SPEAKER_00 0:00

Men. Welcome to the most important podcast that you'll hear in a long time. It's the Men's Leadership Community Podcast, and it starts now.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

Well, here we go. Exciting time, Obi. I love that. You know, anytime we pull up this graphic without the movies and our faces on it, I start to get really pumped. Uh, we are right dead in the middle of the series, Obi. We're we're right halfway, guys. Can you believe that?

SPEAKER_03 0:32

Oh, and you know, it's encouraging to me knowing that we'll be able to do this for as long as we are alive or until Jesus comes back, because there are so many great movies out there that we can pull out the hero's journey and and hopefully show you a new way to view movies and to relate this.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Yeah, and yeah, I mean, last week was such a great example of that with the Martian. You're like, who would think a sci-fi movie about a soul survivor on Mars? What could you pull out about that uh through the Gospel of Jesus? And I think the same with the Truman show today. You know, many people have called this a comedy or a rom-com or a drom com, but you know, philosophically, Obi, this is a very deep movie.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

Oh, yes. And I can't wait to dive into it. Let's roll.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Tons of tons of deep philosophy and what it means to live in reality in the real world. Uh, so let's go ahead and take a look at some of the just basic background of the movie itself. Obi, if you'll take us through a couple of slides on that, and then we'll hit some pretty cool trivia.

SPEAKER_03 1:32

Oh, yeah. It's you know, it's uh as I watched it again, I watched it twice. Um, it's still relevant today, man. It still hits today, it's not dated at all.

SPEAKER_02 1:43

Well, the only thing they should have instead of a TV show, it should be an Instagram, 24-hour Instagram feed.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

A feed, yeah, which exists today. Um, anyway. So this is came out in 1998. 98, guys. Um, I was prepping for third two kids all. Yeah. I was prepping for Y2K. It's an American psychological satirical comedy drama film starring Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, a man unaware that he's living his entire life on a colossal soundstage and that it is being filmed and broadcast as a reality TV show that has a huge international following.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

Yeah, and I think that's for a lot of us when we're living the lone wolf life, when we're trying to do life alone without brothers in Christ, I think so many of us are unaware that we're living in a false reality. You know, one that we were not created for, this isolated, you know, existence instead of the brotherhood that God created us for. So there's there's a lot of relevance to the movie.

SPEAKER_03 2:43

Oh man. I think we could have done a two-part series on this. For sure. So all of his friends, family, members of his community, everyone, they are all paid actors whose sole purpose is to sustain the illusion and to keep Truman unaware that the world he inhabits is scripted and fake.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

You know, and this reminded me so much of the screw tape letters from CS Lewis and and the way that the devil through his uh, you know, under his under minions are trying to tempt and and keep mist and and and and human beings shrouded in lies. Uh, there is so much in this, the Obi that just connected for me with the screw tape letters.

SPEAKER_03 3:27

Yes. So uh Truman's entire existence pivots around the will and the wild imagination of the ruthlessly manipulative television producer Christoph, Christoph Ed Harris, the all-powerful TV god of the Truman show. And I just found it really interesting that they chose the name Christoph, which really it's Christ of, you know, this fake Christ of the Truman Show.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Which is what Satan wants to present himself as to us is a a false Christ, uh, and providing false hope. So it's really good, you know. And once again, like C.S. Lewis talks about in Screwtape Letters, the connection is the devil does not show up with horns and a tail and a pitchfork. He shows up with a really cool French beret, you know, and a lot of a lot of uh illusory power and you know, kind of sexy looking. Uh he likes to show up and really woo us. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:29

Yes, and you know, props to Ed Harris, whose million dollar smile, who's just he he he owns that stage. Truman's hotown, Sea Haven, um Sea Haven Island is set inside an enormous soundstage in Los Angeles, which allows Christoph, the show's creator, the executive producer, to control nearly all aspects of Truman's life.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Yeah, so talking about the reality of freedom or or the reality of not knowing you live in a prison uh connects deeply, Obi, with the sinful brokenness of our lives when we don't recognize it, uh, in the prison we're actually living in and not even knowing that we're in it. This is kind of like uh the Hebrews when when God set them free from Egypt with Moses, right? They go through the Red Sea, they go out to Mount Sinai, they're sitting there, and you know, right away when something doesn't go the way they want, they're like, Oh, I wish we could go back to Egypt and I wish we could go back and be slaves again, where there were pots of boiling meat and we were happy. And you're like, Are you kidding me? You were you think you were happy as a slave? But so many of us don't even recognize the prisons that we're caught in, just like Truman.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

Well, and here's a throwback to another movie that we did with this, and I love that you mentioned that because you you see a you see um the matrix reference this, right? Because if you remember Cypher in the in the Matrix, you know, he says, I know this is not real, but man, and he takes a bite of this steak, ignorance is bliss. Yeah, you know, bliss. Yeah, ignorance is bliss. Which is which is what Christoph is selling. Yep. Uh so Truman's world is populated by actors, crew members who serve as his community while keeping him from discovering the truth. Uh, and to prevent him from escaping, Christoph has orchestrated various scenarios such as the death of Truman's father in a boating accident to instill thalassophobia. And has there's a Greek, our Greek word for the day, you know, only great job, thalasophobia, from the Greek glass, which is C. C. Um, and has the cast reinforced Truman's anxieties with messages about the dangers of traveling and the virtues of staying home. And you see these posters, you know, where lightning striking, you know, terrorists. So as we approach the show's 30th anniversary, uh, as the show approaches the 30th anniversary, Truman notices unusual occurrences such as a stage light falling from the sky, uh, an isolated patch of rain that falls only over him and follows him, and a radio transmission describing his movements as he's driving around and the reappearance of his father, who is rushed away by crew members before Truman can get to him. He, of course, uh becomes inquisitive, and this causes Truman to question his life and asks his closest confidants to help him solve the mystery.

SPEAKER_02 7:27

You know, and I think we all everybody in the world recognizes that something's off in this, the in this place that's broken and now filled with sin and sinful people just like us. There's something inside of us that looks around and recognizes the brokenness and and feel that something's off. And sometimes we just don't know how to put a finger on it. And that's where the MLC and Brotherhood in Christ is we can get together and talk about it. We can talk about why things feel off, but we can also then talk about the beauty that still remains even in the brokenness, Obi, of this life together. Amen.

