← Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Ep 1249 | He Shared the Gospel with Joe Rogan. Here’s What Else He’d Say | Chadd Wright
01:04:03
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- [00:00]
A
Before today's episode, I want to take a second to tell you about Fellowship Home Loans. You've probably heard there's a standoff right now between Trump and the Federal Reserve. Trump is pushing hard to bring interest rates down and get the economy moving, but Jerome Powell's holding firm for now because inflation's still hanging around. That means that rates could drop at any moment. And when they do, the prepared people out there will move fast. That's why now is the time to talk to my friends at Fellowship Home Loans. They'll help you run the numbers, look at the full picture and ask the honest question, what is it going to take to get into the home your family needs right now? Even if rates aren't ideal today, if the right home is in front of you, don't miss it. There's a saying they love. Marry the home, date the rate. You can always refinance later. They are doing business by the book and they'll help you out. They'll even give you a 500 credit at closing when you go to fellowship homeloans.comalli where you can get a free consultation. Terms apply Csight for details Fellowship Home Loans Mortgage Lending by the Book Nationwide Mortgage Bankers DBA Fellowship Home Loans Equal Housing Lender NMLS Number 819382 Chad Wright shared the gospel in an amazing way on Joe Rogan's podcast. He is an incredible theologian. He is the owner of the three of seven project and he's here with me today to talk about the gospel. To talk about salvation. We wade into Calvinism versus Armenianism. We also talk about his stuff dance that he needs to retreat from politics altogether. And you guys probably know what I think about that. We had such a fun, edifying, biblically rich conversation that you guys are going to love so much. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Good ranchers. Go to good ranchers.com use code ALI at checkout. That's good ranchers.com code ALLY Chad Wright, thanks so much for taking the time to join me. For those who may not know, can you tell us who you are and what you do?
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B
Yes, ma'. Am. My name is Chad Wright. I'm a backwoods Navy seal, wizard hermit from the mountains of. I mean, that's my buddies tell me anyways. From the mountains of northwest Georgia.
- [02:22]
A
We're gonna have to break that down. I want to know, what do you mean by wizard?
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B
I mean, it's just a joke, you know. Yeah, I like to run. Obviously I've been saved by grace through Faith. I'm very passionate about the faith that I've been given, and I own a company called three of seven Project, where really, the foundation of what we do is train people. I learned that I had a real passion to teach and to train during the latter part of my career in the U.S. navy, where I was serving as a SEAL instructor for a few years. And I was kind of developed and taught how to teach. And so really, that's the. The main bread and butter of our business now. And I've just designed a few really unique missions or training experiences where we help people grow physically, mentally, and also spiritually through everything that we do. So I guess that's the professional answer. Yeah, I was trying to be funny there for a minute, but I'm just not a very funny guy.
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A
So, no, I liked your description of backwoods. I don't know if I can remember. Backwoods, Navy seal, wizard, hermit. Wizard, Hermit. And yet you've come all this way.
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B
It's interesting how people call me a hermit. I mean, I do live on 700 acres in the mountains of northwest Georgia.
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A
700 acres?
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B
Yes. And there's no one around me. And I can literally. The Lord has given me this place to live where I don't have to leave. I mean, I'm retired from the military. I don't have to do any of anything. So the pull to become a true hermit is there. People ask me all the time. I hear other people talking about how tempting it is to quit something in their life, whatever it may be. And they look at me and they assume, well, Chad never thinks about quitting. And I'm like, do you know how often I think about quitting? Like, everything that I've been called to do? Almost daily.
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A
Yeah.
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B
But, man, I get to come here, talk to a sister in Christ. I tell you what drew me here. 1. The invitation from you and your team was the first. But again, I'm pretty selective about leaving that 700 acres. So I said, I got to go check Ally out. And I listened to one of your shows where you were interviewing a lady. I forget her name, but she was a Catholic. And you guys started the conversation talking about children and having children, which is all relatable to me because my wife and I are, for the first time in our lives, thinking about having or trying to have children. But then the conversations really shifted into more doctrinal topics, theological topics. And you were so fiercely defending the literal interpretation of the Scriptures. And I said, whoa, I like this woman. Like, I really loved your. Just your passion Your fierceness. Of course. I know the father's given you all of that, but I loved that.
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A
Well, thank you.
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B
I was raised by strong women. You know, when I see a strong woman, I don't know, it just. It hits me. You know, in all the training that we do at 307 Project, I've never had a female student quit. I've had hundreds of males quit. Never had a female student quit. You know, the reason I became a Navy seal, I watched my mother running marathons and triathlons, and she. She was the first person to ever get me out on the trails and show me what it meant to, like, push past mental barriers. And. And so I'm really thankful for the opportunity to sit down with a sister, especially a strong sister in Christ.
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A
Well, thank you for saying that. Well, I listened to you on Joe Rogan's podcast and I said, I like this guy.
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B
Oh, thank you.
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A
Because you were so persistent in sharing the gospel and so clear. I was just so drawn into the whole conversation. I think it maybe even started out with squirrel hunting, which I don't know very much about. But even that was interesting because I just loved how y' all went back and forth. But then how you interwove the gospel was so good. So I wanna talk about that before we even get into your testimony of how you became a Christian. What was it like sharing the gospel on such a huge stage?
