← The Bryce Crawford Podcast
The Bryce Crawford Podcast
"Battling Cancer For The Fourth Time" The Dylan Mandell Interview (EP 139)
01:06:08
Loading summary
Transcript124 lines
- [00:00]
A
Was diagnosed three weeks ago. And they said, we don't. We can't do this to people without killing people in the process. They put, like, handcuffs on you because it's common for people to be in such excruciating pain to the point where they physically rip the cords in the ventilator because they can't bear it.
- [00:18]
B
What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Crawford Podcast. I'm Bryce. And today's episode. I believe there's a lot of freedom. I believe there is a lot to. Of restoration. I believe there's a lot of hope in today's episode. And today I've got an incredible special guest, an incredible new friend. We've got Dylan Mandel with us today. Dylan, you feeling good?
- [00:40]
A
Feeling really good.
- [00:41]
B
Let's go, bro. Man, I'm super pumped. Because what the Lord's doing in your life, how the Lord's moved in your life, and what the Lord is speaking to you, I believe is going to set people free and give people hope. Because, I mean, you've seen what it is. The time we're recording this episode right now is a week to the day, to the hour that Charlie Kirk was assassinated. I mean, last week was brutal. I mean, we had school shootings going on. We had people being stabbed in, the Ukrainian refugee being stabbed in the subway. Charlie Kirk gets assassinated. There was a lot of suffering and tragedy going on. And I think that in moments of suffering, the easiest response to do is to scatter, is to cower, is to hide. But through your story, you give people no excuse, bro. You give people no excuse to hide. And what God's doing in your life is so special, if people don't know who you are, can you give just like a brief background of who you are, where you're from, a little bit of your story?
- [01:45]
A
Yeah, it's hard being here right now. And there's, like, so much nerves going through me right now because I'm just so in the middle of the fight, like, driving down here, it's like heart's beating. I'm like, man, I just haven't had time to process. This is such a leap of faith for me to even step out. I was diagnosed with cancer for the fourth time three weeks ago. And for those who don't know me, sorry, I don't know. I don't know why this is hard for me right now. Spiritual warfare has been insane. Can we, like, a reset right now?
- [02:42]
C
Yeah.
- [02:47]
A
So hard for me right now. So hard. I mean, sorry, we were kind of Feeling this in the car.
- [03:20]
B
Let me encourage you really quick, because I know that the devil's coming against you. Heavy. He's been coming against you in your mind, in your health and everything. When I read the Old Testament about King David's mighty men, he had, like, a secret service, these mighty men. And there's a. There's a point in the Scriptures where they're getting chased by thousands of Philistines in the Bible, and they're all running. And one of King David's mighty men, Eleazar, says, wait, hold on a second. I'm turning around and I'm standing firm in the fight. So while all of King David's mighty men are running and King David are running from an army of a thousand Philistines, one man says, no, I'm going to turn around and fight him. And Eleazar defeats every single Philistine by his hand. And the verse in the Scriptures, it says that King Eleazar had so much blood on his sword that the sword was stuck to his hand. And so right now, like, as we're sitting in a moment like this, a holy moment, a powerful moment, an intense moment, I want to encourage you, the amount of blood you have on your sword right now is nothing in comparison what you're fighting right now.
- [04:29]
A
You know, God called me to be a servant and give the true gospel. And, you know, at times, I don't feel like I'm prepared. I really don't feel prepared at all right now. I was diagnosed three weeks ago. Two days ago, I was sitting in an MRI where I would see more cancer. And it's one of these things where it feels like I'm processing this with you as a friend.
- [04:56]
C
Yeah.
- [04:56]
A
And I'm not. Like, I haven't had, like, decades to process trauma or to sit with things, but, you know, the God. God called me to preach the true gospel. And whether I'm scared or whether I'm doubtful or whether I'm hurting, that's. That's what's going to come. The gospel is going to be proclaimed whether I'm sitting here nervous and fearful because I just saw cancer in the body two days ago. And I know we're just getting in this, and we wanted this whole intro and things like that, but we're. I'm not out of the fire, and we're sitting in this right now, but God's saying, I need soldiers to stand up and fight the good fight of faith.
- [05:42]
C
Yeah.
- [05:45]
A
And I'm scared, but I'm saying, yes, I'm nervous, but I'm saying, yes, use me. You know, I had someone say, God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called. And right now, I don't feel very equipped. I don't feel like I'm the right guy. You know, when you see me in my prayers, I feel like I'm the weakest ever and the most broken. And I think what people see on my social medias of strong faith and strong strength in the gym and in the diet, discipline and the working out and all those things, that's not me. What you're seeing is the reflection of Christ. Ephesians 6, we call it the full armor of God, that when people see my testimony and see me, I want them to think and see the strength and the power of God.
- [06:43]
B
Yeah, I mean, the things that you're facing and how you've done it, it's evident that only Christ in you is doing that. I mean, you've been through so much hardship and trial and the endurance that I see in you. And even before, you know, we got to sit down in the chairs, you know, we got to hang out for a little bit downstairs. And just the joy you carry, you may not feel it, but the joy that you exemplify, the joy that radiates off of you, the surrender that radiates off of you is contagious. And it's evidence of the Lord working in your life. And so I'm just grateful for you, grateful for your friendship, grateful for what God's doing through you. I think the whole theme of this episode is going to be enduring, enduring through suffering. I mean, I just keep hearing that scripture, those who endure to the end will be saved. That's what I keep hearing. Those who endure to the end will be saved. And so I know we're in a hot. There's a lot of heat on your life right now. If the quickest, you know, not quick, but, you know, summary. When you were 18 years old, that was the first time you got diagnosed with cancer. Can you give us a brief summary of, like, when you put your faith in Christ and kind of you enduring through trials so far?