SPEAKER_03 8:05

So the Truman show has been analyzed as an exploration of simulated reality, extensionalism, surveillance, metaphilosophy, privacy, and reality TV, and described as a genre blending work that features elements of dystopian fiction, metafiction, psychological drama, romantic comedy, satire, and social sciences and engineering. In the decades since its release, the film's exploration of surveillance and manufactured reality has been described as uh prescient.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

Yeah, and this is pretty huge because most people would think, you know, you look at, oh, by the way, I don't think that this description of any other Jen Carey movie is true. So, but how different is this from his norm? And and to point out that this film is actually still studied in college under all of these different uh, you know, uh kind of philosophical underpinnings, but especially in media ethics. There's a course in college, a very important one called Media Ethics, and the Truman Show is a primary film that they study still today.

SPEAKER_03 9:16

And you you know, it's funny because with a lot of movies, you can kind of go in and as I'm looking and doing research, you there's there's some movies that you find some stuff on, you know, mostly reviews, hardly anybody. With the Truman Show, there's there's an endless supply of articles, of you know, studies that they did. So it's it's it's impactful. So much that in 2008, Popular Mechanics named it one of the 10 most prophetic science fiction films. And as I was telling you earlier today, I watched this today, and it's still relevant today. You don't watch it and say, man, this is dated. This is no, it it's it's relevant today. Um, in 2023, ACMI noted it foretold the rise of reality TV, mass surveillance, social media, influencer marketing, and our increasing obsession with celebrity, along with the 24-hour news cycle, product placement, parasocial relationships, the merging of entertainment, and news.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Yeah, and that product placement is so great throughout the movie. I mean, you know, the the subliminal messaging throughout the movie that they put right in front of your face to say, you know, you're falling for this out there in the real world today. And you're like, no, I don't fall for that. And then all of a sudden you're like, I really want to coke right now.

SPEAKER_04 10:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

I really wish I could buy that car. Or, you know, that chicken that they raise without any, you know, steroids. I that sounds like what we ought to buy for our family, a little Kaiser Farm chicken.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

Uh yeah, really nice throwback to that. Or the mo the Mach 10 with 10 blades, you know, I want to shave 10 times better. The film debuted to critical acclaim, spending his first two weeks at number one in the domestic box office, uh, and his first seven weeks in the top ten, giving the film a perfect four-star score. Roger Ebert compared it to Forrest Gump, claiming that the film had the right balance of comedy and drama, and he was also impressed with Jim Carrey's dramatic performance.

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Which is huge because Roger Ebert didn't think Jim Carrey could do anything, you know, worthwhile outside of, you know, uh Ace Ventura pet detective.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

It was also a clear financial success, gruffsing 264 uh.1 million worldwide against a budget of 60 million. This was in 1998, keep in mind. Um, it earned numerous it earned numerous nominations at the 71st Academy Awards, 56 Golden Globe Awards, and 52nd British Academy Film Awards, among others. And in 2025, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. That's last year.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Last year? That's last year. Holy smoke. Well, here's some great trivia, a lot of fun stuff. You got Matt Gates staring you right in the face. That's a way to start a Friday morning, right?

SPEAKER_03 12:15

Uh, Andrew Nichols' original spec script was a sci-fi thriller in New York. Set New York City, a sci-fi thriller. Oh, yeah. Norman Norman Rockwell's paintings and 1960s postcards were used as inspiration for the film design. You see it. It's perfectly white picket fence utopia. The majority of filming took place at Seaside, Florida, a real master planned community located located in the Florida panhandle. I vacation there. Yep. Oh, I hit a button. The house that's served, the as Truman's home, is owned by the Gates family, which includes U.S. politicians Don and Matt Gates.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Oh, that house that Moomin lives in is Matt Gates' house. Talk about the blurring of entertainment and politics.

SPEAKER_03 13:04

Yes. Um, every street name in Seahaven refers to an actor, Lancaster Square or Barrymore Road, and all of the cast members are likewise named after movie stars: Merrill, Marlin, Lauren, Kirk, Angela, etc.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

So it's so subtle, it's right in your face that none of it's real. That cracks me up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

So here's a nice one. Uh Robin Williams was the first choice for the role of Truman. Um, Gary Oldman was cast, but eventually dropped out. That's a good thing that that that Dracula didn't become Truman. So uh then this duty offered the role to Samuel L. Jackson. But you imagine Samuel L. Jackson is Truman.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

I'm tired of these snakes. Okay. Yeah. Shut up, you know, with the cuss word behind it, you know.

SPEAKER_03 13:56

But Jackson turned it down because he wasn't interested and didn't really fully understand it, which is I'm glad it would have been uh different. Although I would have loved to have seen it. Uh huh.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

Where cast we're he had it, he had to have John Travolta explain to him what a you know Royala cheese cheese was. I don't think he quite understood the plot.

unknown 14:14

But Truman.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

Um where cast Kerry, after seeing him in Ace Venture, a pen detective, citing that his performance reminded him of Charlie Chaplin, Carrie took the role so he would be known as a multifaceted actor rather than being typecast in comet comedic roles. Um, the start of production was delayed for a year so that Carrie could start in The Cable Guy and Liar Liar in 1997. Another two hits. Um the film started production with Dennis Hopper in the role of Christoph, but he left soon after filming began due to creative differences. Um, Jack Nicholson was approached to take over the role, but declined as Hopper was a good friend of his. Um, and Harris agreed to step in and pitch the idea of making Christoph a hunchback.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

And you can actually see they said no. And you know, we're said no, we're not doing that. But actually, if you go back and rewatch the film, he drags one leg when he walks. So he still got it in there, even though they told him he couldn't deal in track. He still drags one leg when he walks just to get it in the movie.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

Um, Laura Linney, who plays the actor pretending to be Truman's wife, studied a Sears catalog from the 1950s to develop her character Posis, which you can see. Um, and the suburban picket fence appearance of the show said is reminiscent of the American dream of the 1950s. The American dream concept in Truman's world serves as an attempt to keep him happy and ignorant.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

And I think we have to be very open and honest and cautious about the fact that the American dream concept is still at work that way in our lives uh to try and keep us happy and ignorant. So we have to be very careful of that as we discuss it with one another.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Yeah. And here's a good one. Ed Harris and Jim Carrey never met on the stage, on the set of the movie, which is great. I think it helps, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:11

You talk about art, you know, playing life, life playing art, and there it is. I love that still right there of you know, him with the screen, because that's as close as they got while making the movie. Yeah. Which is a a little bit of a throwback to the Martian last week with the five weeks of Matt Damon filming by himself without the rest of the cast, because they, you know, they were already gone.