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B
Yeah, well, I mean, I was definitely scared as a cat going in there.
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A
Couldn't tell.
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B
Well, you know, I've done a lot of crazy stuff in my life, both through being a SEAL and then through ultra endurance sports. But that's. That's just like a different type of challenge that, you know, is hard for me. And, you know, when we. When we're talking on this platform, on that platform, and we know that thousands or millions of people are going to hear the words that we say, there's a weight that should come along with that. There's a responsibility there. And so I was scared going in there. But Joe was very welcoming. He made me feel like I belonged there. Had no idea what I was going to talk to Joe about. I mean, we communicated on Instagram and he says, yeah, come out to the show. I've never met him in my life. I don't really listen to his show, have no idea what we're going to talk about. So then you're just sitting in this seat and, you know you're going to be there for three hours and you. Same here. I don't know what you Want to talk about today, you know, and so there's always nerves going in those conversations. But you know, he's the one that led into that conversation around, around faith and why I believe the way I believe. I didn't have to force that. He led, he led us into that and then. And really Holy Spirit really took over. I'm not an intellectual type. And the Holy Spirit took over and allowed me to say the things that I said. Truly, I mean, people will watch that episode or anything else I say and they say, oh man, you did so good, Chad. And you can tell people till you're blue in the face. I swear I didn't have an agenda to say that thing. I didn't have any of that pre prepared. Anytime I ever go and do this, it's like I submit myself to Holy Spirit in prayer. I've been praying and reading scripture in the green room before I come in here because it's so important for me to get myself out of the way. And I don't think people really believe that. They think, oh yeah, Chad, you know, you're being a humble guy. I'm not a humble guy. I am not a humble guy like you catch me at an ultra marathon or something. I want to crush you. So I'm thankful Holy Spirit led me through that conversation in the way that it went. I haven't went back and watched it. I don't even remember. No, I can't stand to listen to myself talk and I don't even remember what all I said. But I know there has been quite a bit of pushback against the things that we talked about on that episode because we have been taught a man centered gospel or evangelical. The evangelical message in America has been so man centered for so long. And anytime you come in with the true message of scripture as it pertains to the sovereignty of God, especially over matters pertaining to salvation, man's ability, man's choice. You come in with something like that and half the Christian community comes at you like you're a heretic. And so that's been an interesting journey for me on the backside of that because it is so important for us to understand that. To understand that the order of salvation that those whom the Father foreknew, he predestined. And those whom he predestined, he called. And those whom he called, he justified. And those whom he justified, he glorified. Not he might glorify, not those he calls he might justify, depending on what decision they make. No, it will be done according to his will. And I can show you scriptures over and over and over again in, in the Holy Bible and every scripture that we look at that speaks to specifically to man's ability, what he can or cannot do. It is always in the negative sense.
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A
Always.
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B
We have forgotten the state that we are in, the fallen state that we are in, and the severity of our condition. We have lost that perspective on ourselves. And, you know, I want people to see this. Why do I want people to see this? Because half the church is walking around out here and they are not sure whether they're saved or not. Well, guess what? If you think your salvation is based off of a choice that you made one day to invite Jesus into your heart, well, you better be. You better be wondering whether you're saved or not or whether you're going to stay saved or not. Because you know what people do? They change their minds. And a Christian, a man or woman who has been pronounced justified by a sovereign God, the King of Kings, you know, one of the names for the Father in the Scriptures is the sovereign one. One who's been pronounced justified by him ought to walk through this life in confidence and in assurance of their salvation. But we, so many of us walk through this life thinking that it was all hinged upon a choice that we made. And we're hoping we don't change our minds one day. And you know what that renders the Christian? It renders them ineffective for, for their, the, the entire duration of their life. People say, why is this important? Why is God's sovereignty important? Well, one, it's in the scripture. Well, two, it is the very thing that is going to allow you to experience rest in the assurance of your salvation, that the work has been done by God in you. You experience rest, you experience confidence. You don't know. You no longer have to be an intellectual. I don't have to come on here and share the gospel in any specific way that I think is going to convince your audience to believe. I'm going to share the gospel. You know, I'm going to share it. But what I have to say to the unbeliever is very short. It's repent. It's repent and believe in the gospel. That's all I have to say to unbelievers. Yeah, I can explain to you what the gospel is like. I can expound on that. And we should expound on that. Repentance, believe. That's all. I had the end of conversation. So, you know, people who say, well, you know, you didn't really preach the gospel to the world because you look. You think Joe Rogan hadn't heard the gospel a thousand times? He knows what the gospel is. Repent. Believe. Well, that would have been a real short podcast.
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A
Yeah.
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B
So let's talk about why you just can't seem to figure it out. Yeah, let's just talk about why you can't seem to get it.
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A
Yeah. Well.
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B
Well, here's the reason, buddy.
