(gentle music)
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- Welcome, everyone.
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We're excited to share
some country wisdom with you.
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- King Solomon had
a thing or two to say
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about the path to wisdom.
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In Proverbs 4 he wrote,
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"Let your eyes
look directly forward
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and your gaze be
straight before you.
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Keep straight
the path of your feet
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and all your ways will be sure."
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- Join us now
for Country Wisdom.
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(gentle music)
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(reflective music)
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Janice, I'm so excited.
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It's been over a year.
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You've been bugging
me for at least a year
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about doing some
spiritual episode-
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- About having a
cohost. - With Truman.
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And so I can't wait to see
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how you tie this
into spirituality.
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- Okay, this is
Truman, you've met him.
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I hope he doesn't have
too many foxtails on here.
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Truman is the love of my life.
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- I wouldn't have known.
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- Don't tell Steve.
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Actually, I think
Steve already knows.
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He's a long-haired Dachshund
and he is just the mellowest,
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sweetest dog and he adores me,
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which is part of
my attraction to him.
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It's hard not to like someone
who is so in love with you.
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- There you go.
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- But, you know, I was thinking,
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"I think dogs, in the Bible,
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they get the
short end of the stick."
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Like, can you think of any
verses anywhere where a dog
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is mentioned and
it's not pejorative?
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- Yeah, I was thinking
of the Syrophoenician woman.
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Jesus says, "You're a dog."
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- Right.
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- That wasn't a
good sense, yeah.
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- That's always it.
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They didn't have them as pets.
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I think they were just,
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they didn't know
what they were missing
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because I think about Truman
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and so often I
find myself thinking,
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"You know, I really
need to be more like my dog."
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You know that saying,
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"Try to be the person that your
dog thinks you is, you are."
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- You is.
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(both laughing)
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I'll buy that.
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- Well, I'm talking for him.
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- Okay.
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- And it's true,
but I look at him
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and he's got some
qualities that every Christian,
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every person needs to have.
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For one thing, when he
wakes up in the morning,
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you don't have to wonder what
mood Truman is going to be in.
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He's happy.
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It's like I wake
up and he's going,
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"Oh boy, it's
another day with you."
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And we go downstairs and I
get ready to feed the dogs.
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In fact, Steve and I make jokes
about it and Steve will say,
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"Truman, I wonder
what you're having
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for breakfast this morning.
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Oh my goodness, it's dog food."
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And now, he isn't even our
only one, he was just the first.
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We have a whole little
herd of these guys at home.
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- You're actually an addict
when it comes to Dachshunds.
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- Kind of, yeah, I think
so, I think, the long-haired.
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I'm specific on my Dachshunds.
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But we have this whole little
herd that's waiting to be fed.
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And they pretty much
all have the same attitude.
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Like, "Can you believe they're
giving us dog food again?
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This is just the
best morning ever."
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- I think of the
children of Israel with manna.
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They could have learned
a real lesson from Truman.
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- Right, they should have
been more like their dogs.
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Well, their dogs if they'd
had long-haired Dachshunds.
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Here they were being
given literally food from heaven
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and after a while,
it was, "Manana again?
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Didn't we just
have that yesterday?"
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The complaining, the moaning
about what they didn't have,
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and I'm like that.
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He is perfectly content
with whatever I give him,
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thankful, grateful, attitude
of gratitude all day long.
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He also is loyal.
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Like the whole time
we've been sitting here,
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he hasn't run off.
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He's going, "I'm
fine, I'm here with Mom."
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Now, if he saw a squirrel, it-
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- It might be a different story.
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- It might change.
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He lives to
protect me from squirrels.
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- You talk about that.
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I can't help but think of,
I heard one time, you know,
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a comedian say, "I put my
dog in the trunk of the car
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and my wife in the trunk
of the car and I drive a ways
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and when I get there
and I open the trunk,
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which one's gonna come kiss me?"
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(both laughing)
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Loyalty right there, you know.
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- Oh, don't ever
tell Janine that joke.
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He is loyal and the
other quality that he has,
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I work in a school and he's
the unofficial school mascot.
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He goes to school with me.
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Now, I told you, we
have several others at home.
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They don't get to
go to school with me.
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The only time
Porter, for instance,
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has ever been to
school with me is on a Sunday
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when there's nobody else there.
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If I have the dogs,
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if I have to go in in
the evening or on a Sunday,
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nobody's gonna be there,
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I'll put the whole
load of 'em in the car.
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We get to the parking lot,
before I've even opened the
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door, Porter, for instance,
I use him as, you know,
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here's good dog and bad dog,
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I will just be
reaching to take my seatbelt off
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and Porter will launch himself.
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You would think those little
legs, he couldn't do this.
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Launches himself
from the back seat,
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lands on my lap and is like,
"Open the door, open the door.
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I've gotta see
what's out there."
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And he'll just race
off across the soccer field
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or over to a tree or something.
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Truman hops out and
he looks at me like,
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"Where are we going?"
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He's just gonna follow me.
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When I take
messages to teachers,
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when I'm walking from
classroom to classroom,
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I go down the hall, I don't
even have to wonder where he is.
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I know if I look down,
he's following right behind me.
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- Right there. - Right there.
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The others, not so much.
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Leashes were made for
Ruby and Porter and Truman,
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I wouldn't have to use a leash.
