Justin: 0:00

Challenge yourself with something rigorous, not just your jobs, but how do you challenge yourself and grow?

Rhett: 0:06

Yeah.

Justin: 0:06

You know, my wife just finished getting her doctorate. As we've already said, that was the most incredibly rigorous process I can only imagine. But what it did? It made her synthesize thoughts. And the byproduct now she can actually sit with somebody or she can develop curriculums and go so much deeper than she could have ever dreamed of before. You put rigor into what you know now effortlessly. The only difference is now you've lost that desire to put rigor into your life, to actually stretch yourself.

Rhett: 0:50

What is going on, friends? Welcome back to another episode of the podcast, with your friends Rhett and Justin, right here at Armchair Authentic. It's always great to have you along for the ride today. We cannot wait to jump into the conversation, so we're jumping into it right now. You guys ready, here we go well, rhett um we like. Making impact, I would say we do right, it's fun, you know, isn't it fun? It is, it's fun not just waste your time.

Justin: 1:19

Yeah, yeah yeah, like I want to accomplish something. Of course we do. You know, you set out, a man sets out one day to change the world and change the world.

Rhett: 1:29

And that reminds me of oh, what's that movie? Uh, oh, noah's Ark movie. It was with oh man, the guy that played in the office. Uh, steve, steve.

Justin: 1:37

Carell Evan, evan almighty Great movie I never saw it. So biblical? Are you kidding me? I saw Bruce Almighty. What are we gonna do?

Rhett: 1:46

Change the world. Bruce Almighty is like that's pretty sacrilegious, but the Noah's Ark one Really.

Justin: 1:52

I mean I need to see it. I say sacrilegious, you know whatever.

Rhett: 1:56

It's a little more on the extreme side, sure, with Jim Carrey, but like Jim Carrey, extreme, oh yeah. But I can't believe you've not watched Noah's Ark one. It is, so I need to put that on my list. It's wholesome, it's fun.

Justin: 2:10

So Evan Almighty All right, we watched with the kids not long ago. You need to watch Evan Almighty. Evan Almighty, okay, evan Almighty. The two oldest we watched, oh my gosh, not the two youngest.

Rhett: 2:25

What are we? Is that really? That's his sole thing. He runs it, he's a senator or whatever. Okay, he won his Senate campaign off. What are we going to do? Change the world.

Justin: 2:30

Well then, let's run with that campaign. What do we want to do? Change the world, that's right and we want to change the world, and so I would like to share a story of victory, okay, of changing the world, and victory of changing the world, and I think you'll be, you'll feel very proud because you were a part of this. Okay, great, okay, make me proud. So the other day, I went to Starbucks, which I protested for a day, yeah, you remember I remember we had a half of episode on this.

Rhett: 2:57

I went to.

Justin: 2:57

Seven Bruins Day. Yeah, I mean, it's even titled protesting Starbucks for a day.

Rhett: 3:05

I think it's something like that. I mean it's very literal.

Justin: 3:07

I mean it might be. Just go find that episode and you, you would hear our concern about this new policy. Starbucks rolled out where if you're going to drink inside the restaurant, um, they offer you the which we said porcelain, it's probably some other, just the mug, it's the hard mug that could break If you drop it.

Rhett: 3:25

Ceramic ceramic is the right word. Hey, I actually came up with a big word.

Justin: 3:27

You did great. I'm proud of you, thank you. What are?

Rhett: 3:31

you gonna do? I'm maturing, maturating, changing the world. If you listen to the last episode, you'll understand the maturation. It is ceramic and we could not have said porcelain no, another time.

Justin: 3:42

I mean I counted probably 30 something times we said the word porcelain and it made sense. It lets you know it's breakable, but really these ceramic mugs they give you if you want a refill. And I just let you know what I thought about that. I wasn't really happy.

Rhett: 3:56

They weren't giving you free refills Unless you got ceramic and so, or porcelain. Because they're wanted to keep you in the store.

Justin: 4:04

They wanted to keep you in the store and they wanted to save trees.

Rhett: 4:08

Those darn ceramic mugs don't keep nothing hot.

Justin: 4:10

And we declared on that episode.

Rhett: 4:12

We did, we went viral.

Justin: 4:13

That I was going to protest Starbucks for a day. I mean, I let them hear it in that episode. You go back and listen. I mean I let them hear it. Good, a whole day. They heard, they heard red, you know. Because what are we gonna do?

Rhett: 4:29

change the world that's right.

Justin: 4:31

And so I went to starbucks the other day and I went ahead and got ready. Just give me my dang ceramic mug and he says do you want ceramic or paper? So well, if I want my refill, I know I got to do ceramic. They said no, they actually.

Rhett: 4:49

They completely threw that policy out all of a sudden you can hear the noise right. So what?

Justin: 4:56

do you mean he said well is I mean? That came in so fast and it went out as fast as it came in?

Rhett: 5:02

and you're like really heaven.

Justin: 5:03

Yes, oh, you better believe it. And all I could do, I'm like man, all I could feel inside is like what are we gonna do, change the world? And I looked at him and I said you know why that changed? I'm not, I'm not exaggerating. Now I said do you know why they changed it? He's like he could care less. He's like no, I just would you give me your order? Yeah, there's a couple of people behind and I'm like no, and you know, I don't really advertise our podcast much. It's more like word of mouth. People are like I hear that you have a podcast. I'll put it on the stories. Every Monday when we drop an episode, I'll throw it on Instagram stories.

Justin: 5:39

It's there for 24 hours and people see that If people ask about something I'll say yeah, me and my buddy best friend for life. We've. We got a podcast that brings up stories. Other than that we really don't get out and market this podcast because we see it as our time together just to talk, and the listeners that have jumped on, which we're thrilled over 500 cities we're thankful for that and new countries have jumped aboard.

Rhett: 6:02

I don't know where this is coming from, so we're thankful for that, and new countries have jumped aboard. I don't know where this is coming from. So, hey, germany, welcome. I know right, the Netherlands, and Germany and Switzerland. I always love it when we have some people join us. Let's go.

Justin: 6:12

But we're not doing it for that, to get the name out. But we're so thankful when people join the journey. Okay and so anyway, but I do, I pull out my phone and before I use my Starbucks app, I pull up and I'm trying to find Armchair Authentic, like I'm looking it up. You're like see this is what I'm talking about right here, of course. It's like well, there's evidently a podcast. We learned that was called Armchair Expert.