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A
Yeah. All right, y'. All, Share the Arrows is almost here. It's just a week away, a week from tomorrow. Oh, my goodness. I am so excited. If you haven't gotten your ticket yet, especially if you are local to Dallas, Texas, now's the time. We still got some seats left. It is going to be amazing. A time of refreshing, of edification, of friendship, of worship, of sound. Solid, challenging, biblical teaching. I don't know another women's conference like this. So come on. Go to share the eeros.com you can see some of our speakers there. Katie Faust, Elisa Childers, Ginger Duggar, Volo. We've got a health panel, a motherhood panel. Come. No matter what stage of womanhood you are in, this is for you. Share the Arrows this year is brought to you by our friends at EveryLife. Go to sharethe arrows.com use code ALI20 when you press unlock on Ticketmaster. Share the arrows.com Also, before we get back into that conversation, let me tell you about We Heart Nutrition. Of course, our friends Jacob and Kristen of We Heart Nutrition will be at Share the Arrows. I love all of their products. I take their multivitamin, I take their omega threes. I take their magnesium, I take their iron. I take all of it. And I just got this huge panel of blood work done for my doctor and everything was like pristine except for my thyroid, which I already knew is a problem. But even We Heart Nutrition's products, I think is helping me with that. They just help make sure that I have all of the nutrients I need to stay as healthy as possible. And I feel really good. My hair, skin and nails are strong. That's because all of the ingredients that they have in every single one of their products is made in the most bioavailable form so your body can actually absorb what you're taking, which unfortunately is not true of most supplements out there. Plus another Christian family owned company, they donate a percentage of every sale to Pro Life pregnancy centers. It's a win all around. Go to weheartnutrition.com use code ALLY. You'll get 20% off your order. We heart nutrition.com code ALLY let's break this down a little bit because I'm in the same camp as you. And you're right, when you talk about Calvinism or you know, predestination or God's sovereignty or an emphasis on God's sovereignty, you get a lot of people who get very angry and they'll say that's heresy. And I've got people in my audience who will certainly say that. And I've been, you know, talking about that position for a long time too, makes people angry. But the truth of the matter is, is that if God is all powerful and if God is all knowing and he's not suspended by linear time the way that we are, then how would it be possible for him to not also be in charge of our salvation? It doesn't. The non sovereignty position that God is in control of everything except for this one thing, like except for your salvation, that that thing is what depends on you and that depends on your will and something mustering up in your heart to accept Him. That position doesn't make sense to me. And yet, as you said, people get very frustrated by the fact that, you know, Ephesians 2 says that we're dead in our sin apart from Christ. Well, what can a dead person do for themselves? Can they clean themselves up? Can they ask to be saved? Can they rescue themselves? Can they ask for a lifeline? They can't. But God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ by grace. You have been saved through faith.
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B
And that faith not of your own, but a gift.
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A
So that should boast. So like, why do you think though? Because to me I'm like, well, it's just there. I understand why it's hard to, hard to unpack maybe, but it's just there. Why do you think people even who are Christians get so frustrated by that?
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B
I think there's two main reasons. I think because the first reason it is the final nail in the coffin of your pride. I mean, it leaves you with nothing. It leaves you with nothing to cling to other than the sovereign grace of God. And people don't like that. And I think the second reason is intellectually when we present the sovereignty of God, especially as it pertains to salvation, when we present that on the surface level, as we are doing right now, because we would have to do a 20 part series to view all the scriptures that pertain to this, when you present it on a surface level, it poses all of these problems in people's mind from an Intellectual standpoint in terms of, well, then God is the author of evil. Well, then humans are robots. And it's like it's because you are stopping your search for the answer to this doctrine. At a surface level, you're saying, well, Chad and Allie are saying that this and that. Well, it causes all these problems. Yeah. Search those problems out. You'll find the answers to. Humans are indeed not robots. The scriptures tell us that humans have will, but it is a limited will. We see evidence of human freedom in the very beginning of the Bible. You may eat from anything in this garden. That's freedom of will. Right. Except for that one tree. That is limited will. Humans aren't robots. Scripture doesn't tell us humans are robots. Bad people are making bad decisions every day, and they do indeed mean those decisions for evil. They have a will. The problem is your will is in bondage to sin. The problem is you won't make the right decision because of exactly what you just said. You're dead spiritually. But nobody preaches this. Nobody teaches this. I mean, when Martin Luther during the Reformation starts to bring all these scriptures to light, all the popes and the cat and the Catholic people and all that, they. They even come to Martin Luther and they say, well, you know, we. We see where you're coming from, but. But we can't. We can't preach this. Like, we can't teach this. Right. We just, We. We gotta just. It's there, but we just can't talk about it. No. Like, this is. This, to me, for me, has been the most glorious doctrine of the Scripture, apart from the crucifixion of the Lord of Glory, God in flesh, Jesus Christ, and what that meant. Right. This doctrine has been the most glorious doctrine for me in terms of. It has just set me free. It has made me realize the greatness, the majesty and the power of this almighty God. And it has also made me appreciate his grace at a whole nother level. We throw this word grace around. Well, if. What. How do you appreciate grace if you think your decision is why you are saved? That's not grace. That's a me moment. You know, when we go to prayer, when we go to the Lord in prayer and we say, lord, I want to take a minute to thank you for my salvation, but before I go any further, I want to have a me moment. Yeah. That was a really good choice I made.
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A
Yeah.
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B
All right, now, Lord, thank you for your son that died on the cross.
