← Deepen with Pastor Joby Martin
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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to Deepen with pastor Joby Martin. The Church of 1122 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. And we're praying this message helps you deepen your relationship with him. Now let's dive in.
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B
All right, Binky. I'm starting with a squirrel story because this is live action, and my father in law just is watching. He watched from Allegheny County, Virginia. It's way up in the mountains, close to Roanoke.
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C
I bet he's eating some squirrel.
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B
And he says, wow, what a moving service. And I said, I'll tell Willie. And then he said, it makes me remember JP's first squirrel. I got JP, my son, one of those little 22410 interchangeable barrel guns when he was maybe six years old for Christmas, and we were doing Christmas at man laws. So he opens it. He's pumped. And I said, come on, boy. We're going squirrel hunt. Now he's 6. And Gretchen says, whatever you do, don't shoot my mom's yard squirrels. I'm like, babe, it's got iron sights. We've not even shot it once. There's no chance. We take three steps out, there's a squirrel running. I mean, it's a long way. I'm like, get him, buddy.
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C
Boom.
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B
Dead squirrel. Yard squirrel, first shot.
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C
Oh. Kay would have been mad, but we.
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B
Fried it up, Made it, and it was nice.
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C
Oh, yeah.
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B
So welcome, Willie.
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D
Welcome, Willie. You know, this might be a dumb question, but is a yard squirrel just a squirrel in the yard?
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C
Yeah, they live in the yard. Okay.
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B
She had a heart for them.
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C
Yeah. And they kind of. They're kind of tame, you know, because they're. They're used to being around. Right. Kind of like golf course squirrels. They come up by you, and they know you're not after them. So that was the rule. But s would shoot the yard squirrel. So.
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D
We talked a lot, Willie, about stories and what makes a good story. And Pastor Joby's a great storyteller. So is it people with beards from the country that are just really good at telling stories?
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C
Maybe that. Probably. You know, the. The thing I. When it comes to storytelling, I. I think it's because we grew up poor, so we didn't really have. Obviously no computers, no anything like that. We only had three channels on tv, so we just. You. We told stories. You know, we sat around that dinner table. Same dinner table, Doug. Nasty. And we would sit around, just listen to stories. And I think when you're kind of living in the outdoors, so there were stories from the hunt. And so generally we were eating something that we had cooked or caught. And so it'd be stories were told there about the fish or the squirrels or ducks or deer or whatever it was. And then we would talk about the food, and so we'd talk about how we prepared it or whatever. And then there would always be. We would have to judge the food's taste and flavor, which mom would get mad over that. But dad said, hey, if you brag on terrible cooking, you'll get terrible cooking for the rest of your life. So. And actually, at dad's funeral, I got up and I started telling about the fried shrimp of 1996. And my mom shook her head, and I mean, every Christmas I bring it up because we have fried shrimp on Christmas, and it was not the shrimp of 96. Mom got to talking to her friend, and she over fried the shrimp. Feels like very. You cook a shrimp for 30 seconds. No, one second more. You cook that 30 seconds. He said, K and Sherry getting there. They start. Yeah, yeah, Talking. He said, they cooked that shrimp for eight minutes. And. And. And. And he just braided it, you know, like Christmas. Which somebody would think, what a horrible way to do that on Christmas. But that was Phil. And so I brought it up. I have brought it up every year since 1996. When I did it at the fun was like, you're going to tell that story about overflowing those shrimp. But it was just listening to them tell stories. At the time, my grandparents, my mom, my dad's mom and dad were alive, and so they would tell stories. And Phil was always just a great storyteller. I mean, that story about the squirrel was just crazy how he told that story. And so he was such a good, fun storyteller. And so we just kind of learned that as kids, and. And we'd wait for our chance to be able to, because we were. I was at the end. I was at the very end of the. Of the table, the way it was back then. It was a different table. It was round. And then there was like a bar. And so I was like, way in the shadow. There weren't even lights. I rarely could ever see my food. And I didn't know, like, when we fried chicken, like, I always dreamed what that breast or what they actually tasted like. Because by the time it got to me, I ate the neck. You know, there's not a lot of meat on a chicken neck. And I'm like, one of these days, I'm gonna have a dad gum thigh, you know, or maybe a wing would make it down. And we did. Wouldn't really talk, you know, if you had a story, you better bring it. And we learned that as kids, it was like when you got your chance, you know, to tell your story. So, yeah, I think story. I think we learned to tell stories. And then that was in television. It's. It's just telling stories with video, you know, with pictures. And so you're telling this story and so. And dad was always big on, like, like on preaching. He'd be like, don't be boring. You know, like, make them laugh, make them, make them do something, make them cry, but don't be boring. And so he would always kind say, like, don't be boring. And so, yeah, we just kind of learn how to.
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B
Yeah, I learned to preach way more from my family growing up than from seminary. I did terrible in seminary. They told me, I, you know, they're like, you're not good. And I was like, y' all are terrible. That's why you're teaching seminary. Cuz somebody listened to you at church.
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C
They didn't make it. Yeah.
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B
And I can remember especially you mentioned Christmas. We would do this, this family reunion at Christmas. I can remember things like they'd show up with a deer and be like, you shoot that deer. My dad be like, it's always truck season. And literally somebody hit it on the way to Uncle Philip's and they were just throwing on a grill and. And it was the same stories every year. But the kids, we, we would like, we couldn't wait for the. That one that we knew was coming. You know, it'd be like, you're a squirrel story. And then also as like the older guys in the middle died off, we. We would get closer and closer to the middle of the storytelling ring.
