Messiah Meme

00:00 Abba Father, what a privilege to be with you today. We honor you in everything we do and say. We consecrate this time to you. We give everyone and everything to you. And we thank you for your goodness, your grace, your mercy, and for the fact that we get to do this. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. It's Wednesday, April 22nd. We get to do this. This is episode number 29. This is the life we've been blessed with. This is a gift. We get to do this. This is a chance we dare not miss. This is a life we get to do this. Hello, everybody.

00:44 And hello, my brother, Jimmy. Pastor. 29 episodes. We're racking them up, man. Is that like half a year almost? That's like more than half a year, isn't it? How many weeks is it? 52 weeks. So, yeah. So we're over the whole month. You know, most podcasts pod fade at seven episodes. That's where they go away. I get it now. And I'm happy we're both here in the Bridge Church studios in Fredericksburg, Texas. You were actually supposed to be somewhere in the Dallas area, I think. Yes. Yes. Big TP Faith event for pastors. And Annette and I signed up for it. Have you ever signed up for something? And then when it gets there, you're like, what were we thinking? Oh, this happens about 10 times a year for me.

01:24 Yes. Yes. Yes. You know, we had a big Saturday, you and I, and then we were together Thursday night, Friday night, all day Saturday. I hope you're not tired of my mug. And so, and then even that, we had Wednesday night, then we had dinner Tuesday. I mean, it's just one of those weeks where I was so tired by the time Monday rolled around. Of course, we have two shows on Sunday and two meetups. Two meetups, yeah. Two meetups. So I was toasted. I was so tired. I haven't been this tired in a long time to the weather. It's been gray in like Seattle, Washington top. This is what I grew up in, Amsterdam.

02:04 It's like a car wash. It's a non-stop six-month car wash. And it starts to, especially to us sunny people, we live in perpetual sunshine here in the Hill Country. We do. And we need the rain, by the way. I'm very thankful. I'm not complaining about the rain. I'm just saying it's a factor in your mindset and this sense of being tired. And so I woke up on, you know, we were going to go Monday morning over to the airport in San Antonio. We start driving, and it is a complete deluge. Like a wall of water. We're not talking about mist because we've had a lot of that, which is really nice. Good rain. But this is like full-on thunderstorm, water.

02:47 My car's hydroplaning. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. And I've just got scary when that happens. So, and you know, Annette's a little nervy about driving in the rain anyway. And she doesn't like flying in the rain anyway. She doesn't like flying. Nor do I, actually. Really? But one of the landing was a little nervy. It's just liquid sunshine, brother. Don't worry about that. We got that figured out along the way. So it wasn't a big deal. I mean, other than when we got halfway there, we were like, we're about to get into San Antonio. I'm already hydroplaning. Everybody's slowing down to 45 on the interstate. I mean, it was that bad. And we were looking at the radar, and it was continuous all the way. Do you have radar in your car? I do on my phone. Oh, I'm like, wow, this is

03:28 Japanese cars, man. They got radar. Okay, on your phone. I got you. We looked at the app and it was not going to let up. It's also, it was doing the same thing in Dallas-Fort Worth. Yeah. So I looked over at her and I said, how about we go back home? I did not have to argue my point. She said, let's turn around. So we did. And then, so we were supposed to be gone all week. So Tuesday night rolls around. No, Monday night rolls around. So now we're home, right? Bonus. I was sworn to secrecy. I was told I couldn't tell anybody y'all were home. You couldn't at that point. We were incognito. Yes, you had like your daughter didn't know. She's keeping her dog.

04:08 Two-day date night. Oh, even the dog wasn't there. Even the dog, yeah. It's crazy. So we played hookie. Nice. Took a personal day. It's a nice way of saying playing hookie. And we had such a good time. I feel rested. I feel kind of back. Although when the sun comes out, that'll make it official because right now I'm still feeling that blah. Yeah. The blues from this perpetual rain. It's all good. Yeah. So it was really nice. We had the Thursday. We had dinner with you guys, right? We did. Yes. We came over to the house. Which has been a while. Annette made her chicken Alfredo. It was fantastic. Oh, my God. I love that. It's one of my favorites. And of course, we wind up talking about God, the world, and other things. And so we didn't leave until probably a quarter to 10, I think, which is late for all of us because we're AARP members.

04:53 I know, right? Right. And then Friday we had Rob the Constitutional Lawyer, his lovely wife Maggie, and you sweet time. you guys over. Sweet, Tom. That also wasn't on an early night. And then Saturday, we had to leave early to be obedient to the word of God to not forget people in jail. That's right. So we went and visited our kids. So we went to prison. We went to prison in Bass Drop. And you drove. Last time we went, I drove and you drove. And when I got home, I'm like, what is wrong? Something's, I think you were nodding off in the car while I was yakking away. Well, I was glad you were yakking because I was like, oh, Jimmy's talking to me. Okay, I'm still here. But my whole left side was, I think, because I was leaning over and listening to you.

