Kingdom Living in a Crazy World

The world feels like it’s spinning a little more out of control every week. And we can feel it impacting our hearts. We are faced with a choice. Will we let our hearts turn cold, even though we know cold hearts don’t reach hurting hearts? 

Or, will we choose to stand firm and be bold, living a life of faith over fear and love over lashing out? Jesus followers + Bold hearts = world changers! 

Join our conversation about 'Kingdom Living in a Crazy World', and what it looks like to be a make-a-difference ambassador of Jesus Christ right now.

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Transcript

Star Wars Day Warm-Up

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Welcome everyone to Go Mad with Doug and Brad and Jesse. We're back. Today we are talking about Kingdom Living in a crazy world, if you haven't noticed. I'm not suggesting. I'm saying there are crazy things happening in the world right now. Wildly crazy world, but there's a way that we can be ambassadors. I have Kingdom Living. I'm going to talk about some very practical things here as we go forward.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

I love that, but first I have to ask a question. Did you schedule this uh podcast recording on May the 4th on purpose? This is what they call, I think, Star Wars Day. It is May the 4th be with you. Now, see, I would have said that. I was sitting actually with Jesse yesterday at lunch, and he can attest to this. I can't say that. Really? I was like, well, it's the combination. I was like, I was like, so what is it? Why it would May 4th Star Wars Day? And I'm like, oh, may the fourth be with you. I tried to slow it down. He really didn't. I was spinning tortilla chips, trying to say this. And then Brad's got like a shirt on that I'm pretty sure is breaking like a copyright link.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

I didn't make the shirt. You left to go to YouTube. The Jimberg department store uh had the Scoopy and Snar W Snar Wars? Great. Now you've it's catching.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

I'm not great.

Why The World Feels So Unhinged

SPEAKER_02 1:39

All right. So yeah. Moving on. You're right. There it is a crazy world. It really is. I mean, we may be living in the craziest time ever. Um I mean, Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Wait, I don't that's not exactly what I was referring to.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

But it's a good thing. Oh, it wasn't.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Okay, well, what about this? Yes. There are wars everywhere. There's political violence. We live in a culture where uh more and more folks label evil things as good and good things as evil, natural disasters all over the place, disease, mega weapons everywhere. Um yeah, it's a crazy world.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

It is. And we see every time we look around us, and that's why we want to talk about this today, and just an honest conversation, because we see that there are people who love Jesus that don't really know how to handle the craziness. It can hurt an ambassador's heart. It can really mess things up. And it can damage relationships. Uh there was this news article I saw just like last week. So this is really recent, where it said that two in five, now, two in five people have cut someone out of their lives, most often because of how conflicting views are handled. So you get angry, you feel disrespected. And this got even deeper because the survey found that 60% of Gen Z respondents had gone no contact, compared to 50% of millennials, but even 38% of Gen X, 20% of baby boomers. So it's happening everywhere that a response to the conflict, to the crazy is I'm not talking to you anymore.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Oh my word. Those are, I mean, these are family members. These are these are you know, I I remember when COVID hit and everything, this started to become a thing, and and then you know, who you're voting for and everything. But uh this has stayed a thing.

SPEAKER_03 3:30

It has and grown.

SPEAKER_02 3:31

I mean and grown. Is this a permanent thing in our culture now? And if you're listening to this, you're you most likely care that we are Christ's ambassadors, his representatives. Remember that that's what this podcast is all about. Is uh is what do we do? What what are the opportunities we have as Christ's ambassadors? Uh, how do we take advantage of them? And how do we be aware when um our ambassadorship is kind of being threatened? Not not a relationship with Jesus, but but being his representative. People, remember that scripture says that that we are being looked at as uh the ones carrying Jesus' name as if God is making his appeal. In other words, he's saying, I died on the cross for you, I love you, I died in your place, I want to have a relationship with you. Is our life saying that you gotta back up and go, Well, what am I filling my heart with? What's going on? Because out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks, we guard our heart because because everything we do flows from it, according to Proverbs. Uh so how is our ambassador heart being re uh being affected by this craziness?