- [08:00]
A
I grew up a believer. I grew up with my grandma being like that faith cornerstone in my life, just pouring in. Whenever my parents would do date night, my grandma would babysit for us and she would just pray over her grandbabies, who teach me the Lord's Prayer and memorize it. And then we'd sit there at night, tucked in our beds, and we would just pray for every family member and person we could Even think of. And. And then she would then propel me into, like, youth ministry, get me plugged in with high school ministry. So it was never foreign to me by any means. But I would get diagnosed with cancer for the first time when I was 18 years old, senior in high school. And what seemed like kind of the climax of everybody's childhood seemed to be like the lowest moment for me. It was 24 rounds of chemo, 20 rounds of radiation, and then the start was a big surgery that would remove the cancer out of the jaw. And that season of my life was just fearful, just in and out of treatment. It felt like every day was a rainy day. You know that feeling where it just feels like it's just gloomy. Yeah, you're just down.
- [09:14]
C
And.
- [09:16]
A
I couldn't really see much light at the end of the tunnel in those days because it just felt like it was so on repeat. It felt like Groundhog's Day. Every day, just wake up, throw up, process chemo, be sick. And I'm actually a twin brother, identical twin. And when I'm watching him go win a state championship in football, I'm the weakest I'd ever been in my life. And it was such. This diet, there's such a. We grew up being so similar and just on this kind of path together. And then to see one at peak strength and then the other twin at the lowest was hard.
- [09:58]
C
Yeah.
- [09:59]
A
Because when I. When my head was shaved and I had a new scar on my neck where I was getting comfortable with my new face.
- [10:05]
C
Yeah.
- [10:06]
A
I saw my twin brother, and I was like. I just saw myself. I saw my life before this, and it hurt.
- [10:15]
C
Yeah.
- [10:17]
A
But I would finish. I would recover, and I. You know, I learned how to lift weights and diet and, like, eat good and get the protein in. And I recovered from chemo and just became stronger than I was before. Would go off to tcu, shout out tcu, man. Love him. Went to TCU that fall.
- [10:39]
B
Let's go. Go, frogs.
- [10:40]
A
And I was so scared. I remember being like my. I was. My hair was still growing back, and I'm like, am I really about to show up freshman year, you know, with a new scar and in, like, pretty much no hair.
- [10:52]
C
Yeah.
- [10:53]
A
But it was just a big leap of faith. Took a leap of faith. Went to school, got plugged into college ministry. Got plugged in with the strongest group of believer friends, and my faith would just get so built and built and built and that the spring of my freshman year, I'll get rediagnosed. I remember it Was spring break was the time I actually was flying home to do. Do more imaging. And I was such an idiot kid. You know, I'm like, oh, I can't go on spring break with all my buddies. You know, all my friends are going on some fun trip, but I got to come home and, you know, do my routine scans. And I was. I was just being a. I was being short minded. And then those scans that I was like, complaining about coming home for would show that there was another tumor, like, higher up in the jaw. And that changed everything for me when I finished chemo. This is really interesting is they're like, you suffered so much. This will never come back. Just go live the rest of your life.
- [12:06]
C
Right.
- [12:08]
A
Just forget all that happened. Forget the trauma, forget the sick nights, forget all of that. It's never coming back. That was the narrative. And I was just so confident in all the scans after that where I was like, oh, they told me we're good, we're fine. And then for it to come back just crushed me.
- [12:31]
C
Yeah. Yeah.
- [12:34]
B
Because. Because they're. They're kind of like assuring you like, oh, you're done, you're done, you're done. And then it comes back. Not only does it come back, but in the same spot, just higher up. So what was that moment like for you when you just get the basic imaging done and then you see it again?
- [12:53]
A
So I go home for scans on spring break, and I would just never go back to school after spring break. And they planned a surgery that would be a month later. So it was like 29 days after the imaging. And they were basically like, this surgery is going to be so intense and so intense and so invasive that we need you to walk into that surgery in the strongest physical shape that you can be in. They plan to put me under anesthesia for 21 hours.
- [13:31]
C
Wow.
- [13:32]
A
And they said, we can't do this to people without killing people in the process.
- [13:38]
C
Yeah.
- [13:38]
A
That people die under anesthesia if it. If they sit under for too long. And the stronger your body is and the stronger your heart is, going into these gives you the highest chance to make it out of surgery alive.
- [13:55]
C
Yeah.
- [13:56]
A
And that was. It was a challenge. It was a grit your teeth moment. It was like, okay, I had a whiteboard and I had a day counter that was like, there's 29 days until this procedure. And every day I'd erase it and go 28 and then 27, 26. And that's when you see like the 4am wake ups and you see the exhaust, the Pushing to exhaustion in the weight room. That mindset, the Goggins kind of mindset, was built when I had to push myself for a month to walk into surgery under the best fighting chance I could give. And so a lot of what you see now and the discipline and the diet and things like that, the birth of that was in preparation for that second surgery.
- [14:51]
C
Wow.
