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_05 0:16

Uh so we have a road map, and we are almost at the we can see the finish line that's gonna segue a right into um our retreat. It's almost like this was intentionally planned this way. Oh my goodness, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Yeah. Um it was it, it wasn't, but the Holy Spirit winded it that way.

SPEAKER_05 0:36

Yeah. I don't want yeah, I don't want to, I don't want you guys to think we're that advanced, you know. Yeah. Um, hey, so we're making our way. This isn't this is as Andy said earlier, this is one of his favorite, if not his um his favorite part of the 12 best practices, which is the four G's of heroic manhood. And I'll I'll I like that we always include heroic manhood because when we are in Christ, our story is a heroic uh story, right? Um, of redemption, uh, that hopefully is going to stir when you share with other people, other people towards Christ.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

So because we we talk all the time about the hero's journey, right? So in heroic manhood, all that being wrapped up in Philippians 2, 5 through 11. That our heroic journey is actually wrapped up in Jesus's heroic journey. And out of those four G's, we're gonna we're gonna talk about gospel, gratitude, generosity, and grit. And today we're gonna have time, hopefully, Obi, to cover the first two, and then next week we'll cover three and four.

SPEAKER_05 1:38

Hey, let's start with our first G, gospel orientation. So um, let's talk about what gospel is, right? A little some key terms, some definitions for you guys that um want to have all of this when you're writing in your notes. Gospel now, good news, glad tidings, uh, the message concerning Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God and salvation.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Or yeah, and I like how that, you know, so more specifically, it's the message of Jesus Christ, right? And the salvation, the radical redemption that he brings, which should be good news and glad tidings for all. Yeah, yeah, and we can't sell that as some kind of well, I you know, I'm well, I'm glad that happened. I mean, it ought to be a little more joyful than that, right?

SPEAKER_06 2:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

But it also has uh like practical implications in then uh how we find ourselves in the world and the way we live in it, right? Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_05 2:35

So it comes what is that word, evangelion or right?

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Yeah, getting your your Spanish Greek going there. What did we call that? Freak.

SPEAKER_05 2:49

Freak. Uh, orientation to ascertain and understand the bearing of one's position and direction within the world, a person's core beliefs, convictions, preferences, and assumptions.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Yeah, so before you go on, this is a really big one, guys. Do you understand your orientation in the world? And when we're talking about the four G's of heroic manhood, the first one, obviously, you're you're gonna be like, oh, yeah, of course, we want to talk about the gospel. But did you recognize or ever think or stop to meditate on the fact that the gospel actually orientates you, orientates you a certain way within the world? Right? So the gospel actually helps you ascertain and understand the bearings of where you stand and the direction in which you're gonna go, you know? So those core beliefs, convictions, preferences, and assumptions have practical impact in the way that we live our lives every day. And we constantly talk about being Christ-centered, right, Obi? But that Christ-centeredness then gives us an orientation within the world, not only to know where we stand, but to also understand where we're headed and how we're supposed to get there, what direction we're supposed to be walking. So when we talk about that, join the journey, join that hero's journey, there's an orientation to that journey, there's a compass to that journey. And that's what I love about this image. Uh, because a disoriented life, does anybody try and think of it this way. Does anybody understand what it means to be disoriented? What does it mean to be disoriented, guys? Think about that for our our guys that love to hike or are mountaineer or whatever. What does it mean to be disoriented?

SPEAKER_05 4:35

It can be the difference between life and death. Go, Chad, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

You're lost. You don't know where you are, and you don't know where you're going. Go ahead, Jeff. I know you want to jump in with some compass talk.

SPEAKER_04 4:47

Well, yeah. So that that is the everything that you have to base anything on is gone. So there's just there's there is no anchor point. It's you have you you are completely lost there, and and and it's not just that you're lost, but you're also like you have that feeling of dizziness and that feeling of I don't know which way is what, and kind of hope starts fleeting pretty quickly.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Yeah. So if you're in the dark, right, and you can't see, the word that people use is you start groping around trying to find walls or a door in order to let some kind of light in so that you can begin to see and and find out where your orientation is. Uh, but I love what you guys have brought up. You know, you you you're dizzy, you're lost, you get scared, you lose hope. And I don't think we necessarily promote or it advocate it this way, but uh Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit dwelling within you is your inner compass that orientates you in a very dark world so that you actually have light within you instead of groping around looking for it. And then God's scripture, God's word, Obi is the map, amen, in which we're traveling through this life following the map that God has given us, right? To not only know where we stand, not only know where we're going, but to understand better how to get there as men. So we have the compass, we have the map.

