WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.960 And in Romans, it talks about that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in 2 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:08.960 the Holy Spirit. 3 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:14.960 So, if we were talking in terms of the DNA of the kingdom of God, we're talking about 4 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:21.920 righteousness, peace, and joy. 5 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:29.640 Hey everybody, welcome back to our podcast today. 6 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:34.000 Ryan Steyer, Executive Pastor of The Road, and I'm here with Dr. Steve Holt, Senior Pastor 7 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:38.600 and Founder of The Road, and we're here to talk about Habit One in Breakthrough Courage, 8 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:40.440 the new book that's out now. 9 00:00:40.440 --> 00:00:43.600 And there'll be a link in the description if you haven't had a chance to pick it up. 10 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:46.080 You follow that link and you can pick up a copy today. 11 00:00:46.080 --> 00:00:48.960 As we're jumping in today, Steve, this is foundational. 12 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:53.440 I mean, everything's really going to be pivoting from this first habit, and we're going to 13 00:00:53.440 --> 00:01:00.600 talk about what it's meant in our lives, how these people, as they dig in, as our audience 14 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:05.900 is going to dig into the book, the foundational pieces of seeking the first thing first. 15 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:11.720 And I'm reflecting on that, and I was reminded of the legendary basketball coach from UCLA, 16 00:01:11.720 --> 00:01:13.200 John Wooten, right? 17 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:16.960 And just this process that he would take all of his players through, it didn't matter if 18 00:01:16.960 --> 00:01:21.640 they were freshmen or they were returning seniors, and he would line them up, first 19 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:27.000 day of practice, first season, and he would go through the basics of how do we lace up 20 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:28.200 our shoes for the game? 21 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:34.840 And I think this chapter encompasses that concept of, you know, in the battle, in the 22 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:40.520 game of life, if we're not laced up with the very basics, we're going to flounder, we're 23 00:01:40.520 --> 00:01:45.500 not on solid ground, and how do we really accomplish all that's in our hearts? 24 00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:55.300 That's really true, because I remember my sophomore year at Clarkston High School in 25 00:01:55.300 --> 00:02:00.980 Clarkston, Georgia, with my gymnastics coach coming in for the first time, I had never 26 00:02:00.980 --> 00:02:08.500 done gymnastics before, most of the boys in that gym had not either, and he started with 27 00:02:08.500 --> 00:02:10.500 a front roll. 28 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:12.940 Here's how you do a front roll correctly. 29 00:02:12.940 --> 00:02:15.820 Here's how you do a back roll correctly. 30 00:02:15.820 --> 00:02:17.540 Here's how you do a handstand. 31 00:02:17.540 --> 00:02:23.180 And so he began with those basics, because everything flowed out of those foundational 32 00:02:23.180 --> 00:02:25.740 principles of being a good gymnast. 33 00:02:25.740 --> 00:02:27.020 And same with life. 34 00:02:27.020 --> 00:02:32.100 And if you recall, you're a swimmer, you were a collegiate swimmer, Ryan, and I have, in 35 00:02:32.100 --> 00:02:37.340 that chapter, the racer start, and the importance of a racer start. 36 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:46.020 Getting the shoulders, the head, your face facing the right direction, getting that jump 37 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:50.300 or that push-off after the gun, so important to everything. 38 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:56.860 And I think, again, I wasn't a swimmer, but it seems like you'd be doing a lot of practice 39 00:02:56.860 --> 00:03:05.180 on the racer start, and it's almost like in Matthew 6, Jesus is saying, here's what the 40 00:03:05.180 --> 00:03:12.180 world tells you, worry about this, be frustrated over that, panic over this issue. 41 00:03:12.180 --> 00:03:18.900 But I say to you, I understand that you need these things, but seek first the kingdom of 42 00:03:18.900 --> 00:03:23.060 God and my righteousness, and these other things will all line up, they'll all add up 43 00:03:23.060 --> 00:03:24.060 together. 44 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:25.060 Oh, it's so true. 45 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:30.820 And I love the analogy in the book, and relating to it, yeah, as a swimmer, one of the more 46 00:03:30.820 --> 00:03:34.620 complicated movements, and I'm sure you draw on something from gymnastics this way, is 47 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:35.740 the flip turn, right? 48 00:03:35.740 --> 00:03:41.380 And that's in the middle of the race, but I can tell you how many races are, I can pull 49 00:03:41.380 --> 00:03:46.820 back in memory, started off poorly because I had a bad start, and it is critical, and 50 00:03:46.820 --> 00:03:50.540 we spend a lot of time on just how to enter the race, and that's huge. 51 00:03:50.540 --> 00:03:56.180 And that tees me up perfectly, this quote that you have from a famed German poet, Johann 52 00:03:56.180 --> 00:04:03.220 Wolfgang von Goethe, the things that matter most must never be at the mercy of the things 53 00:04:03.220 --> 00:04:04.220 that matter least. 54 00:04:04.220 --> 00:04:05.220 Right. 55 00:04:05.220 --> 00:04:06.220 Man, it's so true, right? 56 00:04:06.220 --> 00:04:07.220 Right. 57 00:04:07.220 --> 00:04:08.220 I love that. 58 00:04:08.220 --> 00:04:09.220 Right. 59 00:04:09.220 --> 00:04:11.220 I mean, why do you think it's the opposite? 60 00:04:11.220 --> 00:04:17.940 Why do you think that, like, most of the time, the things that matter least are the things 61 00:04:17.940 --> 00:04:23.180 that we focus on, and thus we miss the things that matter most? 62 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:24.180 Why do you think that is? 63 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:27.500 Because I have a theory about that, but I'd be interested in yours. 64 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:28.660 We haven't talked about it, but... 65 00:04:28.660 --> 00:04:29.660 No, that's true. 66 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:35.060 Part of it, I think, goes back to the garden and kind of maybe the great deception of the 67 00:04:35.060 --> 00:04:36.060 enemy in our lives. 68 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:41.940 I think culture does a really good job being a distraction and trying to put the least 69 00:04:41.940 --> 00:04:46.780 of these in front of us with such a loud voice, and it's a distraction to pull us away from 70 00:04:46.780 --> 00:04:48.140 the things that do matter most. 71 00:04:48.140 --> 00:04:49.140 Yeah. 72 00:04:49.140 --> 00:04:54.900 So I think if you go back to the garden, because you referenced that, really what happened 73 00:04:54.900 --> 00:04:59.980 with the initial sin of rebellion against that command of God with the... 74 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.640 tree of good and evil and tree of life was shame. 75 00:05:03.640 --> 00:05:05.120 Shame became the result of that. 76 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:10.120 I think shame drives a lot of our decisions. 77 00:05:10.640 --> 00:05:14.040 I bet, and I didn't have a survey in the book about this, 78 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:18.680 but I wonder how much of negative issues in our life 79 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:22.040 are a part of our decision about our occupation 80 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:23.040 and the things that we do. 81 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:26.400 We're almost like trying to prove somebody wrong. 82 00:05:26.760 --> 00:05:30.760 We're gonna do something that kind of shows everybody 83 00:05:30.760 --> 00:05:31.980 who we are. 84 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:33.120 I think there's a lot of that, 85 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:36.680 and that's built around shame and competition. 