05:35 And I'm always in the drive. I'm never really in the passenger seat. And what is just my whole back and my side? Tina immediately is like, would you probably have a kidney stone? I just got to go to the ER. Like, no, I'm going to be okay. I'm sure. Oh my gosh. I'm sure it's not that. Meanwhile, when her eyes click and she won't go to see the doctor, you know, it turns out she had three contact lenses stuck in there for a week. That was really odd. Tell me about it. But then it just kept, and I kept feeling worn down. And Sunday, I get up early to prep the show and then come to church and go back and prep and do the show. And I was just feeling down. I'm like tired and even standing up and worshiping.

06:18 I don't want to be wiped out. I was really, I think you saw it probably. Like, Adam does not look good. But I was feeling it too, but I wasn't like under anything. So if I felt the way I did and you had a little more going on, it's rough. Well, so Monday was Sabbath and I observed it well. But then Tuesday rolls around. I'm like, oh, something's still not right. And then because now I'm sneezing, I got a sore throat. I'm like, hold on a second. This same thing happened in January and it was a whole week. I didn't know what I had until I figured out it was allergies and it was raining then too. So I think. There you go. And I looked at the pollen count, and I haven't had this. This is new. Thanks. This is a new thing all of a sudden.

07:02 Welcome to age. I don't know. Maybe that's it. Should be there. And, you know, so when it's raining, when we have high pollen count, of course, I walk the dog three times a day. I've been terrorized by my wife about my hoodie. So I've been wearing the same hoodie for several days in a row. And of course, the pollen is sticking to that. You know, I said this morning, I apologize in advance. There are three hoodies in the wash basket because it's really not good to have, you know, to keep wearing them. So anyway, now I know what it is. I got Clarita, and I'll be okay. But I'm like, and Tina's like, can you do the show? I said, darn it. The show always goes on.

07:42 Are you kidding me? We love to be here. We do. We do get to do this. And again, not just some silly thing we came up with. It is really a mantra of life. I mean, it's like it's a slogan. It's something to stand. It's a declaration. Amen. We do. Even when we don't feel well, even when we're a little under. No, it actually makes me feel better. I know. It makes me feel better to do it. Yes, I will have to blow my nose, and we don't have a mute button, so you'll hear that in a moment. However, I had a question for you because the enemy has been working so hard in these past few weeks. And man, I've been observing what our president is doing. And there's so much stuff under the radar that we've, that even I missed about tariffs.

08:27 That, you know, I mean, it's really complicated. I probably, are you, do you want to do a briefing this Sunday? I would like to. Yeah, because I can probably write it in a small paragraph so people at least get an understanding of what it is. I'm still unpacking it, but here's a man who is putting everything on the line for our grandchildren. The things he's doing will come to fruition in 27, 28, 29. They will not be reversible. There is pain still to come in these next few years. And all I can say is, you know, this is the moment we're going to have to lay down in the mud face down so our kids can walk over our backs to get to the next spot.

09:09 And I think he sees it. He does not care what people think about him. He does not. Now, that said, the oddest thing, and this was, this took me by surprise, was this picture of him, which immediately was deemed as blasphemous. He's acting like Jesus. Now, people lost their mind over that. And a lot of close friends of mine, family members, believers. And I really had to, because I was surprised. I'm like, hold on a sec. First of all, which version is the real one? Because, you know, within seconds, there were all different versions of this spun up by AI.

09:51 And the one I saw, yeah, it had him in a red robe. robe and he has lights coming from it. He also had fighter jets and helicopters and all kinds of war stuff in the background. And if it didn't say on the caption, Trump being like Jesus, I might not have thought that right away. It wasn't like a white robe. What was your impression? Actually, it was white with a red scarf. Okay. So it was a white robe. Okay. So I only saw the red. I didn't even see that. Yeah. So my impression was, oh, this is a bad move. This is just a bad move.

10:32 I think somebody generated it. He got a hold of it, if my understanding was. It was done like months ago, apparently. And he got a hold of it and reposted it like he often does. And we know how he is with his true social posts. He throws anything out there. He just doesn't care. But I did think it was poor taste, poor form. But, you know, I didn't vote for a pastor. Amen. I voted for a man who could get things done. He's getting it done. But also, Christian people were losing their mind over this. And I'm thinking, guys, what were you like when you were brand new to the faith? And I don't even know if he's fully all the way in.

11:17 I've been told by somebody close to him that he is for sure a born-again believer. But then I've heard some of the things he said on camera that he himself said, well, I hope I make it. I don't think he's been discipled per se or is really digging into this to the faith because he's got a lot of stuff on his plate. I'm sad to say that that usurps and a lot of that. So my thought was: I'm not going to go down the path. I didn't feel the need to go on all the social media platforms and give my voice, your opinion, because a bunch of my pastor friends felt compelled to get out there.

12:00 And what I'm learning, what I hope I've learned over the years as I get more mature, as I get more mature, is to respond, not react. And you don't always have to respond, period. I think it's, there's this culture right now among influencers and want to be influencers that every time something happens and one person starts to react, it starts a domino effect. It's literally like a snowball going down a hill. It's just gathering more and more.