Rhett: 6:38

We had no clue. That's not us. That's not us, by the way, that's a really popular one Great name, dax. It's the same name as my oldest son.

Justin: 6:47

Dax Shepard. Hey, meet Dax Bradshaw, but I'm pulling it up. I finally get ours pulled up and I show it to him. I'm like that, right there.

Rhett: 6:55

He did not, oh, I did.

Justin: 6:57

That's awesome and he's like okay. And then I found the episode. I had to find it. It said protesting Starbucks for a day. Yeah, so you see that there. That hit the air and it got back to corporate in Seattle.

Rhett: 7:10

The old place at. Pike place over there where we are in Seattle. I tagged it Hashtag Starbucks hashtag all the stuff that they would see it, yeah, and I said so.

Justin: 7:19

I would like to think that me and my friends podcast have something to do with this, and you know what he said, I'm sure you did what would you like and I gave my order because you know what he said, I'm sure you did, I'm sure it felt really good and I really felt like that in that moment that we really did make an impact. Because what do we want to do? Change the world. We want to change the world. So I just thought I would report back this testimony to our listeners, who heard how we agonize giving up Starbucks for a whole day. It made an impact and they heard about it.

Rhett: 7:52

It's so funny. So you talking about you and I and not advertising this podcast, cause we I mean, you know, advertising in the sense of what every social media person would tell you right now is you got to have a minimum of like 10 posts a day. I'm like that ain't happening, bro, like not with us. Unless we get to a place where we can add sponsors to where they can, we can hire somebody to do that. They're doing it for us. I mean, this is a you know.

Rhett: 8:18

You find us by accident happy accident or a friend you know you're sharing it, and so that's why we encourage everybody like to share it if you're enjoying it, so it means so much. But what's funny is I had the retreat the other day and I don't know if I've already said this. We can edit this out, because I don't want to sound like self-serving at all.

Justin: 8:38

No, go for it, but like, listen, because we want to change the world, we want to change all your, we want to change the world, tell your story.

Rhett: 8:42

Because it's not self-serving, but it's interesting to me. It actually put a smile on my face because I'm having a conversation with this guy and he's talking with me, and I'm talking with him and this is at the retreat and we've never met. Like my wife works with his wife, oh cool. And so we're meeting people and I'm meeting this guy. He's a husband of a staff member. I'm like oh, I'm a husband of a staff member too. You know, we're just connecting and as we're talking, he's looking at me. He's like God, your voice sounds familiar. He's like man, like I don't, he can't, he can't figure it out. He's like I know your voice, I don't what, what is it? He's like dude, like he's literally confused, you know. He's like I don't man. He said do you do you? Now he's thinking that he's crazy at this point. He's like do you, do you know Justin Bradshaw? Like, yeah, my best friend, do you? Are you on the podcast with Justin?

Justin: 9:39

Bradshaw. I'm like, yeah, that's me, that's who I am.

Rhett: 9:43

He's like God, your voice? I didn't know who you were. I've listened and I love listening and it's hilarious and we have a good time and I really enjoy your podcast, but I just didn't know. Because we don't advertise, we don't put our picture on everything and whatever, and he's like I've been wanting. I was like, god, I want to meet this Rhett guy.

Justin: 10:04

I don't know who he is, and here it is, and so I was like yes, I have a face for radio. So you're welcome.

Justin: 10:08

Well, it's funny, I'll get random texts from people and they're friends, but it's just random text and I don't catch what they're doing. It'll say a statement, like the other day and I won't get the quote right. But they had God. They wrote me something. It was like you know what. I'm going to look it up because it was funny. While you're doing that, I want to give a shout out to Jeffrey.

Rhett: 10:32

So his name was Jeffrey and Jeffrey. Thank you, number one, for just hanging out with another fellow dude at the retreat. I had a great time meeting you and it really was funny and encouraging. So I'm glad you're listening, man, invite more of your peeps to follow, and it was just a fun moment. I'm looking forward to hopefully getting to know Jeffrey more. He's a good guy.

Justin: 10:55

The times that I've even got to hang out with him he really is and he told me one time he had shared a story it was really really cool. I won't get into it now, but it was a ministry. He was on his way for a very sad situation I guess I will say it where a family had lost a child and he's on his way to go meet with this family and he's praying literally like God, help me in this, what to say, because there are no words.

Rhett: 11:22

Yeah.

Justin: 11:24

And it might have been Pastor Randy's episode.

Rhett: 11:26

I thought it was. It might've been. Yeah, I think it was Pastor Randy's episode when they had lost Nancy, their daughter, and there was something he had said it was actually something, a question you would ask and that he had ended up answering, and it was.

Justin: 11:40

It gave Jeff that answer of oh my gosh, Lord, that just spoke to me and he was able to minister to that family, and that was really powerful when you hear little testimonials like that. So I was just grateful that we could take Pastor Randy's story and put it out there for people to be ministered to and to further the mission and the gospel of even a man like Pastor Randy, who is getting to touch someone in the whole other side of the state that we're in at this time, you know, in Alabama for him to then go to a place to have to deliver or to minister under some really really tough conditions, and so I'm grateful for that.

Justin: 12:21

But what's really neat is I'll get these random texts, as I was saying a while ago, and I pulled it up because one of my buddies sent me this just random text and he said can we move this conversation downwind, downwind? And I'm like see, well, evidently you get it, because I don't. I remember that I have not even been talking to him.

Justin: 12:43

Yeah, because he's talking about something we talked about on the conference the episode and I write down when I think I see it and I finally write back I'm like, what do you mean? And that's what he was like. Yeah, Laugh out loud. I was listening to the podcast Rhett story about talking to the to the old man at Parkway, and so listen to the earlier episode for some deal on that.

Rhett: 13:08

If you're new to this, welcome to the conversation that just keeps growing and going and going. It's so funny how that worked.

Justin: 13:15

But we, you know. So we made some major strides there with Starbucks, and I would like to tell the people who love Starbucks. You know we're we're, we're grateful that we were able to help do that for you and um, and I'm sure there were some other people who said things too. That maybe help get it pushed, but I would like to think that we had a big chunk of that.

Rhett: 13:36

Well, let's just say we, let's be self claiming that we are the ones that changed the world with the Starbucks cups.