86 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:39.000 And so to seek first the kingdom of God 87 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.120 and His righteousness, making the most important, 88 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:45.040 most noble cause of the universe, 89 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:48.000 our main cause of our lives, 90 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:51.080 takes the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit 91 00:05:51.080 --> 00:05:52.680 to give us the wisdom to do that. 92 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:54.560 Yeah, man, that's so true. 93 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:57.360 And I was reading this chapter, and again, 94 00:05:57.360 --> 00:05:59.800 had been reminded of John Wooten's practices, 95 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:01.880 but then I thought about the practical application 96 00:06:01.880 --> 00:06:04.000 as growing up as a boy, 97 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:08.680 granddad had a shed, tool shed, at the back of the yard. 98 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:10.380 And it's where all the power tools 99 00:06:10.380 --> 00:06:12.880 and all the cool stuff you wanted to get into as a kid, 100 00:06:12.880 --> 00:06:14.000 but you had to be invited in. 101 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.840 And I remember the first invitation I got from him, 102 00:06:16.840 --> 00:06:18.560 he took me to the shed, we opened it, 103 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:20.240 and he's like, point out the chainsaw. 104 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:22.280 We had talked about what we were gonna do that day, 105 00:06:22.280 --> 00:06:23.680 and he started with the basics. 106 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:24.960 He started with the first thing first. 107 00:06:24.960 --> 00:06:26.720 He's like, okay, this is where the fuel goes, 108 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:28.360 this is the gas. 109 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:30.000 And as I'm reminded myself, I mean, 110 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.440 the gas for the Christian life 111 00:06:32.440 --> 00:06:35.080 is the priority of the kingdom of God first 112 00:06:35.080 --> 00:06:36.520 and how we seek that. 113 00:06:36.520 --> 00:06:39.560 I love what you write here on page 16. 114 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:41.620 This is the priority of Jesus 115 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:44.320 and the first habit to break through courage. 116 00:06:44.320 --> 00:06:47.320 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. 117 00:06:47.320 --> 00:06:50.200 This is the most profound statement of the New Testament 118 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:54.480 and possibly even in human psychology. 119 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:57.020 Seek the highest and most noble thing. 120 00:06:57.020 --> 00:07:00.760 Realign your life around the most majestic goal 121 00:07:00.760 --> 00:07:04.860 of the universe and watch what God will do as a result. 122 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:06.900 So as we start to unpack this, 123 00:07:06.900 --> 00:07:09.240 I mean, really this first chapter is an invitation. 124 00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:10.940 If we're not already there, 125 00:07:10.940 --> 00:07:13.720 we've got to start at this starting place. 126 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:16.360 And then it makes the rest of the habits 127 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:17.960 in the book more attainable. 128 00:07:17.960 --> 00:07:18.980 I mean, as we look through, 129 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:20.820 and just a little bit of a spoiler alert, 130 00:07:20.820 --> 00:07:23.380 if you looked at two through nine 131 00:07:23.380 --> 00:07:25.500 and I'm thinking through this narrative 132 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:29.060 of if I have to operate and try to realign my life 133 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:31.500 and start to develop these positive habits, 134 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:33.260 but I don't have that foundation, 135 00:07:33.260 --> 00:07:35.960 I'm going back to the parable of the sinking sand, 136 00:07:35.960 --> 00:07:37.060 the rocky foundation. 137 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:38.220 I'm not building my life 138 00:07:38.220 --> 00:07:40.060 on the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ. 139 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:43.300 So therefore can I really sustain 140 00:07:43.300 --> 00:07:44.980 the habits that are gonna follow? 141 00:07:44.980 --> 00:07:48.300 Yeah, and Matthew 6 is contiguous 142 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:49.980 with the Sermon on the Mount. 143 00:07:49.980 --> 00:07:53.780 So the Sermon on the Mount is Matthew 5, 6, and 7. 144 00:07:53.780 --> 00:07:55.660 He says, seek first the kingdom. 145 00:07:55.660 --> 00:07:57.620 And then if we were sitting there, 146 00:07:57.620 --> 00:07:59.700 it was probably like 20 minutes later, 147 00:07:59.700 --> 00:08:02.980 he says, build your house on the rock. 148 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:04.820 Don't build it on the sand. 149 00:08:04.820 --> 00:08:08.660 So that is the point that what you're saying, 150 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:09.740 and you probably already know this, 151 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:12.440 but I'm just saying it because it's reminding me 152 00:08:12.440 --> 00:08:14.400 that I wish I'd written it in the book. 153 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:17.980 That the foundation is the rock, 154 00:08:17.980 --> 00:08:21.020 and that those are actually in the same sermon. 155 00:08:21.020 --> 00:08:22.500 So the foundation of the rock 156 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:24.780 is to seek first the kingdom of heaven. 157 00:08:24.780 --> 00:08:27.260 It's so good, and I love, 158 00:08:27.260 --> 00:08:31.660 you take us into this journey of your early discovery 159 00:08:31.660 --> 00:08:33.340 as a collegiate athlete, 160 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:38.200 and injury brings you to this precipice of, 161 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:42.020 I've strived in my own will, my own effort, my own wisdom, 162 00:08:42.020 --> 00:08:43.880 and now there's a real physical injury 163 00:08:43.880 --> 00:08:46.700 that I'm faced with, and how to navigate that. 164 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:49.760 And I think when we think about those moments 165 00:08:49.760 --> 00:08:52.600 in all of our lives, and I can certainly relate to, 166 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:56.580 there's this desperate moment that if we're obedient 167 00:08:56.580 --> 00:08:58.240 and we're really just acknowledging, 168 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.720 God lets us use that as a fulcrum or a pivot place 169 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:03.560 to step into something deeper. 170 00:09:03.560 --> 00:09:06.920 Walk me through a little bit about that around, 171 00:09:06.920 --> 00:09:08.820 and you talk about it in the book, 172 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:12.760 but as I'm thinking through building blocks, 173 00:09:12.760 --> 00:09:14.640 walk through kind of what was going through your mind, 174 00:09:14.640 --> 00:09:16.560 maybe even talk a little bit about the fear 175 00:09:16.560 --> 00:09:18.220 of a reality you were facing, 176 00:09:18.220 --> 00:09:20.840 and how you pivot into the kingdom of God 177 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:23.480 as the first thing for your life. 178 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:26.800 So I grew up very religious. 179 00:09:26.800 --> 00:09:30.240 My parents were very devout Lutherans. 180 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:34.780 My dad was a Lutheran pastor, very effective Lutheran pastor. 181 00:09:34.780 --> 00:09:39.080 So I was in church nine months before I was born, 182 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:41.680 and my mom was heavily involved 183 00:09:41.680 --> 00:09:42.760 with everything in the church. 184 00:09:42.760 --> 00:09:44.480 So anything to do with Sunday school, 185 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:48.160 if you guys out there that are listening to this, 186 00:09:48.160 --> 00:09:50.100 go to a church where you have a Sunday school, 187 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:51.400 then you know, 188 00:09:51.400 --> 00:09:53.580 because many contemporary churches don't have it, 189 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:58.340 but back in the day, you went to church on Sunday, 190 00:09:58.340 --> 00:10:00.240 and let's say the service started at. 191 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:08.800 10 o'clock. So you went to a 9am Sunday school. So mom would run all that. And then when you 192 00:10:08.800 --> 00:10:12.360 got to the sermon and the main parts of the church and all the administration church, 193 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:17.040 my dad did that. So anyway, I grew up in a very religious home, knew a lot of terms. 194 00:10:17.040 --> 00:10:24.120 So my head was full of catechism stuff, Ten Commandments. I remember memorizing all 66 195 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:29.440 books of the Bible and memorizing the Lord's Prayer, things like that. But my heart was 196 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:34.720 the same. It hadn't changed. I was no different. I mean, I was moral, I guess. I was a good 197 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:42.600 moral person at school, but I wasn't born again. So my freshman year, second week of 198 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:50.520 practice, I injured my left knee pretty bad doing a spinning move on floor exercise. And 199 00:10:50.520 --> 00:10:57.720 it looked like initially not good, like it might be over for me. Knees are really important 200 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:04.440 in every sport, but they're pretty crucial in all around. That was pretty demoralizing. 