SPEAKER_03 16:32

Yeah. Um, if you look through the movie, this dark color appears repeatedly in scenes where Truman is questioning his world or getting information about it. Um, Lauren and Sylvia Sweater symbolizes the danger and the unknown for him. And I love that perspective you bring, Andy, with your background in art, seeing this. Because I miss I miss this one. Um, the film is studied in media ethic courses, particularly focusing on the characters of creator Christoph, best friend Marlon, and the prostituting of Truman's wife, Merrill.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

Yeah, so you don't even think of that, that she's an actor who's married to Truman, and and we fall into the belief that they're a married couple, but actually, she's a hired hooker. I mean, that is hard to think of it that way.

SPEAKER_03 17:21

Yeah, and somebody that would willingly do that, right, for the for the fame, for the ratings, for the money.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Which, which he doesn't even recognize till he's looking through the you know, the book of their pictures and sees the the ring on the wrong finger in their wedding pictures. Yeah. And and then things got her fingers crossed.

SPEAKER_03 17:44

Dr. Joel Gold, a psychiatrist at the Bellevue Hospital Center, revealed that by twenty he had met five patients with schizophrenia and had heard of another 12 who believed their lives were reality television shows. Gold named the syndrome The Truman Show Delusion after the film and attributed the delusion to a world that had become hungry for publicity. He documents his finding in his books, Suspicious Mind, How Culture Shapes Madness, The Truman Show Delusion, and Other Strange Beliefs. What a powerful title, How Culture Shapes Madness.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

Oof.

SPEAKER_03 18:21

Yeah. In August 2008, the British Journal of Psychiatry reported famili similar cases in the United Kingdom. The delusion has informed has informally been referred to as Truman Syndrome.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

So not only studied in college for media ethics, but now psychiatrists are looking at this film to better understand their patients and how culture and media has affected people to fall under these delusions.

SPEAKER_03 18:45

Yeah. The basic story of a man unknowingly being forced to live in an alternate reality is identical to the plot of the 1959 sci-fi novel Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick.

SPEAKER_02 18:56

And if you guys don't know who Philip K. Dick is, he's a he's a prominent sci-fi writer from the 50s and the 60s.

SPEAKER_03 19:03

Yeah. Um, director Greta Gerwig consulted Weir for the inspiration for Barbie Land in the 2023 film Barbie with the idea of creating it as an interior soundstage world reminiscent of Seahaven in the Truman Show. And comparisons have been drawn between the Truman Show and Free Guy in 2021 with Ryan Reynolds.

SPEAKER_02 19:26

Pretty cool. So the effect that this movie has had on future movies being made, you know, 30 years down the line. Well, guys, we want to do a quick reminder of Philippians 2, 5 through 11. As we talk through these movies, we're taking a look at the hero's journey, which is uh the original hero being Jesus. And you can see the outline of Jesus' hero's journey in Philippians 2, 5 through 11. And the ultimate hero's journey that we are being drawn up in as brothers in Christ is into Jesus' hero's journey. But also to point out, Obi, how do we see ourselves in these movies? How do we see ourselves today walking through Truman's heroes journey and what aspects of this movie can we find in our own lives with our own families or our own vocations? So really powerful. Let's jump right in uh to the opening scene, Sea Haven. And the very, the very first line of the movie, what a start to a movie, Christoph states this powerful line, Obi.

SPEAKER_03 20:24

There's nothing fake about Truman himself.

SPEAKER_02 20:27

Yeah, and we've be we become bored, right? Uh, you know, which kind of gives you an insight into the journey that we're going to go into is we're going to go into a journey of uh a desire to be entertained. Uh, you know, gladiator, are you not entertained? The answer is no. We become bored and we want more entertainment. Uh, and the entertainment actually can numb us to where we don't even recognize that we're being drawn into the prison of Truman's world and and actually journeying through it. So, yeah, Kristoff says there's nothing fake about Truman himself, even though they've created this uh, you know, false reality all around him, that Truman himself is real. So I think that's pretty powerful. And you get to see uh, you know, the reality of the boredom, uh, that middle still on the left, many viewers uh leave him on all night for comfort. And now all of a sudden we have in our world today people that are sitting in bed with their Instagrams, you know, the doom scrolling into the wee hours of the night.

SPEAKER_03 21:30

And and and people that are really are, you know, streaming 24-7. There's this need to for constant validation, right? Um, so here we see that uh again, his best friend uh is telling him again, it's you know, talking to him. All the real you get a kind of like a glimpse of all the the the perfect world that he's surrounded with, and it's all fake. Um You know, the the the the perfect weather people uh the the steps of people being meticulously orchestrated, prodded placement, colors, everything forcing him, and it's all fake.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

You know, and I love this line from Marlin when he's looking into the camera and he's breaking through that fourth wall, kind of in an interview style, and he says it's all real, nothing's fake. But then he says the statement that brings out the way that Satan is at work in the world today. It's merely controlled. And Satan wants to sell the lie, he wants to deceive us, he wants to us to fall into the delusion that he wants to give us ultimate freedom, God wants to restrict us and control us, Satan wants to offer true freedom, but actually, it's a guise, it's a delusion underneath it. Satan wants control, you know. So I think that's so powerful on that that it's merely controlled. Well, poor Marlin's falling into the lie. Yeah. There you go.

SPEAKER_03 23:00

Uh, so we have, you know, one of the desires that he had was really wanting to go to Fiji. And we find out later why he wanted to go to Fiji. But as we find out, he's unable to get anywhere really because it's all a lie.