SPEAKER_05 6:14

Yeah. And that, you know, you were you you kind of went into our segue into our next slide about you know, some of these questions that that are so important that we need to know, that we need to uh answer, and and and really without Christ, we don't, right? Like things like where where we stand, um if we know our true equality, if we know true freedom.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

So think about these simple questions in the world today. People constantly are asking you whether you know it or not. Where do you stand on this? Where do you stand on this matter? Where do you stand on this subject? Where do you stand on this disagreement that's going on in the world? And do you know where you stand and why? Right? Is there actually a core of convictions that here's where I stand on this, and this is why? Even even if you're in a disagreement and having a loving relationship with somebody, you can still know where you stand and why. But we're hearing more and more that Christians are uneducated and unable to communicate why they stand in a certain position on a certain subject matter, Obi. So we need men that actually know where they stand, understand why they stand there, and can communicate that with others. And that's an aspect of heroic manhood.

SPEAKER_05 7:34

You know, amen. You know, and here recently our church really kind of took a hard look at what we who we are as a church, and our church kind of said, hey, listen, we are bringing people in, but there is no there's no discipleship, there's no um, there's no people don't know who God is, people don't know what their call is, which is alarming, right? Because there's some of these people that have gone to church decades and they don't know scripture, they don't know the Bible, they don't know God, who God is. So you get to these generic conversations that are just surface level and there's no intimacy, there's no discipleship, which is so important um to our relationship with God.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Because unfortunately, one of the things that we've done with church in North American culture is you come to church on Sunday, you show up on Sunday, you come to church, but it doesn't, it doesn't send us out with an orientation of where we stand in the world, where we're going, and how we're supposed to be walking there with others. So it's exactly what you're going at. And two of the key things that kind of come with that with heroic manhood is do we understand true equality and do we understand true freedom? Well, so we have a couple of verses that I think are pretty big here. Uh for heroic manhood to truly understand biblically true equality, Obi. We go to Romans 3 and we understand then here's what I want you to think about Romans 3. If guys, if you haven't thought about this before, this gives you your standing in the world before God and before others, and it actually defines and describes true equality.

SPEAKER_05 9:16

Here we go. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been known, has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

So, do you know where you stand? First of all, righteousness is given only through faith in Jesus Christ to those who are hanging on in desperation and trust. Like that's a heroic, manly thing to do is to desperately hang on to Jesus Christ, right?

SPEAKER_05 9:52

Yeah. Uh the this righteousness is given through Jesus Christ to all who believe that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the uh glory of God.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

There's some equality. So where do we stand? We stand on the same playing field as every other human thing. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Here's where you stand. I'm a broken sinner.

SPEAKER_05 10:17

Okay, go ahead. And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

Radical redemption, right? The radical redemption. So not only do we stand in equality with every other human being who is broken and sinful, but we also stand in this free grace that God's given us, redeeming us in Jesus Christ. Amen. So here's some orientation about equality in the world that maybe you don't hear in social media or on the news networks or whatever about what true equality is. Okay. Yes, we were all doomed. How about that? Yeah, yeah. We're all doomed, and yet now we all have free grace and salvation in Jesus Christ. It's been offered to all.

SPEAKER_05 11:07

And this is out of John 8:31 through 36. To the Jew who had believed him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him, We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say we will be free?

SPEAKER_01 11:29

So stop right there. No, go back real quick. I want to hit on this one real fast. So two things, real quick, that we want to be very clear about. I know this is hard for people in the world sometimes to hear, but apart from Jesus Christ, you don't know truth and you don't know freedom. Where do you where do you stand? Where do you stand on truth? Where do you stand on freedom? And the reality is, Jesus says that apart from me, you won't know truth and you won't be set free. Okay. And they go on, the Jews then go on and say, but we're Abraham's descendants. They base it on their genealogy, right? They base it on their cultural living. We've never been slaves of anyone. Well, they've forgotten that they've been slaves to sin their entire lives, and that what they think is freedom is actually a prison, self-righteousness, trying to save themselves. Uh, and I don't know that we recognize that in our self-aware and up in our own lives, that you know, what is it that you may think you're free, but you're actually a slave to? And we ask these same questions. Why do well, I don't know, I'm a pretty good person. Why do I need to be set free?

SPEAKER_05 12:39

Uh it's hard to reconcile because you know, we like to we like to relish in our accomplishments, you know, and and this and and this this part says I failed at that. Yeah, there I have no chance, right? So it's hard to reconcile that.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Yeah. Let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_03 12:59

That yeah, yeah, yeah. J just like uh something I was talking about with a buddy yesterday. I think we're so enslaved to social media and we're like frogs boiling in water, we don't even know it. Because half the people, if you say, Oh, it's not an issue, well, why don't you just delete it from your phone for a month? And how many people are actually gonna do it?