201 00:11:04.440 --> 00:11:10.800 I was kind of down. And it was at that time that a guy, a student, I remember his name 202 00:11:10.800 --> 00:11:17.560 was Bob Carter. So funny, the reason I remember his name is a few days ago, I was looking, 203 00:11:17.560 --> 00:11:23.880 I was kind of cleaning up my office. I have this one shelf that's all old Bibles. I mean, 204 00:11:23.880 --> 00:11:28.760 very old Bible. It's like 150 year old Bibles. Wow. Old Bibles. I was looking and I found 205 00:11:28.760 --> 00:11:36.320 that Bible, my confirmation Bible from my parents. And here's what was cool. It wasn't, 206 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:40.560 the Bible itself was pretty worn and torn and the cover was coming off. That was a cool 207 00:11:40.560 --> 00:11:47.880 sign that I used it a lot. But what was really interesting was what was in, you know, on 208 00:11:47.880 --> 00:11:52.400 a Bible, you have a few pages that are just blank. Yeah. Right. And I think those are 209 00:11:52.400 --> 00:11:55.680 for people to write notes. And like I said, that's how I've used them. All my Bibles I'll 210 00:11:55.680 --> 00:12:01.240 write special quotes, things like that. So on this one, I had up in the corner, the name 211 00:12:01.240 --> 00:12:08.840 Bob Carter, and then where I was meeting him on a particular day. So one day, at least 212 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:17.840 one time I wrote down in my Bible, 3 p.m. Bulldog Hall, Bob Carter. And I went, that's 213 00:12:17.880 --> 00:12:22.920 the guy. That's the guy who discipled me and first led me to the Lord, a guy named Bob 214 00:12:22.920 --> 00:12:27.920 Carter. So I went to LinkedIn and I put in, I don't know if this is the right way to put 215 00:12:27.920 --> 00:12:33.360 in Bob Carter, University of Georgia graduate, but nothing came up. So I don't know whatever 216 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:40.480 happened to this guy. But for a couple years, we were together at least once a week. Wow. 217 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:47.000 So he started discipling me as a new Christian. And I thought I knew a lot. Man, I didn't 218 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:51.960 know anything because I'd never really read the Bible. So what a, what a great time that 219 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:58.840 was in my life to start growing. Pretty big paradigm shift. I don't think anybody understands 220 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:04.360 until you've gone through it that until you really put your faith in Christ and you really 221 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:08.520 start following him, what a paradigm that shift is for your life. 222 00:13:08.520 --> 00:13:12.200 You know, you're sitting there and I'm putting myself a little bit in your shoes. You're 223 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:17.000 a scholarship athlete. You're looking at through the lens of, you know, maybe I'm going 224 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:24.200 to lose my, my scholarship here. Athletic careers, definitely hanging in the balance. 225 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:31.120 And there's this invitation from Bob Carter to come in and taste and see, experience. 226 00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:36.300 And so then the kingdom of God starts to get unpacked in your life. What you write here 227 00:13:36.300 --> 00:13:41.480 on page 19, kind of in the middle is that confidence is built and fear is driven out 228 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:45.720 when we have courage to line up our priorities under God's kingdom plan. 229 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:49.640 With that statement and using maybe a little bit of what was happening with you in that 230 00:13:49.640 --> 00:13:54.520 moment in college and kind of your athletic career, what's been maybe, or what was, or 231 00:13:54.520 --> 00:14:01.320 has been the one thing you would say has been the hardest place to pivot from or to find 232 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:08.560 God's kingdom? Essentially, what were you, was there one area in your life that was challenged 233 00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:12.800 that you found was maybe one of the hardest things to lay down under the true submission? 234 00:14:12.800 --> 00:14:16.560 I am going to seek God first and everything in his kingdom in my life. But there's one 235 00:14:16.560 --> 00:14:22.040 thing I do, I'm, it was just, you have a memory of maybe that was hard to lay down, or that 236 00:14:22.040 --> 00:14:26.160 was the one thing that you had to release the grip from, right? 237 00:14:26.160 --> 00:14:31.800 I think the number one thing would probably be, you know, women, you know, having, I was, 238 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:40.720 I was not overly promiscuous, sexually active, but there were a lot of opportunities to date, 239 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:46.680 like cheerleaders in the football team and some, some gorgeous women there at Georgia 240 00:14:46.680 --> 00:14:52.080 that were, that were friends of mine and wanted to have a relationship with me, but were not 241 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:58.680 Christians. So I could see the writing on the wall here, I'm away from home, no, no 242 00:14:58.680 --> 00:15:00.040 clear boundary. 243 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:03.320 is that I have to follow for the first time in my life. 244 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:08.560 And here's this field of beautiful Southern University 245 00:15:08.560 --> 00:15:10.800 of Georgia women. 246 00:15:10.800 --> 00:15:14.120 And I had to kind of decide in my heart, 247 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:16.040 I'm not going to go there because it's not 248 00:15:16.040 --> 00:15:17.480 going to turn out well. 249 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:21.080 So yeah, I had to put some boundaries on my dating life. 250 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:24.040 And so I just didn't date, basically. 251 00:15:24.040 --> 00:15:25.880 And I really didn't. 252 00:15:25.880 --> 00:15:27.840 And I'm not saying this for everybody out there 253 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:29.880 that's listening to this that you have to do this. 254 00:15:30.880 --> 00:15:35.720 It was pretty clear to me right after I really 255 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:39.160 came to know Christ that probably the biggest 256 00:15:39.160 --> 00:15:43.680 decision outside of becoming a Christian 257 00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:45.720 was going to be who I marry. 258 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:48.200 So it didn't take a rocket scientist 259 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:51.720 to realize that who you date is who you marry. 260 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:55.760 So if my standards are substandard on who I'm dating, 261 00:15:55.760 --> 00:15:58.560 then I'm probably going to marry someone who's substandard. 262 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:00.720 That was tough. 263 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:02.760 I'm not saying I did it perfect either. 264 00:16:02.760 --> 00:16:07.440 But I developed really cool friendships 265 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:10.200 with a lot of great Christian gals. 266 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:12.880 I wasn't interested in any of them. 267 00:16:12.880 --> 00:16:14.680 I think many of them were interested in me, 268 00:16:14.680 --> 00:16:16.520 but I wasn't interested in them. 269 00:16:16.520 --> 00:16:20.520 And so I just didn't take it to the limit 270 00:16:20.520 --> 00:16:25.400 where I would potentially compromise. 271 00:16:25.400 --> 00:16:27.400 But everybody's got their weaknesses. 272 00:16:27.400 --> 00:16:28.920 And so I felt like that was probably 273 00:16:28.920 --> 00:16:30.680 going to be a weakness for me. 274 00:16:30.680 --> 00:16:35.320 So I just didn't go there and focused on growing in Christ, 275 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:38.960 focused on gymnastics, focused on my academics. 276 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:40.720 And it really helped a lot. 277 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:43.280 Yeah, no, that's huge. 278 00:16:43.280 --> 00:16:44.920 You write here in the book, all sin 279 00:16:44.920 --> 00:16:48.520 leads in the opposite direction of the kingdom of God. 280 00:16:48.520 --> 00:16:50.240 To live against the kingdom of God 281 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:52.840 leads to wrong relationships, a fearful heart, 282 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:54.280 and a sorrowful life. 283 00:16:54.280 --> 00:16:59.280 Being pastors of a local church and engaging people, 284 00:16:59.280 --> 00:17:02.000 what would you say in the times where people 285 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:05.960 have wanted to meet with you and they bring their situation 286 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:10.200 where they're stuck, kind of the secret sauce 287 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:12.359 as you've understood it and the way you've lived it out 288 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.359 in your life in understanding and living out 289 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:15.359 the kingdom of God. 290 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:17.760 But what would you say has been maybe, 291 00:17:17.760 --> 00:17:21.640 if there's been a consistent theme of people seeking you out, 292 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:23.480 wanting to say, you know what, I see what you're doing 293 00:17:23.520 --> 00:17:26.200 in your life, I love the habits you've formed. 