- [14:51]
B
And you're just. I'm constantly reminded of Daniel 3, of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedigo not bowing down to the idol worship. And King Nebuchadnezzar cranks up the furnace to a heat so hot to burn these guys alive that his servants that go to throw them in there, they die just from getting near the furnace. That's how hot it was. And when they throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedigo in there, they're still standing in the fire. And when he looks in there and the servants look in there, they see four dudes in the fire, not three. And that fourth being Jesus standing in that fire. And your faith, from what you're describing, was born in the fire. It was born in the heat. It was born in the tension. So you get fit, you beat the 29. You get the 29 days. You get in the best shape you could, you go into surgery.
- [15:50]
A
Go time. It's like. It's game day. I'm a lifelong athlete, and I think of everything, like, game day. I think of preparation the same way I prepare for a game. And I'm like, dude, I'm walking in on this surgery like I'm stepping on the field for a football game. Yeah, the same. And, dude, we're signing our life away on documents in prep or getting the gown on you, the surgeons coming in, taking. Talking a million miles an hour about what's about to go down. And they're. They're putting. They have, like, a. Like a sharpie, and they're like, sharpieing on the body. You know, they're like, okay, we're Gonna put a one here and then a two here. And they're just so fast. You're getting IVs put in, and they come up to you, and they're like, do you want us. Do you want us to use your right leg or your left leg? Do you want us to take out muscle out of your stomach or your quad or where do you want to go? And you have to make decisions fast. And I'm sitting there, and I'm like, well, I have to make a call that could physically handicap myself for the rest of my life. In five seconds. And I said, okay, I'm going to take the right leg, if you can see. But there's. They took out half my quad on the right side in preparation, and in the first surgery, they took out my entire right fibula. And it's like, these decisions. It's crazy. And so I, in five seconds, physically handicapped my right leg. And I woke up from surgery, and I was in a physical condition that can't even describe. Just tubes coming out, monitors beeping. My head was just resting in just a puddle of blood, and there was just blood coming out of my mouth, and it was, like, dried all over my face. And it was the most physically tested I'd ever been in my life. There was a ventilator coming out of my mouth, so I couldn't speak. And I think in those moments, the. The first thing you want to do and the only thing you want to do is just to cry to your mom. I was just like, where's my mom? Where's my dad? I just want to weep in their arms. I want to. I just want to cry. And I couldn't. I had to internalize everything. The ventilator was coming out, and it was just unbearably painful. And I had to learn to be calm in the fire. Calm in the fire. To realize, like you said, that there actually is another one standing in the fire with you, that I'm not alone. And I felt the most surrendered. And I completely gave my life fully to the Lord right then. I'd been a believer, but I've been so faith in Christ and faith in other things. When I was laying there and I couldn't yell verbally, but I just internally shouted. I said, jesus. The memories of my grandma just praying for me and my brother and my sister, it just all hit me. I said, God, I need you. I give you everything right now. I have nothing, and I need you with everything. And I just sat there in that presence. My hands were strapped to the bed. They put, like, handcuffs on you because it's common for people to be in such excruciating pain to the point where they physically rip the cords in the ventilator because they can't bear it. And I laid there in the presence of God, feeling resistance on my hands from these cuffs holding me and strapping me down. And I'm just sitting there. I can't do this by myself. I've hit my breaking point. I need you, Lord. And he met me. He met me at my lowest moment, and he met me in a cry of Desperation. That's the nature of our God. The nature of God as he comes to his children in their weakest moments. Said for when Paul had the thorn in the flesh. Said for when I'm weak, then I'm strong. He would say in 2nd Corinthians 12. But my power is made perfect in weakness. And I think something to note about that is that when you are in your weakest moments and the chaos is building and the intensity is raised is when the other choices get eliminated, when the heat gets turned up in your life, the right choice becomes even more obvious. And sometimes God's going to turn the heat up in your life to remind you and make the right choice just so obvious. Because weakness increases our dependency on him. And dependency on him is one of the most beautiful things that we could have. Dependency on God is the root of a childlike faith. It's the core of. I can't do anything without the intervention of God. And I think God's seeking that out in all of our faith, that he's looking at all of his children. He's like, when can we all. When can all my children just be in desperate need of me and my presence at all times?
- [22:31]
C
Yeah.
- [22:32]
A
And my prayer for you is that it wouldn't take pain in your life to show you that. But I know that there's many listeners who are in pain right now, and I just want you guys to know that. That his power is perfect in weakness and that he's going to shape and just gift wrap the suffering that we're all in into the most beautiful thing.
- [23:02]
C
Yeah.
- [23:04]
B
So good, bro. So you've. I mean, you've shared at the very beginning, this is your fourth time getting diagnosed with cancer. So the first two times, like this time that you just described, you and the ventilator both draw cancer. Obviously, you're sitting with us today. The viewers and listeners know you beat that battle with Christ second time you got diagnosed a third time, your junior year of college.
- [23:35]
A
Yeah.
- [23:36]
B
And where was the cancer there?
- [23:38]
A
They found it in the jaw, in the neck, and in the lungs.
- [23:44]
B
And then you beat cancer again a.
- [23:48]
A
Third time with Christ without anything else other than Christ.