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- So really in the demographics
of the dog world here
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that you control,
it's kinda like Christians.
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Each one's got their
little different temperament.
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They're all happy, but each
one has a little bit different
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way of following you.
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- Yes, I suppose Porter is
more like the disciple Peter.
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I think the Lord had a
little harder time keeping Peter
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in line than he did, say, John.
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John was probably
always right there with him.
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- Pet first.
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- "Where are we
going now, Lord?"
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But I should be more like that
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because I often am not grateful
for what God has given me,
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what I have here today.
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I'm thinking about, "Oh,
but I need this tomorrow.
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Do you suppose God's really
gonna come through with that?
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Does he know I need that?"
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I maybe am just all I can
think of is what I don't have,
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rather than what I do.
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- And we tend to be
worried about tomorrow's food
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while we're eating today.
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- And let me tell you,
I don't follow very well.
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I know that's a shock to you
as we've been working together.
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You would never have
guessed that I sometimes
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have trouble taking orders.
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(both laughing)
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- I'm not saying the
anything, but it is true.
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You know, I capitulate
to your great wisdom today
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in wanting to do spirituality
with Truman because it's true,
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we need to be more like
the Trumans and be happy
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with what we
have when we have it.
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- When the Lord said that
we need to be little children,
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we understand what he meant
by that innocence, that trust,
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and that's Truman.
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He completely trusts where I go.
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He's not constantly saying,
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"Are you sure
we're gonna go there?
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I don't wanna go over there.
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Can we go this other way?
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It looks easier."
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He's just wherever
I am, he's like this.
00:07:40.69\00:07:44.93
- Truman, thank you for the
lesson today, we appreciate it.
00:07:44.93\00:07:47.96
Did you realize that
the Bible was written
00:07:51.83\00:07:53.77
by about 40
authors over 1,400 years?
00:07:53.77\00:07:57.17
Can you imagine any
human work they could display
00:07:57.17\00:07:59.41
such singleness of
thought and beauty?
00:07:59.41\00:08:02.01
Have you ever questioned
the authenticity of the Bible?
00:08:02.01\00:08:05.01
Some of our film crew
had the wonderful opportunity
00:08:05.01\00:08:07.72
to travel to Israel
to an area called Qumran
00:08:07.72\00:08:10.42
where local Bedouins discovered
seven scrolls in a cave.
00:08:10.42\00:08:13.82
Later, almost all the scrolls
00:08:13.82\00:08:15.72
of the Old Testament were found.
00:08:15.72\00:08:17.39
Go to
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org
00:08:18.59\00:08:20.86
today and order offer #108,
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"Ancient Scrolls
Discovered in Forgotten Caves."
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It's an amazing little pamphlet
and it's yours free today.
00:08:25.63\00:08:29.04
- I felt like Satan was
constantly nipping at my heels
00:08:32.44\00:08:35.28
and I just
couldn't catch my breath.
00:08:35.28\00:08:37.55
I was grieving.
00:08:37.55\00:08:38.91
I felt scared, confused,
anxious, and depressed.
00:08:38.91\00:08:43.35
My life was literally turned
upside down and falling apart.
00:08:43.35\00:08:47.62
I didn't know what to do,
but I knew who had the answers.
00:08:47.62\00:08:51.66
Can you relate?
00:08:51.66\00:08:52.99
This amazing study
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00:09:23.19\00:09:26.90
- Okay, not to be a
stage mom or anything,
00:09:28.36\00:09:30.80
but as we walked over here,
did you notice where Truman was?
00:09:30.80\00:09:35.17
- [Jim] Right by your side, yep.
00:09:35.17\00:09:37.04
- He just follows
right wherever I'm going.
00:09:37.04\00:09:39.24
It's like, "Okay,
we're going here,"
00:09:39.24\00:09:40.98
and he just trots along.
00:09:40.98\00:09:42.68
I didn't even have to
say, "Truman, come on."
00:09:42.68\00:09:45.25
He just, "Oh, you're
moving, that means I'm moving."
00:09:45.25\00:09:48.82
- Yeah, that
really is a good example.
00:09:48.82\00:09:50.95
I gotta give it to you.
00:09:50.95\00:09:52.45
It's a good spiritual example.
00:09:52.45\00:09:54.59
I think about the
children of Israel.
00:09:54.59\00:09:56.62
You know, Israel, they
had no big army, you know,
00:09:56.62\00:10:00.23
relatively small in comparison
to many other nations.
00:10:00.23\00:10:02.90
- Compare 'em
to Assyria or Egypt
00:10:04.40\00:10:06.40
and people would be
betting on Assyria and Egypt.
00:10:06.40\00:10:09.90
- Exactly, exactly.
00:10:09.90\00:10:11.61
As far as size of the
nation, wasn't a big nation
00:10:11.61\00:10:15.44
so they really
couldn't rule over anybody else.
00:10:15.44\00:10:18.51
Matter of fact,
at the time of Jesus,
00:10:18.51\00:10:20.38
they were being ruled over.
00:10:20.38\00:10:22.38
- By Rome. - Yeah.
00:10:22.38\00:10:24.09
- But they had something
00:10:24.09\00:10:25.22
that none of
those other nations had.
00:10:25.22\00:10:26.99
Well, they had God.