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A
So what do you say when people say, okay, well, we've got whoever Calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. We've got John 3:16, which says, whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. And play just date a devil's advocate. There will be people who say, okay, well, obviously it is dependent upon our choice, our choice to believe. And that is. I'm not sure exactly how they explain the grace aspect of it, but from our Armenian friends, those who say, well, no, that initial step towards God is what is required of us, and then that's when he comes in to rescue us.
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B
I mean, it's basically the easiest question you could possibly ask me. You know, people who are looking at those verses, John 3:16 being probably the main one that people bring up. The reason that's so confusing to you is because of you've been taught the wrong meaning of the verse. I mean, just flat out, let me ask you any of those verses that you just quoted or any other verses that. That anybody can come up with in scripture that they think would militate against this doctrine of election that we're speaking of. I want you to show me a verse that affirms the ability of man in his natural state. Show me a verse that speaks specifically to his ability and affirms his ability in the positive sense. You won't find one. You won't find one. Every verse that you're going to find that speaks specifically to what man can and cannot do is always cannot, every single time. And we look at words like whomsoever look when we read Scripture, what we are doing when we interpret the scriptures is we have to ascertain the meaning of words. That's what we're doing. I've come to the conclusion the only way to preach is. Is expository preaching. Pastors like to preach and speak on their experience. I don't care what your experience is. That's why I don't care about talking about my story on here. My story is insignificant. You don't preach from your experience. I don't care what you believe. I don't care what you feel. I don't care about an emotion that you might be having as it pertains to something that is part of your testimony. I don't care about any of that. And so when we look at these scriptures, when we see the word whomsoever. Okay, whomsoever will believe. Well, what does that mean? Well, that doesn't militate against what we're saying here. That just means that whomsoever, black, white, Jewish, Greek, poor, rich, it doesn't matter. There's no one who cannot be saved by the blood that was shed by the God man, Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. There's no one that cannot be saved by that. Any human on earth, regardless of your social standing, your race, creed, or color, you can indeed the blood will and can save you if you are one of the Almighty's elect. That's all those verses mean. We see verses all the time that. That. That seem that. That. That are exhorting us to do something that we know we can't do. Well, what's wrong with that? How does that militate against what we're saying here? Verses that exhort us to do what we ought to do have no bearing on our perspective of fallen man's ability to incline himself toward righteousness. It's so easy. It's like it's. Yeah, I don't know. You get me fired up. Ali.
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A
Next amazing sponsor is Adele natural cosmetics. They will also be at share the arrows. We go way back. They've been supporting the show for so long. I'm so thankful for them. I love having having sponsors that are totally unapologetic about their faith. They are strong defenders of the dignity of life inside the womb. I love that they put bible verses on all of their products, and I love that their products really work. I use their skin care every day. I love their essential cleanser, their essential moisturizing spray can work for so many things. I love their lotions. And when I'm not in the studio, I love to wear their makeup because it has good coverage but it's super lightweight and everything is completely natural to totally holistic, all from God's medicine cabinet. Nothing fake or toxic or anything like that. So you can feel good in every single way. Using Adele natural cosmetics. Go to Adele Natural Cosmetics.com use code ALLY for 25% off your first time purchase Adele Natural Cosmetics.com code ALLY okay, I know that you just said that, you know, your story doesn't matter, but people really are moved by testimonies, and I love hearing people's testimony. So can you indulge us for a little bit on how you became a Christian? And I'm guessing you probably weren't steeped in, you know, election theology right away. So I'm just curious about your journey of faith.
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B
Yeah. So I grew up, obviously, in the south, so I'd heard the gospel many, many times. I had been to church. Yeah, if we can even use that language. There's so much screwed up with our language. I had been to a church meeting Many, many times and heard the gospel, been around Christian people. Didn't ever mean much to me. I would say, at best, I was agnostic for most of my adult life. I became a Navy seal. I figured, well, I'm doing good stuff. I'm training to go kill bad people. So if I do die well, surely whatever being created all this will send me to the good place. It's the same story when we look back. We all have the same. At least if we lived some life prior to receiving of the gift of salvation. You don't see your sin. You think that you're generally a good person. You think that most humans are generally good minus a few crazy ones and whatever's in them isn't in you. Well, that's the way I thought too. I'm generally good, so I'm good. It's one of the things that happens when you receive Holy Spirit and you are made spiritually alive. Along this process of sanctification is an increasing awareness of your sin to the point that the Apostle Paul literally referenced himself as the chief of sinners, as a wretched man. Okay, that doesn't happen naturally. All right, well, I'm just going along in life, you know, I'm indulging in some pretty significant wickedness, sexual sin, obviously. My language was terrible. I didn't really love anyone. I mean, to be honest with you. I mean. I mean, really, we talk about love. People say, well, you didn't love your. Your mother or your father or, you know, your. Your wife or stuff. Look, man, you don't know what love is until you've received the gift of salvation. Because love comes from the Father. And when the Father is not in you, you're just essentially loving for selfish reasons. Even the good things that I did do prior to salvation, those good things were not motivated out of a love for God and a desire to please Him. Therefore, none of the good things that I even did when I was living that life were accounted to me are accounted as righteousness. But I was pretty deep. I was pretty deep. A real bad person. I mean, I would have killed you. I didn't care, you know, I mean, I wasn't a murderer, but like, you know, that's kind of my job was violence. And I went on a deployment up to North Africa to do some work up there during the Arab Spring when the, you know, the terrorists or whatever were sacking all the embassies up there. And we came back down, left there and came back down into Germany to just rejock our gear. And then we were headed out to Nigeria, which, by the way, if you're listening to this, please pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are suffering legitimate persecution. Not the persecution you're used to around here where somebody says, oh, you're a fool or a dummy if you believe in Jesus. No, they're being killed. Pray for them. I was in Nigeria. Well, before I went to Nigeria, I was in Germany, and I was staying in a barracks that somehow, someway. Still don't understand it, don't even think about it. Very often had some sort of demon or evil spirit in it. And that thing, after about a week, had me so afraid that I couldn't even lay down and sleep at night.
