4-72. Jess Shields: The Facts of The Matter

Join Dan Reed and Josh Brockman as they sit down with Jess Shields who shares his transformative journey of faith, diving into the importance of the Gospel, the reality of Jesus Christ, and the power of living a life rooted in God's Word. Much is discussed like how personal conviction and biblical truth can reshape your perspective and purpose. This is one you don't want to miss!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Anyway. One truth and two opinions. Now we got a special one for you today, guys. Gal the young man on here. Younger of any of us, uh, Josh and I are. You weren't talking about me and the young man on. Well, you are younger than I, but this one's younger than you. So we have a young man on here that is uh near and dear to both of us and our families. And uh man, I I guess I could give you a heads up. Careful what you put on Facebook. It may get you uh an invitation to join a podcast. So uh here in a minute, I'm gonna let this guy introduce himself, and and most most of you guys will know who it is, and maybe you know before we even get to talking. But let him introduce himself to those that you don't that don't know him and don't know who he is or his family is or what he does. Uh he's a great guy, and and I know that the Lord has been working on it and it's evident, and that's that's that's what Matthew tells us, right? In the book of Matthew, they'll know us by our fruits. And whether we're our fruit is in a big display, or it's just a small fruit that's just getting started. That's what Matthew writes. Uh they're gonna know us by our fruits. No believers, no followers of Christ as our fruits. And Josh, you know just as well as I, man. I I jumped out there several years ago now and and made a Facebook video. And it's kind of funny, those those are starting to hop pop up on my memories now. And Reagan sent me one the other day that was nine years old. So nine years ago, I did something similar to what this man's done, and just uh have seen what God will do with and through an obedient heart and someone that's bold, right? It takes takes boldness, takes courage to live just to live a life of faith, right? And then when he says, hey, don't just sit sit there, get up and do something. Respond to the calling uh of the Holy Spirit, respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Do do something, right? And I'm excited today. I know Josh is too. Um Josh, do you want to say anything before we introduce our our our guest, if you want to call it that.

SPEAKER_02 2:55

Yeah, no, I uh yeah, I thought that was that was good from that standpoint. Just the way this episode kind of came about, uh just to add on to that and then not to take too much thunder away from our our from from Jess when he jumps on and gets going. But uh it's kind of like you said, I hadn't really thought about that, the equivalent of uh when you made a Facebook post or uh and just and you know, I think Bronck uh when he did the stock showing for Christ thing was real similar and and think of some things of mine that uh I actually you say that on memories, I had something similar pop up and me walking through a nursery. Um about January there uh at one point. So yeah, it's interesting to uh to see that come up. But yeah, I can remember the morning that you texted me and uh said, Have you seen Jess's Facebook post? And I thought, you know, I don't get a lot of those text messages, and uh when you get one of those, it's like hmm, that's interesting. And you don't really know what to expect when you jump on and see, and and depending on who it is, you can get somewhat of a feel. But so I I kind of click over and and uh go to reading and uh kept reading and kept reading and then see this this meme of of the president that kind of went around and and yeah, to say the least, it was fun to read, and I think immediately um when I got through or there shortly after, I texted you and him and said, uh, hey, we need to have a little set-down here and uh do a little recording. So yeah, I guess with that officially, Jess, welcome Jess Shields to the One Truth podcast.