294 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:30.000 You know, is there been some one thing that you've seen 295 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.000 that's been kind of consistent with those requests 296 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:35.920 or people coming in to want counsel from you? 297 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:37.320 So you're asking the question, 298 00:17:37.320 --> 00:17:39.880 is there a theme in their lives? 299 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:41.840 Yeah, exactly. 300 00:17:41.840 --> 00:17:44.560 Where either one, you see them break through, 301 00:17:44.560 --> 00:17:45.840 so that's probably a two-fold question. 302 00:17:45.840 --> 00:17:47.880 You see them actually leverage it, break through, 303 00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:50.160 or they stay stuck and they're held back. 304 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:54.640 Yeah, well, I mean, it's a little bit trite. 305 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:57.200 I wish I had a really good chocolatey answer, 306 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:01.320 so my answer is kind of vanilla, but I think discipline. 307 00:18:01.320 --> 00:18:05.520 I just have to say that disciplined people 308 00:18:05.520 --> 00:18:08.200 do better in life in general. 309 00:18:08.200 --> 00:18:11.880 You know, you're not gonna find any successful CEO, 310 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:15.480 any successful mom, any successful athlete 311 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:17.600 that's not really disciplined. 312 00:18:17.600 --> 00:18:18.440 That's true. 313 00:18:18.440 --> 00:18:20.040 Well, I think in the Christian life, it's the same. 314 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:22.920 I think that when you start, you're meeting with someone 315 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:25.320 and they've got a problem in their marriage, 316 00:18:25.320 --> 00:18:26.880 and then you say to them, 317 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:30.240 you and your spouse should start doing this together, 318 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:32.760 and I think it'll draw you guys together. 319 00:18:32.760 --> 00:18:34.680 Well, a disciplined person, 320 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:36.760 they really want their marriage to work. 321 00:18:36.760 --> 00:18:38.240 They'll just do it. 322 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:40.480 But you can still have the same motives 323 00:18:41.520 --> 00:18:45.200 in another person who really wants their marriage to work, 324 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:47.080 but they're undisciplined. 325 00:18:47.080 --> 00:18:48.440 Nothing ever gets done. 326 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:50.040 They never change. 327 00:18:50.040 --> 00:18:53.320 Their spouse never changes because they're lazy. 328 00:18:53.320 --> 00:18:57.480 It's either laziness or just procrastination in their life. 329 00:18:57.480 --> 00:19:00.440 They can't ever seem to get over the hump, 330 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:02.080 so I think discipline. 331 00:19:02.080 --> 00:19:04.520 When I look at someone, I'm always looking at, 332 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:09.440 will you do just the next thing right? 333 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:10.280 Just gotta do the next thing. 334 00:19:10.280 --> 00:19:11.240 Like, I can't tell you how many times. 335 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:13.760 I mean, I think it was like 25 years ago, 336 00:19:13.760 --> 00:19:16.960 I changed my tune on all counseling, 337 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:20.680 and I said, you know, I meet with one person one time, 338 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:23.040 and I said, okay, do this, 339 00:19:23.040 --> 00:19:24.400 because of something that I said, 340 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.360 why don't you do this for the next 30 days? 341 00:19:27.360 --> 00:19:29.000 If you do it for the next 30 days, 342 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:29.920 it doesn't have to be perfect, 343 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:31.720 but pretty much you do it for the next 30 days, 344 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:33.680 I'll meet with you again. 345 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:35.440 But if you're not doing it, 346 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:37.920 it's gonna be the first question I'm gonna ask you, 347 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:39.320 then I'm not meeting with you. 348 00:19:39.320 --> 00:19:42.680 Why should I waste my precious time 349 00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:44.400 helping an undisciplined person 350 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:46.400 who won't do what I tell them to do? 351 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:49.960 There's too many disciplined people out there 352 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:51.440 that we should be spending our time with. 353 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:53.740 And then to support that biblically, 354 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:56.000 we're called to make what? 355 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:56.920 Go make- 356 00:19:56.920 --> 00:19:58.160 Disciples. 357 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:00.080 Okay, what's the root of disciples? 358 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.360 You know, it's discipline. 359 00:20:01.360 --> 00:20:02.360 Yeah. 360 00:20:02.360 --> 00:20:04.960 So it's go make disciplined people. 361 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:05.960 Right? 362 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:06.960 Yeah. 363 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:07.960 So that's what we're here to do. 364 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:08.960 And so I'd say discipline. 365 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:09.960 Well, that's huge. 366 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:15.320 You know, it's interesting discipline in the culture because culture makes life convenient, 367 00:20:15.320 --> 00:20:19.320 which I think then breeds or can tend to lead laziness. 368 00:20:19.320 --> 00:20:25.680 So there has to be things that happen to us in our lives that set us up for a move to 369 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:30.640 reshape and create these new habits we're talking about, changing from bad habits to 370 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:31.640 good habits. 371 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:32.640 That's true. 372 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:35.720 You know, I'm thinking about my own Christian walk and my Christian journey to say, you 373 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:39.080 know, I mean, I came to Christ. 374 00:20:39.080 --> 00:20:44.440 But then, you know, there were seasons where I practiced seeking God's kingdom first, but 375 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:49.320 there was, there were long droughts where, you know, I was saved by his grace and I knew 376 00:20:49.320 --> 00:20:55.480 that I was, you know, in the Christian community, but I was not practicing or prioritizing seeking 377 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:57.760 God's kingdom first. 378 00:20:57.760 --> 00:21:00.760 And I think it was the early inception of the road. 379 00:21:00.760 --> 00:21:04.320 We were starting to plant the road church and I was still in the banking career. 380 00:21:04.320 --> 00:21:10.240 And I remember, and I've shared this at some of our men's advances and encounters as part 381 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:15.720 of the testimony, but driving into work on the ways of the morning, I started to practice 382 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.960 this actually unintentionally. 383 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:24.160 I was seeking God's kingdom first at the beginning of my day because there was this desire that 384 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:28.360 I, uh, it was just this fire that was building in me and I was seeking, I'm looking at the 385 00:21:28.360 --> 00:21:29.560 dashboard of my life. 386 00:21:29.560 --> 00:21:33.680 I'm doing the measurements, the resume, looking at all the things. 