Justin: 13:42

We, yeah, and we don't ask for any thanks for that. But you're welcome. Yeah, you are welcome If that helps you feel relieved. But you don't owe us anything. It's a way that we can serve you and I benefit with my refills now, so anyway, so have you been back to Seven Brew since driving?

Rhett: 13:59

through no because they dropped the policy. Yeah, so there you go, and the fact that I was coming back either way Dang it.

Justin: 14:07

They were like man. We lost that guy.

Rhett: 14:09

We were going to bug him. Good the next time.

Justin: 14:14

We didn't get to know him enough to ask what he's doing this weekend and what concert he's going to.

Rhett: 14:18

I couldn't climb through his window, yeah.

Justin: 14:21

Dang it, yeah, well, thankfully they didn't drown.

Justin: 14:24

So we talked last week. If you haven't heard this episode yet, we had a really good episode last week about emotions and, as we say, some of these conversations really are happening as we talk and we try to talk out of overflow, but, rhett, I loved how you pulled up that chart. But we basically covered all the spectrum of these emotions we go through and there's not, like some, that are the good and the bad ones. They're all God created and there's a way to actually deal with them in the right way versus the shadow way that we could, because you can be fake happy all day long and there's a shadow side of that. And then there's the shadow angry, where it's a sinful type anger.

Justin: 15:03

Okay, so you can go back and listen to that, but we did leave you with studying the Psalms as a great way to go into that and really dive in and understand. And you had made the point that you might like to jump from one point to the next one verse. I mean one chapter. Let's knock another one out, to knock all the 150 Psalms out, because there are a lot of people who are wired that way. I had also added there are some that you could just stay on one of the smallest Psalms there is and it's like a feast, and so I told you guys on this episode we would take one of the Psalms and actually just keep the normal conversation we would have, but just use that as a moment for us to personally grow.

Justin: 15:45

Because as we've said, this is really. It starts with us. We don't really point fingers at like you need to do this, but we will at the end bring some encouragement on how you can apply this maybe to your life. But you can listen to this as me and Rhett just kind of have conversation on how we're working, even on ourself, cause I believe there is this Psalm that I was studying the other day and here's how it came, came about. What Psalm? Psalm 131.

Justin: 16:11

Okay, so me and Rhett have a text thread we've had going for a couple of years now with some guys who do a small group that we're a part of, and there's just certain moments certain ones want kind of that they not want. I mean we all want kind of that Not to want. I mean we all want this extra connection after the small group semester ends. So there's been some relationships that get developed that will invite some of these guys that really are in that same phase of life with us married, probably have children, some might not yet, some might be hitting even a grandfather stage. Wow, we're in that place of life.

Rhett: 16:46

Rhett, it's all seasons of life.

Justin: 16:47

We're not far from that season. I mean just a matter of years.

Rhett: 16:51

I always try to find a way to say this word in every episode A plethora of fellas A plethora.

Justin: 16:57

It's going to be like the show Psych, how there's a pineapple in every episode A plethora.

Rhett: 17:00

Episode A plethora. How can I get that word in every episode?

Justin: 17:02

There it is, From here on out plethora, got a plethora of fellas in this group, yeah, but we contribute in fun ways to the text read. But I'm really dedicated to it because I love these guys and they're friends. I don't position myself in any way. I'm there, I'm friends with these guys, just like you are.

Rhett: 17:21

And.

Justin: 17:21

I'm so grateful for our group and I'll learn a lot from them, and you might have texts that were cracking jokes at each other, all kinds of stuff. It's a lot of fun. But something that I'm trying to be more intentional to personally delve into is just to bring some kind of an encouragement, and so you know like they'll get an encouragement from all the guys will do this, but from my own stewardship I want to sit down and take something from my own time with the Lord and just give a brief encouragement, and so it's a commitment that I have to our friend group, just like they have their commitments to our text thread too. It's my contribution, and so I was studying this week a little bit, just thinking what's an encouragement I want to bring. I'm trying to do more like Fridays, but just thinking what's an encouragement I want to bring.

Justin: 18:06

I'm trying to do more like Fridays, yeah, and what do I want to bring? But as I'm studying it, I got into this psalm and I thought, you know this is so good and I don't want to oversell anything. That's why I really do want to keep it as just everyday, ordinary, because the beauty of studying Scripture, you don't have to be a biblical scholar, you can just read it and you understand that there's context for the day that the psalmist wrote these in and there's different themes and reasons, different emotions, as we talked about last week. But you can just also take it and see how it applies to your life. You can see little words to understand. You know that would be a modern day way of saying this.

Justin: 18:45

And so today we just wanted to break this down a little bit of how this even really applies to our life. But I want to start just by reading Psalm 131. And it's three, very short, it's three verses. It says my heart is not proud, oh Lord, my eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.

Rhett: 19:08

Verse 2.

Justin: 19:16

And then verse 3 says oh Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forevermore.

Justin: 19:22

Yeah, and so you can read this. It's really three verses, but sometimes when I'm studying, once again, you don't have to be a scholar on this, this is an invitation that God brings all of us into. We have been given scripture that we can really dive in and learn so much in our life and, as we even said this a few weeks ago, the Bible. There was actually a scholar who said that it's Martin Luther, I believe, who actually said the Bible is like a. I'm sorry, the Psalms are like a small Bible because it recounts a lot of Old Testament stories. You can go through the Psalms and actually have a pretty good idea of what was going on with the historicals and actually the prophecies of what's to come. It tells all about Jesus, all these great things, and so when I'm breaking these down, I just kind of you know the condition I was in that day as I'm reading it.

Justin: 20:17

You know this Psalm if you really look at it, it's about humility, it's about maturity and it's about developing others, and so when I take three of those, it comes from the three verses. That first one that talks about, my heart is not proud. It's going to be talking about you know what's the what's the antidote? Right, when you do have arrogance, when you have all this stuff and we'll get into that Uh, so it's humility to actually still and be quiet. And when it talks about a child weaned, like that means you're not on milk anymore, Like you have moved on to solid foods, You're moving into a maturing process. So there is like a development or, I'm sorry, a maturing process going on.