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D
Yeah.
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B
And even when, dude, I'm not even. I'm not even close to the top tier storyteller teller in my family. And it was just. Yeah, it was like.
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C
Yeah.
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B
It taught you who you were, like the traditions of your family. I don't even think they were trying to do this, man. But there is something lost to. Every person in your house has a screen. So one of the things that we do at my table, we all, I mean, we just say, all right, what's the high and low of your week? And you don't have to defend it, you don't have to explain it. You just tell us what happened. And I'm trying to get my. Well, they're older now, but when they were little, I wanted them to be able to associate with the words, with the feelings and the activities that they had and be able to say it loud out loud and express. Yeah, it matters, right?
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D
Yeah. You know, for the. The first many millennia of faith tradition, that was the only way you could pass it on. And I did a project. I remember I did a project one time in school and studied stories. Did you know your brain hears stories completely different than data?
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E
Yep. And so that's. I've heard Wes Huff talk about this. He's kind of the. The new wave of Christian apologetics. But he was talking about, when people look back, they expect everything to be post enlightenment from thousands of years ago. Well, in post enlightenment, I need to know every possible data point about the thing that I'm going to be talking about, and then I'm still going to be skeptical about it. Whereas back then, they're like, oh, it was just an oral culture anyway. It's like, wait a minute, by oral culture, do you mean there were people walking around that had the Torah memorized?
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C
Right.
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E
There were fishermen that had the entire Torah, like, memorized. And so there was value in story. And so, like, the. The advice I gave to Joby whenever he went out to Unashamed for the first time a couple years ago, I go, they're not being rude when they interrupt you. It's that their story and the timing of it has to be right now. Like, it's got to be at this very moment. And it's. It's part of that competitive storytelling to where you're like, you. You're like, oh, I lost a thread in this conversation. And it's not because I'm not worthwhile, but it's like, there's something to this story, and it just needed to take a hard left turn. And so Phil or Jace or somebody is just gonna, like, interject, and you just gotta roll with it, bro.
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B
Do you know how many times I heard when we first planted this church, do you know the Duck Dynasty guys? And then I didn't, you know, and over the past few years, as we've gotten to know each other, and the first time I went on unashamed, the first story I tell Jace is like, I believe you. One of us immediately. Well, I think, yeah, I mean, we for sure cut from the same cloth.
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D
Oh, that's great.
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B
But think about the master teacher Jesus stories. Rarely did he ever be like, if you've got your scroll, why don't you go to Isaiah 53 and I'll show you where I am.
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E
Stories and questions.
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B
Stories and stories and. Right, right, right.
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D
He didn't. He didn't give a. Yeah.
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C
He would just be like, it's like a river. It's like a Y bird.
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E
You know, what kind of happened with you today? Because obviously, you know, the mood for saturated night one. This is only my second saturated night one. It's always like, excitement and buzzing, but I got stopped two or three times getting in my chair from people that were like, basically in tears about what happened to Charlie Kirk and what's happening in our country and things like that. And you. You alluded to it a couple of times during your. Your talk tonight. And, you know, I'm sitting there and I'm taking notes, being all dutiful and whatever, and my wife Kelsey just kind of leans over. And this was right after you had read Acts 18, verse 9. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.
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C
And so, yeah, he stayed.
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E
So he stayed.
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C
So I love that. So he stayed and. Because it's almost like he wouldn't have.
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E
Yeah, and he stayed like he would have been.
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C
When I read that tonight, and I was getting a little choked up because obviously I read it before, but then in the context of after this afternoon, which I just had to turn my phone off, I just called my wife and I just said. I was like, I cannot. I cannot absorb myself into that before I'm up to speak. And I was going to tell the story tonight, but I didn't, because once you had covered it, I remember when Doug Dynasty just come out, I'd gotten a call to come to a children's hospital in Louisville. I can't remember the name of the hospital, but it was a girl. It was a make a wish. And I hadn't done this before, and because you were asking me before, like, did you ever think you would be doing this? There's no script or there's no book to read, like. And I'm like, yeah, I'll come. And I flew up, like, 6 o' clock flight flew back that afternoon. It was on a Sunday. And I walked into this girl's room. She's probably nine years old, and one of her legs was very swollen. I didn't know what. I didn't know what it was. I walked in, I just immediately started crying. And they were like, hey. And I said, one second. And I went to the restroom And I was splashing water my face, and I was looking in the mirror, and I said, willie, this family has been crying for probably months and years over whatever the situation is. You're not up here to cry, you know, with this family. Because they were not, you know. And I said, get it together. They watched Doug Dynasty. They laughed, they loved the show. And I walked out and I said, hey, you know, I was gonna bring Uncle Sa, but I didn't. And we shared in this moment. That was Sunday. She passed Thursday. And so. But I remember that when you. You're doing something, and even in the moment, you're just, like, falling apart. And a little of that, I felt just, you know, here's a man who's of faith, who's on a stage, who's doing what we do, you know, and it's. You know, it just really hit a high, you know, I mean, obviously, I know a lot of people know a lot of people who are connected this. And I was just like, who? But it's more that darkness of the world pulling. And I think, you know, there was thousands of people tonight who were. Because also in that Acts 18 was that. Remember, they were kicked out of Italy, where that positive person, Aquila, where that turns back to a negative. And I feel like that's the whole message. I mean, like, these people are gonna. I mean, just keep reading a few chapters. I mean, it gets. You know, it was so bad with Stephen, you know, one of the seven that comes out right off the bat, you would have thought, this whole thing's going down. It's. It's over, you know, like. But no. And actually, when Philip goes and he's actually fulfilling just what Jesus said in Acts 1, which is, oh, this is where you go. And that's where they ended up going. So God's going to move and God's going to do that, despite what this is. But it makes the realization of, we're only here for a short time. We're just here for a short time, and you start looking at that perspective as opposed to what we can see perspective.