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

So, anyways, just a that's a whole nother conversation, but no, but that's how slavery is.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

I love that, Chase. Thank you for bringing up slavery, it's a slow burn, it's a slow boil, and then finally, all of a sudden, you don't even realize that you're dead. So, very much so, and that that acts acts a really great way, Obi, of um how we can not be self-aware of our own sin and brokenness actually leading us into further slavery because we think we're free, because the world defines freedom as getting to do whatever I want. That's not freedom, getting to do whatever you want is not true freedom. Being in a righteous relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, right? Transform brand new life, that's true freedom. And now, all of a sudden, that true freedom leads you into living in the way that God created you be as a human creature within the the world that He created for us to walk through. And now, all of a sudden, true freedom is living by God's design, not by what Andy Whaley wants. But people that that's not how people want to hear freedom described or defined today. They don't want freedom defined or described by the creator, they want freedom described and defined by the creature. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 14:42

Yeah. Um continuing, Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now, a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

So apart, uh, first of all, everyone who sins, well, who sins here? What did we just read real quick? Yeah, yeah. Everyone's so everyone has to come to an awareness and admit that they're a slave to sin and that the only freedom is through the sun. The only freedom is through Jesus Christ, and then you will truly be free indeed because you're set free through the one that brings that true redemption. So that is the orientation, right? Of knowing where you stand, knowing where you're headed, knowing how to get there, the compass alive in you, the map that God has given us in his scriptures to walk daily in Jesus Christ, right? So to understand then now, where do I stand in regard to equality and true freedom? Very different.

SPEAKER_05 15:53

They are. So, some final questions for you to ponder on. What does a daily intentional practice of a gospel orientation look like, sound like, and feel like in your life, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:07

That's a big one. Like, I hope that everyone that's on the call today is walking away, going, okay, what is today gonna look like with a gospel orientation? What is today gonna sound like out of my mouth? And what is today gonna sound like when I hear others speak with a gospel orientation? And then finally, what am I gonna feel like? And we're gonna hit that in a minute. Uh, Martin Luther, the reformer, said, you know what? When you're all when you are radically redeemed and living within a gospel orientation, it ought to change the way you feel, Obi. Right? So we're gonna talk a little bit about that, especially when we get to gratitude. Gratitude is a great emotion, gratitude is a great feeling, gratitude is a great attitude, gratitude is a great uh beattitude, right? A great behavior. Yeah. But it comes through that gospel orientation because it changes life from seeing it as I have to earn everything to oh wow, everything's already been given to me as a gift. Well, there's a difference right there. There's a difference in the way things look, the way things sound, the way things feel.

SPEAKER_05 17:15

It should be transformative. Yeah, it absolutely will be transformative. Um, do you know where you're going? And do you know how you're going to get there?

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Yeah. So some simple ones on that gospel orientation when you ask, Do you know where you're going? Well, I'm following Jesus. That's where I'm going, right? And do you know how you're going to get there? Well, I'm going to get there by following and listening to the scriptures and by walking with other brothers and by talking to the through the scriptures with one another. You know, I think about the road to Emmaus, right after Jesus had been crucified and resurrected, and you have those two disciples who witness his death. They're walking back, don't know that he's been resurrected, and they're completely disoriented because they thought he was going to be their savior. And now they're like, What do we do now? And they didn't know what to do until Jesus showed up and said, Hey, I thought you guys knew the scriptures. Didn't you know that they all point to me? And then they start walking with them, and he he lets out the truth of all scripture. And now all of a sudden, they understand the truth. And then all of a sudden, he breaks bread with them at the table, just like he did at the Lord's Supper, and they're set free from this their disorientation. And now they they have a gospel orientation once again on oh my goodness, we've got to go tell others. I know where we're going. We're following Christ to go tell others, he's alive. And we're going to get there by following the truth of the scriptures that all pointed to him. So I sometimes I feel like we're we're the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Obi, and we we are disoriented at times, and we need to be with the brothers so that we can hear Christ in our midst once again say, I'm right here, I'm alive. Don't you know that everything pointed to me? Yeah. So that's what we're trying to do this morning is bring about in men a heroic manhood of a gospel orientation.