SPEAKER_04 4:28

Oh, thank you. Um, I'm happy to be on here. And yeah, uh, it was happened about like that. Uh I guess just I'll dive right in. If you don't know me, uh my name is Jess Shields. I uh currently live in Amarillo, Texas, and uh co-own IDK and in-game genetics with Nick. Uh married my wife Kara. We have uh two uh beautiful kids, uh Sutton and uh Quinn, and then also blessed with uh Corbin, my oldest son, uh, that came from a previous relationship, which will kind of come up in my story um a little bit. Um also, I guess before then, I I got the pleasure. I lived at Josh and Carrie's, worked at Josh and Carrie's uh for a year and a half, two years-ish, something like that. And I got to witness kind of Josh at the early stage of of his coming to Christ and and his transition there. I knew him before and knew him after. And and I can tell you, honestly, to me, uh the heart of the man's never really changed. It's just the actions, maybe that the way he lives his life out now is slightly different. And I was probably, or not probably have been, um, delayed, I guess, um, since I kind of kicked myself for not seeing the example earlier, uh, but drew a lot of inspiration um from getting to watch that as I kind of begin my walk back. Um, and I say walk back because I mean I I grew up in Stanet. Um, my mom and dad, great parents. Um, I went to church, not crazy. Uh uh every other, I mean, we went to church most Sundays, and as I got older, it kind of just drifted off. And I as life gets busy and a bustle, it seems like that's just something that uh we didn't necessarily make time for um as I was growing up. And that habit has continued, I guess, all the way up until here pretty recently. And I guess I I first started getting this inclination to kind of dive back in, is uh I consume an immeasurable amount of podcast as I'm out on the farm working, as I'm sure most people do, and uh a lot of them probably were worthless. But uh I listened to Joe Rogan podcast, and and he had like uh Wesley Huff come on, like a biblical scholar and the theologian based out of Canada that does some awesome stuff on YouTube. If if you're if you're looking and searching, um certainly great information. And I started to dive into that. Well, then as I listen to him more and more and he explains kind of the history of it, I think back in kind of the way my brain works is I I love facts and and I like history. I like knowing where we've been, I like politics and where we're at now. Um, and I guess I've it kind of started to click on me that no one ever it never really hit me that the gospels were historical documents of eyewitness accounts of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They're not Bible stories in a sense. I mean, they're Bible facts. I mean, these things happened. Uh and as that starts to click in my mind, everything else kind of starts to steamroll. And um now I find myself instead of endlessly scrolling on TikTok or consuming uh different podcasts over a variety of subjects, I find myself in my free time um digging into the gospels. And I've started uh on Matthew now, and I was reading a bit of Matthew this morning. Uh I did Luke first, and um I find the same dopamine hit. And I if you're familiar with dopamine or know how doom scrolling works, and you get locked into this case, that's just you can't seem to get out of it, and it consumes your life. Well, as I get into the word, I still get that satisfaction, except a way that can improve a way that allows me to grow um as a human. And and I start to compare what I'm reading and things that I see today. Uh, and I guess ultimately the the change I felt like I needed to make was um more so for my family um than anything. Uh I kind of think of the I don't want to say mistakes because there's blessings in those mistakes, but at the same time, choices I made um up to this point, uh, that I just wasn't walking with Christ. And I didn't I didn't know what that looked like, and I still don't know if I know completely what it looks like, but I'm learning and having a better idea. Uh and I see it now. If I could have done that earlier, um I'm not saying my life would have been easy or, but it sure could have got um a lot more simple. And I didn't want to put my kids in the same situation, and I wanted to, I felt this calling, I guess, to educate myself in the word and be more of a spiritual leader within my home. And I guess that's my why um as to how this all kind of came about.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

I like it. I like it. No, I think that's that's interesting. Yeah, I wrote something out while you were just talking, and um because because I'm the same way on podcasts. I mean, uh uh pretty much am constantly something rolling. And it's interesting when you have that um that change of the uh the interest in what I would say opinion uh temporary things. Temporary things. And then like you said in the gospels you find the fact not opinion, but facts, truth was the word that I wrote down. Of eternal things. And then when you when you view it in those those two categories, it makes it pretty pretty easy for of what's uh what's locked in and and what's there. So um I was just kind of reading through and and Dan, if you got anything, just jump in as we go to uh but maybe just to take the the step in in the middle and then we can work either direction from it. But what um what do you think it was I mean obviously hearing hearing Wes on on Rogan and and things like that just triggers triggers something, but you know, a lot of the times I can think of my my my own life of when I was something let's just say a a Christian movie was put on the TV and uh you know you kind of sucked into the moment and then you walk out the door and it's like the rush of the world comes back on and you just kind of push it out the back. And maybe this happened, maybe it hasn't. But what do you think um was the driving factor of getting through with a podcast like that? And it and then that continue to just stay hooked of and you know, I would call it conviction of the spirit. But you know, when you when you went to bed that night, still thinking about it, thinking about it the next day, how did that kind of unfold that was when you realized like, hey, this is this is different. This isn't just something that kind of sounded interesting to listen to for an hour. Um what what was that? Maybe I'm doing a poor job asking the question, but what was the change or the kind of the process there? And maybe over how much time and and that kind of deal.