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B
The thing that hit me when you were preaching, first of all, when you. When Mike. When I. If I. If I've been talking to my dad in the truck on the way home, I get out of. And I walk into my house, and I just do whatever I always do. And immediately my kids will be like, you've been talking to Granddaddy. I'm like, what do you mean? Like, apparently I talk different. Like, I slipped back into that South Carolina Draw even more than I have normally. Okay. When you talk about Phil and quote him, Good gosh, I know he's your dad. You sound exactly like him. Okay.
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E
Even the way you flipped your thumb, bro.
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B
Like that thing, right?
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C
Yeah, that's right.
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B
But when you said my dad said, it goes quick.
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E
Yeah.
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B
I just thought that.
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C
Wow. Yeah.
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B
I mean, that guy's been through everything you could imagine. And I mean, bro, that's a sobering word. And especially today, you know, he.
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C
He knew. And also, I've heard that before. I did a. I did a wedding recently, and I only had one passage. I just t. And when I quoted it and the lady later said, you sounded exactly like your dad, I knew what I said because I said when Paul was describing the mystery of the mystery, it's the way he said certain things. And I knew when she said. I said, it's when I said the mystery of marriage.
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B
When I was on Kyle's been on unashamed 100 times. They. Your brothers invited me to be on it last year. And Phil was there, and it was such a gift. And afterwards, you know, I had met him before, but, man, I can't remember. I mean, you all meet way more people than I do. I cannot remember the people I meet. So I was not assuming he would. So, you know, we do the show, everything goes great, super fun, lots of laughs, all talk about the Bible, a book I had written. And then we get done, and he comes up and he goes, Ms. K. Would like to see you at the house for some tea.
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C
And I was like.
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B
He's like, do you have time? I would have abandoned my flight if I would have died. I certainly do. And it was just.
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C
I'm so glad you got to do that, too. So. Well, when I wrote my book Gospeller, it came out last year, and I was desperately wanting Phil to. I wanted him to read this before because I knew he was starting to slip. And so, I mean, as soon as I had it, I printed it off, like, on paper and sent it down there to him. And Phil read it just in a couple hours. And so he sends a message back through Dan, you know, and he said, tell Will this is so funny about my dad. He said that was the best explanation of how to share the gospel I've ever read in my life. And then he said, and you were so nice about it, which was. I knew because Phil said. That was like. Because Phil would get kind of. You know, he would get a little angry, and. But him saying that was just kind of tickled me But I was glad he was able to see that, to see what he had, the. The seeds that he had planted into me and really all of us that, that he had done that with. And I just wanted him to be able to read that and come out of it.
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E
You and I were talking about this a little bit off air. I mean, so everyone has their preferred style of evangelism, right? So some people do the, okay, I'm gonna ask you 10 questions. It's gonna end at the same place. Some people are just, you know, screaming on the sidewalks. Well, I was talking to Al a little bit about the. The guy who had the highest IQ ever. Recorded some preposterous iq. This guy in Korea. He gets a Twitter account. His first tweet is, I believe that Jesus is the Savior and he's the way, the truth and life and all these different things. And I remember immediately being like, we got a smart guy on the team. And then my very second thought was Phil and the gospel symbols and the people that drove up on the property before they had a gate, right. That would just drive up to the property and Phil would have to come out with a gun because he didn't quite know who was on the property. And he would share Christ with these people. And like, I mean, these, these aren't people that are going to be getting their PhDs in anything fancy. But you don't need any of that for the gospel to penetrate the heart of a non believer. And Phil just believed that with every fiber of his being, it's become.
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C
I become all things to all men. Yeah. So that I can snatch them, you know, and so there's so many different ways and newer ways. I mean, remember back when, when I was a teenager, we'd knock on people's doors and I just have today, like, knocking on. I would never knock on someone's door today. You know what I'm saying? I would. So things. Methods change the message, which people say, the message stays the same. The methods can change. So it's stuff changes and all the ideas and stuff that comes out of how people can get the gospel through, you know, through technology or however it goes, you know, God's going to move and that message is going to get out. But it is remarkable that 2,000 years ago, this message gets out. No money, no Internet, no phones, no anything. And we're halfway around the globe from where it happened. Different language, talking about it still. That's. That's a powerful message.
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D
That's right.
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C
How about.
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D
How about sitting as a metaphor for the Modern church.
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C
Yeah.
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D
That was so powerful. Like, the way that everybody is watching. I mean, your kids are probably too old for this, but the kids these days are now watching other kids play with toys.
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E
Yep.
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D
On YouTube.
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B
Watching video games. Watching people play video games.