SPEAKER_05 19:09

Amen. Well, Romans 1:16 through 17 says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Now, this is such a big scripture for Martin Luther during the Reformation and really transformed his life because until he ran smack dab into the scripture and had to deal with it, he was disoriented in the world. First is studying to be a lawyer, uh, got terrified in a score storm, cried out to St. Anne and said, If you know, if you'll save me, I'll become a monk. So he becomes a monk because he doesn't get struck by lightning and his terror, you know, he's terrified of the lightning. Well, he becomes a monk, Obi, uh, but then he starts reading scripture and he's terrified of scripture. He's terrified of God's law, he's terrified of being a sinner, he's terrified of never being righteous enough, and he's disoriented in the world as somebody who's terrified and has no hope. Just like we talked about what does disorientation do to you? Well, it brings about, you know, confusion, not knowing where you are, fear, a loss of hope. And he was right there in all of it until he ran into this scripture and found the beauty of the gospel orientation coming through Jesus Christ. But it had nothing to do with how good he was or what he could do, but it had to do with the beauty of God's grace in Jesus Christ. And this is what Martin Luther had to say about how Romans 1, 16 through 17 gave him not only a gospel orientation, but transformed the way he saw where he stood in the world before God and others, where he was headed and how he was going to get there, what the world looked like, sounded like, and felt like to him.

SPEAKER_05 21:12

Yeah. So this is uh from Uncle Marty. At last, meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I begin to understand that the righteousness of God is that is is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith. Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

There, there is what a gospel orientation is supposed to feel like. So think about that for just a second. Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and entered paradise itself through the gates of the gospel. That is a heroic man with a gospel orientation. No longer fear. Fearful, no longer with a loss of hope, but now you see this beauty of being born again and actually already living in paradise, even though it hasn't fully appeared.

unknown 22:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

That we're leaning into paradise itself through Christ.

SPEAKER_05 22:15

Well, I and you know, I relate a lot to this part that I'm about to read, and I'll tell you why here in a second. The whole of scripture gained a new meaning, and from that point on, the phrase justice of God no longer filled me with hatred, but rather became unspeakable sweet by virtue of great love.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

Great words, unspeakable sweet by virtue of a great love. There's a gospel orientation. And Obi, that is that an aspect of, you know, kind of your story and the transformation you've gone through.

SPEAKER_05 22:45

Oh, absolutely. Because that was me. I had I, because of the environment that I grew up in, I was filled with dread and terror of what was coming, you know, the end of the world, um, you know, the mark of the beast, the rapture, all of these things that just caused terror. Um, and it wasn't until that night, it was uh the summer before my senior year when I knelt down on the floor of my living room and I said, Jesus, I need you to transform my life. I want that. Uh, and my life radically changed that moment. And that fear went away because, you know, now I understood all of that, like it became real. I understood now what the cross was. I understood how that applied to me. And that's not something that I came out like on my by my own power. That was a Holy Spirit really blasting my heart and really transforming me. And and in this part right here, the gospel is nothing less than laughter and joy. I love that because that has become my life since Christ found my my heart.

SPEAKER_01 23:51

And this came from a guy that felt like you that was terrified and had no hope that he would ever be good enough and that he was condemned. And now he recognizes that righteousness comes through Christ. It's been given to him as a gift, pure grace and mercy. And now Martin Luther's gospel orientation was to say the gospel is nothing less than laughter and joy. But I think we got a bunch of men running around that we take ourselves so seriously, there's very little laughter and joy in our lives at times. And the guy, I'm I'm saying that about myself. I know I take myself way too seriously, and everything, everything in the world is too serious. And like, you know, we've got to get back to the fact that the gospel brings laughter and joy. Martin Luther used the Latin word hilaritas. I know we've talked about this before, which is where we get the word hilarity. Can you can you imagine that somebody used the word hilarious to describe the feeling of the gospel? Like hilarious laughter and joy, freedom, equality, now actually filling somebody that was terrified and hopeless.

SPEAKER_05 25:00

Yeah, that's hey, that's not a place where I would ever want to be, you know. And I don't know if I I don't know if I've ever told you guys, but uh I um it was really the back in '92, I think we went to Florida on vacation, and I heard my parents talking about blasphem people, you know, what read going over talking about the verse about blaspheming over the Holy Spirit, and that was being the unforgivable sin. And I went and laid down in bed that night and I was thinking of well, what that meant, you know, and and how terrifying that is. And in my mind, I cussed at the Holy Spirit, and I thought I was going to hell. That was four years from that moment until the Lord really found me. I thought I was going to hell. I lived in perpetual terror that I was never gonna see my parents again. I didn't want to ask them about it because it it was gonna, they were gonna say, Yeah, you are going to hell and it was gonna be awful. That is not a place, that is not the gospel.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

That's not the gospel. Yeah, so when we're talking about the first G of heroic manhood, what is the world desperately in need of today when it comes to men? It needs men that show up hilarious, right? Filled with laughter and joy, filled with a gospel orientation that has brought this hilariousness to their lives uh that comes through Jesus Christ. And that might not be the first thing that you you know thought you were gonna hear on a Friday morning about heroic manhood. But guys, we we got to grow and being hilarious with one another in the gospel. We should be, right? Yeah, we should be a little laughter and joy. It wouldn't hurt my day.