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A
What was it? How did you know?
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B
The first thing that happened is I was laying in my bed and something hit my door and jolted me out of sleep. And then I'm laying there in my sleep, and I could hear echoing voices up and down the hallway, but I couldn't make out any words. It was just like, sound, kind of an eerie sound echoing up and down the hallway. And I was immediately fearful, which is strange, being the type of man that I am. Wouldn't usually experience fear as an emotion related to an occurrence like that. But I felt this fear. And I believe that fear was because this entity, whatever it is, was causing that fear in me and in the guys that I was with. So I got up, checked my buddy. He was asleep. There were two guys in the room right across. They were asleep. Nobody else is in the building. Something's going on. It freaked me out. Like, it really freaked me out. And progressively this thing manifests itself in different ways. But really the most powerful manifestation of this thing in that place was this sense of fear that was in this place to the point that I didn't even want to walk in there. But it was where I was living. So I ended up calling my brother, who I knew was a Christian. He had his pastor call me. I told the pastor what was going on. The dude's like, oh, yeah, no big deal. I'm like, you don't understand. This is a big deal. Like, I don't know what this is, and we don't know how to combat it. He says, put me on speakerphone, walk around the hallways, and he's praying in the name of Jesus over speakerphone from thousands of miles away. While I walk up and down these hallways. He tells me to take a little dab of olive oil, anoint the door of the room that I'm staying in, and to make a Long story short, whatever that thing was, left by the authority, through this believer's prayer, wielding this name, Jesus Christ, whatever this thing was obeyed and left. And just peace returned to this place. And no more strange bumps in the nights, no more fear. I could rest again and sleep again. And so I got my hands on a Bible and I began reading the Scriptures. Because why would you not? I've seen evidence that there is some power being wielded here. And the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel. And that is all encompassing the realization of my own sin. Who is Jesus? Why did Jesus go to the cross? What does that mean to me? Why was he resurrected? What does that mean to me? What purpose is this Jesus, does he have in my life? And that was just all revealed to me. And it's like once my eyes were open, I changed in a lot of ways overnight in terms of my language and the way I viewed other people and the husband that I was going to be when I got back home off of that deployment. And the things that I watched. And it all just changed. I mean, that's the miracle, right? Like, that's the miracle that something happens in you that can completely change your desires. That's the thing that man can't do. Like you can't. You cannot change your desires, nor can you force yourself to believe in something that you, that you can't see, touch, feel. You can't force yourself one day to believe in this crazy, insane message of the Gospel. But I was given this gift of faith. It changed me. And I've been following Christ ever since. And it's been a long process of sanctification being made more Christ. Like that's ongoing and intense to this very day. Yeah, intense.
- [36:56]
A
Next sponsor is constitution wealth. Colossians 3:17 says, in whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. That includes how we spend our money, how we invest our money. We want to make sure that we are stewarding the treasure that God has graciously given us in a way that glorifies him. Because as Christians, we know that this is all his and we are just vessels, we are just stewards. And Constitution wealth is in alignment with those Christian values. They want to make sure that your investments are in alignment with those Christian values. So they screen all of your investments to make sure that what you are investing in actually stands with biblical principles. You should schedule a free consultation with them. Just see if it's Right for you, go to constitutionwealth.com ally. You'll get a totally free, no obligation consultation to see if it's right for you. Go to constitutionwealth.com Ally, what you said right there is really important. It's a really important key to people who might be new to this kind of theological discussion, or maybe they're new Christians are seeking. When you said the gift of faith that was given to you. We know that without faith it's impossible to please God. We know that faith is a requirement of salvation. But your point is, and of course I agree with this, is that even that faith that is required for salvation is not ours. We didn't come up with it. We didn't muster it. That faith was a gift given to us by grace. That faith that is required for salvation, even that is not credited to us. That's credited to God's total grace in deciding to save us and make us alive. Right.
- [38:40]
B
And that's not just Ali's opinion. That's not just what Ali thinks. That is actually what the scripture says. Yes, that is what the scripture says about this faith that we have. I've been thinking a lot about, too. You know the verse I quoted a little earlier on Romans, chapter eight, that calling. It's another thing that confuses people. Well, aren't all men called. Well, yeah. I mean, the gospel should go out to all the world. Many people here the message of the gospel, and they hear that general calling. But there is this calling that comes to those of us who do indeed receive this unbelievable grace and gift of faith. There is this calling that awakens you. And there is a question that you ask. You ask, who are you, Lord? That's the question. That's where it all begins. That's where it all began for me, when I got my hands on the Bible and saw the truth of the gospel. Well, then the journey begins when I said, who are you, Lord? Where did I get this from? I didn't get this from my own experience. I look and I see how close my experience was to an experience that was captured by scripture. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? How does he respond? Who are you, Lord? It begins. That's regeneration.