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C
Well, hang on now. I challenged John Luke, my son. He's pretty clever. And I said, what kind of idiots watching? I'm just like, I'm really being the grandpa. I'm like, what a dumb day. And he goes, well, dad, do you watch other grown men play golf on tv? I said, yes, But I thought, okay, that is true. I am watching people do this. And it was a. So it was. I was like, touche. That was a good. It was a good point that he made. But. But, yeah, that idea of sitting in a chair. And. Because it is. I do feel like that was such a. And I just found that kind of study about sitting and. Because we're moving. I know you guys are, too. So one of the things we're doing is about how this thing moves. Because I felt like it was. So I told you. I wrote down all the things I thought churches get into. And one is just this static place. Static. You come, you sit, you leave, and that's it. And so I see that so much. And people struggle with that because they don't know what else they're like. I think they actually want mission, but we don't know what to tell it. We're like, hold a door, you know, and not that that's wrong. It's just that there's so much more. And as I'm reading the Book of Acts, I'm like, these people are just moving and constantly moving. And you don't have to move like country and. But you can just move where you're at. You know, there can just be more movement about getting that gospel out. And I think when you start hearing stories about what happens on Thursday nights and Fridays and what happens at the deer camp, and it's. Once you get outside of. Really, that Sunday morning bubble, for most people is the least. Because my whole book is on conversations about the Lord. The Sunday morning experience is probably the least amount of conversations you have with anyone. You show up, you sit down, you listen, and then you leave. You're like, where? We're going to lunch? So it's probably the least amount of conversations you would have with someone. It's not an environment to where that happens. And so nothing. There's nothing wrong with it. It's just that to have these conversations, generally, for me, it's been Other places. So all the stories in my book are usually stuff that happens at deer camp, something that happens at, you know, we were duck hunting or something, on the golf course or something. You know, it's. It's other places is where I can actually have a conversation with people.
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B
Well, one of the things we've done here, I mean, you saw all the people. A part of the reason our church has grown to what it is is because we have every single person here identify that one more person that God wants to use you to reach them. And when you do that, everything changes.
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C
Yeah.
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B
Because now you're not showing up to church, just thinking about, what do I get out of it?
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C
Right?
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B
You're thinking, how do I get my one more? And I. We tell them, man, we just want you to share the gospel. Sometimes you can be your own Billy Graham, share the whole thing. Praise God. Bring saved people that you just led to Christ at Walmart. Praise God for that. Sometimes you share an invitation because you know we're going to share the gospel. Sometimes you. You share your own story. Sometimes you share a book or a podcast link or a sermon link. Sometimes you share another cup of coffee because they're not ready. But that's a part of the way people can be a part of the movement on the go. Because all of a sudden they're gonna go to work tomorrow differently. Because now they're not just going to work to work now. They're going to work with their lenses, their gospel lenses on their great commission lenses on of who is my one more? Because nobody thinks when Jesus said, go and make disciples, that he meant, go find some people that already know me and teach them more things about me. Everybody knows that he meant, go find some people that don't know me yet and introduce them to me and baptize them and teach them everything I have taught you.
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C
Yeah. And I put my book. I think sometimes we need to just ask better questions. And so one of the questions we ask is like, do you go to church? And so I often thought, like, what do we want the answer to be if yes or no? If it's no, you want to invite them to sit with you, and hopefully they'll figure it out. If it's yes, you go. Cool. What's funny was I would ask people that and they would say, yeah, oh, yeah, I go to church. Great. Which one? And they would go, the same one I went to. I'd be like, oh, that's amazing. But I've never seen you there. It's like, well, I Haven't been in a couple years. But sometimes we, like. We stop the conversation if we hear a yes. We just go, oh, cool. I guess she must be. I guess you must have a great relationship with Jesus Christ. And that's so. And that's generally a question. It's not a bad question. It's just. Maybe there's better. So I love the Ethiopian. When he. When he pulls up beside. Which I would have. I would have. I would have screwed this up. Because if I'd have went beside him, the dude just left Jerusalem, he's reading the book of Isaiah where he was worshiping God. I would have went like, he's in. And I'd have been like, all right, wrong chariot. Because this guy's. This is the dude. Modern day. He just left church. He's at the stoplight, he's reading the Bible. And I'm going to. He's good. But he says, do you understand? Philip says, do you understand what you're reading? That's a great question. And he says, how can I unless someone explains it to me? And then he started right there with that passage in the book of Isaiah, which lets you know why you should know the word of God. Because what if he'd have said, oh, shoot, what does that say? But he started right there, and all it says is, he preached him the good news of Jesus. That's all we know. Then they see water. He's like, hey, let's stop. Why shouldn't I be baptized? Then he asks a question, why shouldn't I? Which I would have probably given him five reasons why he probably should have went back to Ethiopia. Like, hey, y' all can take pictures and everybody understand what you're doing. But he did it there. And then he goes back. And then Ethiopia to this day is a Christian nation. I wonder if, you know, that was the one. That was the one. That was the one. This guy hears it and goes by. There's 60 million proclaimed Christians in Ethiopia today. I wonder if we can track it to that one. And so if you track back. I didn't go through the full one, which I mailed in the men's deal, which is if you track even our story feeling K, that preacher going to bar them, converted their kids. Now we have kids. We. And then you go through the podcast, the TV show, the movies, the millions of followers, all this all over the world, and you can trace that back to that one little couple with no future note, just. And you can trace it back right there and say, right here and now, you've got, you know, thousands, millions of people that have been influenced in some way by the gospel. So who are those people in this area? Who are those people? Who's that person that. Because Phil was a bad dude. He was not the guy you would think is going to be. But I will say this. My aunt Zach's mom, my aunt said if you convert Phil, he'll convert thousands. How would she know that about this guy who's like running a bar? He's just a reprobate. How would she have seen that? I mean, it's really remarkable that. I mean, just think of the worst guy, you know right now, the fighter and the guy who's like, cheating on his wife and all this, and go, you've heard that dude. And so. And I feel like Saul Paul was that same, you know, who would have thought this person is now going to be teaching and now going to do this. So that's the power of the gospel.