SPEAKER_02 23:16

Yeah. And I like the product placement there right in the beginning with the Kaiser chicken, you get the twin brothers, uh, and they back him into the wall so it can be in the shop perfectly, so they can sell more chicken. But they lie and they say, nice talking to you, Truman. When they didn't care about talking to Truman at all, what they were trying to do is get him in the shop for the commercial. You know, so even that right there, do we understand what commercials are doing to us? Commercials try and woo us into believing that they're talking to us as friends, but really they're trying to sell a product. And I think that's pretty bold and honest in the Truman show. So we thought maybe start off with Proverbs 16, 27 through 30. What are the dangers of boredom, Obi?

SPEAKER_03 24:01

We've become bored. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, idle lips are his mouthpiece, and evil man's so strife, gossip separates the best of friends, wickedness loves company and leads others into sin. The wicked man stares into space with pursed lips, deep in thought, planning evil deeds.

SPEAKER_02 24:20

Man, I thought what a what a description of Christoph.

SPEAKER_03 24:24

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 24:25

Is that not like a write-on description of Christoph with we've become bored? So I've come up with I've come up with something to, you know, entertain you and and give you purpose and meaning in life. And you can just see him kind of in the, you know, up in the moon, you know, you know. I love that though, with in space with pursed lips planning his evil deeds. So yeah, so let's go to the very first scene, Thalassophobia. We get our Greek word there of uh fear of the sea. Um, but I love that line. A little sea air will do you some good. So they kind of throw these, they they they jab him with these thoughts. You know, a little sea air would do you good, which is foretelling to you know the end of the movie, where he actually finally overcomes his fear, and a little sea air does do him good, it frees him. Uh, but at the beginning of the movie, it's meant to man just drive it as hard of his fear.

SPEAKER_03 25:18

Yeah, just instill, and then and not only that, just perpetuating it. Right. Just and so he's trying to go to to to Fiji. Uh, and uh, of course, you know, he chickens out because you know, he's he's obviously terrified. And I related a lot to that, I'm telling you, because I felt that I felt that way before.

SPEAKER_02 25:40

Well, and the way they the way they caress his fear, so like right at the very beginning, they come up with the fake idea to send him on a business trip that where he has to go on the water, just to make sure that his fear is even deeper, you know, uh, you know, in impressed on him. Uh, you know, and and he can't get on the boat, you know, at the very beginning. Then you get a uh once again, look at all the pot the product placement from the two closest people in his life, his wife and his best friend. I love this, just the product placement throughout. Hey, hun, look what I got you at home at the checkout. It's the chef's foul. He's like, and right away, he's like, What are you talking about? You know, what does this have to do with anything? And that might be a question that we might ask ourselves today, Obi, in our consumer-oriented culture where we are being driven to buy, buy, buy in order to fill empty spaces in our lives. Maybe we should stop and ask the question, what in the world are you talking about selling me all this stuff when I'm trying to have a real conversation with you?

SPEAKER_03 26:45

Well, you know what's crazy is that it our advertising has merged to this. You know, I I was looking on my Facebook the other day, and I'm going to say that about 75% of the people that I have on Facebook are at one point or another selling something. Yeah. Uh, and that's a lot. I was I was going down my feed and looking at the stuff, and it's it's just organic now where it's integrated into your life where now all of a sudden it's not even ads anymore. It's like, you know, now you have influencers, you know, girls with tight pants and stuff posting stuff about fake stuff that you can buy on Amazon to click their link. And it's to become like this.

SPEAKER_02 27:31

Now, and now they have AI that aren't even real women on on this uh, you know, Instagram app to try and lure men in to spend money uh to look at something fake. And you know, it just that's what's amazing about these scenes right here is not only have they made this fake world for Truman, but guess what they're doing? They're selling the audience that's out there watching the show fake stuff that they don't need, and they're drawing the audience into the fake reality also. So it's not only Truman that's being you know held in this prison, they're trying to bring the audience into the prison along with Truman in this false reality. And that's what I wanted to point out. Say, let's be aware of it too, because the audience is going to find out two things, really three things. I'll save the third one for the end. But number one, the audience is culpable in the lie because they're it's their entertainment and they're culpable in the lie. So we have to think about that ourselves as watching the movie. We're culpable in the false reality that's been created for Truman. But also then, we're being duped, just like Truman is, because of all the product placement, the subliminal messaging, we're going out and buying it, and we're being duped into the prison along with him. So it very deep.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

Very deep. Yeah. And really, it's they're exploiting him every every moment of his life. He's being exploited. Everybody is lying to him.

SPEAKER_02 28:59

Which means they're exploiting us at the same time. So, yeah, gentlemen, we're being exploited all the time. Uh, so he has this fear. Uh, and and the reason why I picked this one, you might think, you know, Obi, why'd you pick first John 4, 18 through 19 when we were discussing the movie with one another? Well, because he's not run into perfect love yet. And what is the anted what is the antidote to fear? According to scripture, the antidote to fear is true love, okay? Uh, which is perfect love in Christ.

SPEAKER_03 29:31

And this is out of John 4, 18 through 19. There is no fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear, for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.

SPEAKER_02 29:47

Yeah, and you just he's not receiving that perfect love from Christoph, from his wife, from his best friend, from the false reality that he lives in, and it's driving his fear because he hasn't. But by the end of the movie, we're gonna come back to that verse, OB, that same verse at the end of the movie. Because we're gonna see now that there is a perfected love that is driving him through his fear, actually empowering him through his fear. So here we go. Uh number two.

SPEAKER_03 30:15

Yep. It's a said, it's a show. Everybody knows everything you do, everybody's pretending. My real name is Sylvia. We begin to see fractures. We're we're we're starting to see um that it's the illusion is finally starting to crack, and he's beginning to realize that something is not right. You see that scene where he runs into his dad um out in the middle of nowhere, in the I mean in the middle of the town, uh, as like a homeless person, and then he gets carried off and whisked away, and everything's coordinated to keep him from finding out the truth, right? And and again, we see kind of the the red throughout there with gosh, what was her name?