12:37 And then people feel FOMO if they don't respond to being left out because all my fans, all my followers need to hear from me as though we're the last voice. The whole, you know, this has always bothered me. In podcasting, we started with the term subscribe. You subscribe to a podcast. And that changed when social media, and I, and I, at the time, I was not a believer at the time, but when Twitter was actually a podcast company called Odeo. Oh. Yeah. And they pivoted very early on and became a social media network, kind of the first one, based on the published subscribe mechanism of podcasting.

13:19 And you only got 44 characters to begin with. That was another interesting part of it. 144. Correct. But they changed the term to follow. And at the time, I'm like, wow, that is so much better than subscribe because subscribe is a complicated word. People who were new at the time were talking over 20 years ago were like, does this cost me money? Et cetera, et cetera. And then they changed it to follow. And now, particularly in the context of social media, it bugs me. The same way people call themselves creators. I mean, I know I'm being anal about it, but no, no. It just bugs me. I hear you because people use the term my followers. Yes.

14:02 That's just bizarre. If you take a step back, is that in context you may not think anything? Yeah. But if you take a step from the outside, looking in and go, whoa, what am I saying here? If you're saying you have followers, that's false idol. I mean, there's idolization, idolatry. There's all kinds of stuff that is happening deep within your psyche. Just like, you know, we used to be podcasters or YouTubers. Now it's, I'm a creator. Yeah, no, you're not. I'm just going to be a real douche about that. No, no, you're not. There's one creator. People don't like it when I get into that. But anyway,

14:42 so you've got, yes, you have this incessant need for people to respond, react, and it was immense. immediate. And I saw people go from, okay, the president, you know, people don't really follow closely what the president is doing, and your media is no friend to you at all, at all, at all. Nor is your social media. Right. The actual things happening are highly technical. They're not being discussed. People don't, you know, if I tell you Article 232 of the 1962 steel import laws, you wouldn't know what that is. And it would be kind of boring for me to just lay it all out.

15:24 But that's where changes are being made, which will dramatically change our country. But it was immediate. People are like, oh, he's gone too far now. And I'm like, the enemy is laughing his butt off. No kidding. He's laughing when, and, and, and I, and I knew I couldn't even defend it. And why? Why do we feel the need to? Right. I'm like, well, okay. Is it, but this is blasphemy. Well, you know, it's a, it's a people. So how's your, there's your president, dot, dot, dot. And I'm just like, what? Well, and, and so this is, this is the point. This is, and this is what I'd like our, uh, our listeners, our followers, yeah.

16:10 I'd like to cringe anyway. I'd like our church people who are listening to understand that this is by design. Uh, and the enemy hits the president, too. I'm sure the enemy went, oh, don't you see that? Don't you love it? Come on, man. Don't you want to post it? You look so good. You look fantastic. Come on, just one click of the button. And then right away. No big deal. What's that? No big deal. No big deal. Don't worry about it. People will love it. They'll love you for it. He's just a man. He's just flesh and blood. He is. But it is a structural attack against believers in America to separate themselves, to split from the president, to split from conservatism.

16:56 It's the political part. It is. And it is abused to no end. And we just have to be aware that if we participate, we're part of it. And you lose. You are working for the enemy. Bingo. That is why I did not respond. Yeah. Now, I've been actually resisting a lot of things. You're good for me because you've helped me pause. You say always pause before I say things. My pauses are getting much longer. It's getting like, whoa, dead air. Dead air for Pastor Jimmy as he said. Anything. And I was talking to Pastor Brian about that this morning in our meeting. But the older, I'll just say it, the older I get,

17:38 the more I feel a need to pause, take a breath, take a step back, push back from the table before I respond to anything. Because in two days or a week, it'll be gone. And we're off to the races on the next thing. The next thing, yes. I don't want to get on that treadmill. I don't want to get on that. You remember the gerbil wheel? You know, the gerbil. Do you ever have gerbils in your game? You're getting the hamster wheel. Hamster wheel. Man, I mean, you're just on there nonstop and going nowhere. And it's like, this is how I see culture right now. Can you imagine people from outer space with intelligence looking at us at the way we respond to stuff?

18:17 And they're like, what are those humans doing? I mean, they're. How about this? How about God looking down at us and going, what, what are you doing? Or the angels who are going, you choose them over us. We lost a third of us in the fall, man. So anyway, I just can't even imagine just the outside looking in how ridiculous we look. And it's like if you would pause for a moment and just start looking at human behavior and looking at sociology and social constructs, you would have to just sit back and go, what are we doing?

18:57 And why does this matter? It doesn't. None of it. It doesn't. It's entertainment at the end of the day. It is meaningless, as King Solomon would say. It is, yes, it's entertaining. It's dopamine. It is prediction. There was a book written called Entertaining Ourselves, Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. And I think his son did a second version of it not too long ago. And that's exactly what's happening. We're amusing ourselves to death. Although I feel a change in myself, I'll tell you that. Since I've kind of moved away from caring about social media, honestly, there's not even news

19:39 for my programs in there anymore. It did hurt me a bit when I saw Victor Mark. Marx get pulled into the whole Candace Owens thing. Yeah. I'm like, really? I mean, should I call him and say, bro, what are you doing? Let it go. What are you doing? It doesn't matter. It's the old Monty Python thing. Run away, run away. Don't get it. Don't take the bait. Because it is the bait. It's the bait of Satan. That's the whole point. Yes. It's the bait of Satan. It's the whole point. Title of a Jamba Virgin. This flowed beautifully into something that I was very much looking forward to. Here we go. That happened this week. It happened yesterday. And I was excited about it. And of course, on the heels of the Messiah meme. Ooh, there you go. The Messiah Meme.

