have to set these lines very clearly. And if they keep trying to blur the lines, you just keep drawing them back Yeah. That's them. No. Yep. I'm sorry. You keep arresting this pencil line I made. I'm gonna write it in Sharpie next time. Now now, Brandon, like, I do feel like like I've done this in the past where I was being ungracious, and I had to repent of that. You know what I'm saying? Like, so you do get like, just because you're like, I say this is this and blah blah blah. Like, be careful. You know? Just because you drew a line doesn't mean it was a holy line. It just means the one you drew, you can always move it and repent of a thing that maybe you were overreacting or being ungracious to people. Mhmm.

But some folks, it doesn't matter where the line goes. They plow through it like they are, you know, king of the world. And so, like, you do have to stand up for boundaries. So because the person that they're wanting you to be, you actually can't be if you don't have any boundaries set up. Like, you will just end up being a shell, a husk of yourself that won't be able to do them any good anyway as their friend if you allow it to to tear you down in a way that you can't you can't even respond. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like I have a guess on how secular is gonna respond to this because I feel like I've people have told me this as well. I think that the solution is gonna be to just cut them out of your life. I feel like that might be the solution that it ends up getting to. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. And that Oh, you think secular is gonna say, look. It's about time to cut these people out of I I secular is gonna say, you can keep affirming these lines, but if they don't listen, eventually, just cut them out. And I don't think that's gonna have to be the solution here. Mhmm. I feel like you don't

unless it is completely necessary. Unless you feel like it is completely necessary. You've prayed on this, and you do not think that they are being helpful in your walk. You'd think they are discouraging you and Christ and your relationship, then you cut them out. Yeah. I think you gotta like, if if you ever get to that decision, I think it's time to bring in a community. Yeah. Better tell a couple people. Like, am I hitting this right? It takes a lot for you to be for the solution to have to be, get them out of here. Like, it takes a lot. Yeah. Truthfully, because the kingdom of god is based on the sacrifice of other people so that they might also know the lord that I know. So sometimes your kingdom is gonna take some arrows,

and, that's fine. Yep. You definitely need to do that. Alright. Here, Segular says, because you are a people pleaser and want to offend no one, continue responding as you already do. Quotes, I'd love to go, but I need more advanced notice than you have given me, end quotes. While you're at it, it isn't rude to be too busy to chat if someone calls at an inappropriate time. You can always screen your calls if they are oppressive and take your time responding to their texts. Yeah. She basically said everything we said. Be honest. Fire it out hot. If people don't listen, do what you want. Yeah. Well, I'm close. If there was another paragraph there, would have said what I said. What I said Editor shook that out. Yeah. By the way, cut it And

they didn't say block them. Yeah. Alright. You've been listening to Live Thanks for hanging out with us today. We very much appreciate it. If you got feedback for us on the show, call that or text the Bob Eisenhower Live From The Path complaint line, (515) 517-0085. We'd love to hear from you. Also, if you got a random time you wanna spend taking in Life From The Path programming, go to tv.lifefromthepath.org. There's now a news channel out there. I think, Dan's at the anchor desk. Digital Dan is anchoring the news desk till about midnight. It's gotta be good. And then secular

secular's running the overnight. He tells jokes from twelve to six. I think Solomon runs six to nine, thrift store priest nine to nine to noon. I can't remember who else is in the newsroom. Anyway There need there needs to be a channel of me just sleeping. Dude, that's great. Went through I went through a period where I was just like I came here, I was just, ready to fall asleep. And I think I did fall asleep a few the pajama pants era. Oh, man. Oh, had zero craps to give. I'll look at it later and think, man, that's embarrassing. I'm sitting there going These are hot peppers, guys. Also, hey. If you are on if you're on you have Android

Android phones. Look. I I need to get this live from the Path app done and off my plate, but I can't do it because I need a few more testers. So hit up that complaint line, (515) 517-0085, and let me know you want in. Give me your email address, and I'll get you signed up. We're gonna cut you loose. In the meantime, be faithful in the means. God will handle the ends. You've been listening to Live From The Path.