SPEAKER_02 31:02

Lauren and Sylvia. Lauren's her Sea Haven name, and Sylvia is her real name. Sylvia. Real name is Sylvia, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:10

Kind of breaks through to kind of give him uh a little wake-up call, if you will. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:17

And I love what the to the the audience, the two gals in the Truman Bar, you know, they're watching the show and they're like, they got rid of her, but they couldn't erase the memory, you know, which is kind of the reality of, you know, anytime he begins to uh break through the false reality, they come and whisk that person away. You know, so they take his dad away, they take Sylvie away, uh, you know, and the devil will try and do that in our own life, try and whisk any sense of reality in Christ away from us to keep the lie running. You know, in the the college scene at the bottom left there, you know, where he's looking at her in college, looking at Lauren, Sylvia, and like really, you know, wow, she's pretty. You can see it in his mind. That's when all of a sudden Merrill falls on him. You know, and what I what I love about that scene is the lie of the devil, the the the deceit of the devil, the deceiving of the devil, it just kind of falls on us like a pretty girl.

SPEAKER_03 32:15

I'm sorry, though, and the exposition around, I'm sorry to fall on you like that.

SPEAKER_02 32:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:24

Uh anyway, so then we get to again, he he still he know that there's something, he knows that there's truth behind there, and you see him kind of this this this picture of him where he's you he's getting these magazines, and you're kind of wondering why he's getting them, and you've seen that he's trying to piece it together. I love what they did there.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

He's trying to trying to piece the truth together, trying to piece reality together, which is what we're doing with each other every Friday on these calls with God's word is we're piecing the truth together through Christ and through his word. And first John 3, 7 through 10 tells us a little bit about be aware of the fabricated reality that is out there in the world, uh, and and the and piece the truth together through Christ. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:14

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil. Because the devil has been sinning from the start, the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God's seat remains in them. They cannot go on sinning because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

Yeah, and I think that's really poignant, especially at the bottom, and we're going to come back to a couple other verses about what true love is. You know, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister, and let me ask this question. Yes, Truman is real, and Christoph is right, but in the false reality that they've created around him, does anybody in Sea Haven truly love Chris, you know, truly love Truman, including Christoph? And the answer is no. You know, so that's the that's the difficult thing to swallow in this film, is there is no true love. Uh, I like this. You were talking about references back to the matrix earlier, Obi. Here we are. There's glitches in the matrix, uh, you know, here. So there's glitches, you know. What's happening? What are those people doing back there behind the scenes in the the elevator shot? So we get some of the great glitch scenes right here, which I love.

SPEAKER_03 34:44

Yeah, I love, you know, the him him driving around and picking up the pre the frequency, you know, that he's being followed around. And then he kind of, you know, that moment where he's kind of got this kind of parting the Red Sea uh thing that he does. You see him do something like this in Bruce Almighty, kind of like that same pose. Um, and then the I called it the Wizard of Oz pulling to the curtain. You finally pull the curtain and see the you know, the dishelved actors in the back with you know the donuts and trying to, you know, trying to keep up the illusion and the effort, the effort that they go through to make sure that he understands the illusion, which we'll see later.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

Yeah, it's really great. And then that bottom right, you know, they're sitting there, that's Marlon again, his best friend. He says, Look, look at that sunset, Truman. That's the big guy, quite a paintbrush he's got. And us as Christian men, we would it would actually just wash right over us and go, Oh, they're talking. He's, you know, Marlon's talking to Truman about God, but he's not. Who's he talking about? He's talking about Christoph. Look at that sunset, Truman. That's the big guy, quite a paintbrush he's got. He's talking about the illusion and the delusion that Christoph has created for Truman. So, really powerful there on all of these glitches. And I thought this was a powerful one from 2 Corinthians 11, uh, masquerade and what the devil does in masquerading.

SPEAKER_03 36:16

Yeah. And I will keep on doing what I'm doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, their end will be what their actions deserve.

SPEAKER_02 36:43

You know, and I really see the relationship between Christoph now and all the actors in Truman's false world, right? So Satan himself masquerades, so why wouldn't all the other actors masquerade the same way? Uh, and you know, that is at work in our world today, so we have to be very cautious of that also. Um, and I love this one, detoured. Not a detour, but detoured.

SPEAKER_03 37:07

He it's not just a detour, he's detoured. He's detoured, and now he's beginning to he's beginning to sense that something really is uh wrong, and not just and he's not just being um oblivious to it. Now he's becoming intentional on finding out what it is and pushing the envelope to try to see if he can uh if he can break through whatever it is that's happening.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

So you see him go ahead. Yeah, it starts with that picture you were talking about earlier of him looking through their memories, you know, and he gets the magnifying glass and he sees the ring is on her wrong hand and her fingers are crossed, which means she didn't really marry him.

SPEAKER_03 37:45

Nope. Yeah. So then he's trying to go out of town, you know, and then you you see you see the posters, and I just love that there was also a terrorist poster, uh and it could happen to you, and it's got lightning on it. And I related to that, you know, because that that would have been me right there, the the heights thing, you know.

SPEAKER_02 38:08

I love that that I love that the uh travel agent comes out and she still has her makeup napkin on from being back faged, you know, and she goes, Oh, I got she has to rip it off real quick, you know, because she just got her makeup done. And if you didn't notice it in the the the movie, guys, look in that bottom left scene right there, his briefcase or his suitcase, his travel suitcase is that dark red color ominous, you know, about travel. And by the way, at the end of the movie, when he finally breaks free and he is able to to sail across the sea, he does not have that suitcase.

SPEAKER_03 38:42

Just try it.

SPEAKER_02 38:43

Yeah, everything's blue, by the way.