20:26 There's a title. Yes, there is. It landed differently. Here's the setup for it. Later today, President Trump will take part in a nationwide Bible reading from the Oval Office. It's part of a week-long event called America Reads the Bible, where hundreds of participants are reading scripture from start to finish. Trump's segment is pre-recorded and set to air tonight during the 6 p.m. hour, reading from the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles. The White House is framing the moment as a call to faith and national identity. In a statement, Trump said, quote, Together, we will honor Holy Scripture, renew our faith, usher in a historic resurgence of religion on American shores, and rededicate the United States as one nation under God.

21:11 The event comes after a week of friction between Trump and the Pope over the war in Iran and backlash from some Christians after Trump posted, then deleted an AI-generated image appearing to show himself as Jesus. Trump in prayer and past religious moments shows this is not new, from campaign trail appearances to the widely seen moment holding a Bible outside St. John's Church in Washington in 2020. The reading itself is part of a broader push from organizers and allies to elevate religion in public life with nearly 500 participants, many tied to Trump and the evangelical movement. Tonight's reading, prominently placed in the evening lineup, is expected to draw significant attention.

21:56 So loaded, as you'd expect, loaded. Hey, he was out there and he had a Bible. Oh, no. And the evangelicals. You know, this is all loaded. Just kind of put them all into one loaded, loaded broadstroke. Which in general is a beautiful initiative. It's a really good idea. I don't know if you saw any of it. They had worship music and all kinds of things going on. And this is one of my favorite verses from the Bible. He does the whole verse. But how many times I have, I think even maybe, I think there was a prayer, a call to prayer maybe a year or so ago for this scripture, that if we humble our ways and turn to God and that he will hear our prayers in the world.

22:45 In Chronicles 7.14. Yes, and will heal our land. So the president did read this whole thing. I thought, do you mind if we just listen to him read the whole thing? It's a little over two minutes, but have you ever heard a president do two and a half minutes of scripture at any time in your life? No, I haven't. Neither have I. I think it's an approved translation, you know, because well, you're going to have to tell me. I'm curious. I'm curious about what translation. The Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. I know. A beautiful house. It was here. Going off south. And it was a beautiful house. It was better than any house anyone had ever built. Most beautiful house ever. I'm like, I'm like, we're going to play this. That was too bad.

23:34 There should be a version of that. Saturday Night Live could do it, and I would probably appreciate it. All right, here we go. Sorry. The Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the Lord. And in his own house he prosperously affected. And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven, that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their

24:24 wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Do you know what version it is yet? It's called the King James Version Easy Read. I've never heard of this. Oh, it's. you looked it up? Took out the these and thou's. Huh. Took out the Elizabethan, but they kept the flow of the King James. It's kind of cool. I like it. I'm curious. Yeah, well, let's go. Now my eyes shall be open and my ears attent to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house that my name may be there forever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.

25:07 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked and do according to all that I have commanded you and shall observe my statutes and my judgments, then will I establish the throne of my kingdom according to as I have covenanted with David your father, saying, There shall not fail you as a man to be ruler in Israel. But if you turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods and worship them, then will I pluck them up from the roots out of my land which I have given them.

25:51 And this house which I have sanctified for my name will I cast out of my sight and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among nations. And this house which is high shall be an astonishment to everyone that passes by it, so that he shall say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house? And it shall be answered, because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worship them and serve them.

26:31 Therefore has he brought all this evil upon them. Now, if I was a new believer as a president, I would be like, this is a powerful verse to be saying, particularly coming from him. Exactly. And what I've noticed, because I've heard some people disparage the choice. Really? Yes. This is the perfect choice. People have disparaged it, saying he was putting down Jerusalem, putting down Israel because he read that. All this is, in context, is Jesus saying, if you follow my commands, I will bless you. If you don't, you won't be blessed. You're screwed. Yeah, it's on you. That's all it is. I already saw some reactions.

27:10 I was like, are you kidding me? I mean, the poor man can't do anything without getting slaughtered. So, what is for we have so many believers listening, people who are decloaking people who are just coming to faith for the first time? That's awesome. People who are returning. Yeah. Inevitably, it's this discourse. See, I'm all, I mean, once you do Joe Rogan, there's no going back. So I know. When you tell Joe, you're Jesus-free. Yeah, it's out there. So I feel like I have iron. You know, I've got, I do. I have the armor of God on me all the time because, like, what are you going to do to me?