SPEAKER_04 12:10

Um honestly, it was just like uh it was I can't really explain it other than more than like just a hunger to know more. Um and I don't know that it was really a lot by choice that the content started to come as I consumed more, but I mean I know how you probably know how algorithms work, but like it just seemed like all of a sudden I was getting so much Christian content like on my for you page. And and I can tell you, I know how agor algorithms work, and that's not what should have been coming through. Um, but it was and continued to, and I kept finding more and more people that perked my interest and started listening. Uh, and then I got into it myself. And I think my honestly, my biggest struggle is is uh, and I I talked about this at I I got the pleasure to do a men's conference with church uh the other weekend, and I was talking with my good buddy about it. Uh actually on the way to during a break time, we went got to play around the golf with a bunch of men there, and we were on the way, and I was talking to him, and he kind of asked me, you know, like what was holding me back. And I've thought about that for a long time because I've never I've never not been a believer in the sense that like I've always identified as a Christian. Um I've been baptized, I just couldn't walk the walk. And if you know me very well, I'm pretty self-critical. Um, and I can get myself in a bad head space very quickly. I I really don't like to disappoint people, but you know, you do all the time. And and when that does happen, you you either are kind of okay with it or you beat yourself up. And I've been one that typically beats myself up to no end. And uh I just I think truly I never felt worthy of the label, I guess. I I don't I don't think that to me, there was no way that I could justify the grace that is exhibited in the gospel and through the teachings of Christ that you come to find. Um and my buddy just kind of looked at me and smiled, and he said that it's funny because he knew kind of when we first went to church, or to that church, I guess. We we had been going to a church in Bushland off and on uh for the past year or so, but not consistently. Easter Sunday, we went to a church, a different church um that one of my buddies goes to, and uh we've been every every Sunday since then, uh joined the men's Bible study and then did the men's group the next week. Uh but it's funny because at the very first men's Bible study we went to, we they were in the book of Romans, and um let me just flip over to it. We were uh talking about Paul, and he's writing basically in a nutshell, he's saying, you know, uh of all the good things I want to do, I can't do them, and all the bad things that I don't want to do, I do. And you start to realize that you're not alone, that people have felt not good enough for as long as this deal's been going, and he didn't care. Uh he came for us for that reason, and I guess that kind of helped me to to kind of feel like I am worthy and I can do this because up until this point I felt like um not that I viewed myself as some terrible human, I just felt like I wasn't making the most of the opportunities that were given to me, and that um started to eat at me. And um as I guess as you kind of neglect that, and and I find if if maybe you don't have that guiding light in your life, it's easier to make those bad choices, and I have too many people uh relying on me, and myself included, I I need to be better at maybe recognizing self-worth, but uh I guess I just want it to be better for the people around me. And I have I feel like I have too much influence, um, whether it be on kids that I help through the feeding process or uh just family friends or within my own family, like my my father or brothers or whoever. Um I think there's people that need me, and I haven't been able to be there for them in the way that maybe God intended, uh, because I just flat hadn't been listening. And I just felt like as more and more things popped up that I was supposed to be um diving back in and educating, and I guess just kind of see where it takes me. But if nonetheless at the very end it takes me and a few others with me to his right hand when it's all over, or at least at his feet, um it would be worth it.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Definitely. No, i it's interesting to me the more that uh read the word and and spend the time and you're gonna continue to you're gonna continue to learn on that that thought that you're originally focused on is is feeling like not worthy. And and honestly, that that's the that's the that's the identity of every Christian of is that we're not worthy. And we realize that outside of Christ, we're not worthy. And and a lot of the times I think, especially in American culture, and Dan can not tell you how much I get off on on American culture in the church, but I think we can get you can get that vibe of the opposite of I've got to do better, be better, to be worthy of this title. But the more you read the new and the old testament alike, you you realize that now the the law does it says that you have to be perfect, be holy, be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. But the the the true believer realizes I have zero chance at making that happen. Right. It's like what am I gonna do? And then it's oh that is why God had to send. Had to send his son, and you know, we talk a lot about the death of Christ as the payment for sin and and how imp what could you know, how could you make that any less important than it is. But then we see, and you see as you read the gospels, if you just go through going through Luke, which is what we're going through on this this season, we see the life of Christ. We see the death of Christ for sin, but before that we see the perfect righteousness that he fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law. And then we realize when Paul writes that in Romans 7 of what I want to do, I don't do, and I fail. Or when you read in Psalm 51 of King David that committed adultery and murdered a guy to cover it up, and then lays it out, and God says, I don't desire sacrifice, I desire a broken and contrite heart over sin. Come to me and I will forgive you. And that's what we see in Christ. And then that burden is all of a sudden that's it's lifted. That's when you see Jesus says that my burden, my yoke is easy, my burden is light. Because he's carrying it. And that's like I say, the more you the more you continue to read, the more that burden will be lifted, and the more you'll see. You know, I think that's the other thing of the the study of scripture, the study of of eternal things, is to see the glory and the beauty of God in Christ. I was reading Colossians one earlier today while I was giving blood. And you just see everything was made for him and by him and through him for his glory. And then we just align under that, like you just said, at his feet and serve him in that, and then you lead your family, just like you said, and they follow in. You lead them by you serving. And anyways, I'm talking too much, but I get excited. It's it's it's such a good, refreshing conversation.