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B
We had a leadership conference here that ended today. So we had about 12, 1500 pastors, leaders from all over the country here from 40 something. It was awesome. Really, really great. And there was a guy talking about evangelism. And one of the things that he said that blew me away, he said, every church that I've grown gone to that really excels at evangelism is led by a pastor that remembers what he was saved from. The way I say it is, I can't get over the gospel.
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D
That's right.
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B
So every time, like, I just let a guy to Christ in the gym like four days ago or something. Again, a guy that I just led to Christ about eight weeks ago was at the altar tonight. Big old motorcycle cop. His life was a wreck. I met him in there, led him to Christ. Here he is, bro. And every time I see these dudes, I just see me. I just see me as a high school kid just lost as a ball in high weeds, having no idea. And I thought I was a Christian. Maybe I wouldn't act like it, but I was Southern, so I believed in God. Like I do SEC football and the second Amendment. I thought it was just like a package deal. And so I had that resume.
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C
Like, you think you have a resume that's good? You're like, oh, I got a good resume. And. But you know.
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B
Right. And I just can't get over that.
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D
Right.
- [27:02]
E
Well, it's because somebody, you know, this. This caught up, Phil. This is something you were kind of alluding to. Most Christians have bought into the lie that Christianity is a spectator sport. And it's not. It's contact sport. And so you have to have contact with people. And even tonight you have people that are like highly conscientious, driven people and all that. They don't even want to start a gospel conversation if they can't see it through. If they can't, Billy gram it all the way to the altar. Right. But that may not be your role. Like with your dad, with that guy, the pastor coming to the bar to talk to your dad. His role, he didn't know what his role was walking in there, but it was just to plant a seed. And that seed just stayed there and then it just continued to grow and somebody else watered it and it got watered and watered and watered again.
- [27:41]
C
Right. And you don't. And the guy that went up there, because I explored that even more, like this wasn't a guy who lived in the same town, so he wasn't going to come to his church. And you're a, a pastor. So you think about this like you're just going like you don't have any money. It's not like he's gonna even go to your church. And this is one of your members who are like, can you go? And I often thought, like, how'd the conversation go? Like what time to come to church and we'll meet and he ain't come to church. Okay, well you're gonna have to go see him. Where's he, you know, like in town. Where's he at? Well, he runs a bar. Okay, which one? In town? No, it ain't in town. His name in the state and this guy to go up there and do that. Like, I never realized my little two year old life was literally hanging in this guy's hands of whether or not he said yes or have you lost your mind? Then when he shares it with him and Phil does nothing, I'm wondering if he's driving home going, well, that's an afternoon I'll never get back. You know, like he didn't, you know, and boom, look at how that, how that came forward. So you just never know. You never know. And that's why I always say I never give up an email because I never know who that, like that may be, you know, that guy that's like that.
- [28:56]
D
One of the things I loved was when you said, don't live on yesterday's meal and you were relating the food that it gives your faith to help somebody else. What Pastor Joby says is there's nothing that's going to help you deepen your own faith. Like Helping somebody else discover theirs. And I think that's oftentimes an unexplored angle of sharing your faith and seeing God work is what it does for our own faith, bro.
- [29:26]
B
Well, I'm telling you. So I had. Part of the reason I switched gyms over here is because I'd find myself where I hadn't shared the gospel with anybody in so long. So I was coaching. You met JP I coached his teams from the time he was five until he graduated high school.
- [29:43]
C
Right.
- [29:43]
B
So the number of his teammates that I baptized and families that I was always around, like sports people, and they would be lost, you know? And then one day I looked up and I'm like, I really haven't been sharing the gospel, you know, like, I got to do something. So I move gyms with the explicit reason to be on mission. When I walk in that gym and I just go full. Everybody knows I'm the pastor over here. I just wear the 1122 stuff. I wear our Jesus loves me shirts. I do.
- [30:13]
C
And.
- [30:14]
B
And I am in there. Of course I want to work out, but I'm just willfully trying to go put myself in the place where I can get a chance to just talk to people about Jesus wherever they are, man. I don't close the deal every time, you know?