SPEAKER_05 26:32

No, you burn a lot more calories laughing than you do, frowning, guys. Just so you know.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Yeah, and it moves really well then into the second G that we have for heroic manhood, OB.

SPEAKER_05 26:44

Genuine gratitude, yeah, genuine gratitude, man. Let's talk about some key terms here. Um, genuine, being real, authentic, or exactly what it claims to be rather than fake, false, or counterfeit. Um, actually having the reputed or apparent qualities of character actually produced by or proceeding from the alleged source or author.

SPEAKER_01 27:10

Oh, I love so I love that last one, right? Uh actually produced by or proceeding from Christ, Scripture. There you go. So the genuineness of our gratitude isn't something that we muster it up on our own, Obi, but we find right away the genuineness of our gratitude flows from Christ to us and then through us out into the world. Yeah, and then actually get gratitude from Jesus. Yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_05 27:37

So, what about gratitude? Gratitude is a quality state of being thankful, readiness and intentionality to show appreciation for, as well as to return kindness to others, has far-reaching effects from improving our mental health to boosting our relationship with others.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

Isn't that crazy? So, uh, you know, for a lot of you guys, you may not know that September is suicide awareness month. And some of the things that we're talking about could be so important for some men that are living that lone wolf lifestyle, that lie, Obi, that are going through life without a gospel orientation, without hilarity, without the joy and laughter of the gospel, and without gratitude. Yeah, you know, and these are things that God has built into us uh through his son, through the Holy Spirit, through the word that actually can improve our mental health and boost our relationships with one another. Yeah. Gratitude, thankfulness, right? Yeah, actually give us better health and wellness. So there's some great scriptures though on the way that that begins. I love Psalm 100, so simple.

SPEAKER_05 28:44

Yep. Uh shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, worship the Lord with gladness, come before him with joyful songs, know that the Lord is good, he is who made us, and we are his, we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise his name, for the Lord is good, and his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

And I love the way that Psalm 100, you know, and then David in writing this connects a gospel orientation of gladness, glad tidings with thankfulness. Right? And that all of a sudden, all of worship, all of praise begins with gratitude and thanksgiving. And when it says, enter his gates with thank thanksgiving and his courts with praise, you that we think of that, I think geographically as a place, like church, right? Instead of the beginning of every day, the end of every night. You know, entering into his gates and entering into his courts uh is all day long, every day. It's not just a place that we go to on Sundays, but it's the position that we are in, once again, our standing in relationship with God.

SPEAKER_05 30:03

We are in a standing of constant gratitude, yeah, perpetual state of thankfulness, right? I love that.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

A perpetual state of thankfulness, yeah, really great. But that changes our perception of things.

SPEAKER_05 30:17

Well, Andy, and I really love how we always love these studies that people come up with, right? Research has linked uh gratitude with a wide range of benefits, strengthening your immune system, improving sleep patterns, feeling optimistic, experiencing more joy and pleasure, being more helpful and generous, and feeling less lonely and isolated. Um gratitude is the doorway into peace and contentment, which it's really funny because they're just like you know, something that we already knew that the Lord had already set a precedent for us to live a life, you know, to the fullest.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Yeah. And I think that to think that thankfulness, right, every day beginning with gratitude and thanksgiving might change the outlook of your day. Like that's a big deal.

SPEAKER_05 31:07

Yeah. I love this quote by Dietrich Bong Bonhoeffer. He says, in ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

Yeah, you know, we live in this transactional society, culture, and age where we're looking for a return on our investment. If I do this, I should get this in return. And actually, we've already been given so much, right? We've already received so much, but I don't think we stop and are aware of it sometimes because it's not what I need or want today. That's what I got yesterday. We're also, you know, this immediate gratification society. I want what I want now. And gratitude is remunerating, remembering, and giving thanks for all the things that have already been given. And we're not very good at looking back to yesterday and saying thank you for that. We're already looking forward to noon today and asking what is it that I need or want or desire for today, and moving forward towards that and hoping that we get it. Uh, so gratitude, it man, it makes life rich with great memory. It makes life rich with uh all these gifts that we already have, that we forget about how special they are. And when we remember them, they become special all over again. And I love that he says it's only with gratitude that life truly becomes rich.