SPEAKER_03 38:46

And you know, it's mentioned here when he was when Sylvia was kind of talking to him, and throughout the movie, you start kind of shoot getting her perspective on on things. You kind of find out that you know, there are some people that don't really agree with what's happening. Um, and this this last shot um where the bus driver tells him, I'm sorry, son, um, you can tell that there was something there. And again, you see kind of like the red, um, you know, the red in his hat, the red in his tie. You see the red lettering. So beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

I think I think you point that out really well. The bus driver was the first one that was, you know, kind of genuinely sorry. Uh, we're keeping in there, and you could see that. So a really good. I love the scene in the left in the middle, the still on the left in the middle where he's trying to find it, you know, his wife, you know, following her, and he's gonna go to Fiji. But that scene where they're in there and they're about to operate on that lady's knee, and he actually puts the scalpel to her knee and the actress jumps up, they shove her face back down and put the mask on her, you know. So great. That breaking of the fourth wall is so awesome. Uh, you know, so even when we're detour in our life, and uh, you know, sometimes there are detours that are a part of what we go through, but other times, other times things get in the way, Obi, and detour us. I thought 2 Corinthians 4, 16 through 18 is really a great example of Truman's unshakable hope. Yeah, because even though he's being detoured left and right, he still has this unshakable hope that keeps him moving forward.

SPEAKER_03 40:23

Yeah. Um, therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

SPEAKER_02 40:46

And I think that very much is at the heart of Truman's character, you know, that he's looking forward to the things that he still hasn't seen yet, because he has this hope that there's got to be more, you know, beyond this false reality that he's living in. Uh, so this one, I love this. Spontaneous. Uh he you know, he's gonna be spontaneous now to break out of the false reality and cause some trouble. Whoops, let me go back. Uh, to cause some trouble. And these scenes are awesome.

SPEAKER_03 41:13

Yeah, because he realizes uh, okay, this is something's happening. Uh matter of fact, when he's telling her, she gets in the car with him and he's like, I'm gonna tell you something. Look, this lady's gonna pass by in a in a bike, and then this guy's gonna walk by, and then this little bug is gonna come by uh with a dent on it, and it happens, and so he's beginning to now take the take take the reins and push past the fourth wall, right? So he gets in the car with a great scene, by the way. It really there's a lot of comedic tension. I love it. Uh so he grabs her and he, I mean, he hits the car and begins to go on a loop, takes her, and expecting knowing well what was going to happen, goes and hits traffic again, right? Uh, and you see the the ridiculousness of the efforts that they put to keep him from finding the truth, right? From the traffic jam and all of a sudden to a forest fire, and then he pushes the forest fire and they up it. I mean, they really do up it.

SPEAKER_02 42:15

It's some kind of nuclear. Oh, yeah, the nuclear reactor. Oh, and and the the scene in the above right, you know, the above right still, they've got to cross a bridge, which he can't do. He's never been able to drive across the bridge. She goes, she says, Truman, you can't do it. So what does he do? He says, You drive, and he closes his eyes and makes her put her hands on the wheel and he just slams on the pedal. And it's his first attempt, like you see in all these heroes' journeys, right? His first attempt at you know, at the harbor island to get on the ferry, he can't do it. This is his second attempt to get over his philosophia, which he doesn't do himself, but he puts in her hands, but he goes further than he's ever gone. And then finally at the end of the movie, you see his third attempt, which he actually accomplishes on his own, uh, after kind of a uh a death and resurrection scene, which is really the three. It's the three again, yeah. Again, again, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:14

Uh so he's trying to go to Fiji, knowing well that there's something there and that this is not he knows what's gonna happen, right? And he takes off running on foot, and you hear you see the guys. I love the shot, the ridiculousness of these guys in hazmat suits trying to keep him from trying to keep him from going, and eventually, you know, they take him down, and you see him back home here in a little bit that he's he he didn't succeed, but he he was well aware of aware of it.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

And that's what happens with Satan and the delusion that he tries to create, the deception he tries to create in our lives. Uh, when we begin to break through it and we see through it, at the end, he'll just confront us face to face. You know, and that's where you get that scene in the bottom right. Truman, get back here, you know, and grabbing hold of him and actually pulling. Pulling him back into the prison. I've I felt that way at times in my life with the sin and the brokenness you know that are going on. So Luke 21, 14 through 16, Jesus himself talks to his disciples about the blessing of God's spontaneous spirit at work in them.

SPEAKER_03 44:16

Yeah. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand. How will you defend yourselves? For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.

SPEAKER_02 44:34

Isn't that in wow, that that that describes the entire movie? You'll be betrayed by wife, parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends. He's betrayed by everyone on the set. And at the very end, Christoph will go so far as allowing him to drown.

SPEAKER_03 44:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:51

To keep to keep the delusion alive. So how prescient is this scripture against what we're talking about, not only in the Truman show, but the way that the devil is at work in the world and the way that God's spontaneous spirit will give us the power, uh, a power, you know, a power of courage to continue to work through it. So here we come to the ultimate. We get this in the hero's journey in every movie, in every hero's journey, and in our own lives, there's a reality check moment where now the reality is actually broken through. There, the delusion is falling apart. There's actually a full-on reality check, uh, you know, which is pretty great here. I love the top left wing. Why would you want to have a baby with me? You can't stand me. He now recognizes his wife, his wife of all these years, actually can't stand him. No, and in the midst of that, she's trying to moco coco. How about some moco coco to calm you down, honey? He's like, What in the hell are you talking about? Excuse, you know, and that's what he says. He's like, I'm all on a commercial in the middle of me telling you, you know, you can't stand me.

SPEAKER_03 46:02

Yeah, yeah. Uh and again, this is I I I love this part whenever he's telling, you know, whenever his best friend is telling him, you know, I would never lie to you. That's the last thing that I would do. And then it pans over to the camera at the same time, and it's Christoph telling him exactly what to say.

SPEAKER_02 46:20

Telling him exactly what to say in his ear, you know. So it's Christoph, the last thing I would ever do to lie is to you, which Christoph has lied to Truman his entire life. His whole life is a lie. That's the irony. He's lied to him his whole life. Uh, you know, so really, really great there. I love right under that one. Easy on the fog, fade up music. He's like, I would never lie to you, but everything is a production. Easy on the fog, go to cream, go to camera green, you know, uh fade up the music.

SPEAKER_03 46:50

And yeah, that that's that's what I appreciated is the they show that they pan over to the to the guy on the piano, and he just crescendos the music, you know, and then the reunion and the and the shot, everything well orchestrated to bring this emotion, to bring people emotion so that they could buy everything in their catalog, the clothes, the uh articles, even the houses were for sale. That's what they said, right?