- [30:28]
C
Right. Yeah, that's. That's amazing. The. And one of the reasons I brought the food was that. So when I think about, like, tonight, like, a big gathering, it's something that's been planned out, and there's people just, you know, it's so good. You know, it's just. It's good. Wasn't good. Just. I know God spoke, but it was like, it's good. I've been to a lot of these. I was just, you know, at Sadie's conference, too. And so you're kind of like these big things. You're like, oh, that's what I need. So you kind of wait for the big ones, but you forget about the. The every day. And so I thought about just people as. As you eat a meal, and you're like, oh, that was the best meal ever. When I say, what's the best meal you ever ate? Like, I can't even think of what that is. You think, well, I've had so many, you know, But. But to narrow that down, you don't even know. And then when you get it to this week, you're like, oh, okay, I did have this, and it was great. And I think we just go way too long of a span. We don't eating. We eat a lot. You know, we eat every day. And so we start going. We wait for these maybe bigger things. So what I always thought was interesting, Acts, Chapter two. We had this big thing that. That happens now. If that were in America, I promise we'd been like, the next week, we'd have met and said, okay, how do we do that again? Okay, Peter, do that whole thing. Get up there. Let's do this. Let's set this up, because this time we're going to have 6,000. And we would immediately start planning. As I read the Book of Acts, they never went back to that. They ever said, well, remember what happened. They don't look backwards. It's just moving forward. And you don't see these. A big thing. And so I think as Americans, we're like, oh, that works. And so. And what happens is we. We get conditioned to where we're waiting for the next big thing. So we go, oh, yeah, this is what gets me fired up or whatever. And you're missing meal after meal after meal after meal, you know, to fuel yourself as it goes and so. And fuel that through the spirit. And it's a lot of little things. Like at Acts 19, there was 12. I didn't read because I kind of had to speed up tonight. But that. There was. There was a dozen there who, you know, who were rebaptized. There was. There's two here. There's the Ethiopians. I mean, it's just ones. Two sixes. The. The. The jailer in the middle of the night who goes back to his family, which was so remarkable that if. That. If those walls fell down, I would turn around and go, he did it. That's what my God does, you know? And you're going to kill yourself. Good. You need to. I'm out of here. But that. The fact that he hung around, like. Because I'm thinking that is still dangerous, like. And he says, no, we will go to your house. I mean, to stay that long. I know that's how important sharing the gospel is. That's how important. Explaining to not just him, but his whole family. And that says at that hour of the night, people got wet that hour of the night. Why would you do that? If it's not that important? Why would you. Why wouldn't you go, I'm going to tell this to you real quick. And then I got to roll, you know, and so for him to take. For them to take the time and do that. I know. I think that's what the Book of Acts is trying to Tell us is the importance of it. And then as we get to 18, 19, where now the church is going. But you see them where they're like. Which is why I said, check yourself, because they were like, make sure that you know what's going on here, because this is going to be your whole thing. And I mentioned marriage because it was like, you can get off early on, and it never. If you're not, you know, oh, we just started living together. It's kind of the same, you know, you go back and you're like, something's not right. There's. There's something here that's not right. And for. For a lot of it could. Like, the rich young ruler was the money that he had. It was. It can be different, you know, things. It was baptism there of what they didn't understand quite. And, like, if you don't understand Jesus, you know, if you don't understand that, understand what that is. I think sometimes that's child baptism. I think when I look at it, it reminds me a lot of John's baptism, which obviously is not bad. It's just. It was different. So I run into a lot of guys. They're 22 years old and they're hanging on to. Well, when I was five, I did this. I'm like, how's it been since then? Well, I'm on drugs. I'm like, well, something. But they're holding on to something. They're like, well, I think when I was five, do you remember? I have no idea what, you know. And so for some of those people, like, well, you may need to understand who Jesus is, who the Holy Spirit is, how your life can change. Because what you're living now does not look like new. It looks like old. It does not look like life. It looks like death, you know?
- [34:54]
B
Yeah, we're doing baptisms this Sunday. Like, finish up.
- [34:58]
C
I'm sad. Saturated sad. I'm going to miss that.
- [35:00]
B
Well, I'm going to be referencing Acts 19, because there's a bunch of, like, there's. There's a. A New Testament description of some people that God.
- [35:08]
C
And I'm so glad it's in there. I'm so, like. And I often ask, why is that in there? Because I said it tonight. I said, if it was just as simple as. No, it's. The Holy Spirit came in. Oh, cool. Like, why didn't they just say it? Why was there. Why did they do that thing, you.
- [35:23]
D
Know, do what you did at first.
- [35:24]
B
And when the Ethiopian eunuch asks, here's water. What hinders me from being baptized. The answer is nothing.
- [35:29]
E
That's right.
- [35:29]
B
The answer is not, we didn't go to a class or you didn't schedule it, or it's got to be at this kind of place. The answer to that thing is, there is nothing that hinders you from getting back. Is Jesus Christ your Lord? Yes. Get in the water.
- [35:41]
C
Somebody asked Phil, how long does it take you to baptize him? Phil said, how long did it take him in the book of Acts? So you just read the book of Acts, and that's how long it took. That's how long it took him to. There's no waiting or anything like that. Except for, interestingly enough, because I studied a lot of this. Was Paul, who was now, when he had the encounter with Jesus. And how long did it take before he got baptized? Three years, three days.
- [36:06]
B
Three days.
- [36:07]
C
Three days before, you know, he goes. And then he walks and goes straight street.
- [36:10]
E
And.
- [36:11]
C
And then it said. Then the scales fall from his eyes. And they said. And then immediately he was baptized. And so then he gets.
- [36:17]
B
So I think half of them are like, are you sure? Are you sure you're in. Well, that's why Barnabas has to show up.
- [36:22]
C
Oh, yeah.