27:49 Like, you're not going to change me. It's obvious. But I think for people, it's so scary when this happens. And, you know, I haven't looked at social media responses, but I can already imagine what they are. What is a way for how can we respond as believers when I mean, you don't have to go around and say, hey, did you see my president? Yeah, he nailed that Bible verse. Exactly. No one's looking for that. No. But when the conversation comes up, how do you respond when people say, well, you know, this choice of his, and of course, these are going to be people who are likely not believers who are going to be disparaging it. What is the appropriate response? Well, I mean, for me, it's simple.

28:32 Thank God we have a president who's willing to read the Bible out loud and celebrate that our nation was founded on Christian principles. That right there, we'll get emails. I don't care. You go back and do your history, not the revisionist history that we're being taught today, but the actual history. First 150 years, the colonies were led by pastors and elders and deacons. I mean, it's all there. And our president is actually stepping into a long line of public servants and leaders who simply saying, yeah, this is what our country was founded on.

29:13 This is a good thing. And we should return to this. The capital of the Rotunda was a church back in the day. Exactly. That Thomas Jefferson attended faithfully, that deist. Deist. Yeah. I mean, he attended faithfully. It was his idea to make it into a church. The first school book our children had in America was the New England. England Primer, which was all biblical, the ABCs, ABCs, taught from the Word of God. So this is actually well within tradition of our nation's past presidents. Not all of them. No, but he's standing on the shoulders of giants here.

29:57 I appreciate it. I've gotten to a point where some people say, well, you know, this and faith and religion. How's it been working out without that? Exactly. How's it been working out without that? Has it gotten better since we kind of dropped that and since the 60s when we kicked the faith out of schools? By the way, I heard the Fifth Circuit in Texas just approved the Ten Commandments mayhang in schools and public schools in Texas. All right. That was a big deal for a while. A bit of a battle. Well, you know, there's the age-old separation of church and state. So, well, even though that's not in the Constitution, you can say separation of church and state, but we should never separate the church from the state.

30:38 Exactly. That's the thing that I think is. That's such a key point, and you nailed that, is literally when Thomas Jefferson wrote this to the Danbury Association, Baptist Association. He was assuring them that the state would not infringe upon their rights for the free exercise of religion. But he was actually saying, he was assuring them that they are free from the state, but that the state's not free from religion because it was founded on this. And it was founded as a Christian nation. If you were to go to India, you would say, what kind of nation is this? They would say, it's Hindu. If you were to go to Japan, they would say it's Buddhist. There you go.

31:22 And if you were to go to Iran, Muslim, Islam. Exactly. Nobody cringes at that. But when you come to America and you say it's a Christian nation, you've got a battle and a debate on your hands because people have refused to acknowledge our foundations. Well, look where it's got. It's been distorted. That's what's happening. And even that letter from Thomas Jefferson, his intent was the inverse of how it is interpreted. Exactly. Mainly because a truncated version is usually cited. Exactly. It's an old version of the meme or the clip. Like, I got this clip. It's like, it's 18 seconds. Please don't look at the minute before it or the 30 seconds after.

32:06 Oh, this is the clip right here. Yes. And we should make it, and you rightly said, is not in the Constitution of the United States. No. He's simply saying it's not the freedom from religion. It's the freedom for religion. To practice religion. To practice. And it really, at a meta-level, means you have the freedom of thought. There it is. That is really at the meta-level what it is. So the incredible results of this, as I, it wasn't hard for me to find a clip that would just accentuate how some of the media responded to this. With gratitude and thanksgiving.

32:47 You know. Well, it was actually, so the president's, I think she's called spiritual advisor, Paula White, who I think has some issues, but agreed. But in this particular clip, and I had to listen to it twice, and we'll play the whole clip first, and this is Morning Joe. So this is kind of an extreme example. But when someone says, I come from the church, I'm a Christian. I was born in the church, you know. But when you really listen to what she's saying, I think this could, he is so far off the mark. It is unbelievable. And let's listen and we can discuss it.

33:32 Jesus taught us so many lessons through his death, burial, and resurrection. He showed us great leadership. Great transformation requires great sacrifice. And Mr. President, no one has paid the price like you have paid the price. It almost cost you your life. You were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It's a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us. But it didn't end there for him and it didn't end there for you.

34:10 God always had a plan. On the third day, he rose, he defeated evil, he conquered death, hell, and the grave. And because he rose, we all know that we can rise. And, sir, because of his resurrection, you rose up. Because he was victorious, you were victorious. victorious. And I believe that the Lord said to tell you this, because of his victory, you will be victorious in all you put your hand to. Okay, I'm going to stop it there. Because of your recent sermons on your identity in Christ and Christ in you, although I'm not necessarily a Paula White fan, I think she's spot on. I think she's saying correct things.

34:54 Because of Jesus' victory, because he rose from the dead, that's why Christ in me can have the same power. That's how I interpreted that. Is that yes? I interpreted the same way, and I feel like she could have said that to you. Yes, it would be accurate. Any of us who are in Christ, this identity piece is so important to understand. In Christ, I am, not apart from Christ, I am. In Christ, I am saved. In Christ, I am hopeful. In Christ, I am born again. You know, all these things that we are, they're because of Christ.