- [23:53]
B
So you didn't do any radiation, any chemo, anything other than just surrendering to God, locking in with your diet, locking in with your health, locking in with your prayer. I think that is the most encouraging thing I heard you say when you dropped that video, saying you got diagnosed the fourth time when you dropped that video and you said, I've been diagnosed with cancer for the fourth Time. And I wouldn't want in any other way. I think that rocked people and that rocked me. It shook me to the core. Because if I'm being completely honest, I'm over here that week that you dropped that video. I'm over here trying to just get back in my routine of eating healthy and eating, eating, eating healthy and working out five days a week, cardio seven days a week. I have this like strict plan I'm doing and I got thrown off when I got sick. And so I'm making excuses for myself because I'm, I'm well, I need to sleep longer here. I chose to stay up late this night before. And you make a video that says, I've gotten diagnosed with cancer for the fourth time. And you better believe that I'm going to be waking up at 4am praying, and you better believe I'm going to be beat. And it jacked me up in a good way. Because I'm over here going, I can't even right now wake up on time. And I've got no excuse not to wake up on time. And Dylan has faced death three times now. The fourth time, he's facing death in the face and saying, bring it on. When you saw the cancer for the fourth time or when you got the call, what went through your mind this fourth time.
- [25:45]
A
I was crushed, devastated. I wasn't devastated that there wasn't, that there was cancer in the body. I was devastated because I just am so confident in his healing power. You know, cancer number three was a year ago today, like today's September 17th. I flew home for round three last year on the day crazy. And I saw God miracle miraculously heal my body with no treatment. He's revealed his works to me so clearly and he's involved me in a miracle so personally. And so when I was diagnosed for a fourth time, the enemy hit me with this so hard. The enemy said, did you lose his favorite? Are you no longer his child?
- [27:09]
B
What happened when you heard that?
- [27:14]
A
It hit so hard. And something to note is that I understood what the attack was. It's an attack of identity. Who do you think you are? Are you still his child? You're not his child. He took his favor off your life. It's an attack on my identity in Christ. And when I came to recognize, and the second I hear this, I have to go right into the word. I pick up my Bible, say, lord, give me a word. Because when I get hit with attacks of the enemy, I am not strong enough to overcome them. I need to go to His Word. And we talked about this, just the importance of getting in the word and understanding the Word. Because what I knew when I heard, are you really his child? And the attack on my identity in Christ, I remember that the Garden of Eden, when Eve fell, Satan attacked her identity. He said, oh, if you eat this, you'll be like God. Identity. And Eve didn't understand her identity. And so she fell.
- [28:35]
C
Yeah.
- [28:36]
A
But Jesus, the last Adam was hit with the exact same identity. In Luke chapter four, Satan would say to Jesus, oh, if you're really the son of God, would you turn this stone into bread? And the reason Jesus didn't fall to the attack was because he was rock solid in his understanding of who he was.
- [28:59]
C
Yeah, yeah.
- [29:01]
B
You know, I feel like that's the chase for anyone, whether they're in your shoes or my shoes, is who do I have to prove myself to? What do I have to do to prove myself to someone? And when I look in the Gospels, before Jesus did any earthly ministry, he gets baptized. And God the Father said, that's my son. And I'm already pleased with him. Before Jesus did anything, the Father was pleased with Jesus being his son. And you're right, that is the war. The biggest battle we face is the war on our mind. It's the war on our mind. Satan tries to get in there, he tries to trick us. And I love how you highlighted I had to pick up my word and say, God, give me a word. Reminds me of Hebrews 4:13. The word of God is a double edged sword that separates the soul from the spirit. It separates the way that seems right to a man, the way that seems right to Bryce. My carnal mind. And that was you in that moment, your carnal mind was saying, I'm not God's child anymore. God's removed his favor from me because obviously I'm going through suffering. And that's the case. That's the carnal mind. That's the way that man thinks. Between the way that seems right to God, the spirit, the renewing of the mind. And how. And bro, how many instances, how easy is it to get in a moment like that and begin to believe it? I mean, how easy is it? And that. And that's, you know, that's the importance of what you're saying is you're saying, look, you're seeing the diet, you're seeing all these, these things are just a byproduct of Christ. Because when I'm hearing this stu, it rocks me. Like when I hear a lie of the enemy, it rocks Me, when I get faced with adversity, it rocks me. I'm human. But it's the choice. It's the choice to choose. What do I do about this right now? And so in that moment, you say, I'm picking up the Word, what God speaks to me. What did God say about you in that moment?
- [30:49]
A
Well, first of all, I have more conviction and confidence in the word of God than anything else. That the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of my understanding of everything. And you have to fall back on that, that if the truth is, is that I am more certain in the death and the resurrection of Jesus than the cancer in my body, I'm more convinced and I'm more certain of it than anything else that I could be looking at a computer screen that had an X ray scan of my lungs that said, oh, you see that white dot right there? That's cancer in your body. And I. And I'm here to tell you that I'm more convinced of a death and a resurrection of Jesus Christ than even looking at that as truth.
- [31:39]
C
Yeah.
- [31:40]
A
And he speaks to me through the Word. The Word is God breathed. I think so often people say, well, I'm not hearing from God. Well, it's like, maybe you should read it because he's here.
- [31:53]
C
Yeah.
- [31:58]
A
And he took me a lot of places. And when I go to Isaiah, you ask where he brought me. Right. When I get. When I said, lord, give me a word. I'm in the midst the voice of the enemy. The volume was turned up so loud where I said, I can't hear anything else but attacks. Give me, give me a word through your word. He says, go to Isaiah 49. And it's just titled the servant of the Lord. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother. He named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand. He hid me. He made me a polished arrow. He said to me, you are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified. And that was the Word. And the voice of the enemy cannot, cannot withstand the power of the truth of the. Of the Word of God. That when I read that word and I made sure to yell it, I was in my room, I said. I said, satan, I want you to hear this word right now.