SPEAKER_01 4:44

And that's we're gonna talk today about uh some ways, some practical ways to even do it's like an ambassador self-test. Oh, I like those looking at which way you're responding to things and uh also some ways to pray because you may be someone that's listening and you've had someone that's cut you out of their lives. Uh huh. They've cut off that contact, or maybe you've done that with someone else. It's not too late. That can be the chapter, not the whole book. So you can still kind of reverse course on some things and make some adjustments based on some of what we're gonna talk about from the word of God, including there's a direct announcement in the word of God that what we're living in is going to be happening.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

Uh, real quick, this self-test, are my cholesterol levels gonna come up in this thing?

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Uh though we'll post them online, but not talk about it. Fantastic. Yeah, they'll be in the comments.

The Warning About Cold Love

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Well, yeah, let's get into this announcement. It I was kind of thinking about the other day as we were uh talking about this. There are certain scriptures that kind of make you sit up straighter. Yeah. At least for I I mean, like where I back up, I back up the scripture bus. I'm not gonna go beep beep.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

I just Psalm 101 for me. Oh, Psalm 1013. That when you say that, it comes like I will set before my eyes no vile thing.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Oh man.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Because when I look at that, it's just like No vile thing, nothing. At first, it's like, okay, I know I need to not do that. And then all of a sudden I'm like, wait, when I look up what vile means, oh no. And so anyway, that's one. Jesse, you have one?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Well, the entire book of Hebrews. Oh great. Here's uh here's one example, Hebrews 4-1. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. And there's more where that came from.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

There's more where that came from.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

You're right.

SPEAKER_02 6:37

What like those scriptures, I'm gonna spit you out of my mouth. What about that one I when when Jesus says you did all these religious things, but I never knew you? All right, here's a big one. You're ready, because this is one of the most jarring in the Bible, and it and it specifically speaks to what we're talking about today, kingdom living in a crazy world. One of the most jarring in the Bible. Matthew 24 is where you're gonna find this. So Jesus' disciples, or how are we gonna know when it's the end times? How are we gonna know when things are winding down? Jesus says this. Well, you're one of the things is because of an increase in wickedness or an increase in sin, the love of most will grow cold. Um, and and this includes believers. So the translation, the love of most will grow cold. Terrifying statement. Translation, sin everywhere, which is what you you got, sin at our fingertips, on our phones, uh, it's everywhere. Sin everywhere causes love, compassion, devotion to God to go the way of the buffalo. Um His people will be or are less serious about how they view sin and the personal effect it has in their life. Sin will be everyday stuff. We get numb to it. Um it'll it'll kind of put us to sleep. We won't care as much. And you might be in that group if you're if uh you're listening right now. We're praying for you if you are. Um, but apparently, this is what we're gonna focus on. Uh all that sin around us apparently will give most of God's people a cold heart. A heart that's self-focused and scared. Because you're kind of you're you're battering down the the hatch, if that is actually how that phrase goes. I don't know. But did I get that right? I'm pretty sure. But you know, it's like okay. I've never been a pirate. So As for me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord. As for me in my house, we're gonna close the doors, man. Because I I I am we're scared of the world around us. Um and and this is at the worst possible time. Our heart grows cold, cold hearts don't uh don't reach lost hearts. That's what's so scary here. And a world never more desperate for Jesus in a world with more people than ever crying out for him, fewer and fewer of us who are supposed to be God's people are gonna care. Now that is terrifying.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

We almost get the uh it's almost like the Novokane heart, where it is we we get kind of numb when we're constantly bombarded by the things of the world. And we I like what you said there as far as the uh whether we're uh having these open doors or closed doors in our heart, are we going out to the world, or are we basically hunkering down saying, you know what, I'm tired of it. I can't handle this anymore. I'm just I it's just me and my family. We're just and instead of saying that, man, I'm not gonna let this cold heart, I'm not gonna let this numb heart continue, but I need to have a boldness and not a when we say that, we're not talking about there are a lot of people who would say online, they're like, I'm bold. I say exactly what I mean.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

Every time someone says they voted for someone I don't like.