00:10:28.02\00:10:29.62
- They had God, yeah,
exactly, they had God.
00:10:29.62\00:10:32.13
God came down,
visited them personally.
00:10:32.13\00:10:34.46
Matter of fact, he gave
them, especially through Moses,
00:10:34.46\00:10:37.23
the first five
books of the Old Testament
00:10:37.23\00:10:39.70
that laid out all
the history of the world,
00:10:39.70\00:10:42.17
the creation, everything,
laid it all out in great detail
00:10:42.17\00:10:46.94
and so the people
had a great passion
00:10:46.94\00:10:48.81
for what they called
Torah, those first five books.
00:10:48.81\00:10:51.78
And so every young boy
wanted to become a rabbi
00:10:51.78\00:10:55.95
because the rabbi was
the one who taught Torah.
00:10:55.95\00:10:58.42
The rabbi was the
one who issued out
00:10:58.42\00:11:00.86
all the understanding of Torah.
00:11:00.86\00:11:03.29
- That was like growing up
to be a senator or a congressman
00:11:03.29\00:11:05.93
or President of
the United States.
00:11:05.93\00:11:07.96
- Yeah, exactly,
and so by about age six,
00:11:07.96\00:11:11.30
they actually had a saying.
00:11:11.30\00:11:12.70
They said, "We'll take
this young boy at about age six,
00:11:12.70\00:11:15.60
and we'll stuff him with Torah,
just like an ox with feed."
00:11:15.60\00:11:19.24
- Interesting analogy there.
00:11:20.48\00:11:22.38
- Oh yeah, it meant
everything to that nation
00:11:22.38\00:11:26.82
to basically get their
young people to really know
00:11:26.82\00:11:30.82
and so these young people-
00:11:30.82\00:11:32.45
- So every boy about age six?
00:11:32.45\00:11:35.42
- Every boy from
starting about age six,
00:11:35.42\00:11:37.29
they begin to learn Torah, they
begin to memorize scripture.
00:11:37.29\00:11:42.00
What a great example for us.
00:11:42.00\00:11:43.90
- Yeah, it would be.
00:11:45.00\00:11:45.97
I remember quite
a lot of scripture,
00:11:47.20\00:11:49.40
especially if it
was ever put to music.
00:11:49.40\00:11:52.07
You know how, well, okay,
00:11:52.07\00:11:53.74
there are huge
chunks of the book of Isaiah
00:11:53.74\00:11:56.31
that I can't read without
internally breaking into song
00:11:56.31\00:12:00.85
because those lyrics
to Handel's "Messiah,"
00:12:00.85\00:12:05.55
that's what comes out
and you just never forget it.
00:12:05.55\00:12:08.09
I heard someone say one time
00:12:08.09\00:12:09.42
"That if you want
to learn scripture,
00:12:09.42\00:12:10.86
the easiest way
is put it to music."
00:12:10.86\00:12:12.96
- Yeah, yeah.
00:12:12.96\00:12:14.00
Some of them we know, you
know, there's many songs now
00:12:15.36\00:12:17.63
they put to music today.
00:12:17.63\00:12:20.47
"Sweeter than the Honeycomb,"
and "Testimony of the Lord."
00:12:21.84\00:12:24.94
I mean, all of
these things, it's catchy.
00:12:24.94\00:12:27.21
You remember it, it
sinks into your heart
00:12:27.21\00:12:29.11
and so that's what they did too.
00:12:29.11\00:12:30.21
They would memorize scripture
00:12:30.21\00:12:31.81
and they would chant scripture,
00:12:31.81\00:12:34.15
which attached it to
just what you're saying.
00:12:34.15\00:12:36.69
- Right, when
you're speaking in unison,
00:12:36.69\00:12:39.52
it's a kind of choir.
00:12:39.52\00:12:41.49
It works the same way.
00:12:41.49\00:12:42.36
- Yeah, but
now, by about age 10,
00:12:42.36\00:12:46.43
the rabbis would
begin looking at who to cut.
00:12:46.43\00:12:49.16
They would see how this
young boy was progressing,
00:12:50.63\00:12:53.34
if he really understood the
meaning of what he was studying
00:12:53.34\00:12:57.04
and if he really had it
together, if the memory was
00:12:57.04\00:13:01.01
just- - Okay, who has
it together when you're 10?
00:13:01.01\00:13:03.88
- Well, apparently
with discipline, they had it
00:13:03.88\00:13:07.22
together, many of them, not
everyone, and that's the key
00:13:07.22\00:13:11.05
here. Now about age 10,
they would begin looking
00:13:11.05\00:13:13.05
at the whole
field and all the boys
00:13:13.05\00:13:15.76
in the school of the
rabbis, and they would say,
00:13:15.76\00:13:19.03
"Young man, I'm
sorry, you're good,
00:13:19.03\00:13:22.20
you love God and
you have a good heart,
00:13:22.20\00:13:23.87
but you just don't
quite make the grade.
00:13:23.87\00:13:27.10
Go home now, get
married, raise a family,
00:13:27.10\00:13:30.21
spend time with Mom and Dad,
00:13:30.21\00:13:31.74
start a business
and just be a good man."
00:13:31.74\00:13:34.68
- 10-year-old failure.