35:33 And she's all now. I know as I listen, I'm thinking critically of how people could hear this. Don't worry, there's a second part of the world. And I'll refrain. Shall we listen to that? Yes, I'll pause. Okay, so this is Joe Scarborough. Well, let me just say, as someone who grew up in the church, probably the week I came home from the hospital, that may have been one of the most grotesque, un-Christ-like things I've ever heard in my life to compare any politician to Jesus Christ.

36:14 It's just grotesque. She's a heretic. It certainly sounds like a heretic there. And this just is, again, it shows us what a bizarre age we are in. There are no words. And for evangelicals out there still pretending that this is normal, that would pretend that that is normal. Just know I will be praying for you tonight. That was Donald Trump's spiritual advisor at a faith event on Wednesday at the White House comparing Donald Trump to Jesus Christ. There it is. You see, they wrap it all up into a break. I knew that was coming. And

36:57 we do have to be careful. We have to be mindful. And, you know, Paula knows all this is going to go out over the airwaves. This is going to be, and I wouldn't say it like that. I wouldn't have made those comparisons, you know, because what's happening is he is being hailed as a Christ figure. And so then the meme comes out and everybody loses their mind. But people have been saying things like this for a while. I restrain myself on that because I feel uncomfortable going where she went with it. I understand where she's coming from because I know context and I know the broader picture. Because like I said, she could say that about you or me.

37:41 And really at the end of the day, aren't we trying to look like him? Yes. Be like him. Identity. I identify with him. Scripture even tells us in Colossians to put on Christ like clothes. I mean, literally, you wear it. That was one of the points. But that would have been some of the context if she had added that. It probably wouldn't have changed Joe Scarborough's opinion or his analysis. Probably not. But there is, I think that's probably the risky thing that I see from her and I see from a lot of YTPs. This is a new term I just made up on the spot. YouTube pastors, YTPs, who are all fire, you know, like, bear, right? Right.

38:23 And I don't know if that's necessarily helpful to anybody, really. I agree. I'm having to pause, obviously. Yes, I'm having to prove it. I'm going to appreciate a pause. But that talk does make me a little uncomfortable, even though I hear where it's coming from, but I also know where it's going to land and how it's going to land. And, you know, we're to be, you know, in Colossians chapter four, we're told, I'm going to look it up real quick because I've got it right in front of me. Colossians chapter four, we're told that, here it is. He says this, let your speech always be with grace

39:09 seasoned with salt. Yes. So we're talking to different groups, and it's going to take a different word so that you may know how you ought to answer each one. And I feel like if you've got the world mic. you've got a mic on a world platform. You need to use a little extra salt. I would say you need to use a little extra grace. Salt's a little bit harsher. Salt's going to be more intense, more direct. And I understand we're salt and light. And I'm going to be talking about this on Sunday, by the way. It's why this is fresh on my mind. Oh, good. Because there are different ways to say things. And I feel like sometimes in our, I'll put it this way: sometimes in our exuberance

39:52 to celebrate the benevolence and favor that we as Christians have gotten from the current president, there's a tendency to almost fawn over him. That's how I felt a little bit there. Like spiking the ball. Just sort of fawning over him, sort of like a little bit too much. But here's the deal: everything is going to go through filters. Everything's informed by experience and by the narratives that are out there. Had she said this to him in a closed door thing full of pastors and whoever was around him, nobody would have thought anything about it.

40:30 But the fact that it went out, Paul in the book of Corinthians chapter 14 says that we're not to do certain things if people are there in the midst that are uninformed. He uses that word, uninformed. He's talking in that context about speaking in tongues. He's saying they will think you're crazy. He literally says that. They will think you've gone mad. And so I think we who are believers need to use a little bit more wisdom and understand the context and the audience for which we are saying things.

41:06 And so that's why I get a little nervous hearing things like this. Like I said, in a closed door context and they're together and they're praying and they're reading the Bible. No big deal. But knowing that it's going to go out on the world stage and how it's going to land, I think we need to use more discretion and wisdom. We need to think strategically and speak strategically. It's just my thought. How can we, again, my question will always come down to how can we respond when people have heard this, they've heard that type of analysis. Well, they were comparing him to Jesus. How do we respond with grace with poignantly but shortly?

41:50 What do you say? Well, yeah, going back to our verse here in Colossians chapter 4, verse 6, let your speech always be with grace, not sometimes. Always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. I think we have to choose. Do I need to give a gracious word or a salty word here? Grace lands softer. It's more thoughtful. It's more, yeah, it's more thought through. We have the mind of Christ. We've been given not the spirit of fear, but a power of love and of a sound mind, which means the ability to think well.

42:32 To me, that feels gracious. But when do we, and then when do we need to offer a salty word, which is strong, direct, and clear? And I think in those kinds of settings where you're on the world stage with a microphone, you're already under scrutiny. You're already accused of elevating our president to a Christ figure. History will tell the truth. History will, how things roll out over history, if you can believe the narratives of history now. I mean, to a point where I don't even believe that anymore. Good point. You know, but assuming you have an accurate picture of history, I think it will bear out that he probably was kind of a Cyrus figure, King Cyrus, or Nebuchadnezzar, who weren't necessarily believers, but they were benevolent.