The Ambassador Self-Test

SPEAKER_01 9:48

And I put a scripture reference with it, but it is not, it is not saying an anger or an unkind boldness. That's what we're talking about. The word of God still says gentleness and respect that we're supposed to give answers with gentleness and respect, but it's talking about being bold with Jesus. Yeah, yeah, that it that's so it. And I actually, if I I wanted to if I can dive into the first kingdom living self-test here, because you basically just said it, Doug. It's the panic or peace, or you could even say fear or faith. This is kind of the self-test. So when when we're talking about this, take a look at these as we go through this and say, how am I responding in this situation? And the first one really is are you responding to the world around us to the to the constant assault and bombardment with panic or with peace?

SPEAKER_02 10:40

Hey, those both that's alliterated.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Why did you do that? I do it mostly to I win dad's approval.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

No, I'm I'm still on Novicane Heart. That's so good. But I keep going. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

No, that's what it hit when you uh when you said that before. The so panic or peace, fear or faith? Yeah, because when we what we focus on quickly moves into our hearts, which quickly moves into how we feel about a situation, which then moves into how we react. So it's that taking every thought captive, but I love it in Proverbs 23, 26, where it says, Give me your heart. In Colossians 3.2, where it says, set your minds on things above, not earthly things. When I was reading some of the scripture the other day, and it just came up in my Jesus time, I was reading this, and I'm like, man, how many times do I let the thoughts, my thoughts where I don't take them captive, where I don't shift my focus to who Jesus is, how do I all of a sudden wind up going through the day where I'm grumpy, where I don't respond right to my family, where I'm where I'm viewing where news stories, I'll be scrolling through a news app, and it's just like, man, I just start feeling a certain way. We're supposed to be choosing the peace of Christ. Um, Romans 8 6. Letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

SPEAKER_02 12:07

That's a great test, man. I the I haven't thought of that. That that uh because how do you know? I mean, how do you know? It it it's like, oh no, I don't want my heart to grow cold. But that's that's why we've got this list here. Uh uh how do I recognize, and by the way, we're gonna get to the other part of the list, the bold folks. There's the cold and the bold, we're gonna get that in a second, but that's that's really good, man. Um when something bad hits, when bad news, something stressful hits, what's my initial response? Um what am I living in the that's right?

SPEAKER_01 12:40

I think the big challenge for me is John 14, 27, when it comes to panic or peace. Uh, it is uh do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. This is where Jesus says, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Exactly. It is a choice I'm making. How do I think about things and how do I respond to them? If I respond out of the panic, it makes me cold, it gives me that Novicaine heart.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

Check this out. I am I am going to uh uh move into this uh next point here that that has specifically to do with what you just said, Brad. All right. How about when we respond, is it lashing out or is it love? Um man, you get i i I think sometimes if we could have one of those little uh you know, we've got voice memos on our phone actually. Record yourself sometime during the day. I accidentally sent you one before.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

As you were coming here today, I'm accidentally.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Yeah, that's true. It was like a nine-minute I love that message from Brad. It it was just ruffling around in the pocket. Rustling around. Um but but uh you know, I think if we could hear ourselves sometimes, I actually heard my I'm not kidding about this. I I apologized to my wife the other day because I'm like, all of a sudden I could kind of hear myself and I realize I said, honey, I've been when something stressful comes up, I have been snapping, I've been um I not necessarily at her, but just just being impatient and and um uh that's that's could be a heart growing cold. You know, take the first Corinthians 13 test. Is it lashing out or is it love? If you want to know if you're responding in love, that is such we all know this, it's on a it's on every poster, Christian poster, but but read it, write that list, man. It's patient, it's kind, it doesn't keep a list of wrongs. So you've forgiven and you've moved on.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Hang on, I need to delete a note on my phone real quick.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

So yeah, lashing out on that.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

Actually, I I um it's interesting you mentioned First Corinthians 13 because we didn't talk about that, but I wrote down verses seven and eight. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and then love never fails. Do those you disagree with still feel protected when they leave? Oh, wow. Do they still feel like they can trust you when they walk away from a conversation? And do they still hear hope from you even on the worst days? No matter what the crazy world is throwing at us, do they still hear the hope of Jesus in how you respond to things?

SPEAKER_02 15:30

Wow. How do when when someone walks away from a conversation with you, what are they feeling?