- [33:36]
C
Yeah.
- [33:37]
A
You're going to hear me read this to you out loud. I'm going to remind you, devil, of who I am. I'm going to remind you of who I am in Christ. Second Corinthians 5 would say that I'm a new creation. Verse 17, verse 21 would say that my new identity is also righteous. First Peter 2:24 would say that Jesus bore our sin, that we actually died to sin, and that we are now righteous because by his stripes we are healed. That Jesus defeated death, defeated sin on the cross, defeated Satan. And I'm not going to forget that. He's already healed me of my wounds. He's already healed me of this disease. Matthew 10. Jesus would say, and do not fear those who. Who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. What cancer is coming to kill is already dead. What cancer came to kill is already dead. This body of flesh has already been crucified according to Galatians 5. I'm alive through the spirit of God, and even the devil can't touch the spirit of God. And I want to touch on this point that we don't pass life and death. When this mortal body of flesh dies. We cross life or death. When we put our faith in Jesus, it's no longer life or death. Right now.
- [35:26]
C
Yeah.
- [35:27]
A
It's life and life. John 10:10 would say that Jesus came to give us life and life. Abundant. It's abundant life in Christ. I'm not looking at life or death right now. There's two. There's two tumors in my lung. Who cares? Because I've never been more alive in my life. Cancer can't kill what gives me life. I'm connected to the vine. I'm the branch. He flows rivers of living water into me through his spirit. I'm invincible to the devil. I'm untouchable from the attacks in the enemy. And the only thing that makes us able to get hurt by the devil is when we actually start believing the lies.
- [36:24]
C
Yeah.
- [36:27]
A
That God would say that the heaven is his and the earth is his creation. If the earth is for man, that we have authority and power in this world, but the power that the enemy gets comes when we actually give it to him. And it comes the same way that Eve gave it to him when she obeyed and agreed with Satan to then disobey God.
- [36:50]
C
Yep.
- [36:51]
A
And that's where the power comes.
- [36:53]
B
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I've literally. What you just said, I feel, you know, the days that, you know, if I get cut off, driving on the highway and I get angry, I'm like, they didn't make me angry. I gave them the power to make me angry. And like the days that I like, I am tempted by sin if I were to give in to temptation. The devil didn't make Me, sin. I gave that temptation, the power over me. And I'm not going to let the devil have power over me. He does not get to have free real estate in my brain. He does not get to have free real estate on my soul because Christ has paid that price for me, and he's paid that price for you. And I love what you said. Life began for you when you were all plugged up on the table. Life began for me when I'm weeping inside Waffle House, wanting to take my life and saying, God, if you're real, take this away. Life began for me in that moment and hasn't been the same. And, you know, a lot of people can look at your circumstance because that's. That is the. That is the most scandalous thing about your story is you have every right to be pissed off. You have every right to, you know, to be upset, to lay around, to do whatever, but you don't. And you're fighting the current, and it makes people go, well, why does he do that? And it's Jesus in you.
- [38:23]
A
And.
- [38:26]
B
So right now, you're faced with this moment. You've been diagnosed for the fourth time. And supposedly what's on the calendar right now is the doctors say, hey, you can have surgery in about a month. Ish. But you're saying, no, I'm believing God.
- [38:46]
A
I'm more expectant of a miracle of God to perfectly dissolve cancer in my body before surgery even happens.
- [38:56]
B
What do the doctors think about that? Because I know they know how you feel, and I know they know what you believe. And just like a side note, like, a lot of doctors deliver the news that they've given to you to a lot of people, and you're the 1% that reacts, unlike the 99%. So what do they think? That you feel this way and that your faith's in Jesus.
- [39:25]
A
So when I was diagnosed for the third time, they actually gave my case a terminal diagnosis. They said, all of the tools in our toolbox, we've used them all. And so you're done. My doctor looked at me and he's like, I'm so sorry, but my job is to give hard news. That's a part of my job. He's like, why do you. Why do you look so calm? I looked at him and I just said, I fear God and not the things of the world. And he sat back in his chair for, like, 30 seconds, just saying nothing. And he was flustering his words. He was just like. His first thing he said was, whoa. Like, he sat back in his swivel chair, and was like, whoa. Because I know that when he gives news like that, he's expecting full breakdown. Just tears on tears, family members crying. And he looked at myself and both my parents, who were just so strong in their faith, and we were mean mugging. You should have seen us up there, unfazed. And then four months later, when God worked a miracle in my body and dissolved cancer by a snap of his finger, I'm sitting in the exact same chair, the exact same office. And he said, as he's looking at these scans, he's like, this is a miracle. He said, miracle. And that was my experience. And so these doc, they know who I am, they know what I'm about.
- [41:26]
B
Is it the same doctor that you have this time as this last doctor.
- [41:30]
A
That you said, it's all the same team, same squad.
- [41:33]
C
Wow.
- [41:33]
A
And they're seeing this all in real time, but they're just. There's not a lot of faith in medicine.