Justin: 20:59

And then in verse three, oh, Israel, put your hope in the Lord. There is a side now where you've dealt with yourself so that you can be a messenger to others and encourage others. So there's a developer. That's inside all of us, that we, as we said last week, we have to also be mentors. We have to have friends. We have to have people that we are learning from. We have to have friends, we have to have people that we are learning from, but we also have to be mentors to others so that that flow can actually happen in our life. And just something I was thinking about when I read in verse 1, my takeaway from that is humble myself. These are questions that we can ask ourselves every day. Am I humbling myself? That we can ask ourselves every day Am I humbling myself and what do I have to do to really live this life of humility? Because you're listening to someone right now who I don't have my act all together Like we are all one step away from doing something that we really, really regret.

Rhett: 21:59

I always tell people like we're all one step away from stupid. Yeah, and if you don't think that you're one step away from stupid, you're already there.

Justin: 22:07

Yeah, you're already in stupid.

Rhett: 22:10

You're already there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we're growing right.

Justin: 22:14

Yeah, and so that's what we do in this. We acknowledge no matter where you are, just like on the emotional spectrum, it's okay to get charged up when things happen, but what we're learning to do is how do we respond different. And so when I'm reading this psalm, it really ministers to me because I know instantly if I'm going to live a life of humility. It's easier said than done for me, but there's some things that I have to be able to remove first and as I'm speaking, what stands out maybe to you too, but there's got to be that arrogance that creeps up in my life. I've got to make sure that I'm dealing with arrogance, like what is my motive? What is my agenda in all this? Do I have a sense of know-it-all? What about entitlement?

Justin: 23:06

I think it's easy for me at times I can be so quick to feel entitled like I deserve this and I don't know what would bring that on you. But there can be an entitlement that we go through just by being simply where we're from. We are used to having things taken care of for us, even you know, they say before just even simply being American. You know, and I'm not, that's not what this is about, but we are so blessed that there's almost a sense of live your best life We've talked about before. I'm entitled to the best there's. All this stuff breeds the whole victim mentality. Yeah, what you've been through and you've been a victim in some kind of way, some of you it's worse than others.

Justin: 24:07

I can't imagine what some people have been through to be a victim and there might be simply some of you may have been excluded and you feel like a victim in that. But what can creep in when you live in this arrogance is this victim mentality where, even when you're no longer necessarily the victim, you keep that mindset and you kind of stay in this focus and you haven't really been able to heal from that. Another one is contempt. There can be a sense of contempt when you are in this arrogant mindset and contempt is really where you know you hear that term like you're in contempt of court. It means that you really see yourself untouchable, that you can say what you want and there is no consequences. It would be you sharing something with me right now, rhett, and I feel like I'm better than you and there's nothing you can say. That almost like he's not going to be able to teach me something, like I hold you in contempt because I know so much more. It's one of the most dangerous places we can be. Oh, absolutely. And holding on to these. It's the opposite of true humility. It's the opposite of who Jesus was. It's not seeing the value on somebody else. You have devalued them to a point that you are so much up here and there down there that if God were to send them as a messenger to us, I would miss what they had to say, because I hold them in contempt. And then the other one that I threw up there under some things that we've got to really take this inventory of, is removing vain conceit or there's just this sense of vanity that I'll walk in and maybe it's come out of recognition or accomplishment and there's just a sense of I've got it all together and what can be good because you've said no. It reminds me of the Pharisees. They made a lot of the right decisions. They studied to know who the Messiah was one day, if you read the Gospels, but in their making the good choices, it began to define who they were, that they were vain. They couldn't stop and recognize those because they were lower than them. They put their self up on a pedestal. They walked around in their flowing robes to let it be known that I'm so much more than you are and, matter of fact, I'm kind of a savior to you, and that's an example that feels so huge. Like am I walking around like that? I don't think so. I don't think I'm walking around in my flowing robes, but do. I carry myself in a way where I just have a bit of this vanity with me in my life and this can happen on so many different layers, and so I look at that first as the existing problems that I can feel that can creep up inside of me. So these are words that I'm literally in my study time writing down.

Justin: 27:15

The verse says nothing about that right. It just says, in verse one my heart is not proud. Oh Lord, my eyes are not haughty. And what I take from that first part of that verse I almost read it as my heart is no longer proud, meaning this psalmist has dealt with this process, he's gone through this. It's a recognition of Lord, in your grace, you have dealt with me. I've thankfully humbled myself. My heart is not proud, my eyes are not haughty. And then it goes on to say I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. That means that there was some moment of grandiose. I know that I have walked with where as we started out the podcast, what do we want to do? Change?

Justin: 28:02

the world and I've walked around in so much grandiose dreams and visions that it's like this is what I want to accomplish, that you have to kind of reach that other moment where, at some point, those are cares of the world that are just so on you. I got to do this. I got to accomplish this that we have to be able to. This is what I wrote down. Am I casting my cares, have I casted my cares on Jesus? Have I given him over these anxieties that I live with these grandiose accomplishments that I want to have by the time I'm this certain age? Do I hit this certain position? Do I hit this certain reputation it causes? Are these anxieties that you know we talked about last week? To be in the happy side of it, it gave two words. One of the words was contentment, which meant you were free. You remember that it was just talking about you're free and joyful. Free and joyful.

Justin: 29:05

And those really, even now, hearing those stand out to me. Um, or am I walking around just in this anxious um mode all the time because I've got, I gotta go change the world? What are we going to do? We're going to change the world. I gotta go change the world. I want to be part of something so mega awesome. It even goes into this mindset. Another word I wrote down once again these are my deals that I'm having to go through. I feel like it's been part of my process for these 32 years. Yeah, I've had to deal with overanalyzing. I can overanalyze so much of. Okay, I'm here now. What does that mean? What does that mean in the next 12 years? Yeah, but what happens when this person might do this and what does this mean? This shift just happened. What does that mean for me?

Rhett: 29:55

Yeah.

Justin: 29:56

We talked, we're in a baton season right now, so there's going to be a natural trigger that I have to be aware of, that overanalyzing anxieties are going to kick in. And then the last one I wrote under this and I'll kind of back off and we can focus on verse one, which is agenda. Agenda with me when I'm encountering somebody. What can I accomplish with my conversation with this person? Not for their benefit, but how?