SPEAKER_04 20:32

Yeah. Well, it has been uh it's been fun. And I'll tell you too, you talk about American culture. Uh, that was another big push for me because if you look at you know political issues we're having and you study through the news, um we are dictating a lot. There's a a big group of people drumming up support based off that book that we've been reading. And I start to, there's just this thing in my head that starts to wonder if I don't know if like it seems like the word's gotten a little twisted, and maybe we're missing the bigger point as far as, you know, as culture has evolved, the church has shifted, uh money gets involved. Uh, we know there's tons of of corruption in that, and we know exactly how Christ feels about that uh as we read through the gospels. Uh, and I'll be interested to see uh if table flipping is quite enough for him when he comes back. But um, that's another big push that made me dive into the word was one, I I wanted to fact check the people that are making decisions for all of us, uh, just to kind of see, you know, where we're at. And when you start to do that, and then you realize when scripture and uh geopolitical issues start to line up, it starts to get pretty eye opening, and you even have, I guess, more.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

sense of urgency then um to dive in but it's interesting to me though the things that maybe people are doing in the name of Jesus that maybe wasn't necessarily intended and I hope that we can reel that in as a society but maybe we're not supposed to and we'll know when we're supposed to know it's an interesting time to be alive isn't it though isn't it though any thoughts on that Dan we're made for a time like this just like Paul was made for the time he was in and as you talked about that me and a guy have a conversation maybe a group of guys had that conversation this week was man what I want to do I don't what what I'm not supposed to do I do and that's Paul and later on as he's nearing death he he compares himself to the worst sinner of them all center of them all and people quite well what what in the world was he doing that's like I don't think he was doing anything terrible I think he was just convicted of the smallest sin smallest action that took him away from communion with with God and even as he matured and grew in his faith just the smallest things would eat him up and that's part of that sanctification process and my favorite meme I think Josh Vincent sent it to us one day Josh was the guy riding the skateboard at the beginning of a sanctification process and as he got better at the skateboard you know he's it's it's it's the representation of growing closer to Christ and all of a sudden he jumps off the stairs and lands on a rake and it smokes him right in the face. And so if a man like Paul is writing stuff like that we can't obviously we don't want to do that stuff on purpose right but and or take advantage of grace and mercy but man if Paul can write that and be that way if I can strive to be like Paul in order to be more like Jesus knowing their setbacks are going to happen along the way there's one perfect one right and and and Jess I think your why is is right on point because your marriage and those kiddos are your first ministry. Even being in a certain ministry FCA in the FCA ministry they will tell you my first ministry is my wife and my family and then just watch that pour out to your feeders to those families that feed y'all's barrows that listen to what you say for nutrition or what have you but also how you feed them as they watch you grow and watch you be more outspoken and watch you become more mature in your faith and how you pour into them way more than it would be with a bear. And that that will just oh I I'm excited for you man I pray for you what you did was incredible. I mean everybody in the world had seen that that silly meme or no I don't even want to I'm not gonna just call it silly I guess I did but and then you took the stance and you took a chance right on on getting persecuted there. And I don't have your Facebook but I don't know how many people have seen that or if we can even tell but I promised the right people saw that that needed to see that that day and God was gonna God's gonna put more people in your way as you go right Matthew 20 as you go tell people about Jesus and then before he goes up to heaven he says I'm gonna be with you till the end of the age I'll be with you but as you go proclaim my name no doubt I've always liked that part of the Great Commission because it is the as you go.