- [36:23]
B
And be like, no, he's good. Because the other people were like, I think he killed.
- [36:26]
C
He starts teaching. Yeah. And they're like, I don't know how long it was, but it was long enough where they were still scared of him.
- [36:31]
B
Right.
- [36:32]
C
They were still scared of this guy who was going in there. So I think sometimes, and I don't think it's out of bad motives, but I think we start trying to plan all this, like, oh, let's get it planned. And we have. And we just don't do what it said. That's what they did. And so we've got it all figured out to where it's like, no, we'll set this up. We want you to know all this stuff before you. Because I've seen it happen in churches where they're not, you know, somebody makes a commitment. And then I was actually at a particular church where he said 30% of the people would ever even come back and get baptized. And they knew. They was like, well, that's not right. That's not.
- [37:08]
E
Something's missing when you're losing the essence of the gospel. Because I wish I came up with this, but I saw this somewhere on the Internet. But it was like, if you want to try to understand the gospel, try to wrap your mind around the gospel. The welcome committee for the Apostle Paul when he got to heaven, included the people that he martyred. That's what the gospel is, right? And so that doesn't even make sense, because if you want to talk about whatever political persuasion you are, whatever philosophy that you've given your life over to or some sort of, like, New age, whatever, whatever, none of that explains that, because you can say in the same thing, like, wait, didn't you just kill my cousin? Like, that type of thing. Why would you listen to that person if there's not an actual movement of the Holy Spirit going on?
- [37:45]
B
Right?
- [37:46]
C
Yeah. And I think there's. I think sometimes we just. We want. We desperately want people so badly to. To come to Jesus, so we make it. We try to make it so easy. Like, just hold a finger up. And I'm like, you're good. Think about how we do marriage. Like, when you got married, was it. If I could just hold my finger up, I'd have probably been married in seventh grade. Like, hey, I'm down with this. No, it's a. It's a. You know, there's a commitment. There's a whole thing, because it's like, this is going to be the rest of your life and what you're doing. And so sometimes I just fear that we don't. Like, with people going, look, make sure. Make sure this is what, you know, you're ready to do this. But before, they're just like, good day. I'm counting them, you know, and. And they get counted, and then it's a number. And so we got to be careful with number because we're like, oh, you know, I remember there was a church that was. It was like, how many people came to the lord last year? 900. How many the year before? 850. How many? Four.
- [38:46]
E
That.
- [38:47]
C
And I'm like, well, dag gum, that's 3,000. Like, yeah. How many buildings have you torn down and had to build? It looks the same. I'm like, it's the same. So somehow the numbers I'm trying to figure out. I'm a sky. I'm like, the numbers ain't matching up with the. It looks identical.
- [39:04]
D
Not super good at math, but something ain't adding up here.
- [39:06]
C
So I. So I just. You know, I think Phil was big on that. We just go back and just let you know. I mean, tonight I could just read the book, just take the word, like. Because I just want to try to tether people. I don't want to tether them to my stories, tether them to how I do it, tether them to the Word, if you get tethered there. So no matter what happens to me, if you never see me again is if I can tear you there. It's all in there. And then you read it, because there was so much. There's just so much in there. And then we hadn't even gotten into the Gospels and all the, you know, the all. There's so much in there. So if we can tether people to the Word, get that relationship and then let them start growing and. And. And moving like that, I think. I think that's the, you know, that's the way. And so that's what I've always just tried to do, is tether them to the Word.
- [39:51]
D
Yeah.
- [39:51]
B
Kyle, is this your new Cary Bible?
- [39:53]
E
Yeah. So, yeah. So your. Your father had such an impact on me because in a lot of kind of, like, surprising ways. But a couple years ago, I interviewed him. So I was on Unashamed, and then he hung around afterwards, and I talked to him about it. I think it was about Uncanceled about that book. And so we get done, and I think your dad's gonna do what he normally does, which is put his headphones down, grab his Bible, hop in the truck, and get back to Ms. K. And he sets his headphones down, he gets up, walks around the table, and he gets right in front of me, and he goes, no matter what, you keep going. You were built to do this. Like, men need you, and I'm here with you, and I love you.
- [40:29]
C
Wow.
- [40:30]
E
And I was like, yeah. And I told Al the same thing. And he goes, wait, whoa. Like, that's. That's pretty forward. And I wasn't expecting that. But Joby and I have talked about this a lot. When you're on the tip of the spear, when it comes to ministry, even if the arrows miss you, they have to go past your shield first, right? And then that means somebody behind you probably got hit. And I just kept thinking about after your father passed, like, okay, what is. What is that? What does that mean? And how does. How do we, like, honor him? And I just remember thinking a few years ago, I read more books for the podcast than I read chapters of the Bible. In that year, it was like 50 something books that I read, but I didn't read 50 chapters of the Bible. Maybe not even 50 pages of the Bible, right? And then I thought about Phil, and I'm like, whether I was with him out in the woods or in the. The shop or in the studio or at his house, his Bible was within arm's distance, if not in his hands or on his lap, right? And so I got this, this Bible made that. I showed you those gospel symbols that you were referring to, right? So you got the down arrow. God sends Jesus down. You have the cross where he was crucified. You have the empty tomb, you have the ascension. And all we're waiting on is the last down arrow where he comes to get his bride. And so this is what I walk around with at all times. So when I'm tempted to sit there in the waiting room or something like that and pull out my phone and start doom scrolling or whatever, I'm pulling this out and it's already led to gospel conversations about, well, what do these things mean? What exactly are you reading? Because it doesn't say Holy Bible there on the top. And it's about being tethered. That's the exact word. It's like, what are we tethered to? Why do we do the Daily Blade? Why do you preach? Why do I do end on life? Why do any of these things, things. Things happen? It's because we're tethered to the word of God. And that's what we can go back to. We're not going to have our feet planted firmly in midair. We're going to have it planted firmly on the word of God. And your dad really unlocked that for me because I thought, I thought it was more complicated than that. I thought I needed another app, right, that was going to give me a better reminder at a better time of day. It's like, no, I just need the.