Justin: 30:26

does it get me closer to this grandiose vision that I have? And how do I get to that point of I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me, but just simply being able to trust and casting my cares on the Lord, knowing I don't have to make this stuff happen? I don't have to get the agenda to get almost forced entry or deceiving, almost being deceitful for the goal to accomplish something, because I have to work in the Lord. You know when he tells Abraham and Sarah they're going to have a baby right, and it's like, wow, thank you Lord, so excited. I trust you.

Justin: 31:15

But I'm going to try to force the pregnancy by having my maid servant, but it's not coming in my timing.

Rhett: 31:20

It's not my timing.

Justin: 31:21

Lord, I hear what you're saying. You said this is going to happen, so I'm going to have a maid servant be impregnated by my husband over here.

Justin: 31:27

Yeah, and they'll have a bit. It's messed up, but we and we have. It's so easy to revert to these ways of. I trust you, lord, the calling that you've put inside of me is sure, and I saw it one day very clear and I might be going through a moment right now that I don't see it as clear become reactionary and I try to force the agenda so that what you said will end up happening, which lacks trust and it lacks hope, which is what we really are supposed to have. And I put that all under just that, the verse one, just simply in that verse one.

Justin: 32:10

Guys, when you're studying scripture, I would read that verse over and over and those were the thoughts that would come to my mind and I would just ask the Holy spirit bring to my mind some of these things that maybe I'm not as struggling with as much anymore, but some of them I am but recall help me recall these so that I can continue to put you know. For me to personally surrender is the onions being peeled. What can I give fresh surrender over?

Rhett: 32:54

podcast platform and share it with a friend, email it to a friend. How about air dropping it over to your buddy or your sister right now, man? That would mean so much to us. Thank you All right, guys, back to the conversation. We're doing something we've never done before which I love, you know, and that's together just kind of looking at a verse, talking it out loud.

Rhett: 33:13

It's amazing to me especially if you're new to reading scripture maybe you've never done this before how the Lord can use that one verse, or three verses, and really speak to the season that you're either walking in, have walked through or coming out of. Right. Yeah, for where you are in life, and no matter how many times you read a scripture, it always seems like there's something new and fresh that can speak to you. Right, the word of God is a lot. Hebrews 4, 16, I believe it is. The word of God is alive, it's active, it's sharper than a double-edged sword. It penetrates to the dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow. So it's, it's living, it's breathing, which means it's alive, so it has the ability to speak. And so, as I hear the way that you have so eloquently been able to take this verse and see how the Lord has spoke to you on it. It's interesting because I would have never pulled out all of that. I'm just being honest like that. But that speaks to your journey, that speaks to the things you've processed, that speaks through some and me knowing you and having a relationship with you Like it's amazing, right, and it's all truth and it all speaks to all the things that you've said, which are awesome. Read Psalm 131, it's amazing. I know we have some of the same perspective and so what I see when I read this and this is kind of where I'm going with this whole thing is Psalm 131.

Rhett: 34:42

First of all, it's a Psalm of David. David was a man who made many mistakes, and so if you're reading this for the first time, my heart is not proud. You're like, oh man, who is this guy? He's prideful in the fact that he's not proud, right, but you got to know the context. He's not. David obviously has matured. I read these verses as just a level of maturity in everything you're saying this process that David has gone through with the Lord of coming to this place, not of arriving per se, but having lived in places of being proud, having lived in arrogance and we know from his story. There were several mistakes where pride had entered right and some bad things happened. But I love that. His ability to take inventory of where he currently is. As he writes this and pens this, it's coming from a level of maturity and we get some really cool insights when I read this. So he's recognizing, in this current season of where I am today.

Rhett: 35:47

Lord, my heart is not proud as if to know and to recognize that which pride can bring destruction. Lord, I know how much you hate pride. I know how much you hate arrogance. I've lived that, I've experienced that and I have come and I've grown to the place of maturity in my life right now where I recognize that I don't want that in my life. And as I walk with you and I talk with you in this moment, I just want you to know I'm not approaching you out of pride, like I'm coming with humility. Yeah, that's what you're saying, right?

Rhett: 36:21

In fact, not only is my heart not proud. Let me go another step and say my eyes, the things that I'm looking at, the things that I'm seeing in my life, the things where I could take pride in in my possessions or take pride in my accomplishments, like my eyes, the things I've seen, whether I've done or not. Lord like there's no. Like my eyes, the things I've seen, whether I've done or not. Lord like there's no right, not just inwardly, but even the things outwardly that I'm seeing, like I'm not haughty, I know where all my gifting and blessing comes from. Right, and I love what he says. He's like I don't concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me, as if he used to do that.

Rhett: 36:50

I used to get caught up in thinking I had to know everything. I've got caught up in things that, at the end of the day, don't really matter. It doesn't say not to want to accomplish. It doesn't say there's anything wrong with wanting to be a part of great matters. It doesn't say there's anything wrong to try to aspire and understand things that are too wonderful for me. He's just going at this level of maturity of what I've come to recognize in my life through this humility process that you know.

Rhett: 37:23

Referring to what you were saying and what the scripture is saying here is I've realized none of that means really anything so good. Like I don't have to be on the platform anymore. I don't have to have a million followers, I don't have bring it into the context, right, I don't have to do that. No, no, no, here's. Here's what I've learned, and I think this is the secret part that speaks to me. Is that really what I found interesting in this maturity is learning how to calm myself. Like? The version I'm reading is NIV and I don't know what year this was, but he said I've calmed and quieted myself.

Justin: 37:55

What did your version say, but I? This is verse two now, but I have stilled and quieted my soul.

Rhett: 37:59

My soul Like, so the contextually, I've learned how to enjoy being in a relationship with you without all this other stuff that's really not that important, yeah, and I've learned how to humble myself. And again, this is speaking in my mind overall, the context of maturity, right, and we know that, because what he's saying is this is where I've learned the secret of coming into your presence, quieting my soul. And how do we quiet our soul? Well, all the times we have to turn off the things of this world. You're talking about a digital detox from our friend Brandon, like I don't I don't know if that was in this episode or another, but like it's all, all one conversation for me. But like we have taken the initiative, david, saying I've taken the initiative to understand that when I have learned how to humble myself and quiet my soul and remove myself from the distractions of this world, I've grown to a maturity in you that I couldn't otherwise on my own. And we know this is maturity because now he's given us that reference point of like a weaned child, like a kid who used to just crave milk, now I'm eating steaks. Yeah, and I know I'm mature in this because, like I'm content. He says it right here, like a weaned child, like I'm content. He says it right here. I'm like a weaned child, like I'm content, like I have learned the secret of this life. It's not in pridefulness, it's not in platforms, it's not in people, it's not in recognition. It's in a quiet humility, it's in this place of going man, there's nothing like I'm content in this place. Yeah, as if to say the opposite. I'm not content, right, when I'm, when I'm living in pride, when I'm living in arrogance, when my eyes are haughty and when my heart is full of pride and in trying to either manipulate people or situations to put myself in other places where I used to think it was really matter and very important, right, yes, what I'm really learning is that contentment comes in that quiet, still away from the noise. And then, because he's experienced this and he's living this, now he's going Israel.