- [41:43]
B
Well, they've been taught rational, you know, I mean, they've been taught, oh, when this thing happens, you do this. And if this outcome happens, it's not good. I mean, that's how they're taught. They're indoctrinated that way. They're like, indoctrinated logically. When God moves, it's not always logical. Like, when God tells me to do something, it doesn't always just make sense. You know what I mean? And God's telling you something that does not make sense to them. And this is their fourth time with you. And the Lord ain't backing down. He's not backing down. That's the coolest thing about this, is he's not backing down. And because he lives inside of you and the spirit of God is manifesting through you, you're not backing down. You have strength through the spirit of God. And I, I love when you brought up the thorn inside of Paul's flesh because he's, like, kind of complaining at the beginning of that passage. He's like, there's this thing that's bothering me and it sucks. And then at the end, he's like, but you know what? I'm grateful for this because it keeps me humble and it keeps me reliant on God. Like, without this thorn in my flesh, I would not be humble and relying on God. And I, I, I just.
- [42:56]
C
You're.
- [42:57]
B
That's, that's your response is you, you're human. And saying, man, it hurt to get diagnosed the fourth time, but guess what? You better believe my diet's on point. You better believe my prayer's on point. You better believe my surrender's on point. And you know, I told you, I told you yesterday on the phone, like I'm going through a fitness transformation. And when I was telling my coach, hey, here's my buddy Dylan. He's coming on tomorrow, he's four time battle in cancer. And this is. And he goes, how has he beat cancer three times? And I said, his surrender to God was on point, his prayer was on point, his diet was on point. And you're in the same mode right now.
- [43:38]
A
It's like, I'm not stronger than cancer, but God is. And that has to be the takeaway. God is stronger than all things. And when we rest in him and he lives through us, then we become stronger.
- [43:55]
B
And what does this season of intimacy with Jesus look like for you?
- [43:59]
A
It's sweet. It's beautiful. I just, I sit in his presence 10 hours a day. This is my life. This is where he called me when I first came home. I'm sitting in my parents backyard. Peter said, dylan, this year's for me. I just wrote that in my journal. This year's for me. And every day it's just, I just, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. There is nothing better to me than just being in the presence of the Lord, just being in intimacy with him. I just sit outside with my Bible open, my journal open. I like to read a lot of commentary, so I'll have some commentary out. And I'm just sitting at the outside table, I'm studying and then I have a pillow on the ground and I just go on my knees and I'll just sit. It's just this beautiful day. Like these are my days. I just, I'm in the Word and then I'm praying. I'm in the Word and then I'm praying. It's peaceful and it's resting and it's comforting and it's spiritually nurturing. And you know, all the time, you know, me and you, we were talking about how like, you know, revival's coming, big things in the faith are coming. You know, how blessed are we that we're in a position to, you know, make a difference in this revival. You know, I'm just so encouraged, first of all, I'm so encouraged to be your buddy in this, in this crucial, pivotal state in the faith. Likewise. But the revival starts in the quiet time with the Lord. This, you know, the souls begin to be saved when I'm outside in the word, crying.
- [46:02]
C
Yeah.
- [46:04]
A
You know, Lord, I. Use me to go save thousands of souls. Use me to go save hundreds of thousands of souls. Use me to save souls nationwide and worldwide. And those prayers of declaration begin. And the answering of those begin when I'm sobbing in my room, curled up in a ball, saying, lord, I have nothing and I need you with everything. Let me serve you faithfully to advance your kingdom.
- [46:36]
C
Yeah.
- [46:37]
B
I don't think people understand how powerful living a life of prayer and surrender to God is. It reminded me of. Of James 5:16. He says, Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. I think the King James, or new King James, says, the fervent prayer of a righteous man conquers much.
- [47:12]
A
And.
- [47:16]
B
You'Re right, we don't fight a battle of flesh and blood. To the doctors, this cancer is flesh and blood. This ain't flesh and blood. There's a spiritual war for your life. There's a spiritual war over everyone's life. And I mean, it's literally what you just did. The third time you were surrendered to God, praying and seeking him, and the cancer dissolves. And the doctors look shocked. But you're not shocked because his promise is in here. This thing doesn't change the word of God doesn't change. God doesn't change his mind about Dylan. God doesn't change his mind about Bryce. God doesn't just switch up his word. He's a man of. He's a man of his word.
- [48:02]
A
I think what's good about that is that God is a God of promises and fulfillment, and he'll never make a promise that he won't fulfill.
- [48:10]
C
Yeah.
- [48:10]
A
And I think what tests our faith is just the time in between the promise and fulfillment. And what's something that I came to realize about the guarantee of the fulfillment of the promise is that the good word of breakthrough is just as valuable as the breakthrough itself. And so given that the promise of fulfillment is just as valuable as the fulfillment itself, well, then, now I. That's now enabled me to be rejoicing of the miracle before it's happened, because I know it's coming.
- [48:50]
C
Wow.
- [48:51]
A
That James, chapter one would say, Count it, all joy. And Romans 8:28 would say, Good things will happen to those who love God. And if you combine those two verses, you see that God has now given me permission to celebrate the miracle of cancer dissolving before it's happened.
- [49:12]
C
Wow.
- [49:13]
A
It's this idea of biblical hope, like hope in our world is Like a wish. It's like, I wish this happens. I hope this happens. But biblical hope, and the hope referred to in the Bible is that now I am so certain that good will come to those who love God that I now have permission to celebrate and be happy about that. Yeah, right now, I think we do.