387 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:38.880 And my prayer was simple, but I remember banging on the doors of heaven, just saying, God today, 388 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:43.600 please father me and everything that I need fathered in today and revealed to me your 389 00:21:43.600 --> 00:21:44.600 purpose for my life. 390 00:21:44.600 --> 00:21:45.600 Right. 391 00:21:45.600 --> 00:21:46.600 I remember you sharing that before. 392 00:21:46.600 --> 00:21:47.600 That was so good. 393 00:21:47.600 --> 00:21:51.640 And it was just, it was month after month, day after day, I would pray on the way into 394 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:55.440 work and just try and set my heart in the right alignment. 395 00:21:55.440 --> 00:22:00.160 And I'm really in that verse where Jesus is saying, you know, seek and you will find, 396 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.800 knock and the door will be opened. 397 00:22:01.800 --> 00:22:06.760 And you know, I'm just, I'm, I'm applying that scripture in my life, needing breakthrough 398 00:22:06.760 --> 00:22:08.520 in my own life and my own calling. 399 00:22:08.520 --> 00:22:14.880 So, um, I appreciate you sharing the journey of what brought you, you know, this, this 400 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:20.720 potential career ending injury, this guy, Bob Carter coming in and then you just kind 401 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:23.760 of hook, line, sinker, take going all in kind of burn the boats. 402 00:22:23.760 --> 00:22:24.760 Yeah. 403 00:22:24.760 --> 00:22:25.760 And that's really what we have to do. 404 00:22:25.760 --> 00:22:26.760 Right. 405 00:22:26.760 --> 00:22:29.760 I mean, where I've seen people stay stuck, uh, it's just that they're not really willing 406 00:22:29.760 --> 00:22:34.040 to burn the last boat, like they're leaving themselves an exit strategy, right? 407 00:22:34.040 --> 00:22:35.040 Yep. 408 00:22:35.040 --> 00:22:36.040 And I do that too. 409 00:22:36.040 --> 00:22:37.040 We all do that to a certain degree. 410 00:22:37.040 --> 00:22:42.440 I remember, I remember so many times thinking like, whenever, probably never going to, I 411 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:48.040 don't know if I'm going to meet anybody that's really a godly woman and I would want to marry. 412 00:22:48.040 --> 00:22:55.120 And then I just had to, I had to renew my mind quickly and say, look, Christianity's 413 00:22:55.120 --> 00:23:00.540 the, you know, it's still the fastest growing religion in the world. 414 00:23:00.540 --> 00:23:02.280 We're still having babies. 415 00:23:02.280 --> 00:23:07.000 That means a lot of people are getting married and God's the one who created marriage. 416 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:10.080 So I bet he's probably got somebody for me. 417 00:23:10.080 --> 00:23:15.680 So if I'll do the right thing now as a single person, I know that he's going to reward me 418 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:22.880 with a really awesome spouse and he did, but it was, but it was, um, six years later 419 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:28.600 after I came to know the Lord before I got married and, um, it just, now that I look 420 00:23:28.600 --> 00:23:35.000 back on it, I'm actually amazed when I look back how, how patient I was because it seems 421 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:40.840 like I should have gotten a little bit antsy about it, but I think I love being single, 422 00:23:40.840 --> 00:23:41.840 you know? 423 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:48.640 I was talking to someone this morning and saying, you know, Liz and I, we've loved every 424 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:54.000 phase and every season of our life of seeking the kingdom first. 425 00:23:54.000 --> 00:24:00.400 So there was a dating time, there was a dating season, seek first the kingdom. 426 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:05.680 Then there was initially getting married in the honeymoon and, um, starting to raise a 427 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:08.640 family seeking the kingdom in that. 428 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:13.200 And a big family, seeing them grow up and parent them seeking the kingdom then. 429 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:18.920 Now everybody's gone except for one, we're seeking the kingdom now during this time. 430 00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:24.880 So God wants us seeking first the kingdom of God, whatever our age, whatever season 431 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:25.880 we're in. 432 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:32.160 Well, Liz is an awesome woman, mighty lady of God, you've been blessed and you guys have 433 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:33.160 awesome kids. 434 00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:37.880 You've stayed in the hunt as parents united under a mission kingdom of God. 435 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:41.360 You can see that throughout your life. 436 00:24:41.360 --> 00:24:42.360 I would echo that. 437 00:24:42.360 --> 00:24:45.760 I know God has totally graced and blessed me with Mandy. 438 00:24:45.760 --> 00:24:52.600 She's such a great, excellent bride, better than I deserve, and has modeled God's kingdom 439 00:24:52.600 --> 00:24:55.240 in our marriage throughout times and encouraged me that way. 440 00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:56.240 That's right. 441 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:57.240 I love that. 442 00:24:57.240 --> 00:24:58.240 It's so great. 443 00:24:58.240 --> 00:24:59.240 It's awesome. 444 00:24:59.240 --> 00:24:59.240 445 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:03.160 I'll ask you about this, in the book you're talking about, 446 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:05.680 you write, only intimacy with the king 447 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:10.400 and pursuing his kingdom brings all of life into synergy. 448 00:25:10.400 --> 00:25:13.520 The kingdom of God brings the universe into unity. 449 00:25:13.520 --> 00:25:17.560 It's not the Marvel universe, but the kingdom universe, 450 00:25:17.560 --> 00:25:21.240 a united strategy of God for all of life 451 00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:22.560 and all living things. 452 00:25:22.560 --> 00:25:26.000 Thus, when you line up with ultimate life, 453 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:28.080 you are unified with the universe. 454 00:25:28.080 --> 00:25:32.560 And so there's this concept of a daily union, 455 00:25:32.560 --> 00:25:35.520 being in unity with God that brings alignment 456 00:25:35.520 --> 00:25:36.640 into our lives. 457 00:25:38.520 --> 00:25:41.120 When we pair that with his original idea 458 00:25:41.120 --> 00:25:44.280 and imagination for us, his beloved creation, 459 00:25:44.280 --> 00:25:49.120 this is a concept where, you know, as a Christ follower, 460 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:52.320 some people just don't get there. 461 00:25:52.320 --> 00:25:54.640 But when we do get it, 462 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:57.780 then it does make things align so much better and easier. 463 00:25:57.980 --> 00:26:00.700 I can think about in my life where I've tried to do things 464 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:02.500 with my own understanding and my own wisdom, 465 00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:04.580 and that's always a dead end street, right? 466 00:26:04.580 --> 00:26:07.140 But again, we're speaking to guys, 467 00:26:07.140 --> 00:26:09.500 we're encouraging the men at the church, 468 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:12.540 and then obviously all the families on Sundays, 469 00:26:12.540 --> 00:26:17.100 but how we grab this daily union and alignment. 470 00:26:17.100 --> 00:26:22.020 Talk to me a little bit about walking out this habit one 471 00:26:22.020 --> 00:26:24.500 in a regular expression, what does that look like? 472 00:26:24.540 --> 00:26:27.180 Well, I talk about the DNA. 473 00:26:27.180 --> 00:26:32.180 So the DNA in your body is what gives you your height, 474 00:26:33.020 --> 00:26:35.820 generally speaking, even your weight, 475 00:26:35.820 --> 00:26:40.180 your size of your hands, size of your nose and your ears, 476 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:42.500 and the color of your eyes, the color of your skin 477 00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:43.580 is all DNA. 478 00:26:43.580 --> 00:26:44.940 So I talk about in the book, 479 00:26:44.940 --> 00:26:47.940 two strands of the DNA of the kingdom of God. 480 00:26:47.940 --> 00:26:52.660 And in Romans, it talks about that the kingdom of God 481 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:57.300 is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 482 00:26:57.300 --> 00:27:01.420 So if we were talking terms of the DNA 483 00:27:01.420 --> 00:27:02.420 of the kingdom of God, 484 00:27:02.420 --> 00:27:04.980 we're talking about righteousness, peace, and joy. 485 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:07.980 Now that's important because that's what everybody's after. 486 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:11.620 They may call it success, they might call it power, 487 00:27:11.620 --> 00:27:13.300 they might call it achievement, 488 00:27:13.300 --> 00:27:15.260 all those things that are outward 489 00:27:15.260 --> 00:27:16.660 is what's gonna make them happy. 