Rhett: 40:06

Come on, man, put your hope in. Don't put it in me, because I know I'm the king, because he was Put your hope in God Like it's not in me. I know I'm the king because he was Put your hope in God Like it's not in me, it's not in the stuff, it's not in possessions, it's not in all the things in this world that tell you Come humbly. Could you just please just taste and see what I'm tasting and seeing what I've learned. Don't go through all these mistakes that I've gone through. Can you just be mature and, like we do this with our kids? Oh man, I don't want you to make these same mistakes. Can you just be? I'd love to get you from there to here, but bypass the process, right? I don't want you to go through all these hurts and pains that I did to get to this maturity. But you're going to have to. The reality is there's going to be some stumbling and falling along the way to learn how to walk and ultimately run. But, man, oh, put your hope in the Lord.

Rhett: 40:56

I love that Like, put both now and forevermore because this is where this is where it's all about contentedness, and that contentedness comes from learning how to walk in humility, and that humility is developed in quiet places, away from the noise, away from the crowds, and to me, so like the beauty that that God spoke to you and brought out such rich development of what you just shared is so powerful. But then, as I read this too, like there's, you see the different perspectives of how we see things within the seasons, even how we communicate it right. Absolutely, I think that's. I think it's a beautiful thing, man.

Justin: 41:29

And that's the power of scripture. Well then, even when you're saying contentment, it draws parallel with our last episode, once again being free and joyful, everything that you just communicated that represented that carefree joy, that don't let that get masked as something or disguised as someone who's just jumping around hyping you up, come on. But like contentment it might your wiring may display that, but it's almost a consistency. When you're content, there is a consistency of you know you're among someone who's free and there's a joy that almost like the peace that passes all understanding because the other things that get you all charged up that we talked about before, it's the opposite of free is you're bound. You're bound when you're trying to accomplish, or you're bound when you're living in this anxiety or you're living in I got to go, please, I got to go do this. You're bound.

Justin: 42:21

And the opposite of joyful, I mean you're miserable and so the people who actually are, maybe they're attaining things and it feels like how are they doing this? This isn't everybody, but this is in that unhealthy way. They may come across joyful, but it's a shadow joy it's. It's a hype of trying to sell you snake oil.

Rhett: 42:43

yeah, you know that it's not real, but they're excited.

Justin: 42:47

They're excited and it it makes you think. So that's what joyful is. So now they're really just trying hard to sell a product that they're they're really not believing either. Yeah, so they're trying to sell it harder because contentment yeah, there's so much.

Rhett: 43:01

Yeah, I love that because we can easily categorize. Oh, that's what joy looks like. Oh, that's what you know. Yeah, sadness looks like or whatever, but like but. But joy is truly, it's this, it's this contentedness and being content, and I can sit in a room and just like I might not be jumping up like a cheerleader, but I could have joy. I can walk through a room and my face and me not again jumping around like a cheerleader and have joy. It's not. Joy is not outward, it's not based on circumstances. It's not based off the situations outwardly. It's based off what's happening inwardly in me. That's right, and that is filled through those quiet places, yeah, and you've heard the value a lot of people have.

Justin: 43:51

We, you know we have it at Highlands. It's choose joy.

Rhett: 43:54

Yeah.

Justin: 43:55

Well heard the value a lot of people have. We, we, you know, we have it at islands. It's choose joy. Yeah well, you're not going to be happy all the time, you're not going to be all these uh emotions coming out, but you can be joy. You can be joyful even in the midst of the happiest of times and the worst of times, because you are represented by the joy of the lord is. It's what strengthens you to continue in in what you're doing. And so, with me, it's like when I see you know I really focused on verse one, but even verse two and he says, still in quiet in my soul, I love how you brought that up. And like a weaned child with its mother, it's like now you are maturing. You're in this, your favorite word maturation process.

Justin: 44:31

And we have to go through this. I have to walk through this process, and some words that I wrote with verse two was if number one for me was humble myself, verse two is grow myself in the Lord. For verse two it's like I have to go through this growing process and really, how does that happen? And I just try to get for me. I'll try to write things just as simple and basic, because my shadow side I have a tendency to want to overcomplicate and sound really almost like so deep that you don't really get in, you don't get to doing anything, cause it's like what?

Rhett: 45:12

am I even saying there.

Justin: 45:13

You go read it to doing anything, because it's like what am I even saying there? You go read it a year later. It's like what did that even mean? But I like to write these notes that are very basic, very applicable for me and whoever might be under the sound of my voice one day.

Rhett: 45:29

Hey guys, red here Just want to take a moment and say thank you to every single one of you who have taken the time to follow us on social media. Now, if today is your first time to join us for an episode, man, we want to say welcome friends, it's so good to have you with us. Could you take a moment look us up on Instagram or Facebook? You can find us there at Armchair Authentic, or you can go on over to X find us there as well at ArmchairAuthPod. That's ArmchairAuth A-U-T-H-P-O-D. All right. Now back to the conversation.

Rhett: 46:03

When you're talking about maturity and maturation and just growing, it is a process. I know I briefly stated that, but I think we can't overemphasize that. A lot of us want to win the marathon and run the marathon, but nobody wants to do the training to get to the point where we can run the marathon. Now, I don't know why I chose that analogy or metaphor, whatever you want to call it, because I have no desire to run a marathon. But it's like we all want the end product but none of us want to go through the process for the end product. Want the end product, but none of us want to go through the process for the end product, yeah, and so I think at some point we got to realize that as you're growing.