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Uh, because John 13, 34, love one another as I have loved you. And Jesus says, Love me when I've been a real idiot. There's a soundbite for you. That's the original Greek. That's the original Greek. I've been an idiot many times, and Jesus says, Love me. Do I have the same love for others uh in that I come in contact with? Oh man. You got another one for us? Yes, I do. Uh so the uh are you focused on differences or are you focused on the common ground? Uh is where's your heart go to that? And that one's pretty straightforward. It is, do we spend time just saying, Well, I see how you're different, and that's what I'm gonna harp on? Or do you start by saying maybe it's words of affirmation for someone, especially when it comes as a parent to children? We uh every generation views differ. We get that. They that there's gonna be some things you agree up on and some you don't. You don't want to lose the whole cutting off contact. Do you want to lose communication with your children because they vote differently? Or do you want to keep those lines of communication open so you can still be a voice of influence in their life? So when you focus on common ground and have words of affirmation saying you're proud of them for something, recognizing an achievement that they've accomplished in their life, even if it's a different field that you thought they should go into, are you do you have those words of affirmation or are you only focused on the differences?

SPEAKER_02 17:06

When they are prodigal in is the most important time.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:14

To be to be finding things about them that you love. Um the instinct, the first instinct is to point out the things in each other, especially with our kids or or our parents that we disagree with, that are really annoying us, that are making us upset.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

Because I mentioned it from the parents to children. But it's really true. W if you're listening to this and you're a teenager or a a young adult or whatever, it does go both ways. That would that that does we need to not focus on don't just focus on how your parents are different. Look at where's the common ground, where are things that you can affirm in your parents as well. That's really good.

SPEAKER_02 17:58

Yeah, uh speaking of how we uh how we respond, I've I've got another one here. Yeah. Um unbridled emotion or unwavering calm. Well, that's alliterated too. More alliteration. Wow. I just want to be clear. I'm not sure I'm using that word correctly. We'll look it up later. We'll fix it in between. But I'm pretty sure it means uh two different words that start with the same. I think they're so and so yeah. Unbridled emotion or unwavering calm and all responses. If you want to know how you're doing here, check your social media. Um not just what you're saying, but your tone. Um, what you're writing. I don't use social media. Well, um, check your texts. Maybe recall conversations where you have disagreed with someone you love. Um ask a loved one.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Ask a loved one to hold how am I doing? Oh no. How am I doing projecting calm and peace? Brad goes. I'm not asking the question. I'm saying others should, because I don't want to know the answer.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

We were talking about this, and Brad goes, Are we having knee jerk reactions or being a jerk reaction?

SPEAKER_01 19:15

That is, yeah, we did that. I do like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

I got one more quick one here. Um, and then we we're gonna move into uh part two here about what it means to be bold and ways we can pray. Ways we can pray to to uh keep our hearts from getting cold, even and if they have already, um, how we can get back to to uh uh heart warm for people. So the question is Netflix versus neighbors. Uh a way to know if your heart's growing cold is is I mean, am I spending more and more time entertaining myself um where where I'm kind of unplugging from the world like we were talking about earlier, with um just kind of uh going inside and say I just don't want to deal with everything. Um look, I've got my Netflix Q. And by the way, I realized when I was doing these notes, I don't know how to spell the word Q. No, it's you'd think I thought it was just the letter. But there's like 19 consonants in this.

SPEAKER_01 20:21

That just the letter button.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Uh e you e. Anyway, uh it neither here nor there. But but um uh I'm asking myself, I'm serious. This is something I is a personal thing. Do I have my let's say my lost or hurting people cue? I mean, I've got my I got my list of things I can't wait to watch, and I have a plan for how I'm gonna entertain myself. Do I have a plan for how I'm going to comfort my hurting friend, my neighbor? Do I have a plan how I'm going to introduce Jesus to them?

SPEAKER_01 21:02

So good. I so there's your kind of self-test to start with. And and I I would just add this as before we move into the just kind of the praying and the boldness. How do you know if you're getting these right? Well, I would just say, what is the overflow in your life? I wrote down this. Uh, what's coming out of your heart? Because I wrote down this verse, Romans 15, 13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Are we overflowing with hope? So not a morsel.