SPEAKER_05 32:36

Yeah, and I think you know, it it widens the lens by which we view the world, right? Because I think I think sometimes we get uh so hung up, and I'm speaking this um from from it's something that that happens to me, uh, is that I get so focused sometimes on you know what I don't have, what I could have, and and not and and I have to think back and pray and say, Lord, widen my lens by which we I view all that you've given me.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

You know, throughout the history of Israel, when they're asking God to do a new thing and do this thing for them and do that thing for them, throughout the entire cycles of rebellion, right? Confession, forgiveness, redemption, and all these cycles that Israel goes through with God. And he's constantly saying, Remember my deeds of old and the things that I've done for you, because that might actually change the way you see tomorrow and the way you live it out, but they don't listen. Yeah, you know, and we we are still like that in our brokenness and our sinfulness today. And God has to remind us, remember all the gifts that I've already blessed you with. And then today might look a little bit different to you instead of all the things that you think you lack. Remember all the things that have already been given.

unknown 33:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

And that's a different outlook on life for sure.

SPEAKER_05 33:52

Well, first Thessalonians 5, 12 to 24 says, Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard and love because of their work. Live in peace with each other, and we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone, make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the spirit, do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all, hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, body be blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

SPEAKER_01 34:58

You know, I love the way that peace and gratitude are connected to one another in this set of verses that Paul writes to the people in Thessalonians. So peace and gratitude are intimately connected in Jesus Christ. And we are supposed to grow in that so that I mean this what a bizarre statement to say to each other on a Friday morning, hey guys, give thanks in all circumstances. Well, Paul was not always in the best of circumstances, Obi. You know, and here he is, he's saying, give thanks in all circumstances, because peace comes through gratitude and actually transforms your circumstance versus your circumstance oppressing or transforming you. And this is a very different look at peace and gratitude than the world sees. The world is engaged in its circumstances and situations and reacts based on those. Well, my circumstances aren't great, so why should I be thankful? But Paul's actually saying peace and gratitude connected to one another through the life that you have in your gospel orientation in Jesus Christ, actually transform your circumstances. Now, that's a heroic man, a guy that can transform his circumstances through his faith in Jesus Christ and the gratitude that comes from all the gifts that he's received in order to actually maybe, maybe, Obi, be the man that God has put in this hard circumstance.

SPEAKER_02 36:27

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

Because that's what Paul sees about himself is look, God keeps putting me in these tough circumstances because I'm his man. And guys, a heroic manhood is, I've been put in this circumstance by God because I'm his man. And I'm not on my own. I'm not doing this by myself. I'm filled with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and some really great brothers that I'm walking through this with. And could you imagine that possibly a band of brothers on a Friday morning might be able to talk about the gospel orientation they have in this life in Jesus Christ and the gratitude that we're filled with for all the gifts that we've already been given and that we might actually be the men that can go out and transform the day today instead of the day having its weight on us? Now, I want to walk out of the house like that more and more. Amen. Being God's man, put in these circumstances with a bunch of brothers that got my back to transform the day.

SPEAKER_02 37:26

Amen. That was great. That was great, Andy.

SPEAKER_01 37:31

Yeah, yeah. Well, it's I'm I'm praying for it. I'm desirous of it. I'm, you know, in the in in the old testament, it says it's okay to be jealous for it.

SPEAKER_05 37:41

Yeah. I I want that. I want I want my heart to be filled with gratitude. And it's and and it starts with uh it's in it starts with intentionality. We have to, we have to stop, we have to say thank you, Lord. We have to go back and look at these altars of stones where the Lord said, Remember this place, remember what I did for you.

SPEAKER_01 38:02

Uh which is why we're talking about it today, is like we have to be intentional about talking about it with one another because it's like everything else. Hey, did you write down your your did you write down your vision, mission, and values? No, but I know what they are. Well, what are they? You know, are you thankful? Yeah, I'm real thankful. What are you thankful for? Uh so we got to sit down and talk about these things intentionally with one another.

SPEAKER_05 38:26

So it's easy to forget.

SPEAKER_01 38:27

No, that we actually do it.

SPEAKER_05 38:29

So I was practicing this word yesterday because I this is a word that is hard for me to say. Gratitude is a paradigmatic shift. Like I said earlier. You did great uh in how we view, engage, and make our way through the world from bemoaning our own scarcity to living in and out from God's profundity. Who would have thought?