SPEAKER_02 47:16

And I see that scene on the bottom right, that's exactly what Satan's minions or his underdemons or his under tempters, like in in screw tape letters, the under-tempters come up to Satan and go, Congratulations, Christoph! Brilliant work, you've totally deceived them, you know. And what they're talking about there in that is him as a executive producer that not that he's brilliant, that that he's made Truman believe the delusion, but brilliant because he's made who fall into the delusion? The entire audience.

SPEAKER_03 47:54

I think is what they said.

SPEAKER_02 47:55

What a brilliant job! So, yeah, really good stuff, you know. And I love the wife's quote here. How can anyone expect me to carry on under these conditions? It's not professional. She never loved him. No, never loved him. Oh my gosh. And she was gonna have a baby with him. Heartbreaking. Because that it's it's crazy how far the lie will take some people. So manipulating machinations. What do you think of that for a title?

SPEAKER_03 48:24

I loved it. Do not be misled. Bad company corrupts good character. Come back to your senses as you ought. Do not lie to each other. Hold on, real quick, Obi.

SPEAKER_02 48:35

Is the lone wolf not more uh at risk of bad company corrupting good character? You know, if you're out there doing it on your own, man, it's it's gonna it's gonna be a problem, it's gonna be a challenge. But when brothers in Christ get together, guess what? If bad company corrupts good character, Obi, what does good company in Christ do?

SPEAKER_03 48:57

Builds character.

SPEAKER_02 48:58

Builds character, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:01

Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

SPEAKER_02 49:19

Wow, that just goes against everything about the Truman show and its production, right? Speak truthfully to your neighbor. He doesn't have one neighbor speaking truth to him. And it goes so far in this scene as lullaby. I love this. The devil is trying to lullaby with his lies and his false deception and false reality. He's trying to lullaby the entire world, and that's what I love by this, you know, this title lullaby, you know.

SPEAKER_03 49:48

So uh, so we this is the sad reality that you see once they start going back, kind of like the veil is pulled, and now we begin to see the machinations behind the scenes where you know you have the baby from birth that's being selected. Christoph is selecting, and I got kind of like this Garden of Eden, um, fake God, you know, creating his a man in his image. You know, he he was born exactly, he was looking for exactly what Christoph wanted. You know, he says the baby came on cue, you're not he was a preemie two weeks, two weeks early.

SPEAKER_02 50:26

For the start date that he promised for the show. So the the baby that he chose was based on the start date of the show being born.

SPEAKER_03 50:36

Yeah, oh my gosh. And you can kind of see as he's growing up with a microphone, you know, that they build this mega structure that's visible from space. They're that's I always think it's funny that they say visible from space.

SPEAKER_02 50:49

And if you if you look real close at that middle shot, this is pretty funny, you may miss it, but the dome uh that is created for Seahaven, if you look at that middle shot, it actually is a a false or or kind of a uh what do you call it, an illusion towards the Death Star. So it's kind of funny when you look at it, it's the Death Star.

SPEAKER_03 51:12

It's the Death Star. So I I love that part where it says uh where they said as as Truman grew up, we had to manufacture ways to keep him on the island, and then we kind of reveal the debts, you know, and the effort that that they go to to make sure that they keep his keep him a slave, basically. I love what they said. The legal the legal John said the legal liability of a Truman essentially being a slave. Yes, that's what it was. An invisible, uh, an invisible prisoner that you can't see, touch, or smell, as Morpheus said.

SPEAKER_02 51:44

Oh, which sounds a lot like the way that Satan works. So yeah, crazy. So to see that. So here's one breaking through the uh breaking through the lies. Here's Christoph himself in his own words.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

Oh, great. And then you know, this is a reference again to our what what was the series that we did before, right? Our worldview. Um, we accept the reality of the world with which we were pres we're presented. It's as simple as that.

SPEAKER_02 52:13

And that's his response as to why does Truman continue to believe the reality that he's living in? And it's because it's it's just simple. We we accept it. So Ephesians 5, 13 through 17 uh is the perfect scripture to go with what it means to be lullabied by the devil and awakened by Christ.

SPEAKER_03 52:33

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that is illuminated becomes light. This is why it is said, Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days of are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

SPEAKER_02 52:56

Yeah, really beautiful. So wake up, O sleepers, today, you know, not only from Truman, but also from our point of view as the audience, what we're culpable for and what we are being deceived into, you know, through the consumer-oriented society and culture that we live in, uh, trying to fill the empty holes in ourselves with stuff instead of with the living Christ. So pretty cool. Uh, then we see this scene free Truman. So there are some people that actually want him to be free.

SPEAKER_03 53:28

Yep. Um, and they do an interview, they interview Christoph. Um, and I think this is really the the really the one of the most sad lines um when she calls and he's talking to her and he says, I've given Truman the chance to lead a normal life. The world, the place you live in, is the sick place. If he was absolutely determined to discover the truth, there's no way we could prevent him.

SPEAKER_01 53:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:55

And and then he tells her, I think what ultimately distresses you, caller, is that Truman, and you love you like the way that he knew who she was, but he calls her caller, knowing well that who she was, um, is a Truman actually prefers his sale. And that was a really big, uh, really huge statement for us as men, right?

unknown 54:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:16

Do we prefer ourselves?

SPEAKER_02 54:18

This is probably, I think, then uh for Christoph, for the audience, and for ourselves, what is the danger of falling victim to your own delusion? Because Christoph, in those statements, has fallen victim to his own delusion, Obi.

SPEAKER_03 54:32

Yeah. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refuse to love the truth and be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth, but have delighted in wickedness.

SPEAKER_02 54:58

And Christoph is now, you can see he's fallen to the delusion of his own lie and is actually justifying himself in keeping Truman in his own prison with lies to himself.

SPEAKER_03 55:13

Yeah. And here we go. Uh the crescendo, right? The culminate escape, the great escape, the great escape. Um, you know, we they're looking for Truman and he's sleeping. Um, and find out that, you know, as as Christoph kind of has this uncanny ability, he knows Truman, he knows something's wrong, and he knows that. Um, and so he has them rewind the the tape and see that Truman is escaping and sees that he took off, he escaped. And for the and for the first time in 10,913 days, they cut the transmission because it's gone wrong.