Cold Or Bold In Hard Times

Five Prayers To Keep Love Warm

SPEAKER_02 21:37

Overflowing. No, that's incredible. Um now so that there's your example. We're about to get into here in the ways to pray, to keep a bold, warm heart. See, the i we talked about cold, but this verse uh there's like kind of the bummer part, and then there's the yay part. Um, because apparently while many are getting cold. There's also an explosion of the gospel here. Uh, many are getting cold. Some of God's people are getting bolder and bolder because um the scripture says they're going to spread, Jesus said they're going to spread the gospel of the kingdom as a testimony to all nations. We're going to get everywhere with the gospel. Then the end will come. These are the people who are going for broke, who go, I recognize the kind of world I'm living in. I recognize the way most people are being treated. As for me, I see what time it is on the clock. I see we're kind of in the two-minute warning here. Uh, I'm gonna clean the junk out of my life. I'm gonna become what 2 Timothy says, I'm gonna become useful to the master because that scripture says when we pursue righteous living, holy living, we become useful to him for to do incredible things. Um, I'm gonna get other people to Jesus. Look, we don't know when he's coming back, but but we do know that the world looks more today like the world Jesus said he'd come back to than maybe ever before. So um, so two groups, cold and bold. We talk cold. Let's talk about a few ways briefly here to pray. How we can pray to keep a bold heart, stay away from a cold heart. Um, you want me to start, Brad? Or do you? All right, so here number one, I'm praying this. As a follower of Christ, I'm praying, Lord, help me see what you see when you look at our world today. Remember Jesus sitting on that hill looking at Jerusalem, and he's in tears. If you would just turn to me, i your life would be changed. Help me see what you see. Um take every thought you brought this up earlier, Brad. 2 Corinthians 10 5. Take every thought captive and make them obey Christ. That that Hosanna song. I love when it got I I can't wait till it gets to that bridge. Break my heart for what breaks yours. Um you'll you do that. You ask you ask God to break your heart for what's breaking his heart. You'll find your thoughts more moving towards the lost, towards the homeless, towards the hurting. Remember, he said religion that I love that I find faultless is helping widows and orphans, people who can't help themselves. Your thoughts are going to start moving a lot more towards that versus what's stressing you out.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

I love how you phrase the second way to pray, Doug, because that's a great first way. And I love that you put pray the Zeke prayer. Uh Ezekiel, where he says, Turn this heart of his friends call him Zeke. Well, obviously. Uh turn the start of heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Oh. That is we need to be praying the same thing, that the Lord will just help us to. I I get it. I really do. Uh and Doug does too. I think Jesse does as well, where when you just are scrolling, and there's a reason they call it doom scrolling, because it you do get to me, it does leave me feeling a certain way. The more that you read certain things, the world's ending. Doom scrolling. Exactly. And so all of a sudden you're just left in a spot where we go back to the the heart condition, the Novocaine heart where it's just numbed. But God is saying, no, look, I can restore that, I can renew that even on the worst of days. I can give you this heart of flesh, but we should ask for it. And it's not even a bad day idea to start your day with it. Man, start your day with Lord. I'm challenging myself right now, where, hey, Lord, give me a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone this day.

SPEAKER_02 25:35

Remember that scripture? There's another one you you you land on you do not have because you do not ask. Just ask him for it. He wants to give it to you. Uh, real quick, when you pray that, give me a heart of flesh versus stone. How am I treating others that annoy me? Ask yourself that question. Um, so uh here's the third one. Pray you'll run to the battle and not retreat from it. For those of us who belong to King Jesus, man, you look around, it doesn't take long to figure out. It is a time to charge into the battle as his ambassadors, people who can make a difference because we have changed hearts and we want to see changed hearts. Not retreat from it. We're living like heaven is is uh our home and earth is just our hotel, you know, i it in uh in one way to put it. Um our culture loves aliens, right? Um it's in it's in everything. Go, hey, over here, I'm one. We're supposed to be we're supposed to look so weird to everybody, um, because we're the ones running into the battle instead of uh instead of away from it.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

The next prayer really ties into that, Doug. Keep going on that one because it it really ties into comes out of that the heart condition side of things.