490 00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:20.780 But what they're really looking for is right relationships. 491 00:27:20.780 --> 00:27:22.740 That's what I think mainly righteousness 492 00:27:22.740 --> 00:27:25.100 is about, right relationships, 493 00:27:25.100 --> 00:27:28.940 peace, peace in your heart, and joy. 494 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:31.180 So I've never met anybody yet 495 00:27:31.180 --> 00:27:33.780 who doesn't want righteousness, peace, and joy 496 00:27:33.780 --> 00:27:34.660 in their life. 497 00:27:34.660 --> 00:27:39.660 So every human being is seeking after something 498 00:27:40.580 --> 00:27:44.940 that is characteristic of the kingdom of God. 499 00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:47.880 So to seek first the kingdom brings it all together. 500 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:50.580 That brings the whole thing together. 501 00:27:51.340 --> 00:27:53.180 So when we start seeking the kingdom of God first, 502 00:27:53.180 --> 00:27:56.460 we're lining ourselves up with the creator of the universe. 503 00:27:56.460 --> 00:27:59.940 And so his blessing being poured out upon us 504 00:27:59.940 --> 00:28:02.300 unifies everything in our body. 505 00:28:02.300 --> 00:28:03.340 It's just amazing. 506 00:28:03.340 --> 00:28:05.840 And we talk about that in the book. 507 00:28:05.840 --> 00:28:10.840 This idea that, especially I'm thinking of habit five, 508 00:28:10.920 --> 00:28:13.780 which is about solitude and meditation, 509 00:28:13.780 --> 00:28:18.540 and then habit eight, which is talking about working out. 510 00:28:18.540 --> 00:28:21.940 When you're peaceful, when you're joyful, 511 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:25.540 and you're consistently doing righteous things, 512 00:28:25.540 --> 00:28:30.540 you're actually activating brain cells that grow faster. 513 00:28:31.020 --> 00:28:32.260 They're more creative. 514 00:28:32.260 --> 00:28:35.140 We call it neuroplasticity in your life. 515 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:36.900 You just start to feel better. 516 00:28:36.900 --> 00:28:37.940 That's right. 517 00:28:37.940 --> 00:28:40.780 So you won't meet anybody out there 518 00:28:40.780 --> 00:28:44.620 unless they're just not playing with a full deck. 519 00:28:44.620 --> 00:28:46.700 But you're not gonna meet anybody out there 520 00:28:46.700 --> 00:28:50.020 who won't say, if you explained it right, 521 00:28:50.020 --> 00:28:52.900 yeah, what I really am looking for in life 522 00:28:52.900 --> 00:28:54.820 is righteousness, peace, and joy. 523 00:28:54.820 --> 00:28:57.620 So we were created to be Christian. 524 00:28:57.620 --> 00:29:02.620 We were created by God to be born again and to follow him. 525 00:29:02.660 --> 00:29:07.660 So for me, it was that reality of lining things up 526 00:29:08.540 --> 00:29:13.540 and seeing that I was just more at home with myself. 527 00:29:17.100 --> 00:29:19.940 With the world, with my relationships, 528 00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:21.860 by seeking first the kingdom of God. 529 00:29:21.860 --> 00:29:22.700 That's huge. 530 00:29:23.540 --> 00:29:25.820 Value flows out of identity, right? 531 00:29:25.820 --> 00:29:28.380 So you pen this in here, and this is, I think, 532 00:29:28.380 --> 00:29:31.100 a pivotal point when we think about 533 00:29:31.100 --> 00:29:33.940 the culture always imposing identity on us. 534 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:36.900 And that's where we derive our value as people. 535 00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:39.180 It doesn't matter, man, woman. 536 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:43.500 Like, we either have a poor self-identity, 537 00:29:43.500 --> 00:29:45.100 and then we flow from that. 538 00:29:45.100 --> 00:29:46.700 We base our value on that, right? 539 00:29:46.700 --> 00:29:49.260 But I think the opposite is also true. 540 00:29:49.260 --> 00:29:50.780 And you go on to write that, 541 00:29:50.780 --> 00:29:53.420 when we discover the loving intimacy with Christ, 542 00:29:53.420 --> 00:29:56.700 we develop new values, kingdom values. 543 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:58.740 What was sticking out to me was, 544 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:00.100 you write here at the end. 545 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:02.760 our outward lifestyle based on our new priorities 546 00:30:02.760 --> 00:30:06.040 begin to align with the universal purpose of life, 547 00:30:06.040 --> 00:30:07.720 which is the kingdom of God. 548 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:09.720 So we were designed to be Christians. 549 00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:12.160 We were designed to experience everything 550 00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:13.500 that you're writing about. 551 00:30:13.500 --> 00:30:17.400 And so when we step into the full knowledge of that 552 00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:21.560 with the creation, the strength, the value, 553 00:30:21.560 --> 00:30:23.840 the identity that we get to operate from, 554 00:30:24.800 --> 00:30:27.720 you know, I'm thinking about that's the constant ripoff. 555 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:30.040 That's where we see the challenge from the enemy 556 00:30:30.040 --> 00:30:34.400 consistently with the familiar, you know, 557 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:35.680 agreements that run through our mind, 558 00:30:35.680 --> 00:30:38.000 the narrative where the enemy's trying to hammer us 559 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:39.760 to tear that identity away, 560 00:30:39.760 --> 00:30:42.280 to separate the spiritual connection 561 00:30:42.280 --> 00:30:44.960 that then physiologically we benefit from. 562 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:47.600 I think you're saying this DNA, the kingdom DNA, 563 00:30:47.600 --> 00:30:50.720 we're more activated in our core and our spirit. 564 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:53.840 It's so hard, right, to shut the noise off 565 00:30:53.840 --> 00:30:56.020 in the culture that's always trying to rob us 566 00:30:56.060 --> 00:30:58.820 of our true creation, design, and identity. 567 00:30:58.820 --> 00:31:03.820 Yeah, I think it short circuits the power in our life. 568 00:31:03.860 --> 00:31:08.540 That's why PB&J, we talk about prayer, Bible, and journal 569 00:31:08.540 --> 00:31:10.780 is so huge here. 570 00:31:10.780 --> 00:31:11.820 That's the first thing. 571 00:31:11.820 --> 00:31:14.620 I think that's the first thing I learned 572 00:31:14.620 --> 00:31:17.820 about the kingdom, seeking the kingdom, following Jesus 573 00:31:17.820 --> 00:31:21.220 was what back then we call a quiet time. 574 00:31:21.220 --> 00:31:24.580 So the idea of a quiet time was read your Bible, 575 00:31:24.580 --> 00:31:27.900 pray, write things in your journal. 576 00:31:27.900 --> 00:31:32.180 Now, I've changed it to prayer, Bible, and journal, PB&J. 577 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:37.020 That's probably the one irreducible minimum 578 00:31:37.020 --> 00:31:38.820 that I would say in the Christian life. 579 00:31:38.820 --> 00:31:40.860 The irreducible minimum, in other words, 580 00:31:43.340 --> 00:31:48.340 what's the fundamentals of being successful at something? 581 00:31:48.380 --> 00:31:53.300 The irreducible minimum has to be one 582 00:31:53.300 --> 00:31:56.500 who gets up in the morning or the evening, 583 00:31:56.500 --> 00:31:59.300 opens their Bible, reads it, 584 00:31:59.300 --> 00:32:02.060 prays through what they're reading, 585 00:32:02.060 --> 00:32:04.160 writes down in a journal what they're learning 586 00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:05.540 or growing in. 587 00:32:05.540 --> 00:32:08.860 That's what sustained me. 588 00:32:08.860 --> 00:32:11.180 That's what I'm sure sustained you. 589 00:32:11.180 --> 00:32:13.580 You show me a Christian that's regular 590 00:32:13.580 --> 00:32:18.580 in their quiet time, or what we're calling here the PB&J, 591 00:32:18.700 --> 00:32:21.700 I'll show you eventually a successful, 592 00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:24.460 effective individual. 593 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:29.060 Yeah, that has been a huge catalyst in the daily walk. 594 00:32:29.060 --> 00:32:31.140 And even just my understanding of how we, 595 00:32:31.140 --> 00:32:33.860 physiologically, were designed to need that. 596 00:32:34.780 --> 00:32:36.740 It's kind of our operating manual 597 00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:38.500 and how it really does sustain us, 598 00:32:38.500 --> 00:32:40.780 secures us foundationally, 599 00:32:40.780 --> 00:32:45.260 even for the shaky environment that if we didn't have, 600 00:32:45.260 --> 00:32:46.100 man, I just think about it, 601 00:32:46.100 --> 00:32:47.900 if we didn't have the kingdom of God 602 00:32:47.900 --> 00:32:50.140 and weren't anchored to that, 603 00:32:50.140 --> 00:32:53.140 how rocky the terrain would feel right now 604 00:32:53.140 --> 00:32:54.980 in America, in the world, 605 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:56.220 with everything that's happening. 