- [40:25]
A
You know, and it's not like Saul woke up one day and was like, you know what? I'm kind of feeling convicted about murdering these Christians. He felt fine, as far as we know. He felt totally great about it. We read that he approved of the martyrdom of Stephen. He looked on and he liked it. He thought that that murder was good. It literally took Jesus interrupting his life, making him blind in order for him to be able to truly see. And that's what you're saying, is that that's not just his testimony, that's all of our testimonies?
- [40:59]
B
Yes. And a lot of people will hear that, and even Christians, and they'll say, well, I don't remember that call. Well, that call could happen when you're four years old. That call could happen when you're six years old. That call, we see in Scripture that calling can happen in the mother's womb when we see John the Baptist leap for joy in his mother's womb. So if you don't remember that, that doesn't militate against what we're saying here.
- [41:32]
A
Yeah. What do you say to people who say, well, that actually causes me anxiety because you'll have people say, well, what if I'm not chosen? Or what if my kids aren't chosen? Should I even pray? Should I even evangelize? Should I even care about this? If God is just gonna choose, then some people will say that that really makes them fearful.
- [41:52]
B
Yeah. Well, now we're getting into kind of the meat and getting kind of going down from the surface level of this conversation when we want to talk about questions like that. I mean, on the kid thing. I mean, when. If and when the Almighty blesses me with a child, am I going to feel some anxiety until that child does receive this gift of faith? I mean, I'm going to pray. I'm going to beg the Father with all my might on behalf of this person. Not that I think I can sway his will, but I'm going to. I'm going to.
- [42:30]
A
But a prayer of a righteous person has great power because it is working.
- [42:34]
B
I mean, if he gives me one, like, until. I mean, that moment that your child does indeed repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ? I mean, I cannot imagine the weight that is lifted off of a parent in that moment. I mean, I don't think you. I haven't experienced that, but I have to imagine that is a weight that you carry as a parent for your children. That's okay in my. In my mind, like, that's okay in my mind, like, my kid isn't special. Like, my kid's born with a. With a. With a fallen nature, just like I was born. Of course I'm. I have to trust in the Almighty that he is going to call this child for. For his own purposes and according to his own will and grace, you know, in terms of Evangelizing, preaching the gospel, sending that general call out again. It's amazing to me how many people are confused about this. When we read the Scripture, we see that according to the Almighty's sovereign will, he has chosen to use his elect in order to carry out his plans to and his will here in this natural world. Like, what a gift it is. Because every one of you that are thinking, well, why do I even pray? Why do I even tell the gospel? Well, I get why you're thinking that. I get why you're thinking that. Well, what a gift it is that he's chosen to use us to do something for him that he doesn't need us for. Like, yeah, partake in that. Yeah, we're commanded to do that. We're command. And that's why we do it. Because we're exhorted and commanded to do it. And we see that is the way that the Father brings about his will is through his people. Not because he has to, but because that is a blessing upon us that we've been made useful for something. I mean, why would you not partake in that? You've been made useful. Go do it. I've been thinking a lot about evangelism as a whole and our American perspective on what that is. And I think when we look at it in Scripture, it's the scattering of the seed, right? And sometimes it falls here and sometimes it falls there, you know, and only God makes the seed grow. Oh, well, that again, confirms what we've been talking about the whole time. But I think also in terms of evangelism, I think our American view of evangelism has become so rooted in simply making converts. I wonder about that. I think we. I'm telling we in this country have so. We are clueless about so many things. We are doing so many things wrong. We're so concerned with making conversations, converts. What is the great commission we've been given?
- [45:55]
A
Make disciples.
- [45:56]
B
Make disciples. Teaching them all the things that I've taught you. Okay, that means everything in Scripture. Why does that mean everything in scripture and not just your red letters? I've never understood why anybody puts red letters in a Bible. As if. As if those words are of more importance. And maybe those words are the only words that we are called to teach other people. You know, if we believe that the scripture. No, if the scripture says that it is God breathed, then that means everything. In that scripture is the word of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It is the word, every jot and tittle of it. It, but you know, we want to go out and hand somebody a track or, or tell them something and, and you know, they say, they say a prayer of, of faith, of accepting Christ, which you won't find that prayer anywhere in the Bible. They say that prayer and then we, you know, we tally those up in our congregations. Right? That's all pastors want to talk about. Oh, we had 300 people saved over here last year, you know, or these men's groups that pop up everywhere. Oh, we had 20 men saved and they never talk to them again. Like what is, what is this type of evangelism that we call that. We know that we're not just called to make converts and then go along and count them up as numbers so that we can, you know, talk about how good of a job we're doing. No, we are called to make disciples. We're called to be teachers, teaching them all the things that we've been given from the word of God, calling people to repentance and baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I don't know, that's just been on my mind lately.