- [42:24]
C
Word and I just need just a simple, simple message. I think Phil, I think Christians sometimes they. They just get weird. You know, they get weird and they start talking weird. And it's like, I thought, I thought Phil was. Phil was cool, you know, Phil was cool. He was cool when he was old. You know, how many old men, you know, they're like, that dude's cool, you know, Cuz Phil, he knew that. He knew, he knew what he was saved from. Like you mentioned, he knew where he was and then. But he also stayed. There was an authenticity and a realness about him that he was able to get that message out. And it was a. And it was a powerful message and it spoke to a lot of, to a lot of. A lot of people. Yeah. But especially men about. Because as we're seeing now, I mean, good grief, you know, man, I need some help, you know, how to know what to stand for and all that.
- [43:14]
D
Yeah. Well, I think I thank you, Willie, for Your message and really the most.
- [43:18]
C
Soothing voice sky, was, wow. As I'm dipping into slumber, I think about this soft voice, sweet sounds of my voice, sweet sounds of.
- [43:32]
D
But your. Your bottom line basically is get in the game.
- [43:34]
B
That's right.
- [43:35]
D
You know, and I love the story, Kyle, you just shared, because that's a very practical way to get into game, have more real conversations. So any closing comments, Pastor or. Or Willie, before we end, I would.
- [43:46]
B
Say, bro, way to carry on the legacy of a godly man that was focused on leading people to the God that loved him. And then honestly, way to raise up one after you that is doing the same thing in the same bloodline. Praise God.
- [44:03]
C
Yeah. Well, thank you. I think I needed to be here. So Duck Commander, Sunday was a week and a half ago. Jace actually preached on that one. And then we got up and done the baptism. And last weekend I got to sit and just listen to Sadie and her team. Actually, my son Will was on the worship team. Bella got up my. Another one of my daughters and did a panel. And it was. She was so nervous, you know, and. And she was so nervous going up there. And I said, well, Bella, what if you had to sing the national anthem? She goes, I'd be mortified. I said, well, doing a Q and A is way easier. So to see my kids, you know, carrying that on, to follow up with where my parents were and really in our whole family is just this just banner and different ways we tote that work for the kingdom of God. And it's different. Y' all been able to hang out with some of my brothers, and so you see the different angles, and I love that, and I love how we do that. But, you know, as God moves me. And so I was going to be here and where I was excited to talk, but also to. To pull from what a day too. You know, I just needed to. It was tough. Tebow text me right before just like, no, you're gonna do great. I hate I'm not there. I'll be with him this weekend, but. But then to be able tomorrow and just absorb more of that too. So I think that's what it's about. You know, I think it's just God's moving and we need it. And I think there's such an authenticity here with what you guys have done, the staff, I mean, all the people. Obviously, it's not one person. This is a whole throng of people that can move the people. And I saw it, you know, I felt it. You can feel it. When it went over to the overflow. And I felt that.
- [45:48]
E
And.
- [45:48]
C
And all the other people that were watching, you just feel that spirit of God moving. And it's not different than the Book of Acts, you know, and that's why I want to challenge people with, what does your book of Acts look like? Because I do that, you know, my brothers, I'm like, I got to get. After I got to, you know, and so there is that. Like, yeah, I need to get going here because we. We constantly need to be reminded of that. You know, First Corinthians 15, Paul's reminding. Let me remind you of the gospel. You know, these are reminders. Jesus reminded them about what's going to happen because we just start forgetting quickly. You know, we're like, ah, we. You know, and the world's there and the world's pulling us. And like I said, the game is fixed for us to sit down a lot. The game is fixed with the phones and how it pulls you in. It can be fixed with sports and how kids and you look up and you're spending all this time and people say, willie, how do you. How do you balance everything out? I'm going, well, I hope I'm unbalanced for the kingdom of God, because when I read the Book of Acts, there wasn't a lot of balance there, you know, and so if I'm unbalanced for doing God's worth and I want to be, you know, this idea that we're going to package it all together, it's going to be perfect little thing, you know, and so I think we just need to sell out and, yeah, get in the game. Amen. Pray for us.
- [47:01]
B
Yeah, let me pray for us. Father in heaven. Lord, thank you for Willie. Thank you for his whole family. God, thank you for the life and legacy of Phil. Lord, may. May we be unbalanced towards the kingdom of God. May we go. May we not just be sitters. May we not just pursue comfort. May we forcefully advance your kingdom in Jesus name.
- [47:23]
C
Amen. Amen.
- [47:25]
E
Thank you for listening to the podcast the End.
- [47:28]
B
You nailed it.
- [47:34]
A
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