SPEAKER_01 38:52

Look at this is a huge, huge statement right here. I wrote this down years ago, and I'm still growing in it more and more, but this is a huge statement. Who would have thought that gratitude can bring about a paradigmatic shift in how you view, engage, and make your way through the world? And I talked about this more and more with Jen from bemoaning what I don't have to living in and out from what God's already given. It changes everything. And it goes to being the guy and the men that can go out and transform the day versus, oh, this day is going to be filled with the suck. This day is going to be filled with all the stuff that I don't have. And then all of a sudden, guess what? You show up to all the places that God wants you to be his man empty when you're bemoaning what you don't have. And you show up in your family empty because you don't, I don't think I have what I need. You show up at your workplace empty because you don't think you have enough of what you need. You show up at your church empty. Oh, I'm just, I, I'm here, I'm here to be fed. I'm not here to actually serve or walk in life with one another. You know, I just want to be anonymous and go to church and be fed. Right? So we show up all the time to different places empty because we don't think we have enough. And gratitude is actually the paradigmatic shift that says, you have more than you ever thought you could bear. You have more than you ever knew. You just don't remember it. You don't give thanks for it regularly. And God has filled us with gifts each and every day, like your breath, your heartbeat, the fact that you got up today, the fact that you're giving the opportunity to actually be on a Friday morning on a call. I mean, all these things are gifts. But we have been trained in this world and especially our culture, Obi, that everything I have in this life, I have to earn it, and I have earned it. And there is a huge shift that happens in our lives when we begin to recognize that everything we have is pure gift from our Father in heaven.

SPEAKER_06 40:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:00

Including the stuff that we think we've earned.

SPEAKER_05 41:04

You know, and and it is, and you know, I say this all the time: everything that has been given to us, that has been given to me, my house, my car, everything has been given with the purpose uh to make his name renowned, right? So that people may know how good he is, so that I can be open with all our resources, so that I'm not the guy that says, Hey, there's a need in your life, I'll be praying for that. But we're called to action and be somebody's daily bread, God's provision to somebody's daily bread through us with what we have. Um, what a quivable thing.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

Yeah, when you're you're you're hitting it right on the head when we asked earlier, what does it look like, sound like, feel like in your life to have a gospel orientation? Well, it sounds like a hilarious guy that's just thankful for everything that he has.

unknown 41:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:52

Right? Who loves it? Loves his. I mean, hilarious about his wife, hilarious about his children, hilarious about the home he's been given, the car he drives. Yeah, I love it. You're you're hey Obi, you're a pretty hilarious guy. That just calls me to action, man. Yeah. Uh, listing all those things, you know, we have this thing called the Apostles' Creed, right? And it has these three paragraphs of what we believe about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And uh Luther, being the guy that talked about, you know, if you have a gospel orientation that's transformed, you should be hilarious. You should be filled with gratitude. This is what he wrote about the first article of the creed in believing that God is the creator of all things.

SPEAKER_05 42:38

Um, I believe that God has made me and all creatures, that he has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife of children, land, animals, and all that I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this he does only out of fatherly divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this is for all this, it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey him. This is most certainly true.

SPEAKER_01 43:28

So, what is our duty in life? You know, duty, duty, what this big word duty, these are the things that I have to do. You know what your duty as men with a gospel orientation is to be hilarious and filled with laughter and joy because of all the gifts that God has given you. That might be a little bit different way, Obi, of thinking about our duty. You know, joy, laughter, gladness with one another, because the things that that Martin Luther listed are all the things that you just listed, Obi. And what part of our life is not pure gifts?

SPEAKER_05 44:00

From God, the answer is A, all of the above. I mean, right, yeah, and there's no other all of the above, guys. Um, gratitude is a paradigm paradigmatic shift in how we experience our everyday journey of face from constant anxiety and worry about the world around us to regularly celebrating true peace and contentment in Jesus, you know, and Jesus has something to say about that in Matthew chapter six, right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

He says, Why are you so worried about all these things? Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things come with it. Yeah, so what happens to a guy who is now in the midst of living in a gospel orientation? Well, all these things that we think we need or desire or have to, they all come with that. God brings those to us as pure gift. So uh Paul knew that, and again, in all kinds of circumstances, and Paul is the one in the Bible that has found the secret of what it means to be content. Yep, not filled with anxiety or worry, no longer scarcity, but now living in God's profundity, whether in jail or preaching on a mountaintop, it didn't matter.

SPEAKER_05 45:11

Yeah. Uh, so let's define contentment. Content, a state of peaceful satisfaction, alive lived in simplicity, alive lived in simplicity and elegance, being filled with joy and delight, regardless of circumstances.