- [47:56]
A
Next sponsor is Patriot Mobile. Patriot Mobile is America's only Christian conservative wireless provider. There's only one wireless provider that boldly stands in the gap for every American that believes that freedom is worth fighting for and that is Patriot Mobile. For more than 12 years Patriot Mobile has been on the front lines fighting for our God given freedoms while also providing exceptional nationwide cell phone service with access to all three major networks. Switching is super easy. You activate in minutes from the comfort of your own home. You keep your number, keep your phone or upgrade. We all know how complicated it can be to go into one of those stores and try to upgrade your phone or fix your phone or all that. You don't have to worry about that. With patriot mobile they're 100% US based. Customer support team is standing by to take care of you. Go to patriotmobile.comAlli use code ALI for a free month of service. Patriotmobile.com ally code ALI. You know, I think it's such an important conversation to have as people are talking about revival. Obviously we do want people to convert to Christianity from whatever belief system they had. But I am so, I feel so much angst over the people who are curious about church and curious about Christianity because I just want to make sure that those of us who are in the church are going to disciple those people, that we're going to take them under our wing and that we're not Just saying, wow, my pews are full. I'm so happy about that. But to that young girl who doesn't know about Christianity, like, it's my responsibility to meet her face to face and to disciple her. And I think that's a really important component of revival. Whether or not we're in one, I think is yet to be seen. It depends upon the fruit of it. But if we want, like, true change and if we want true additions to the body of Christ, like, I do think that discipleship component is really, really important.
- [49:53]
B
And we're pretty. And we as the American church are pretty much too lazy to do that for the most part.
- [50:00]
A
And too busy. Like, we think we're too busy.
- [50:02]
B
We're too busy. That's right. We're too lazy in a spiritual sense to do that. Yeah. I mean, yeah, that's revival, man. And by the way, what do you think? Revivals, Revival. If there is true revival, it's wrought by God. And I think, like you said, how do we assess it? Well, we assess it by the fruits. But I think another component of revival, actually a very key component, is repentance. Like, revival will come through repentance. And what is repentance? It is turning away from all the crap that you're allowing to exist in your life. Now, I'm partly speaking to the body of Christ right now. I mean, I'm exhorting unbelievers to do this, but I'm also speaking to the body of Christ, literally hating the sin that exists, inwardly and outwardly turning away from it and not then trying to be a better person, but turning away from it and turning to the resurrected Christ, our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Lamb, without spot, turning to him, wanting him more than anything else. Like, that's. That's revival, right? I mean, imagine if we had hundreds of thousands or millions of people here in this country who had awareness of their sin and, and began to hate it. Hate it so much that they. Their, Their. Their. Their every desire was to mortify their flesh, crucify their flesh and, And. And to take up their cross daily and follow this King Jesus Christ. Oh, you want to talk about revival? Stuff changes overnight, you know, But I don't know. I. I don't know. I'm a bit of a pessimist. I've abandoned politics. You would just. You. I'll. You know what? We've agreed on a lot of stuff. And I actually came.
- [52:29]
A
Let's disagree.
- [52:32]
B
I came to this podcast and I thought, I hope I do not make her mad because. Or I hope I do not have a big disagreement.
- [52:40]
A
I don't. Think of all the thousands of guests that I've had, I don't know. I can only think of a couple who have made me mad, but those.
- [52:46]
B
You're tough. You are tough and you're smart.
- [52:49]
A
Thanks. But yeah, I'm not that tough.
- [52:51]
B
And I'm not that smart either.
- [52:52]
A
I would love to disagree on this. Tell me why you abandoned politics.
- [53:01]
B
I think this could be a long discussion. I think we should start with looking at the life of Christ in scripture and his involvement in the secular political structure during his life. I just. It's a hard conversation. I just. For me, I'll tell you. During COVID and stuff, I mean, I was all in. I mean, politics wise, like, I have a platform. I was genuinely considering campaigning for governor of my state. I mean, I was all in.
- [53:59]
A
Yeah.
- [54:01]
B
And I just. I just realized how much it was distracting me. And maybe I'm not mature enough to handle it. From my passion and love for my Father in heaven. Like, maybe I'm not mature enough to handle it. I'm admitting that. Right. I just don't know. I just. I just don't see the way that our Lord achieved, brought about victory, was totally outside the realm of our human mind. And I found that's the way he generally works. That if we. Whatever we think, however we think we can achieve victory, be it through politics or be it through some other avenue, however we think we can do it, generally, the Almighty says, nah, it really ain't gonna happen that way. It's gonna happen exactly the opposite of the way that you thought it was gonna happen. But I couldn't wield it, Ali. It was so distracting me. It was so filling my heart.
- [55:36]
A
Yeah.
- [55:36]
B
With sometimes rage.
- [55:40]
A
Yeah.
- [55:44]
B
It's probably not the best answer, but I have. I have had to step away from it.
- [55:48]
A
Okay. You want to know what I think?
- [55:50]
B
I really do. Yeah. Well, actually, I want some good advice from you.