SPEAKER_02 26:50

Aaron Powell Well, invite God to give you a heart exam. Uh this is um this is another I love this in Psalm 119 where where David says, you know, we we like to uh think we've got to figure it out on our own. But he says, actually, Lord, I'm inviting you, search my heart, go to every dark corner, because you know me better than I know myself. Go to every dark corner and see if there's any offensive way in me. I want to know what those things are and lead me in the way everlasting. The more your heart is in line with the Lord, the more you believe and live like, hey, God's got this in in the craziness of the world. Isaiah says, He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth. Get this, get, get this mental picture. This is this is incredible. Sits enthroned above the circle of the earth. Surely the nations are like the drop in a bucket. Um Psalm 11, 3 and 4. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord, there it is, is in his holy temple. The Lord is on his heavenly throne. And Brad, I have a feeling you've got the fifth way to the good one.

SPEAKER_01 28:02

Um it would just be ask the Lord, what do you want me to do? The exploding world leaves in its wake just a multitude of the injured, the broken, the bleeding all around us in these different groups of people. And when we don't have that right heart, when we haven't asked the Lord to show us what you want me to do, it can seem overwhelming, but God will direct you. I love what our pastor says a lot of times do for one what you can't do for all. Now you should try to do it for as many as you can, but start with the one. Start by not walking by that wounded person. You mentioned the neighbors before, Doug, prioritizing who's in your the gospel queue. I I think that's great, where it's just like who who needs me in this situation? And I would say that for me, the uh the when we talk about all these things, when we talk about the kind of ambassador self-test, and then when you talk about the ways to pray, I the thing that comes to my mind is in all these things, do the fruit test um along the way, not what's in your fruit bowl at home, are the bananas turning brown.

SPEAKER_02 29:13

I did that the other day at Walmart, and I got a lot of weird looks.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

No, they don't appreciate the bowl of watermelons. They don't like that.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

You told me that's how to test it. I know.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

I told you for a reason.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

What's the fruit test?

SPEAKER_01 29:24

What do you mean? Galatians 5, 22 and 23. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It's not a list that we're supposed to pick and choose from. That's all supposed to be part of who we are as followers of Christ. So take time to even look back at the things we've talked about today and say, where is it that I can be a better reflection of the fruit of the Spirit to those around me?

Urgency Without Fear

SPEAKER_02 30:00

Man, that list. That sounds a lot like the 1 Corinthians 13. Love list. Um, you know, just to kind of put a bow on this, yes, crazy times. Um it's tempting to go and retreat. It's tempting to go and lock the doors of your house and say, you know what, I'll I'll I'll leave my family, I'll we'll we'll do our thing. But um things are just too crazy out there. Um and people don't seem to care anyway. Why why should I care? Um look, whatever you're dealing with in uh fear um of what the future holds, uh no president, no prime minister, no army, no terrorist, they don't control the future. The Lord of history uh who according to Revelation is and was, who and who is to come the Almighty, he writes that. He writes the future, he writes the destiny. We've, as his believers, as as uh his ambassadors, we've placed our lives in those all-powerful hands. So we can watch the turbulent, the crazy news, read those crazy news stories, knowing that he's in charge. Um living, yes, with urgency, but not with fear. Um remember, and and we're gonna we're gonna wrap up here with this. Remember, Jesus went on to say, the scripture says, Matthew 24, and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So the call to boldness is this. Look, whatever whatever things I've been focused on, passions, this has been defining how I spend my time, my life, my money, my influence. If it's not gonna matter in heaven, it shouldn't be mattering very much right now. And if you really like how that sounded, that's a quote from Dad. Ron Hutchcraft, uh, if it if it isn't gonna matter in heaven, it shouldn't be mattering very much right now. So ask God how he would use you for his kingdom in such times as these, and then listen.

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SPEAKER_01 32:12

We pray this has been an encouragement uh for you today and a challenge as well in the areas that maybe that's needed. Uh, we would encourage you, please uh share this with a friend, leave a review, um, just get the word out about this because our goal here is not to have lots of downloads, it's to impact a lot of lives and to help people see how they can be better ambassadors for Jesus and the world around them. So thank you for tuning in. Thanks for being part of the Go Mad family. By the way, we don't mind lots of downloads. No, it's also that that's that's true. We don't uh we don't reject those. We're not against it, we don't send them back.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

So, what do you say until next time? Go Mad