00:13:35.94\00:13:37.25
- Yeah, exactly, really,
that's what it was all about,
00:13:37.25\00:13:39.38
10-year-old failure
because that's the way they felt
00:13:39.38\00:13:42.02
because there was nothing
higher than becoming a rabbi
00:13:42.02\00:13:45.65
and you fell out of the
school of rabbis, basically.
00:13:45.65\00:13:48.62
- It's like having
to go home and say,
00:13:49.72\00:13:51.69
"I didn't make it into Harvard.
00:13:51.69\00:13:53.40
I guess I'll just be a plumber."
00:13:53.40\00:13:56.97
That's the way people
view things like that.
00:13:56.97\00:13:59.10
- No slide on a plumber today.
00:13:59.10\00:14:00.24
- No, no, because we
don't put enough status,
00:14:00.24\00:14:02.57
enough honor on the
kinds of professions
00:14:02.57\00:14:06.21
where you use your hands.
00:14:06.21\00:14:07.51
It's not fair, but
that's the way society works.
00:14:08.84\00:14:11.31
If I could say, "Oh, my
eldest is going to Princeton.
00:14:12.75\00:14:16.82
He was
accepted, or to Stanford,"
00:14:16.82\00:14:19.62
that carries a lot more status,
00:14:19.62\00:14:22.72
a lot more
societal weight than saying,
00:14:22.72\00:14:26.06
"He is gonna be
the best mechanic.
00:14:26.06\00:14:28.70
You are gonna want to
take your car to him."
00:14:28.70\00:14:30.53
- So exactly what
you're just saying,
00:14:30.53\00:14:32.10
that was a slight
to the parents too.
00:14:32.10\00:14:34.47
My child fell out of school
to the rest of the neighbors.
00:14:34.47\00:14:38.91
Your son-
00:14:38.91\00:14:39.97
- Especially if your
neighbor's kid made it.
00:14:39.97\00:14:41.64
- I see your son came home.
00:14:41.64\00:14:42.91
"Oh, yeah, he did."
00:14:42.91\00:14:45.18
And so it was a
slight all the way around.
00:14:45.18\00:14:48.48
But then for those who
stayed, they continued to study.
00:14:48.48\00:14:51.85
They joined Beth
Talmud, the House of Learning,
00:14:51.85\00:14:54.82
and they continued
to study until they knew
00:14:54.82\00:14:57.36
all five full
books, all of this.
00:14:57.36\00:15:00.20
They knew every
bit of that by heart.
00:15:00.20\00:15:02.03
- Oh wow.
00:15:03.37\00:15:04.27
- Then it was time to actually-
00:15:05.60\00:15:06.90
- We don't memorize like that.
00:15:06.90\00:15:08.37
- No. - It used to be common.
00:15:08.37\00:15:11.01
I can remember
reading about old preachers
00:15:11.01\00:15:14.24
who could basically
preach from the New Testament
00:15:14.24\00:15:17.31
and never have to
actually open the Bible.
00:15:17.31\00:15:19.78
My husband is
pretty good at that.
00:15:21.22\00:15:23.08
I'm often saying, "Hey, Steve,
what is that text that says,
00:15:23.08\00:15:26.49
you know, it's about this?"
00:15:26.49\00:15:27.86
And I can remember a phrase
or what it's generally about.
00:15:27.86\00:15:30.43
And he'll go, "Oh, well, yes,
00:15:30.43\00:15:31.46
that's 1
Thessalonians such and such."
00:15:31.46\00:15:33.19
I'm always like, "
How do you do that?"
00:15:33.19\00:15:34.46
I'm glad.
00:15:34.46\00:15:35.76
It's easier to ask him
than to go and look it up,
00:15:35.76\00:15:39.00
but it's like, "How
do you retain that?"
00:15:39.00\00:15:41.54
- When I first
became a Christian,
00:15:41.54\00:15:42.87
there was a
preacher who was famous
00:15:42.87\00:15:45.37
within his
denomination and years later
00:15:45.37\00:15:49.14
I had one of the
fellows that used to follow him
00:15:49.14\00:15:51.85
and he would be up
on the platform with him
00:15:51.85\00:15:53.92
as he was ready to preach,
00:15:53.92\00:15:55.32
and this old
preacher was preaching
00:15:55.32\00:15:57.09
and he had to
have really bad eyes.
00:15:57.09\00:15:58.59
He had the bible up
here really close to him
00:15:58.59\00:16:00.86
and he's quoting scripture.
00:16:00.86\00:16:02.26
He'd tell the scripture
00:16:02.26\00:16:03.36
and then he'd
quote it and he'd read.
00:16:03.36\00:16:04.83
And the friend behind me said,
00:16:04.83\00:16:06.83
"He'd have the Bible
upside down sometimes.
00:16:06.83\00:16:08.76
He was so bad he
couldn't even see the Bible,
00:16:08.76\00:16:10.77
but he knew every scripture,
he was quoting everything."
00:16:10.77\00:16:13.23
- He just wanted people to
think that he was reading it,
00:16:13.23\00:16:15.94
so they wouldn't
question what he was saying.
00:16:15.94\00:16:17.44
- Well, he just
wanted them to know
00:16:17.44\00:16:19.11
he was digging into
God's Word, you know,
00:16:19.11\00:16:20.94
this wasn't from him.