SPEAKER_02 26:26

And I always think about I can't ever remember where it is in Acts of the of Paul that that it says as he was working in the marketplace proclaiming the gospel. It wasn't I mean he went he started he went into the synagogues he did Paul did a lot of things so uh as as any missionaries do but he went along and did his trade and and and I think that's the you know that's the thing Jess you you get to this point and and I keep coming back to the thought of of um what you said earlier of the the facts and the case and and I just watched some of you listening probably have watched too that the the movie called the Great Awakening it's not in theaters now it was at Easter. I actually think it's about to come out on streaming stuff but about George Whitfield and one of the coolest things I've made a Facebook post about it um was he he was a play actor and you think in that time frame of a play actor sitting up literally acting out and and so you know whatever the acting is today but he said he's standing in the pulpit of a church in England um and not very welcomed it didn't seem the way they portrayed it and he stood up and and they kind of portray this in the movie that the the ministers were were pretty just bland and going through the motions type scenario and he stands up and just lays it out you know you're a sinner come to faith repent and put your faith in Christ or or what are you doing? And then just anyways then he jumps out into the middle of the off the pulpit and down and anyways in that whole deal he makes the statement we in the church speak of things or we as actors speak of things imaginary as they are real and we in the church speak of things real as they are imaginary and it just resonated so clearly to me and the same thing that you said earlier on and I'll maybe pick your brain of what your what your take is here it seems so often that that we speak in the church in the American Church of things that yes we know we believe it's real but you know you speak of the flood. I'll I'll take the flood I love to go to the ark in whatever state it's in Louisville no it's not Louisville wherever it is Kentucky and my one of my favorite places in the Ark is where they talk about the danger of presenting Noah's Ark as a as a children's story and putting the little cute animations on it and making it that he loaded the animals and this that and the other and and but their whole point in that is is that in portraying the flood and the ark as this cute children's story you naturally push away and there's nothing wrong with telling it in a fashion that even a child can understand it but you naturally push away of the judgment and wrath that's poured out on sin by God and not only that but the ark that saves his people from that sin who were counted righteous for their faith in in God and getting on the ark like he told them to do I feel like that's the the that same thing we can see a lot of the ways that it's kind of lackadaisical. You know, take this you believe what you want to believe this is what I believe.

SPEAKER_04 29:50

But proclaiming that this is true this is real that Paul says in Acts 17 that God's appointed his son whom he's raised from the dead and he will come again to judge the living and the dead repent and put your faith in him or perish and so then when you get to reading it like you are now you you see like over and over like I don't know kind of ramble a little bit but the things are real no and uh that's uh that's an interesting point too because uh one thing I've learned consuming like Wesley Huff is it a consensus across theologians and biblical scholars regardless of religious affiliation is they can know one thing for certain is that there was a person in the first century around 33 AD named Jesus of Nazareth that lived and was crucified under Prontius Pilate. The resurrection becomes the question for people that need more proof than that we know he existed we have just as much evidence that he existed as did Caesar existed in the time so if you look at it from that perspective and see the truth of it and then there is one for you guys that are listening if you've never listened to the Sean Ryan podcast or haven't been over there's one a pretty recent one I'll get that number here shortly but he has a guy named Jeremiah Johnson on and he comes on and talks about uh the shroud of turin and I won't get into a whole lot because I I think it's something that just needs to be consumed. Um and I I pray that anybody that listens to that will directly leave this and go watch that episode and and before you do I pray that maybe you just send a little prayer over yourself and ask for a clear mind and open mind and just let the truth speak to you. And I do believe that by the end of it you will be amazed. It's an incredible episode uh with a lot of stuff that that really isn't carried on and talked about mainstream wise um in regards to Christianity and faith in Jesus Christ and and maybe um what I believe to be true evidence of the resurrection if if that's what you were lacking. We've got literally every other concrete piece of evidence you can need. And if that final push is is what you need, I I think that episode um can certainly help you it helped me um and I have yet to to hear of a person that has consumed it that I that I've recommended it to that it hadn't completely uh opened their eyes and and really made them push back in towards faith in a walk with Jesus. So um I think more than anything uh as I continue to grow I I hope to to start to kind of give my more of my own testimony that can help people grow. But I'm telling you that the material's out there and and it's a really good lesson uh that I highly recommend. Yeah that's uh what's that's I was trying to pull that up and see uh see what episode number that was I listened to a similar uh of Jeremiah he's been on everything it seems like yes and I've listened to well he was on I've listened to all of them I think he's been on all of them but maybe Joe Rogan uh but the Sean Ryan one's like almost three hours long but he that I that was the one I thought of the ones he did that he was the most detailed and not really held back at all.