Rhett: 46:39

Let's say, you just gave your heart to Jesus, and what does that mean? It means you've surrendered your life and said, hey, I'm tired of living for myself, I want to live for you and God. I believe that Jesus is Lord and savior, died on the cross, rose again to pay for my sin and to restore me and to reconcile me in a relationship. Right the journey from to stake, if you will. Right, you just don't jump from. You know coming to Christ and then being able to look at Psalm 131 and be able to pull what we're pulling out.

Justin: 47:07

I got to mash up some applesauce, exactly. And that's OK and we've all gone through that journey.

Rhett: 47:15

Right, and so if you're walking in maturity, you can't belittle those who are, you know eating the mashed potatoes.

Justin: 47:20

For those of us who are strong, as Paul says, do not look down on those who are weak. Do not be a stumbling block to those who are weak.

Rhett: 47:26

Exactly. But the same is also true, like if you're walking in, that you can't think, oh, I'm never going to hit that, or oh, they're too good or whatever. No, I mean like it's a journey, and so we all need each other in this process to help each other and to give each other grace. And so if you're new in the faith, don't be surprised if you struggle with some things you used to struggle with, even though you read verses that said Whom the Son sets free is free. Indeed, you are free, indeed, in your spirit, but you are spirit, soul and body. That's right. Your spirit lives in the body. That body fills emotions and also within that body is your mind. You know your will, you know the emotions and everything. So your spirit, man saved, you're going to heaven. But you know your body has picked up some bad habits. Your mind has been dealing with some bad habits, some of the emotions that I couldn't relate to after 40, some years on this, and some of it's just because you're in an imperfect world.

Justin: 48:16

You can help some of these Exactly. But you can develop yourself 100%, and we've quoted Eugene Peterson, before which, I believe, he even quoted a theologian I can't think of his name, but it's a long obedience in the same direction, and it's going to be your entire life.

Justin: 48:35

And when I was talking about growing myself in the Lord, the first thing that you know, when I set out 32 years ago on this, one of the constants is one thing I have been. I haven't been perfect, but I've been faithful, and hopefully I can say I've been dependable on this journey. I have not turned my eyes from the Lord Now, if someone's listening, and you have there's grace, but this is a long journey of the depth that you just said so well. You're not going to get this out of the Scripture right away. Potentially, maybe you will, but that's what makes the scriptures living and active, because it's different every season, and we can do things, though that can actually help us. And this isn't supposed to be legalistic, but I do think you know we're kind of in that mindset where, if it's, like you say, legalistic, people are like don't do that, but there are regiments that we can have. That's still good advice. It's still good advice if I want to tell myself to get good exercise. That can be legalistic all day long, but it's still good to do it. And what happens, though, is, in your journey with the Lord, you begin to do things that used to be more duty and they become delight and it just takes. It's a season where it does that. But I would encourage myself first, because I can nail this rat in certain seasons.

Justin: 50:02

In some seasons I get busy with kids or school and I'll realize I have not sat down and just gotten my great groove of reading and prayer or journaling in three days, and but you know what I've gotten better at? I used to get frustrated with myself and I didn't perform right, yeah. So I would then scold myself If I do that now, it's just like, well, let's, let's get better on that, and I just I won't grieve myself, but I'm going to jump right back into it. But one of those things are is establish a daily regimen of you know, there's some things that I penciled down when I read verse two. Once again, this is coming for me from verse two. I've still been quiet in my soul. That's awesome. But like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. How do you get weaned and how do you get weaned and how do you get to that process where you're?

Rhett: 50:57

beginning to grow and to be content.

Justin: 50:59

It is, it's daily seeking after prayer, like praying to God. It's not just something we do, it really is a way of our journey. It's a way that we communicate with God and then allowing ourself to listen, because you're not going to hear, more than likely, an audible voice, but what you begin to hear over the seasons, you get these nudges and, by the way, you can always hear from God, because these three verses that we're breaking down in this episode, this is God speaking to us. So I know that this is what he's saying. And so if I pray, if I get into His presence, if I get into His scripture like we're making this podcast about today if I get into His scripture study whatever that is that might for me, I love writing, so I'll journal a lot and I journal my emotions. That's where I get a lot of my emotions out. We talked before with the snake. You know, getting nervous when I caught it in the pool last week or in the last episode. We talked about that. In the same way, when it comes to journaling, I have to get my emotions out and I feel so much better after. It's establishing that regimen with myself. You know, establishing that regimen with myself.

Justin: 52:18

You know we've said this before and I was actually saying this to a married couple the other day. You know I was talking with the individual and you know I would say that he had issues where he wasn't. He doesn't love himself a lot, he judges himself pretty hard and it feels selfish to say love yourself. But we do have to remember the Bible says love your neighbor as yourself. But yet we always think I got to love my neighbor unconditionally, but we forget to add it to ourself that we need to love ourself unconditionally In the same way. We got to give ourself the same grace.

Justin: 52:50

So this starts with me. I have to take care of myself the same grace. So this starts with me. I have to take care of myself. However, that is, go to the simple ones sleep, eat and exercise right, just even in that way resting my mind. There's so many things, I won't keep going on that, but just myself. And then a regiment with my family. I have a wife and I have four boys. I have to establish a regiment with my family, like I'm growing by being a responsible yeah grown man in my life and recognizing the seasons.

Justin: 53:23

Well, that's in the bible. So many ways I've got to recognize my season and you know what I recognize right now. I got a room full of people that are all, at this time, 16, 15 and younger.

Rhett: 53:38

Yeah.

Justin: 53:38

And I'm in a season where there's dad needs to be super, super involved in a certain kind of way that those ages need. So I have to do my part to grow myself and be completely present in that. That is part of my maturing process in the Lord. So I put family there, I put work. Whatever you do like, whatever I do personally, we were made to work. God put it in all of us and our American way is work hard until you can retire and be done with it. But work is a gift to accomplish something with your mind, with your body, whatever your different job is, it doesn't matter. You may be a server and you have a gift to serve people. Remember 10 people who order a meal. I never understand how people can do that.

Rhett: 54:31

They don't write anything down on a tablet, they're just okay, are you sure you got that? No, the pita onion is extra soft. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah. I'm like, okay, how'd you get that? And all comes out right, how satisfying that has to be.