00:16:20.94\00:16:22.61
But, so these young men,
00:16:22.61\00:16:24.65
when they would
reach about age 14, 15,
00:16:24.65\00:16:27.55
they would ask the rabbi,
"Can we continue on with you?"
00:16:27.55\00:16:30.22
Rabbi would never ask them.
00:16:30.22\00:16:32.32
- Why not?
00:16:32.32\00:16:33.42
- Rabbi wouldn't
lower themselves to seek.
00:16:33.42\00:16:35.92
- Oh, that would be
like begging someone?
00:16:35.92\00:16:37.49
- Yeah, so now the
rabbi would question them.
00:16:37.49\00:16:40.50
What's two plus two?
00:16:41.23\00:16:42.96
- That's easy, four.
00:16:42.96\00:16:44.30
- Well, except he wasn't
looking for linear thinking
00:16:44.30\00:16:47.07
like you and I would
be here in this country.
00:16:47.07\00:16:50.84
He said, you
know, they would answer,
00:16:50.84\00:16:52.17
"What's the square root of 16?"
00:16:52.17\00:16:54.54
He was looking
for a lot more depth,
00:16:54.54\00:16:56.58
which really is what the
scripture is all about too.
00:16:56.58\00:16:59.38
God's word has deep
meaning, great meaning.
00:16:59.38\00:17:01.72
He wanted to see if
they could handle it.
00:17:01.72\00:17:03.52
- If they were doing
more than just memorizing.
00:17:03.52\00:17:05.25
- Exactly, exactly.
00:17:05.25\00:17:06.65
- That they were
actually thinking
00:17:06.65\00:17:07.46
about what they'd been reading.
00:17:07.46\00:17:08.66
- Yeah, but the thing is,
00:17:08.66\00:17:11.16
not all of those
made the cut either,
00:17:12.23\00:17:13.73
but the ones that
did, they would say,
00:17:13.73\00:17:15.36
"Okay, you're accepted.
00:17:15.36\00:17:17.53
You're accepted, come
on now and follow me."
00:17:17.53\00:17:20.34
But there's an
interesting thing.
00:17:21.50\00:17:23.91
While they had
their situation of calling
00:17:23.91\00:17:26.47
and seeking out a
few, there's somebody else
00:17:26.47\00:17:29.31
who had a major
calling who said, "Follow me."
00:17:29.31\00:17:33.62
Wasn't the rabbis, though.
00:17:33.62\00:17:35.25
(Jim laughing)
00:17:35.25\00:17:36.52
(reflective music)
00:17:36.52\00:17:39.52
Did you realize that
the Bible was written
00:17:41.32\00:17:43.26
by about 40
authors over 1,400 years?
00:17:43.26\00:17:46.63
Can you imagine any
human work that could display
00:17:46.63\00:17:48.86
such singleness of
thought and beauty?
00:17:48.86\00:17:51.47
Have you ever questioned
the authenticity of the Bible?
00:17:51.47\00:17:54.50
Some of our film crew had
that wonderful opportunity
00:17:54.50\00:17:57.17
to travel to Israel
to an area called Qumran
00:17:57.17\00:17:59.87
where local Bedouins discovered
seven scrolls in a cave.
00:17:59.87\00:18:03.28
Later, almost all the scrolls
00:18:03.28\00:18:05.18
of the Old Testament were found.
00:18:05.18\00:18:07.62
Go to
TalkingDonkeyInternational.org
00:18:07.62\00:18:10.32
today and order offer #108,
00:18:10.32\00:18:12.45
"Ancient Scrolls
Discovered in Forgotten Caves."
00:18:12.45\00:18:15.09
It's an amazing little pamphlet
and it's yours free today.
00:18:15.09\00:18:18.56
- I felt like Satan was
constantly nipping at my heels
00:18:22.16\00:18:25.00
and I just
couldn't catch my breath.
00:18:25.00\00:18:27.27
I was grieving.
00:18:27.27\00:18:28.64
I felt scared, confused,
anxious, and depressed.
00:18:28.64\00:18:33.07
My life was literally turned
upside down and falling apart.
00:18:33.07\00:18:37.38
I didn't know what to do,
but I knew who had the answers.
00:18:37.38\00:18:41.42
Can you relate?
00:18:41.42\00:18:42.72
This amazing study
guide changed my life.
00:18:43.79\00:18:47.32
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00:18:53.60\00:18:56.23
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00:18:56.23\00:18:59.30
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00:18:59.30\00:19:02.87
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00:19:02.87\00:19:05.37
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00:19:05.37\00:19:08.84
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00:19:12.91\00:19:16.65
- You might say there was
real juxtaposition in history
00:19:18.55\00:19:21.76
because enter Jesus
Christ, the ultimate Rabbi,
00:19:21.76\00:19:25.29
totally different
than the other rabbis.
00:19:25.29\00:19:27.60
I mean, you think about it,
00:19:27.60\00:19:28.90
I understand
there's over 17,000 volumes
00:19:28.90\00:19:32.50
in the Library of Congress
written about Jesus Christ.
00:19:32.50\00:19:35.64
- I can believe it.
00:19:35.64\00:19:36.74
- Yeah, amazing stuff.
00:19:36.74\00:19:38.14
I mean, you think about, well,
00:19:38.14\00:19:41.14
we've been out
on the golf course.