- [49:37]
B
Have to count it, Joy. I don't think we have another option, because I think the days that we count suffering as suffering are the days that we let Satan have the power over us. And I know that sounds controversial to people because it's like you said, people feel entitled to celebrate or almost idolize the suffering. But when Dylan decides to count it a joy, his honor, that God is using him in a time such as this to endure through hardship, Satan loses the power that he's held in that moment. The days that Bryce decides to take joy in his suffering are the days that Satan loses his grip on me with that thing. The reality is, it's like everyone's got a different walk. You're in a literal physical health battle and a spiritual mental war with the enemy right now. A lot of people's battle might be right now giving up substances, stop watching porn. Maybe they're enslaved to sexual immorality. Maybe they're enslaved to drowning their problems in sinfulness. Maybe there's people that are struggling with laziness. I mean, bro, before I finish that thought, let me just hype on hype on laziness a second. I got so convicted before I started this. This health journey, because I looked at myself in the mirror one day when I was getting ready to get in the shower, and I saw how I was treating God with my body. And I just went, man, I'm slapping God in the face every day that I don't decide to honor God with my body and my activity by saying, man, I'm not grateful for the vessel you gave me. And so I'm encouraged by that. And you. Thank you for encouraging me in that. But there are a lot of people that are struggling with any sort of suffering across the board. If you could encourage someone right now, listening or watching, that is struggling, what would you. What do you feel like the Lord would specifically have you say to them? In laziness or in everything across the board? People that are struggling, everyone's struggling in their own way.
- [51:58]
A
You know, I think the. The word that I have for those who are currently struggling is God can shape this for his glory, and that's what he's so good at doing time and time again is God takes the hardship in our life. And he might let us sit in the fire and shape us through this process. Right. God understands that suffering seasons and breakthrough seasons are equally so valuable. And so breakthrough is coming to those who love God. And so we've just got to focus on loving God. But let's not be closed minded to the fact that this could also be just such a molding season in a shaping season for you. I am so grateful for cancer because it led me to fear God and be surrendered to him. And then the hope that he gives me is in the confidence in his powers and in the miracle that those two things put together really complete my faith. And I'm really not one without the other.
- [53:15]
C
Yeah.
- [53:16]
A
And so to those who are suffering, seek the face of the Lord and ask him, ask the Lord, what do you want to, how do you want to shape me through this? What do you want me to see or understand through this? Because God doesn't just let his children suffer to suffer. Yeah, there's such purpose in it. But we just have to be so open minded and so surrendered to then have the awareness of the purpose. Yeah, you know.
- [53:48]
B
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think that scripture, in Romans, all things work together for the good, for those who are in Christ. And when you think of something so tragic like the assassination of Charlie Kirk, you know, he had a mission on his heart that he was pounding for. And then a lot of people think that the mission ended there. But after that moment, you saw record breaking numbers in church. You saw atheists and agnostics who wanted nothing to do with Jesus for 10, 20, 30 years, who were putting faith in Christ. The mission didn't stop there. That thing worked together for the good for Jesus. God used a tragedy like that to impact the globe in the same way God is using your suffering for the good to wake people up and say, time to stop sleeping. It's time to wake up and get after it. It's time to wake up and serve the Lord. It's time to wake up and seek his face. And I think that's, that's the hour that we're in right now. I mean, when all that stuff was going on last week, I came back from a run. I started, I started running. I hate, I hate running. And that's why I do it, because I, I hate it. And me too, bro. Dude, it's like the worst, bro. I, I wrestled for seven years and like, running is like the worst thing ever. And I was like, because I hate it, I'm going to start doing it. And now I'm learning to enjoy it. So I went on a run to kind of clear my head, because with everything that was going on last week, I felt like you couldn't run from bad news. I felt like there was nothing but bad news going on, and I had to cut my phone and I'd go on a run. And when I came back, the burning sensation of the Holy Spirit inside my stomach was like nothing I had ever felt before in my life. And I remember getting back to my home, hometown, my home that I grew up in in Georgia. And I came back from a run, and I walk inside, and I sit down in this chair, and I prayed. I said, God, I don't know what's about to happen right now, but I feel something inside of me that I can't contain. And I feel like something inside of me that's going.
- [56:07]
C
That.
- [56:08]
B
That's. That's shifting and this. I was like, I don't even know what's about to happen, God, but I need you to do your thing. And I don't want it to be pretty. I want it to be real. And I remember propping up the phone and just clicking record, and the words that come out of my mouth were just the hours at hand. We're in the hour right now where people are running to chatgpt more than they are the word of God. We're in the hour right now where people are running to sinfulness more than they are the Holy Spirit. We're in the hour right now where it's cool to be biblically illiterate, and it's not cool. It's cool to be educated. It's cool to understand. It's cool to seek his face. It's cool to be in surrender. It's. We're in the hour right now where it's better to be hard and cover your emotions and be transparent so that you can be transformed. I mean, this is the hour that we're living in, and it's time to wake up, and it's actually time to storm the gates of hell harder. And I love what my pastor says back at home. He's like, man, Christians, like, the. Oftentimes, it's like, try to play defense. It's like, you know, you give your life to Jesus, and then you sit back, and when the. And when the arrows come, it's like you're trying your best to fight the errors. He's like, no, you're on offense now. Like, your mission as a believer is want you. Once you put your faith in Christ, it's all out war against the kingdom of darkness. It's all out war against hell. And I mean, what are you feeling in this season right now?
- [57:33]
A
Well, first of all, revival is coming and it's. It's coming faster and it's what you say. He said, um, the hours at hand.
- [57:42]
B
The hours at.