SPEAKER_01 45:27

Yeah, so that kind of goes to the gospel orientation, transforming the circumstances that God has us in versus allowing the circumstances to transform what we think of God or who we are in Him.

SPEAKER_05 45:39

Yeah. Uh Philippians 4, 4-13 uh said, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 46:06

Now think for just a second. Paul is writing this from where? Prison.

SPEAKER_05 46:11

Not the Hampton. I don't know what fancy.

SPEAKER_01 46:15

Yeah, but I mean, you know, he he he he is trying to express that uh wherever he is, he's in that gospel orientation. Whatever circumstance he finds himself in, he's living in that gospel orientation.

SPEAKER_05 46:30

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I'm not saying this because I'm in need, for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

SPEAKER_01 47:00

So, and that that last line, you know, we see that on football players' faces and baseball players' bats and all this stuff. But we need to connect it to the overarching text there. That Paul is saying I can be content in all situations and in all circumstances in Christ who gives me strength because I am living in a gospel orientation, regardless of where I am or what my circumstances are. That radical redemption has transformed my outlook on life and the way that I behave. Now that's some heroic manhood.

SPEAKER_05 47:35

The context changes, you know, what it is. Yeah. Uh, so some key components of practicing gratitude. You know, begin each day recounting and affirming the countless good gifts we constantly receive from God. Daily acknowledge the role others play in filling our lives as God's blessings to us.

SPEAKER_01 47:56

Those are two really great things is constantly remembering what he's already given and then being thankful for the people that he's placed in our lives, which begins at home, but then makes its way into uh out into the world.

SPEAKER_05 48:08

Yep. James 1, 16 through 18 says, Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

SPEAKER_01 48:28

Yeah, so there's that life being uh a gospel orientation transforms our perspective on life from being the things that I have to earn to now celebrating the things that have been given freely as a gift.

SPEAKER_05 48:41

Yeah. You know, so much of our lives we spent taking things for granted rather than uh having gratitude, genuine gratitude over them. Right, so some questions for you today as we close out. Uh, who or what should you be thankful for at home? Who or what should you be thankful for at work? Who or what should you be thankful for in the world? And then why is practicing a life of gratitude so important?

SPEAKER_01 49:13

You know, and this this last kind of thought um is these are all positive perspectives when you're giving thanks, right? And you're filled with gratitude for these different things. And I think it's become normalized in our world today to be better at communicating what we're against than what we're for. Gratitude leads us into learning how to better communicate the things that we're willing to fight for versus just the things we're willing to fight against. And boy, the world could use some strong heroic men in Christ, but the gospel orientation that could actually communicate what they're willing to fight for.

SPEAKER_05 49:50

Yeah, and it, you know, and Andy, and it can change it, it can change the trajectory of your day when you when you start with gratitude. It can and it will change. And I hope, you know, I hope that that that kind of resonated with you guys. Um, you know, if you've been wrestling with discontentment, um, this is your call to really go back and really take time to express your gratitude, to look and and and and all the things that you are surrounded by. Um, I would say that if you have a house or an apartment here in the U.S., you're better off than I was reading 95% of people in the world. And so, and and it's not about anything, I mean, that's not like you chose to be here, like like you chose to be born here or anything like that. So, uh, without merit, as Martin Luther would say. Let us pray. And that our duty is supposed to be filled with joy and laughter. Amen. Amen. I I want us to be the to be known as people who rejoice. Lord, we thank you so much for your word. We we thank you so much for what all that you do for us, and we pray that you forgive our hearts when we are quick to forget of all the wonderful things that you have done. Uh and so I pray that you will stir our hearts towards gratitude, that you will open our eyes to see all the wonders, all the beauty that you've given us, and that you will be that you will transform us into people uh whose hearts are grateful, whose hearts are joyful, who are known as people of laughter, who are known as people who reflect your character, even in the most dire of circumstances. Transform our hearts. Uh give us open hands, give us open hearts, and open your eyes uh to your mercies that are renewed every day. We pray that you allow your word to transform us, that you allow us to be people who are not just people who read and listen and attend Zoom meetings, but who are transformed by the power of the gospel to go out into the world and be heralds of your love. We love you, and it's in the precious name of your son Jesus that we pray.

SPEAKER_00 52:11

Amen. Thanks for joining and listening. We hope that you were truly blessed. Now you can join the live call every Friday morning at 7 a.m. Central Standard Time, and please bring a friend. And to learn more about the MLC, visit our website at themlc.life. That's the MLC. Have a great day.