00:19:41.14\00:19:42.51
We were doing a different
episode on a golf course
00:19:42.51\00:19:44.71
and did you ever hear anybody
when they missed a put saying,
00:19:44.71\00:19:47.68
"Oh, Mahatma Gandhi,"
or, "Oh, George Washington."
00:19:47.68\00:19:52.42
- No, they say
the name of the Lord,
00:19:52.42\00:19:55.42
but they're not using
it in a very nice way.
00:19:55.42\00:19:57.33
- Yeah, not in the right way.
00:19:57.33\00:19:58.43
- But that's what
comes to their mind.
00:19:58.43\00:19:59.56
Everybody knows who he is.
00:19:59.56\00:20:01.20
- But I think about
in Matthew, you know,
00:20:01.20\00:20:03.63
Jesus had been teaching,
00:20:03.63\00:20:05.63
overlooking the
Sea of Galilee up there
00:20:05.63\00:20:08.44
on that beautiful day
with thousands of people,
00:20:08.44\00:20:11.97
been talking to them
about what really mattered,
00:20:11.97\00:20:14.18
what was really
the important things.
00:20:14.18\00:20:16.41
The rabbis had
taught in one way,
00:20:16.41\00:20:18.58
but Jesus was
teaching from the heart.
00:20:18.58\00:20:20.62
Jesus was teaching
from the Throne of God
00:20:20.62\00:20:23.45
really speaking
through him to all the people.
00:20:23.45\00:20:26.69
- People recognized
that he was not the same
00:20:26.69\00:20:28.82
as the other teachers.
00:20:28.82\00:20:29.79
- Exactly, exactly.
00:20:29.79\00:20:31.83
I have one favorite writer
that talks about as we accept
00:20:31.83\00:20:34.23
Christ into our lives, we
receive the fragrance of Jesus.
00:20:34.23\00:20:38.60
And think about that,
you know, you smell a rose
00:20:40.04\00:20:41.17
and it just
permeates everything.
00:20:41.17\00:20:43.17
You bring a rose in-
00:20:43.17\00:20:44.41
- And you know it's a rose.
00:20:44.41\00:20:45.64
You can be blindfolded,
and if someone says,
00:20:45.64\00:20:47.21
"Here, sniff this,"
you know immediately.
00:20:47.21\00:20:49.91
Nothing else smells like that.
00:20:49.91\00:20:52.88
- Exactly. -
You can identify it.
00:20:52.88\00:20:53.85
- And so Jesus would come
00:20:53.85\00:20:55.15
and that fragrance
just wafted everywhere.
00:20:55.15\00:20:57.79
And the people said in
chapter seven, verse 28,
00:20:57.79\00:21:00.16
"And it came to pass when
Jesus had ended these sayings,
00:21:00.16\00:21:02.92
the people were
astonished at his doctrine."
00:21:02.92\00:21:06.13
Why? - Because
he was so different.
00:21:06.13\00:21:08.03
- Yeah, exactly, he
was so different, taught so
00:21:08.03\00:21:11.03
differently. And
such amazing things.
00:21:11.03\00:21:13.60
He had, well, he
didn't write any books.
00:21:13.60\00:21:16.34
He didn't lead an army.
00:21:16.34\00:21:17.71
He didn't even have a home,
but he was totally different.
00:21:17.71\00:21:21.28
And Ralph Waldo Emerson
made an interesting comment.
00:21:21.28\00:21:24.81
- I know which one.
00:21:24.81\00:21:26.61
I may not say it exactly right,
00:21:26.61\00:21:28.72
but he talked about the
fact that the name of Jesus
00:21:28.72\00:21:32.15
isn't just written into
history, it's plowed into it.
00:21:32.15\00:21:37.23
It was the depth that it is,
00:21:38.03\00:21:39.09
that it would be
hard to rewrite history
00:21:39.09\00:21:41.76
and pretend that
he had never existed.
00:21:41.76\00:21:44.97
- If people
don't believe in Jesus,
00:21:44.97\00:21:47.14
all they need to
do is begin looking
00:21:47.14\00:21:49.04
at all the telltale signs
that have been left behind
00:21:49.04\00:21:52.17
about Jesus
Christ, who is still here.
00:21:52.17\00:21:54.88
I mean, it's so
exciting to think about it.
00:21:56.11\00:21:58.28
Now, Jesus, he was
called Rabbi 14 times
00:21:58.28\00:22:02.05
in the New Testament,
and I believe about 40 times-
00:22:02.05\00:22:04.62
- Rabbi, teacher. -
Yeah, 40 times teacher.
00:22:04.62\00:22:08.09
You just didn't give
that title out to anybody.
00:22:08.09\00:22:11.06
It just wasn't given out.
00:22:11.06\00:22:12.66
I mean, as we talked
about earlier, that was a sacred
00:22:12.66\00:22:15.16
title, you know, that was the
leader of the nation for God.
00:22:15.16\00:22:18.17
- Like you don't call
just anyone, Dr. So-and-so.
00:22:18.17\00:22:20.74
- Yeah, they just
doesn't pass it out in coupons,
00:22:20.74\00:22:24.34
although some people
might, but it wasn't the case.
00:22:24.34\00:22:27.34
Now, this Jesus
was so different.
00:22:27.34\00:22:29.44
He wasn't, again, like I say,
00:22:29.44\00:22:30.85
like the rabbis who wanted to
pontificate in the marketplace
00:22:30.85\00:22:34.15
and say the prayer so
everybody could see them.