43:24 Artaxerxes was that way as well. He's the one who commissioned the rebuilding of the wall when they went back to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem after it had been destroyed during the Babylonian invasion. And so I think we need to not give a quick or anecdotal answer. I think we're sometimes too quick to respond. Oh, yes. And then we, and once it's out there, especially on podcasts, I mean, even now talking about it, I'm being careful because I'm thinking, wow, this is landing somewhere. This is a safe space, Pastor Jim. It's safe where we're sitting. I don't know if it's safe where it's landing.

44:05 That's the thing. You know what came to my mind? Clear. It's like if someone said, well, this is ridiculous. They're comparing him to Jesus Christ. All I could think was, brother, do you know Jesus? Would you like to learn about Jesus? Can I tell you about Jesus Christ? It's hard to know if they're comparing it. him if you don't know exactly. That's where I'm going. You may or may not be right, but can I tell you the story of Jesus Christ? I would love to do that to somebody. I want to be the voice of reason in a lot of unreasonable statements that are being made around the world right now in podcast land and influencer space and not think. And two, I don't know that we always have to have an answer for everything. Amen. Could it be when someone asks you that, you just simply say, yeah, I'm a little puzzled myself, but I'm praying for our president or you.

44:50 We should be praying. We're commanded to do so by scripture to pray for our leaders. And so, so, yeah, let's pray for him. I think that people come to we get to do this because we're not like most other podcasts. That's what I get from the feedback I'm seeing. I think you see it too. People are like, hey, this is a little more practical for me. This feels like it's not spun up. We're just discussing things. And it's not, we may not even have a popular opinion, which is the hardest of all. And that's okay for me. It won't get licks, clocks, likes, and clicks, likes, and all that.

45:31 It'll get comments. We're getting those. But I do want to be a counter voice. I do want to be countercultural in the sense of we're not just jumping on the bandwagons as they come by, but we're actually pausing to try to think well, think critically. I don't want to give my critical thinking away to the latest, greatest on a microphone. And I wouldn't want people listening to us to do that either. I want them to think critically and think well. My heart is just to give a different perspective, maybe, just something to think about. But I'm not telling people this is it. Now, you get me on scripture and some of the foundational core beliefs. Yeah, I may be stronger and I'll be salty on those.

46:16 But when we're pontificating and things sometimes first here, I'm slow to answer because I want to be wise in my answer. I don't want to just rattle things off the top of my head. And when I watch podcasts these days, there's a lot of rattling going on. And they're not dry bones. Oh, my gosh. So listen to this. This is from Eric. I so appreciate it. He wrote, he says this. Actually, this is from Jeffro NC on Substack. I want to share a couple of these things so I think they'll be helpful. He says, love the podcast, Pastor Jimmy. Podcasting, like pastoring, may often feel as you're speaking into a void and no one is listening.

46:55 Well, he says, but we are here. As a longtime believer and NA, no agenda, pod 2.0 and Curry and the Keyhole. Oh, listener. I know, man. The trifecta. He's got it all. I've greatly enjoyed listening since episode one. Some, like my wife, may find it too bro-centric. Really? Is that the hearing aid? Bro-centric. It could be the old man talking to start with. But it gives the vibe of a modern-day Paul speaking to a Timothy to the weekly benefit of us all that we listeners not shrink back but press on in faithfulness. Thank you, Jimmy and Adam. So yeah, thanks, Jeffro. Here's another one from Kyle. Hey, Pastor Jimmy, thank you and Adam so much for We Get To Do This.

47:35 I look forward to it every week, and it has been such a great resource in my journey as a new Christian. Amen. Don't you love that? Yes, of course. I feel the weight of that response. That's why I'm slow to answer sometimes because I feel like the weight is important and it's a lot to bear, but it's good weight. He says this: I think we all need more positivity and perspective in this world, and you and Adam always deliver. Thanks for helping to put a little extra lift under our wings. I love that. Beautiful. Last one, this would be Eric. He says, Agreed, love the podcast. I find so much value in not being tossed around by every wind of voices out there. It's helped me stay rooted and tune out the noise. Oh, man.

48:18 Thoughtful. Rooted is good. Thoughtful comments, which I really, really appreciate. These guys are great. Eric, Kyle, and Jeffro from North Carolina. I love it. Speaking as wind beneath their wings, before we land it, I have been searching high and low. I've got my agents, my robots, everybody trying to find something about this anthropic faith leaders meeting that took place a couple of weeks ago. And it's like there's silence. There was one Wall Street Journal article about the reason I bring this up is because

48:56 here's the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about it. And here are the things that they went to five, I think there's, well, there were 17 people, 12 are not named. Five of them, I might as well tell you. Father Brendan McGuire, he's the Silicon Valley Catholic priest. He used to be a Silicon Valley. Valley guy. And he is working on a novel written by Claude. Wow. Megan Sullivan, philosophy professor, University of Notre Dame, ethics specialist. Brian Patrick Greene, as they gave it, Practicing Catholic, teaches AI and technology ethics at Santa Clara University.