SPEAKER_02 55:55

And Marlon can't can't, Marlon doesn't even know he breaks through the fourth wall, he doesn't even know that he's doing it, but on live stream television, he says he's gone. Christoph's like, shut up. So the lie is totally destroyed now. So yeah, alluding to the escape from Alcatraz, John put in there because he cuts the hole, uh, you know, and and and climbs through it. Uh, but they cut the transmission after 30 years. First time ever, which is really cool. Um, but Christoph's still at work, right? Yeah, that's our hero shot. And he actually does the he thinks he's manipulating it. He goes, like, hey, Truman's actually now got the the the bravery to be and the courage to set himself free, right? And even then, Christoph is is believing his own life. Well, let's this is our hero shot. We'll create it and and we'll keep him from escaping and we'll send the storm. And you get this great baptismal scene once again, yeah. Death and resurrecting scene, once again in another movie, a powerful baptismal scene uh where he goes under the water and is drowned, but he comes up and survives.

SPEAKER_03 57:07

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and he tells, and I like the line, is that the best you can do? You're gonna have to kill me.

SPEAKER_02 57:12

And basically, he I mean, basically, he died. You know, it's kind of a resurrection scene. Uh, so here we have the the coming back to then 1 John 4, 18 through 19, which we had at the very beginning. The antidote to fear is true love, and now his true love for the real world to break through the delusion, but also to get to Sylvia now gives him the courage uh to cross the sea.

SPEAKER_03 57:37

There is no fear on love, but perfect love cast out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.

SPEAKER_02 57:48

Yeah, and you kind of see the play on Sylvia truly does love him, and now he's making his move on that love uh that's out there. So, and then we wrap it up with the closing scene, which is the exit.

SPEAKER_03 57:59

Yeah. Uh, and I love this scene because you know, you get this kind of this shot of I kind of got this Moses um kind of shot, God speaking to Moses, you know, and he's like, Who are you? I am the creator of a television show.

SPEAKER_01 58:16

I know God dot dot of a television show. Want a light today.

SPEAKER_03 58:22

And then he says, Then who am I? Which is great. Again, uh it really speaks to us, right? Who am I? Who am I? Um, and then the that false, that false lie that he tells him, You're the star. There's no more truth out there than there is in the world I created for you.

SPEAKER_02 58:41

You know, and that when he says, then who am I? And he answers, you're the star. What I love about it is it breaks through the lie of celebrity because for Truman, being the star of a false reality and of a of a stream TV show is not real life. He doesn't want to be a star, he wants to be a real person, uh, which is really cool. So I think that speaks poignantly to us today, with now our influencer culture and everybody wanting to be an influencer and everybody wanting to be a celebrity and everybody wanting to have followers. I want to be a real man, you know. I want to have a real life in Christ and be a real husband, a real father, a real friend. I don't, you know, I don't want the lie of being a star.

SPEAKER_03 59:26

And I I love the way that it ends because it shows you how fickle um the world really is, right? So what else is on? Yeah, let's see what else is on. These these people have devoted years and years of their life investing and watching this show living their lives vicariously through Truman. And as soon as it's not there anymore, yeah, change the channel.

SPEAKER_02 59:53

We'll find something else. Yeah. And of course, we get another one of our threes at the top right, Obi, in case I don't see you again. Good morning, good afternoon, and good night. That's the third time in the movie that he actually shares that phrase and it's his exit out of the world. Uh and our our final, here's our here's our final biblical passage for the day from scripture, 2 Peter 2, talks about the cautionary tale ending. Now, the hold on, but the reason why we point this out, Obi, we have shared time and time again what is the greatest tragedy of the hero's journey. And guys, you may have forgotten this. The greatest tragedy there can ever be in a hero's journey is that the hero has gone all the way through his journey, come back to where he started and learned nothing. And that is, Obi, that is these two characters in the bottom right screen. They've been watching this show for 30 years. They followed Truman on his hero's journey for 30 years and have learned nothing. And that's what's so powerful about that. Hey, what else is on? Yeah, let's just turn the channel and move on. They've learned nothing, and that's the danger for us and our hero's journey is that we would learn nothing. Could you imagine Odysseus? You know, the Odyssey, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Odysseus is a king of Ithaca, he goes on all these great adventures for glory and fame and immortality. But then when he finally gets back home to Ithaca, there's this symbolic planting of the oars and a cross. He plants his oars and a cross in front of his home. And what it says is through my journeys, I've now learned that the greatest thing that I can do is be a husband, a father, and a king to these people, and no longer seek the glory and immortality of these great journeys. Could you imagine if Odysseus would have come in, kissed his wife, and patted his son on the head and say, Well, I've got to go again, and went off on another journey and learned nothing?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:58

So in our hero's journey, what are we learning in Christ? And that's what these verses speak about, Obi.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:04

Yeah. These people are springs without water and mist driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them, for they mouth empty boastful words, and by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entic people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom while they themselves are slaves of depravity, for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and they're again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true. A dog returns to its vomit, and a sow is wasted, what is washed returns to wallowing in the mud. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:56

Very end. I want you to say, hey, what else is on Let's Change the Channel? A dog returns to its vomit, and a sow that is washed clean returns to wallowing in her mud. Man. So very powerful cautionary tale there at the end. Uh so Obi, if you don't mind. Oh, oh, I had one more. I forgot this one. Obi, Hebrews 10, 26 through 27 is also a really good one. This is the last one for sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:18

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:32

Well, there you go. There you got your uh, you know, uh your coffee mug, heavy downer. Uh yeah. So, Obi, if you don't mind, share a prayer with us. And then for the guys that can hang on, we'll continue talking with one another.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:44

God, we thank you for your word. Thank you because it's still true today. Thank you because you never change. You're the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we ask you again, as we always do, we plead with you that we do not allow your word to fall into fears, that your word transforms us, and that we are not just men who stood idly by, but are men who the gospel compels to be men of action. Allow us to be men of action, not oblivious to the reality around us, but men who push, um, who push past our fears through you. We we thank you for everyone this year, and we ask that you continue illuminating our lives, lives in your name. We pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:28

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