606 00:32:56.220 --> 00:32:59.220 And people who don't know better 607 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:01.980 or haven't taken the full plunge in 608 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:05.900 are anchoring their stability with world governments, 609 00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:07.980 American governments, the presidential thing, 610 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:09.460 like what happened in the last election. 611 00:33:09.460 --> 00:33:12.500 I know we've talked about internally, 612 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:14.860 regardless of who sits in the overall office, 613 00:33:14.860 --> 00:33:16.660 we know that we serve a God 614 00:33:16.700 --> 00:33:19.740 that's created an unshakable kingdom. 615 00:33:20.740 --> 00:33:22.020 Well, that's what Hebrew says, 616 00:33:22.020 --> 00:33:23.940 that it's an unshakable kingdom. 617 00:33:23.940 --> 00:33:27.620 Yeah, I mean, I've tested this now for 45 years 618 00:33:27.620 --> 00:33:30.300 and my goodness, it's still working. 619 00:33:31.420 --> 00:33:36.300 And I'm so pumped about the next 10 years of my life 620 00:33:36.300 --> 00:33:38.300 here, both at the road 621 00:33:38.300 --> 00:33:39.900 and in all the things that you and I do 622 00:33:39.900 --> 00:33:42.420 with men's ministry, writing. 623 00:33:42.420 --> 00:33:45.140 I mean, just all that stuff just gets me going. 624 00:33:45.140 --> 00:33:46.340 And I just love it. 625 00:33:47.020 --> 00:33:47.860 I love the adventure of it. 626 00:33:47.860 --> 00:33:50.740 I can't even imagine how people find fulfillment 627 00:33:50.740 --> 00:33:52.020 without Christ. 628 00:33:52.020 --> 00:33:53.460 I don't know how they do it. 629 00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:56.220 I don't see how you can stay married without Christ. 630 00:33:56.220 --> 00:33:58.300 I don't see how you can stay physically healthy 631 00:33:58.300 --> 00:33:59.460 without Christ. 632 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:03.220 I don't see how you can be mentally growing, 633 00:34:03.220 --> 00:34:07.740 mentally with even raising your IQ level, 634 00:34:07.740 --> 00:34:09.460 which we know can happen today. 635 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:11.340 You can raise your IQ level. 636 00:34:11.340 --> 00:34:14.699 I can't even imagine your relationships without Christ. 637 00:34:15.380 --> 00:34:18.340 For you out there that don't know Christ, God bless you, 638 00:34:18.340 --> 00:34:22.580 but there's just so much more that you don't have. 639 00:34:22.580 --> 00:34:24.100 And if you'll go after Christ, 640 00:34:24.100 --> 00:34:28.219 if you'll come after Him and surrender your life to Him, 641 00:34:28.219 --> 00:34:32.260 your life will, I'm not saying it'll improve 642 00:34:32.260 --> 00:34:34.420 by cultural standards, 643 00:34:34.420 --> 00:34:37.420 because there's so much, that's very complex. 644 00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:41.260 But I will say it'll improve internally in your life 645 00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:44.420 because you have the creator of the universe 646 00:34:45.100 --> 00:34:47.060 and the savior of the world living in you. 647 00:34:47.060 --> 00:34:49.900 I can't find anything close to it at all. 648 00:34:49.900 --> 00:34:50.739 That's a fact. 649 00:34:50.739 --> 00:34:53.620 Yeah, there's nothing on the shelves at the store. 650 00:34:53.620 --> 00:34:57.420 There's no news bite that's going to, you know, 651 00:34:57.420 --> 00:34:59.700 reassure me, refresh me. 652 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:01.660 as such the kingdom of God does. 653 00:35:01.660 --> 00:35:02.500 That's right. 654 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:03.680 Right in the daily walk. 655 00:35:03.680 --> 00:35:05.080 You write this about habit one, 656 00:35:05.080 --> 00:35:06.400 and I think this is great. 657 00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:08.920 As we enter into relationships around us, 658 00:35:08.920 --> 00:35:12.360 this is the great commandment for all of us, 659 00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:13.960 the great commission. 660 00:35:13.960 --> 00:35:17.400 Habit one is learning to love Jesus first and foremost, 661 00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:21.120 and loving our neighbors as we grow to love him. 662 00:35:21.120 --> 00:35:22.560 It is with the love of God 663 00:35:22.560 --> 00:35:26.280 that we reorient our heart toward our neighbors. 664 00:35:26.280 --> 00:35:29.760 We view them from our heart of loving God. 665 00:35:29.760 --> 00:35:32.560 His love flows through us to them. 666 00:35:32.560 --> 00:35:35.280 And I think there's a narrative out there 667 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:36.840 for the unbeliever, 668 00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:39.240 their perception of the church, the Christians. 669 00:35:39.240 --> 00:35:41.500 You write in here and even quote Gandhi 670 00:35:41.500 --> 00:35:43.720 about he loved the Christ of Christianity. 671 00:35:43.720 --> 00:35:46.060 It's the Christians that were hard to follow, right? 672 00:35:46.060 --> 00:35:47.220 And so, so true. 673 00:35:47.220 --> 00:35:48.740 That's so convicting. 674 00:35:48.740 --> 00:35:51.620 And as I engage personally with my walk, 675 00:35:51.620 --> 00:35:53.240 the kingdom of God, 676 00:35:53.240 --> 00:35:55.680 there's a narrative that I've tried to frame up, 677 00:35:55.680 --> 00:35:57.260 and that is, well, 678 00:35:57.260 --> 00:35:59.580 relationships and humanity can be frustrating, right? 679 00:36:00.420 --> 00:36:01.260 We've heard other people say, 680 00:36:01.260 --> 00:36:02.080 the thing I love about the church 681 00:36:02.080 --> 00:36:03.340 is the thing that's frustrating about the church, right? 682 00:36:03.340 --> 00:36:04.420 It's the people. 683 00:36:04.420 --> 00:36:06.500 But beyond that and deeper into that 684 00:36:06.500 --> 00:36:09.980 is this challenge that I work out with the Holy Spirit 685 00:36:09.980 --> 00:36:12.460 to say, I don't wanna get frustrated, right? 686 00:36:12.460 --> 00:36:14.420 I wanna stay fascinated. 687 00:36:14.420 --> 00:36:15.980 God helped me be fascinated 688 00:36:15.980 --> 00:36:18.580 with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ 689 00:36:18.580 --> 00:36:23.580 and to harness the kingdom of God as he loved his creation. 690 00:36:24.600 --> 00:36:28.140 That is something that we challenge the body with, 691 00:36:29.140 --> 00:36:31.220 being in a relationship with bloodstained allies. 692 00:36:31.220 --> 00:36:32.540 I know we'll get into that habit 693 00:36:32.540 --> 00:36:34.140 a little bit later in the book, 694 00:36:34.140 --> 00:36:37.800 but tying the connection of relationship 695 00:36:37.800 --> 00:36:39.420 and the kingdom of God, 696 00:36:39.420 --> 00:36:42.260 what have you found to be the most important aspect 697 00:36:42.260 --> 00:36:45.340 or where you've grown the most in relationship, 698 00:36:45.340 --> 00:36:48.460 leveraging kind of the kingdom of God's truth in your life, 699 00:36:48.460 --> 00:36:50.180 in your relationships? 700 00:36:50.180 --> 00:36:52.880 I think it's valuing people. 701 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:56.980 I don't think I had a level of value for people. 702 00:36:56.980 --> 00:36:59.380 People were kind of utilitarian to me. 703 00:36:59.380 --> 00:37:04.260 If they helped me, if they could promote my career, 704 00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:06.020 if they could make me better, 705 00:37:06.020 --> 00:37:09.740 if they could make me happy, then I had a relationship. 706 00:37:09.740 --> 00:37:14.740 But to see the value of the human being made 707 00:37:15.940 --> 00:37:18.900 in the image of Christ, to be imagers, 708 00:37:18.900 --> 00:37:21.660 they carry the image of God wherever we go, 709 00:37:21.660 --> 00:37:25.620 respecting life, respecting people, honoring people. 710 00:37:25.620 --> 00:37:27.540 That was pretty huge. 711 00:37:27.540 --> 00:37:29.140 I'm still learning that, 712 00:37:29.140 --> 00:37:31.460 but I've had to relearn it 713 00:37:31.460 --> 00:37:34.960 because of the tendency not to do this. 714 00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:38.380 But I think that relationally, it's valuing people. 715 00:37:38.380 --> 00:37:41.900 It's seeing how valuable they are, why they're important, 716 00:37:41.900 --> 00:37:44.100 and what a contribution they can make too 717 00:37:44.100 --> 00:37:48.740 if I'll pour into them, if I'll mentor and love them. 718 00:37:48.740 --> 00:37:49.580 Well, thank you for that, 719 00:37:49.580 --> 00:37:51.800 because I've seen the benefit. 720 00:37:51.800 --> 00:37:54.220 I've been in the benefactor of that position 721 00:37:54.260 --> 00:37:57.300 and been able to watch over this last decade 722 00:37:57.300 --> 00:38:00.660 just how well that is seated in your heart. 723 00:38:00.660 --> 00:38:04.660 And I think it's the way Jesus himself tells us 724 00:38:04.660 --> 00:38:06.820 as his followers that the world will know us 725 00:38:06.820 --> 00:38:09.740 by our own love towards them and back to them 726 00:38:09.740 --> 00:38:11.700 and the people around us and our neighbors. 727 00:38:11.700 --> 00:38:12.760 Super good. 728 00:38:12.760 --> 00:38:14.820 I'd be remiss if in this section, 729 00:38:14.820 --> 00:38:18.300 I didn't bring up the quote that you have from Pedro Arrupe. 730 00:38:18.300 --> 00:38:19.140 I love this in the book. 731 00:38:19.140 --> 00:38:20.060 Yeah, that's a great quote. 732 00:38:20.060 --> 00:38:21.500 Love this quote. 