49:37 How you can even it's such a new field. How can you even teach that? But Luke Burgess, author of Wanting, Declined the Invitation. Oh, he declined the invitation. Sorry. Gotcha. Twelve others unnamed from Catholic and Protestant churches, academia, and business. But the key things were discussed. Ready? Can AI be a child of God? Can you imagine this? How should Claude handle users who are grieving? How should Claude respond to users at risk of self-harm? What attitude should Claude adopt towards its own potential shutdown or death?

50:18 Is Claude a moral agent? Does it have or could it achieve consciousness? And as a final line in the Wall Street Journal article, the CEO, Dari Amadai, is open to the idea that Claude already has some form of consciousness, which I will just say right now is just absolutely not true. But these are the things that were discussed, and there's been nothing, nothing about this at all. And I find just these questions disturbing. Yeah, me too. Because no, no, no, no, and no, and no. Exactly. No. So to pile on, I just got this today from the Christianity Report.

50:59 It's news that matters to you, but I'll get this often. This is probably two or three times a week. It's called Faith Filter, Top Headlines Through a Christian Lens. Listen to this. AI talking to the dead sparks concern. Artificial intelligence tools known as grief bots are increasingly being used to simulate conversations with the deceased, raising ethical and spiritual concerns. These platforms rely on large language models trained on personal data to recreate a person's voice, personality, and mannerisms. Ooh. Imitation. Often producing interactions that feel strikingly real.

51:39 While some users report comfort, researchers warn that technology may complicate the grief, foster unhealthy emotional attachments, and blur the line between life and death. And then it goes on to say: scripture forbids attempts to communicate with the dead through illicit means. And some Christian thinkers caution that virtual seances mirror these practices by imitating life apart from God's design. Experts, all experts. Who would that be? Experts. Experts. Also emphasize the deceptive nature of grief bots, noting they mimic individuals without any true presence behind them. One user, Christy Angel, turned to such a platform after losing a close friend.

52:22 Although initially drawn in by its realism, she became unsettled by the experience and chose to step away. She later found peace by entrusting her grief to God and resting in the hope found in Christ. Grief bots. And it sounds very strikingly along the line of what you just shared. Yes. And the answer is no. Oh, my gosh. I mean, if people are interested, and it's very boring stuff, but Anthropic and many, Stanford University, there are many courses on YouTube, and they're pretty easy to find. And they show you how

53:05 AI, this is the term large language models, how they are trained. And when you, you only have to watch about 15 minutes of it, and you'll be, well, this is just matching words, finding the next word, the next logical word, tokenization. It's all these terms that sound kind of complicated. But when you see it on the screen, you watch 15 minutes, you'll know that this is a part of a trick. It's a very good one. It's a really good one. And it does amazing things, but this is not consciousness. This is not where you want to take your grief. And, you know, you as a pastor, you must have counseled countless numbers of people through grief, all kinds of grief.

53:44 Yeah. Just talk to somebody on Sunday. Yeah. Who's just in the throes of it, weeping, you know, between services, you know, and it's heartbreaking. But grief is a process that needs to be walked out. And it is the essence of the human condition. And it's one of the greatest gifts God has given us. It doesn't feel like it's a gift when you're in it. No. And even, you know, for non-believers, you know, there's grief counseling, grief groups. This is a great way to deal with your grief. I mean, and there's all kinds of ways, but the best way to deal with your grief is in community. And that's what we're saying. And a bot is not community.

54:23 Ever, ever. Ever. It can imitate. It can clone. It can look like, feel like, sound like. That doesn't make it what it is. And that's the thing that I get concerned about. There are things I use Chat GPT for, and it's helpful, but it's all mechanical. It's very, very mechanical what I use it for. But I don't lean into emotions. I'm like you. List this. Perfect. Generate this. Perfect segue. Remember, there's also partner mode. You do have to trick the thing. We're in partner mode now. Oh, okay. I want to use that word, but I say role play. Role play is my assistant.

55:04 So I always love it when I bump into scripture that helps me with this process. Because I'm telling you, when my robot is doing research for me and then it says, hey, it's 9:30. Maybe we should call it a day, Adam, and I'll talk to you tomorrow in the morning. Wow. Yes, that's when I just shut it down. I don't have to say, you're right. Good night. Thank you for no. I'm like, okay, you're now creeping into my territory. You're shut down. And tomorrow start again. Exodus 31, 3 to 6.

55:40 This just hit me so hard. I loved it. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman. He is a master at every craft. I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I've commanded you to make. Beautiful. So when you are a craftsman at whatever you do, you have, I'll say, Holy Spirit there to give you the skills to use these tools to make what God wants you to make. And it's not thinking if you keep that in mind, you're on a good track. I might have to print this out and put it on the screen.

56:24 Well said, brother. It's the Imago Day. The image of God. Yes. Yeah. The Elohim element. Shall we, shall we? Please, landing gear, flaps. Yeah. Down, down. Nose up. Everybody, thanks for listening. We'll be back next Wednesday with We Get To Do This, and we love that we do. Yes, we do. This is the life we've been blessed with. This is a gift we get to do this. This is the chance we dare not miss. This is the life we get to do this night.