- [55:58]
A
Last sponsor for the day is Concerned Women for America. This is the nation's largest public policy Christian women's organization. For 45 years, they have been leading the charge as your voice in all levels of public policy. They focus on policy surrounding the family, the sanctity of life, religious liberty, parental choice and education, fighting, exploit sexual exploitation, and so much more. They train women to become grassroots leaders to speak into our culture, pray, testify and lobby. If you've been wanting to get involved, either through your time and efforts or even just through your dollars, this is a great organization to get involved with. For a donation of $20 or more, you get a copy of Penny Nance's new book. Penny nance is the CEO of Concerned Women for America. A Woman's Guide Seven Rules for Success in Business and in Life. Concernwomen.org Ally for your copy today. That's concernwomen.org Allie here's how I see things. So we've been saying this alliteration on my show since probably 20, 19, maybe 18. Politics matter because policy matters because people matter. Politics affects policy. Policy affects people. And people matter because they're made in the image of God. So they matter to God and they matter to us. And politics is not the primary or the only way to love your neighbor, but it's a way to love your neighbor. When the policy that is put in place by the people in power means that my unborn neighbor can be legally butchered, or my neighbor who says that he's confused about his gender means he's chemically castrated, when it means that my neighbor who is a young girl who was on a run, but then she got brutally murdered and raped by someone who shouldn't have been here in the first place because he was an illegal alien, I say, oh, I. I have something to say about that. And there's always going to be someone in power. There's always going to be someone who is affecting policy. Nothing is neutral. No law is neutral. Every policy goes back to a worldview. And if Jesus is king, if God is the creator and the authority over all of it and his ways are better, don't I want his ways to infuse policy in a way that affects my neighbor in a good, beneficial way? And Romans 13 reminds us that the government was instituted by God to restrain evil, to punish wrong, and to reward good. Well, what happens when we have a government who defines good and evil the exact opposite of how God does? They punish those who do good and they reward those who do evil. And no political party is perfect, but one political party gets it right more often than the other one does. And there will be no perfect person on the ballot. Ever since the very beginning, there have always been imperfect people on the ballot. And so that's how I see things. I see if Christians all did what you did, we would be in a really, really bad spot because that'd be potentially good. I don't think it's good for the child who is legally murdered. I don't think it's good for the 12 year old who gets a double mastectomy. I don't think it's good. The parents who lose custody of their child because they won't affirm their gender. Like, I think about this woman. Her name is Jessica Bates. She's in Oregon. She's a widow. She was fostering these kids. She wanted to adopt them. The state said, well, you have to sign here on the dotted line that you will approve of their gender transition if they ever want to do that. She's Christian. She said, no. They said, okay, you can't adopt. Well, we've got this amazing organization called Alliance Defending Freedom, mostly Christian attorneys who said that violates her constitutional right. If we did not have Christians like that who are willing to involve themselves in culture and politics stand up for constitutional rights, not only would the rights of someone like Jessica Bates not be protected, but also these kids would be languishing in foster care and who knows, sent to someone who might castrate them. And so it really. When we're talking about, like, how policy tangibly affects the bodies and the lives of people, it's hard for me to see the case for the salt and light to get out of that arena. And do what? Retreat?
- [60:18]
B
Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know what, Allie, you're right. And you know what my answer should have been about why I've abandoned politics? Because the Lord hasn't brought me to a place in my faith that I can.
- [60:32]
A
And that's fair. That's totally fair.
- [60:35]
B
That really, that should be my answer. Because you are right. You are indeed right. And I can only pray that the Almighty does continue to mature me and sanctify me to the point that he can, and that maybe he will put me in a position one day of influence that has the potential to make an impact for his sons and daughters. But humans in general, humans do matter. We've lost that, too, when we talk about humans. We have been made in the likeness and image of God. That humans are so special in all of creation, that we're so special that what happened with us affected all of the creation, that when all of the creation looks at us, they. They see the image of God in us like all other creation. It's unbelievable how special every single human is. Believer or non believer.
- [62:05]
A
Yeah, totally.
- [62:06]
B
And no, you're right. You're very articulate in your point. You're a very mature sister. You've thought through this stuff.
- [62:15]
A
But maybe all of us should be. Should have the humility to assess like you did. Is my heart in the right place? And am I in a place spiritually where I can do this in a way that glorifies God. And maybe we should all do better at doing exactly what you've done and assessing our hearts, because sometimes we can get so fixated on winning. We gotta win the next election. And thinking while, you know, America lives and dies by, you know, this next election, that I still think that there's validity to what you're saying, that we really need to guard our hearts against that kind of idolatry.
- [62:51]
B
Yeah. Yeah, man. That's so good.
- [62:54]
A
Well, thank you so much for sharing today. This is a whole sermon. People are going to be super edified by it. Can you tell everyone where they can learn more if they want to, about the company that you have and how they can support and follow you if they want to?
- [63:07]
B
Yeah. 3of7project.com. Everything's there. And I know that you have a large female audience, and I really, really want to encourage my sisters in Christ to get out, train, whether it's with me or whether it's with somebody else. Go train, man. Because what I saw my mother do changed the trajectory of my life. And I want you to understand that as a mother, you have this opportunity to make an impact on your family that is completely unique to you. So I just wanted to encourage the female audience to do that.
- [64:00]
A
3Of7.Com yeah, 3of7project.com 3of7project.com Got it. Well, thank you so much, Chad. I really appreciate you.
- [64:07]
B
Thank you. Allie.
- [64:13]
A
Sa.