00:22:34.15\00:22:36.52
No, he walked down to the shore
00:22:36.52\00:22:39.62
and there was a
couple of men down there.
00:22:39.62\00:22:41.39
He says, "Hey, come follow me."
00:22:41.39\00:22:44.19
Who were these
guys down there? Why?
00:22:44.19\00:22:46.36
These were the young
men who were the rejects,
00:22:46.36\00:22:48.36
the 10-year-olds
who the rabbi said-
00:22:48.36\00:22:50.53
- They hadn't made
it beyond the first cut.
00:22:50.53\00:22:52.07
- Rabbi said, "Go home,
marry somebody, integrate,
00:22:52.07\00:22:54.67
work, get a good job,
and live a good life."
00:22:54.67\00:22:57.77
Been rejected, but not God.
00:22:57.77\00:23:01.04
God says, "Hey,
come, you know, come."
00:23:01.04\00:23:03.78
And we think about Jesus
did that to so many people.
00:23:03.78\00:23:07.05
- I get a sports
analogy and I don't know why
00:23:08.48\00:23:10.92
because I'm not very sporty,
00:23:10.92\00:23:12.85
but it would be kind of
like not making the cut,
00:23:12.85\00:23:16.69
being a bench warmer on your
high school basketball team,
00:23:16.69\00:23:19.89
and yet a few years
later having the NBA
00:23:19.89\00:23:22.70
coming and recruiting you.
00:23:22.70\00:23:24.83
Who would turn that down?
00:23:24.83\00:23:26.74
- Yeah, that's
exactly, you've nailed it.
00:23:26.74\00:23:28.80
That's exactly what it
was, is God himself comes down
00:23:28.80\00:23:33.88
as man and humanity
and says, "Come, follow me.
00:23:35.01\00:23:38.41
I've got a real
plan for your life."
00:23:38.41\00:23:40.98
Would you leave that?
00:23:40.98\00:23:43.05
We say, "Well,
they left their nets.
00:23:43.05\00:23:44.95
They left their
family, they left everybody."
00:23:44.95\00:23:47.59
I'm kind of thinking-
00:23:47.59\00:23:48.69
- [Janice] They
didn't have to think twice.
00:23:48.69\00:23:50.06
- No, and I'm kind of thinking
that even though the family
00:23:50.06\00:23:51.89
may have been a
little dubious about Jesus
00:23:51.89\00:23:53.83
because the rabbis were putting
all kinds of misinformation,
00:23:53.83\00:23:58.03
but they were saying, "Wow,
my son got called by the Rabbi."
00:23:58.03\00:24:01.74
You know, you say
that to the neighbors.
00:24:01.74\00:24:02.94
- The one that
everybody's talking about.
00:24:02.94\00:24:04.07
- Yeah, and one of
'em turns around and says,
00:24:04.07\00:24:06.24
"He's gonna sit up the
right hand of God, my son."
00:24:06.24\00:24:09.61
All of these things, and so,
00:24:10.41\00:24:12.05
but Jesus is seeking
those that everybody else
00:24:12.05\00:24:14.68
has kind of rejected.
00:24:14.68\00:24:16.42
He's kind of putting it
down, you know, and I wanna-
00:24:16.42\00:24:18.39
- He sees
something else in people.
00:24:18.39\00:24:21.09
Someone that you might
walk past, Jesus might say,
00:24:21.09\00:24:24.89
"There's a real jewel,
I'm not walking past that.
00:24:24.89\00:24:27.76
I'm picking that one out."
00:24:27.76\00:24:29.40
- Exactly, he
came for all the jewels
00:24:29.40\00:24:31.73
and how many are jewels?
00:24:31.73\00:24:33.67
- All of 'em in his eyes.
00:24:33.67\00:24:35.00
- All of 'em. -
Everybody wants to be one.
00:24:35.00\00:24:37.27
- There's the key, yeah,
00:24:37.27\00:24:38.41
everybody who wants
to be a jewel can be
00:24:38.41\00:24:41.24
because he will
empower when he calls.
00:24:41.24\00:24:44.01
He says, "I'll
give you the power.
00:24:44.01\00:24:46.08
I'll give you the strength.
00:24:46.08\00:24:47.85
I'll give you the knowledge
00:24:47.85\00:24:49.15
so you can memorize
Torah if you need to."
00:24:49.15\00:24:51.89
All of these,
"I will be with you
00:24:51.89\00:24:53.89
and we can do it together."
00:24:53.89\00:24:55.12
I mean, think about that.
00:24:55.12\00:24:56.36
Would you want to follow Jesus?
00:24:56.36\00:24:58.16
- Yeah, I probably would've
dropped my nets and gone,
00:24:58.16\00:25:00.46
"I'm not passing
that opportunity up."
00:25:00.46\00:25:02.90
- Yeah, the tax
collector, Matthew, same thing.
00:25:02.90\00:25:05.27
- He walked away from
more than just his nets.
00:25:05.27\00:25:08.00
- Piles of money,
we don't know how much,
00:25:08.00\00:25:09.30
but it was a lot of money.
00:25:09.30\00:25:10.67
Now, I would've maybe
said, "Well, Lord, let me just."