SPEAKER_02 33:35

Right yeah it looks like that's 293 on that Sean Ryan show Jeremiah Johnston Codex Paticanus Book of Enoch and the Resurrection of Jesus if that's the right one. Yes that is it so cool no it's neat to dig into stuff like that to me uh um uh and you sound like we're on the exact same path of that because you continue to just uncover and it's like you had sent me and Dan the uh the the other Wes Huff of of can I trust the Bible and and um those those three episodes they have out now that dig back into all kinds of stuff but the Council of Nice yeah it it is amazing and I'm sure it's always been this way but I I can remember first coming to faith and like didn't realize I the the simplest thing there's there's American Family Radio that's just a little Christian uh radio station that's based out of Mississippi and like it's on 88.3 is the channel here and like I just turned that on and it's like I didn't even know anything like this existed. Which at the time coming freshly out of the world and you're just like it you you're just used to all of the the things that you're exposed to from a you know worldly ads and this that and the other whether it's sexual content or or persuade you know things pushing you that way or this way. And then you you cut some of that out and then you find this whole other fold of of believers that put this type of stuff in like I say in in a lot of these like Joe Rogan you know I think it's been interesting and I haven't ever listened to much on Sean Ryan's but like Joe Rogan Tucker Carlson and people like that agree disagree with a lot of their views doesn't really matter for this point. It's interesting to me to listen to those for one and to hear guys like Wes Huff or Jeremiah Johnston and just hear their take and what they've got but it's also interesting for me to watch guys like Tucker or Joe Rogan and I can tell they're having guys like that on because of their own curiosity their own journey they're wanting answers to these same questions that we're talking about in my life your life Dan's life that that the Lord's shown and answered so it's so incredibly neat for me to see and watch and listen alongside those guys that I can learn from that but I can also watch the Lord either convicting them revealing things to them and them continuing to dig and press into it it's it's really really neat kind of in the in the communal space that we're in now you know it's not Paul in the Areopagus speaking to the philosophers it's guys sitting down at a podcast interviewing people or or seeing community groups on Facebook and having these same communal interactions um about the gospel about the person and work of Jesus Christ it's it's it's fascinating.

SPEAKER_00 36:29

It is we live in a time where the devil is working continuously and never stopping and uh I think as I kind of start to realize um Jesus and God are working uh just as tirelessly it's just uh kind of where you got your ears tuned to depending on who you're gonna hear more than the other yeah definitely well any any thoughts Dan trying to think of what has been just has there been any response have you had any conversations since that post with just people in general?

SPEAKER_04 37:10

Absolutely just uh a few uh there's been a few uh and honestly not a lot of disagreement uh there there's probably one more so the the the only disagreement I had I think on that post wasn't even really with as much of the messages I was trying to get across they were really just wanting to argue about the war in Iran which is not what I was wanting to argue about at the time but we can argue about it eventually if you'd like behind the paywall if you'd like to talk here about Iran we'll do that behind the paywall here at the end of the episode yeah that's for Patreon supporters Patreon supporters to hear about Jess's take on the war in Iran it's a waste of time money it's interesting no it's been it has been fun to watch though and I guess echo back to y'all's point it seems like uh I don't know it's probably been going on for the last several years but it's getting more and more I just feel like there's been this kind of like a just a big push to return to Christ with within not even a lot of people that that I go through life with but I mean just as you look around the world you know as you see we talked about those podcasters I mean like Joe and Theo Vaughn and and guys that are all just pushing back in and it's so fun to see and um I hate when people try to use their lifestyles against him. And I say that as my own self-critic but I hope they they find the message that I find when you look through the gospels is Jesus used and chose to associate with some of the most imperfect people of the time and use them to do great things. So I I think no matter where your sense of self-worth comes I think uh if you're at it in a negative that's just Satan talking to you um you are enough for Jesus and he's got a plan for you and uh if you'll listen he'll set you on the path that you need to be on and I firmly believe that and and I tell myself I always have I guess but I I can say for certain now um no matter how I grew up or how I've identified up until this point um I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I believe he has a plan for me and I'm uh interested to see what that looks like.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