- [57:43]
A
The hour is at hand right now. When you're talking about, like, you know, the power of your faith and the surrender you have to be. I was on a mission trip, like, six months ago, and a guy on the mission trip, like a mentor figure, was like, if somebody put a gun to your head and said, denounce, Denounce your faith in Jesus. He's like, what would you say? And the guy said, pull the trigger. And I heard that and I was like, like, you have to be willing to die for the faith. Because like we talked about earlier, this life does not end when this body perishes. But when we put our faith in Jesus. I've put my faith in Jesus. You've put your faith in Jesus. We are now untouchable. We've already passed death. I'm willing to put this body on the line for the advancement of the gospels. And I'm not backing down to anything because I have nothing to lose and everything to gain in the glory of heaven.
- [58:45]
C
Yeah.
- [58:46]
A
I'll sacrifice my life. I'll do cancer over and over again. Put more pain on my shoulders if that means that more souls will be saved. If you said for every round of cancer you go through, one soul will be saved, I would do it over and over again. And I mean that with every bone in my body. There's this fire like you were talking about. And I've been feeling this too, bro, when I've been sitting in my backyard just praying and receiving. It's like the spirit is stirring revival so much in this season. And like we talked, we've been talking about how good things will come.
- [59:34]
C
Yeah.
- [59:35]
A
And it might not look good momentarily. And that's okay. God doesn't. He's not saying it's going to be. It's going to be good all the time.
- [59:44]
C
Yeah.
- [59:45]
A
He's just saying that when everything gets worked together, it. Then it will be good. The enemy thought he could silence a movement when he killed Charlie Kirk, but he started a revival. He started a movement. This is going to be an awakening of faith. You're hearing it right now from me.
- [60:07]
C
Yep.
- [60:08]
A
There's going to be signs, wonders, and miracles across this country. Right. I'm in Matthew chapter 10 right now. And this Feels like exactly where we are. I just love this, this commissioning he gives. When he sends out the 12 apostles with already receiving the Holy Spirit just for that short mission, he gives him the Spirit to go do signs and wonders. And he's firing them up. And, dude, I want to. I want to get this right. He says, and proclaim as you go, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. The next chapter, the next section would say, persecution will come. Then he will say, have no fear, which is the verse that I alluded to earlier, which says, and do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. And then he would finish by saying, not peace, but a sword. We're on offense, bro. Yeah, we're on offense. And I'm willing to die for the faith because this death we've already passed.
- [61:18]
C
Yeah.
- [61:19]
B
Oh, I think that's so good. Just that perspective. It's all perspective. It's like, what lens are we looking through? Are we looking through our carnal mind lens? Are we looking through the word of God and how God sees us? You know, normally I close the episodes out with me praying, but I would be really blessed if you would close out the episode by praying. And I really believe that we need to pray that the Lord begins to charge up and raise up young men and women to stand firm and endure, because those who endure to the end will be saved. Would you pray for us?
- [61:56]
A
Yeah. And before I do, I want to say that, like, me getting to this point was one of the biggest spiritual attacks I've had. The devil did not want me here. The devil. When we're driving, we drove from Northern California down to LA to come to come see you. The drive. Spiritual attack. Spiritual attack. Anxiety, fear, doubt. Don't do this. You're not ready for this. You're still in treatment. Like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Don't do this. Then we pull up to your house. More attack. We're kind of hanging out. More attack. And I go, I just go to the backyard. I'm praying, I'm praying, lord, give me the strength. Give me the peace. And we sit down in the chairs, and I get hit with spiritual attacks. Like, I wouldn't believe. The enemy does not want this episode to happen. The enemy did not want me to sit in this chair. The enemy wanted to stop all of this from happening. And he tried everything he could. And I sat in this chair and I got hit. You saw it?
- [63:04]
C
Yeah.
- [63:06]
A
Tears came down my face. I was Overwhelmed. I was hit with everything. Then I sat back and you gave me a breath. And I'm like, lord, let me serve you. This isn't about me. It's about him. My who I am is irrelevant. It's like, look at the face of the Lord in this. I'm just a messenger and a servant of the real king. And it took spiritual strength from the Lord to be here. I'm so thankful that I'm here with you. I'm so thankful for the breakthrough that's coming. So right now, I just want to lift up the name of Jesus. Lord, we give you all the glory today. This podcast, this episode is all for you and your glory and your kingdom and your righteousness. Lord, you are so good. And your goodness is the entirety of my understanding of you. You work in ways that we don't understand. But what I do know is that you are good and you are perfect. You are holy and everlasting. You are righteous and almighty. You are the way, the truth and the life. And there is no one else. They cannot silence your name. They cannot stop your breath. In your spirit, Lord, we just pray. Massive revival in this nation. We pray the Holy Spirit would sweep this nation and penetrate every heart, Lord. We pray for signs and wonders and miracles to occur. We pray for churches to get new life in this nation. We pray for the empowerment of the youth. We pray for youth ministries to flourish. We pray for college ministries to flourish. We pray for Gen Z to seek your face and to seek the truth of the gospel. Thank you, Jesus, for your healing. Thank you for healing my body. Thankful. Thank you for the miracle that's to come. We praise you, Lord, you are so good. We're so good. I love you so much. We love you so much. Use us. Use us to advance your kingdom and your gospels. Use us because we love you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
- [65:57]
B
Amen. Guys, thank you so much for watching and listening to this episode. If you guys like it, subscribe to us on YouTube. Follow us on Spotify, Instagram and and TikTok. Bless you guys and see you guys next week for the next episode.