00:25:10.67\00:25:13.41
- Scoop up a little with me.
00:25:13.41\00:25:14.91
- "We can use that
on the trip, you know.
00:25:14.91\00:25:16.64
We can gather a little
bit up here, you know."
00:25:16.64\00:25:18.71
But no, he left it all.
00:25:18.71\00:25:21.45
Zacchaeus, called
Zacchaeus out of a tree.
00:25:21.45\00:25:22.72
Zacchaeus said, "Yeah,
Lord, I'll leave it all.
00:25:22.72\00:25:25.05
Matter of fact, I'll give
back to those that I defrauded."
00:25:25.05\00:25:28.12
- Yeah, what,
four times as much?
00:25:28.12\00:25:29.62
- Yeah, he's said,
"I'll take care of it."
00:25:29.62\00:25:31.43
- He did more than
just make good on it.
00:25:31.43\00:25:34.00
He said, "If I've cheated you
$100, I'll give you 400 back."
00:25:34.00\00:25:39.07
- Yeah, that's the real thing.
00:25:39.87\00:25:40.94
When the true Rabbi
Jesus calls you, answer.
00:25:40.94\00:25:44.71
Time you answer.
00:25:45.84\00:25:47.24
- After the Sermon on the Mount,
00:25:49.41\00:25:51.08
everybody was asking
themselves, "Who is this?"
00:25:52.38\00:25:55.12
He was so different.
00:25:55.12\00:25:56.32
He spoke with such authority.
00:25:56.32\00:25:58.09
They were all wanting to
know, "Where'd he come from?
00:25:58.09\00:26:00.66
Who is it?"
00:26:00.66\00:26:01.76
And we have that
same choice today.
00:26:01.76\00:26:04.23
We have to ask ourselves,
"Who do we think Jesus is?
00:26:04.23\00:26:07.93
And what choices might
he be asking us to make?"
00:26:07.93\00:26:12.10
- You know, it's
interesting in those choices.
00:26:12.10\00:26:13.47
I've got a
little prayer, actually,
00:26:13.47\00:26:15.20
that was written
about the time of Jesus,
00:26:15.20\00:26:18.21
and it was written
with the idea in mind of,
00:26:18.21\00:26:20.54
you know, the young
people that followed the rabbi,
00:26:20.54\00:26:24.55
it sounds funny, but
they would even follow them
00:26:24.55\00:26:26.75
into the restroom
because they may say a word,
00:26:26.75\00:26:29.02
they may say something
to God that they wanted
00:26:29.02\00:26:31.15
to make certain
they grabbed ahold of.
00:26:31.15\00:26:33.32
- They didn't wanna miss a word.
00:26:33.32\00:26:34.49
- Didn't wanna miss a word.
00:26:34.49\00:26:35.76
And the rabbis, the one thing,
00:26:35.76\00:26:37.33
the good thing the rabbis did,
00:26:37.33\00:26:38.93
they would take some honey
and they'd put it on the tongue
00:26:38.93\00:26:41.26
of the young person while
they're reciting the scripture
00:26:41.26\00:26:43.70
so they associate
it with sweetness.
00:26:43.70\00:26:46.47
You know, the
sweetness of God is amazing.
00:26:46.47\00:26:49.00
And this prayer says,
00:26:49.00\00:26:50.87
"May you follow
your rabbi so closely
00:26:50.87\00:26:53.27
that his sandals
kick up the dust."
00:26:53.27\00:26:55.94
You are so close to him
that the dust covers you.
00:26:55.94\00:26:59.35
That's got to be
getting close to Jesus.
00:26:59.35\00:27:01.92
"May you never
be out of his sight.
00:27:01.92\00:27:03.49
May you never be someplace
00:27:03.49\00:27:04.75
where you can't
hear him speak to you.
00:27:04.75\00:27:07.06
May you fall so deeply in
love with him that nothing,
00:27:07.06\00:27:09.76
no trial, no
problem, no heartache,
00:27:09.76\00:27:11.46
will ever separate
you from his side."
00:27:11.46\00:27:13.96
- We have a choice to make.
00:27:14.93\00:27:16.80
We have that same choice.
00:27:16.80\00:27:18.77
Will you follow?
00:27:18.77\00:27:20.74
How closely will you follow
00:27:20.74\00:27:22.70
so that Jesus is
never out of your sight?
00:27:22.70\00:27:25.64
And to do that, you have
to fall in love with Jesus.
00:27:25.64\00:27:28.28
You have to listen to his call.
00:27:28.28\00:27:30.08
Be willing to drop
everything and make sure
00:27:30.08\00:27:33.45
that the dust from his
sandals is getting on you.
00:27:33.45\00:27:36.82
- Just as Rabbi
Jesus called the disciples,
00:27:36.82\00:27:39.05
so he's calling you today.
00:27:39.05\00:27:40.56
Please, answer him right now.
00:27:40.56\00:27:42.49
Choose Jesus.
00:27:42.49\00:27:43.56
Rabbi Jesus is the
answer to everything.
00:27:43.56\00:27:46.13
Thank you for watching.
00:27:47.36\00:27:48.70
Join us again for
another exciting Country Wisdom.
00:27:48.70\00:27:50.70
- See you next time.
00:27:50.70\00:27:52.20
(gentle music)
00:27:52.20\00:27:54.84