Amen.

SPEAKER_03 39:50

Amen I am too and that's for everybody everybody's got something.

SPEAKER_02 39:58

100% now it's it's it's the the most encouraging thing to me and maybe we can kind of just wrap up and start to wrap up anyways with this is is um the the simplest part of this this whole episode to me is the Dan started out and talked about in the gospels where where Christ says you you will know them by their fruits and in the context of that talking about false teachers and but there's elsewhere that we see Christ says if you love me you'll keep my commandments and and when you made that post and it said I've started digging into the gospels reading the word and then now that we're 42 minutes into this and and continually comes up of pouring into the word of God the you know we we take such for granted that it's setting in front of us and and the Psalms open up in Psalm 1 the first two verses say blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. And Christ commands us to follow him and to keep his commandments meaning we've talked about the fact that that in the flesh we're not going to keep them perfectly but to continually be more conformed Dan talked about Paul at the end of his life still sensitive to sin and probably more sensitive to smaller sins in his life but probably still had instances um he got angry or he went back to the things that he'd done in the past and but in all of that and what you know we hear from you that is so beautiful. The Lord lays that on his people's heart. They read the word they take in the word they live and breathe out of his commands realizing that we're not going to keep them perfectly but that in them is the image of God manifested in Christ and he commands us to be more and more like him. But in Christ we're made perfect and by the Spirit we'll continue to be made more like him is what Philippians says day in and day out. Some days better some days worse until ultimately we'll be glorified perfectly in his presence and in the absence of sin. True believer looks forward to the coming of Christ because of that to be with him and to be in the absence of sin. How great the joy but in the meantime he calls us to the war against sin and to serve and follow him and it's a beautiful thing brother to hear you carrying on in that battle the very best way of spending time in his word and listening to his commands and his law and his love and his mercy and his grace and the other people that we see all through the gospel. One of the coolest things I've ever heard is that the Bible takes note to tar every person in it but one the only one that has no tar, has no sin, has no problems. That's all I got awesome. Perfect well great conversation appreciate it guys no thank you Jess it's been been wonderful we'll have to do it again do it some more for sure for sure yeah I got some questions I'll be shooting you guys uh it'd probably drag on into a rabbit hole but I do have a few questions I'd like to ask y'all just for my own searching perfect we'll do that behind the paywall for anybody that'd like to come on over. Like subscribe like subscribe yeah$399 a month you can get no all all side but no in all seriousness man it's been awesome thank you uh Dan thanks for Jumping on and and doing this with me and me with you however doing it together. Days like this make it fun. So And thank you to all you listeners of The One Truth. We appreciate you tuning in, or for your first time, or your however many at the time. Uh if you've never listened to the One Truth before, uh we're in season four. It works uh every week is normally a study. Right now we're going through Luke, the Gospel of Luke. Um, and then we have, as we have today, guests on periodically to have different conversations. So if you've never found this before, welcome. Hope you come back. And uh we will see y'all next time on the One Truth. Well, thanks again for tuning in to the One Truth Podcast. If you haven't, be sure and go and follow and hit the notification bell wherever you listen to the podcast. The more you can do that, the more it helps uh others find out about the podcast and ensure that you don't miss one as they drop. Also, if you haven't, uh, we'd ask you to go and follow our Facebook page, The One Truth, and uh join the One Truth Podcast Community Facebook group. It's a new deal we just started to generate conversation around the podcast and help uh build the community here as we go through this uh Bible study and these different seasons through the podcast. So we would appreciate it if you could do all of those things. And as always, thanks again for tuning in to the One Truth.