733 00:38:21.500 --> 00:38:22.540 And it was encouraging, 734 00:38:22.540 --> 00:38:25.180 and I tied a theme to this in my own life, 735 00:38:25.180 --> 00:38:26.000 but he says, 736 00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:28.460 nothing is more practical than finding God, 737 00:38:28.460 --> 00:38:32.900 than falling in love in a quite absolute final way. 738 00:38:32.900 --> 00:38:34.460 What you are in love with, 739 00:38:34.460 --> 00:38:38.140 what seizes your imagination will affect everything. 740 00:38:38.140 --> 00:38:41.460 It will decide how you will get out of bed in the morning, 741 00:38:41.460 --> 00:38:42.940 what you will do with your evenings, 742 00:38:42.940 --> 00:38:44.860 how you will spend your weekends, 743 00:38:44.860 --> 00:38:47.260 what you read, whom you know, 744 00:38:47.260 --> 00:38:48.500 what breaks your heart, 745 00:38:48.500 --> 00:38:51.540 and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. 746 00:38:51.540 --> 00:38:53.940 Fall in love, stay in love, 747 00:38:53.940 --> 00:38:55.740 and it will decide everything. 748 00:38:55.740 --> 00:38:57.620 And it's this idea, right, 749 00:38:57.620 --> 00:39:01.460 of God's just absolute benevolent love over us. 750 00:39:01.460 --> 00:39:03.980 He makes us curious as human beings 751 00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:08.440 and then invites us into this mystery of Easter eggs 752 00:39:08.440 --> 00:39:11.060 that he kind of leaves throughout his word in our own lives 753 00:39:11.060 --> 00:39:12.540 that we're to seek and find. 754 00:39:12.540 --> 00:39:14.960 And so for me, in the Christian walk, 755 00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:17.620 it's this commitment to stay curious 756 00:39:17.660 --> 00:39:21.060 about him and his kingdom and his plans for me. 757 00:39:21.060 --> 00:39:22.820 The Christian walk has been described 758 00:39:22.820 --> 00:39:25.380 as a long obedience in the same direction. 759 00:39:25.380 --> 00:39:27.460 It's this marathon pace. 760 00:39:27.460 --> 00:39:30.740 So staying engaged when it gets dry, when it gets dull, 761 00:39:30.740 --> 00:39:32.820 and we're still getting up and we're relying. 762 00:39:32.820 --> 00:39:36.260 I think the value, would you say the value of the habit 763 00:39:36.260 --> 00:39:39.020 is that we're still applying the discipline 764 00:39:40.180 --> 00:39:41.300 even in the dry times? 765 00:39:41.300 --> 00:39:43.900 Yeah, most definitely. 766 00:39:43.900 --> 00:39:45.700 That's why habits is so important. 767 00:39:45.700 --> 00:39:48.100 That's why we have nine habits here. 768 00:39:48.100 --> 00:39:50.060 That's why I feel so strongly. 769 00:39:50.060 --> 00:39:55.060 When I was studying fear, I began to study courage 770 00:39:55.540 --> 00:39:58.940 as an aftermath of looking at fear. 771 00:39:58.940 --> 00:40:00.260 Again, it looked like. 772 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.120 Like to me, that the most courageous people 773 00:40:04.120 --> 00:40:07.840 were people who are actually had built enough discipline 774 00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:11.960 and habits in their life that their quotient level, 775 00:40:11.960 --> 00:40:16.680 the level of their courage was pretty high. 776 00:40:16.680 --> 00:40:20.520 So they get hit with something that a death in the family. 777 00:40:20.520 --> 00:40:22.800 They get hit with losing their job. 778 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:24.440 They get hit with things like that, 779 00:40:24.440 --> 00:40:26.900 not small things, but big things. 780 00:40:26.900 --> 00:40:31.060 They were able to weather it pretty easily, 781 00:40:31.060 --> 00:40:32.780 not that big of a deal. 782 00:40:32.780 --> 00:40:33.780 Yeah. 783 00:40:33.780 --> 00:40:35.580 I mean, certainly we go through times 784 00:40:35.580 --> 00:40:40.580 that give us a jolt that is super hard, 785 00:40:40.660 --> 00:40:42.260 but they always rally back. 786 00:40:42.260 --> 00:40:43.980 Those kind of people rally back 787 00:40:43.980 --> 00:40:46.180 because they were already incorporating 788 00:40:46.180 --> 00:40:48.660 the habits of courage into their life. 789 00:40:48.660 --> 00:40:50.580 And that's what those nine habits are all about. 790 00:40:50.580 --> 00:40:51.400 It's huge. 791 00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:53.340 These are there so that when things come 792 00:40:53.340 --> 00:40:57.260 and they're going to come that shock us and surprise us, 793 00:40:57.260 --> 00:40:58.900 we're not gonna let fear take over 794 00:40:58.900 --> 00:41:02.660 because we have this courage 795 00:41:02.660 --> 00:41:04.980 that really is the fabric of our lives 796 00:41:04.980 --> 00:41:07.240 for years and years in the past. 797 00:41:07.240 --> 00:41:10.740 So we're ready when those fears come our way. 798 00:41:10.740 --> 00:41:13.460 Well, I can completely align and agree 799 00:41:13.460 --> 00:41:17.660 with that the only times I have experienced true peace, 800 00:41:17.660 --> 00:41:20.220 true joy, and true righteousness 801 00:41:20.220 --> 00:41:22.860 is when I have prioritized seeking the kingdom of God 802 00:41:23.380 --> 00:41:25.180 in my own life and then allowing Him to come in 803 00:41:25.180 --> 00:41:26.820 and transform me. 804 00:41:26.820 --> 00:41:29.940 So as we close this session, 805 00:41:29.940 --> 00:41:31.180 just wanna leave this with you. 806 00:41:31.180 --> 00:41:33.780 I think if you have never surrendered your heart 807 00:41:33.780 --> 00:41:36.100 to Jesus Christ and His kingdom, 808 00:41:36.100 --> 00:41:38.220 there's a prayer on page 25 809 00:41:38.220 --> 00:41:40.700 that we'd like to model with you now. 810 00:41:40.700 --> 00:41:42.820 And then that'll pivot and set you up 811 00:41:42.820 --> 00:41:46.100 for challenge number three at the end of habit one. 812 00:41:46.100 --> 00:41:47.940 We'll get to, we'll close with that. 813 00:41:47.940 --> 00:41:49.820 And before I lead into this, 814 00:41:49.820 --> 00:41:51.540 I just have to say just another great quote 815 00:41:51.540 --> 00:41:54.340 that you have from Jean Guion 816 00:41:54.340 --> 00:41:55.980 from her 17th century book, right? 817 00:41:55.980 --> 00:41:59.180 This is the setup for this invitation. 818 00:41:59.180 --> 00:42:00.940 And it's the last thing she writes 819 00:42:00.940 --> 00:42:02.820 and it's acknowledging God, 820 00:42:02.820 --> 00:42:07.140 acknowledging Him and His right to rule over us. 821 00:42:07.140 --> 00:42:10.260 As our creator, as our designer, He has that right, 822 00:42:10.260 --> 00:42:13.580 but He gives us the option to invite Him to do so. 823 00:42:13.580 --> 00:42:16.100 So with our audience today, 824 00:42:16.100 --> 00:42:17.860 I'd like to read the prayer 825 00:42:17.860 --> 00:42:20.660 and then Pastor Steve's gonna model the response. 826 00:42:20.660 --> 00:42:21.500 And we just invite you, 827 00:42:21.500 --> 00:42:22.940 if you've never taken that step 828 00:42:22.940 --> 00:42:26.900 towards this foundational moment in your own lives, 829 00:42:26.900 --> 00:42:28.740 this is where everything will flow from 830 00:42:28.740 --> 00:42:31.740 and it's where every habit will build upon. 831 00:42:31.740 --> 00:42:34.140 Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. 832 00:42:34.140 --> 00:42:36.340 Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. 833 00:42:36.340 --> 00:42:39.140 I thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. 834 00:42:39.140 --> 00:42:42.580 I thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. 835 00:42:42.580 --> 00:42:45.340 Thank you for rising from the grave on the third day 836 00:42:45.340 --> 00:42:48.140 and conquering sin and death in my life. 837 00:42:48.140 --> 00:42:50.900 Thank you for rising again on the third day 838 00:42:50.900 --> 00:42:53.780 and conquering sin and death in my life. 839 00:42:53.780 --> 00:42:56.060 I surrender the throne of my heart to you. 840 00:42:56.060 --> 00:42:59.140 I surrender the throne of my heart to you. 841 00:42:59.140 --> 00:43:01.980 I want an intimate relationship with you, Lord. 842 00:43:01.980 --> 00:43:05.460 I want an intimate relationship with you, Lord. 843 00:43:05.460 --> 00:43:07.140 Come take over my heart 844 00:43:07.140 --> 00:43:10.980 and empower me to follow and fall in love with you. 845 00:43:10.980 --> 00:43:13.140 Lord, come into my heart 846 00:43:13.140 --> 00:43:16.580 and empower me to fall in love with you. 847 00:43:16.580 --> 00:43:18.900 Today, I want your kingdom to come 848 00:43:18.900 --> 00:43:22.220 and your will be done in every area of my life. 849 00:43:22.220 --> 00:43:25.340 Lord, I want your kingdom to come 850 00:43:25.340 --> 00:43:30.340 and your will to be done in every detail of my life. 851 00:43:30.820 --> 00:43:31.820 Amen. 852 00:43:31.820 --> 00:43:32.780 Amen. 853 00:43:32.780 --> 00:43:34.620 If you prayed that prayer for the first time, 854 00:43:34.620 --> 00:43:36.860 on behalf of both of us, we just wanna say, 855 00:43:36.860 --> 00:43:38.940 welcome to the team, we're excited for you, 856 00:43:38.940 --> 00:43:41.300 we're excited for all that God has for you. 857 00:43:41.300 --> 00:43:44.660 This book is gonna give you some very practical next steps 858 00:43:44.700 --> 00:43:46.620 and we just wanna start by inviting you in, 859 00:43:46.620 --> 00:43:49.140 starting tomorrow, get up early in the morning 860 00:43:49.140 --> 00:43:51.540 and seek first the kingdom of God. 861 00:43:51.540 --> 00:43:55.220 Begin using the PBJ outline that's in this book 862 00:43:55.220 --> 00:43:57.580 for your personal time alone with God. 863 00:43:57.580 --> 00:43:59.740 God bless you, thanks for joining us today.