Justin: 54:44

If you really think about it, you're using a gift that God gave you. To go and produce Work is extremely important. That is a part of our growth process. We were never meant to go on this earth, in this fallen world, to go get the dream cushy job where we just sit back and not do anything. It sounds appealing because we learn about it from movies and books and it seems ideal. But let's face it, yeah, if we got that, we would be the most get, enjoy it for about three months. After three months you're going to be like what is life even about? This is the most miserable thing, because you're not doing something that your journey ask of you.

Justin: 55:27

Yeah, and that God asked of you is to work Also. We do this every week, I'm so grateful for you. Work Also. We do this every week, I'm so grateful for you. Rhett is friends, how do I grow myself in the Lord? Well, you're establishing daily regiments of prayer, scripture, self, family work friends.

Justin: 55:45

There has to be friendship that's going on as a daily part of your life, that's building you up. I don't mean every day you're having to do everything, but you're balanced in your life where you have friends, because it's a community. We're a community of believers as Christians. It's all about community. You can't do this life, I can't do this life, alone. When I try to do it alone, the creative in me wants to scoot away sometimes and do it alone, and that's not the way. There's certain things I can do alone and it's great. But I remember for years I would write songs by myself. Nothing wrong with that. I wrote a lot of songs by myself and I remember we would start creating these collaboratives, these co-writes, and I did not like it at first. And I did not like it at first. But when I surrendered finally to that, we started writing some amazing songs together that I got to use my gift as a songwriter with a combination of two to three other people, this artistic expression.

Rhett: 56:51

Yeah.

Justin: 56:52

Not necessarily individual you can at times but there's a balance where you're not in your own silo but there's community that's actually going on with your friends. And then the last one I kind of added there is play. There has to be play. You know we use the word hobby. What we're doing now it's fun, because some of this is play for us yeah, it is. We're having a blast.

Rhett: 57:13

We're getting to be intentional. I call this my elevated hobby. It is for sure.

Justin: 57:17

It's hobby with purpose, Hobby with purpose, elevated hobby it really is. This is fun for me, but there has to be a sense of if you work to be productive. I love what Dallas Willard says you have to have play, and someone asked him one time but what's the purpose of play? Because we're in such an efficient society. You got to have efficiency. You got to do this, you got to be effective Like we're a machine and his response to play was so that you can have something.

Justin: 57:44

that means absolutely nothing. It's absolutely ineffective and inefficient. Yeah, and that is beautiful, because it's unproductive.

Rhett: 57:53

Yeah.

Justin: 58:05

And it sounds a lot like Sabbath can be too, which is a wonderful thing that God instituted in our lives for us to actually be a part of, and so when I'm talking about growing in the Lord, that's more of like what we can do. And then I would also say kind of another bullet point I put on this was challenge yourself with something rigorous, Not just your jobs, but how do you challenge yourself and grow. What are some things that you know? My wife just finished getting her doctorate. As we've already said, that was the most incredibly rigorous process I can only imagine. But what it did, it made her synthesize thoughts that she's never had to do before.

Justin: 58:37

And the byproduct now she can actually sit with somebody or she can develop curriculums and go so much deeper, yeah, than she could have ever dreamed of before, yeah, but it takes rigor. We have to have something in our life that, when technologies change, example, you have your people who say I am never going to learn another thing. But there has to be something in your life. You've got to get out of your comfort zone, because the reason you know things now that you don't want to stop learning or you don't want to get out of to learn the new thing. You put rigor into what you know now effortlessly. The only difference is now you've lost that desire to put rigor into what you know now effortlessly.

Justin: 59:13

the only difference is now you've lost that desire to put rigor into your life, to actually stretch yourself. That's good, and I think not to speak for you, but I think, about you.

Justin: 59:22

You're one of the most rigorous people I know, because one thing about you, rhett, is me to toot your horn because you never toot your own. But even being like an executive pastor for a church in Idaho but you live in Alabama. But what you've become over all these years, which is consistent, it's like, well, we need a worship leader. You were always a great worship leader, a great singer. But then I remember the day it's like, well, I better learn how to play an instrument so I don't have to trust somebody else always playing. Yeah, that's true, you're. You're To me, you're one of the most phenomenal piano players who plays by. Feel You're too kind, it really is great. But you put so much stinking rigor. Now it feels easy and effortless, but there was a day of rigor and now you'll have to challenge yourself in certain ways for the rigor. But that was rigor.

Justin: 1:00:07

I think about how there was a need with churches down the road. Really, they had crappy websites, websites. And you're like, oh, we cannot have this. And over the years you've you've worked with several churches and you're like you put rigor to learn how to develop websites. And you did that. And when you planted a church, people are like, well, how do you speak? I mean, do you have any samples? You're like, nope, never spoke before.

Justin: 1:00:33

I just know I'm supposed to play in a church, but then you went and you were so rigorous, the way that you work so hard to learn how to communicate these messages. So when I talk about rigor, there has to be something in us that we keep in our life, because it keeps us challenged and we actually grow in the Lord. When we keep rigor and I already said this, but I'll just kind of say it and then I'll pause for a moment but to be fine one day of the week and just be unproductive, the goal is to not produce anything, and the trick to that is as we've learned in our 32 years but you can take from day one as a new journeyman in this walk with Christ. There's a reason he created Sabbath for us. There's something about not working the ground of your bodies, maybe even of your mind, because you let it rest. And it's actually what I maintain, it's what keeps the rigor.

Justin: 1:01:34

When you come back to work, let's say on Monday morning, the rigor is there because you missed it, because you were unproductive and it was almost like by being unproductive it was actually being productive because you were generating desire to get back to producing again. So it feels like it's work. It's just unproductive work that actually is productive because it's Sabbath. It's to appreciate by looking around, whether you know we're sitting in your home right now, whether it's sitting in this home thinking thank you, god, for this house. Whether you're walking the gardens like God, this is beautiful. Whether you're bowling with the family, lord, thank you for two gutters. I keep landing in them. I can't hit a pin for nothing.

Justin: 1:02:21

Yeah, but those are just some of my takes when I'm reading this scripture of Verse two, but I have stilled and quiet in my soul, like a weaned child with its mother. Like a weaned child is my soul within me. That means you're a constant learner and a journeyman of wanting to know God more and more and stepping into the best that he has for my life, that he has for your life.

Rhett: 1:02:46

And all of that is a masterclass and we could have had a podcast episode off of each one of those points, and maybe we should, maybe the future. It's like drinking from a fire hose and it's so good. But I want to bring this back into the root of all of everything you just said. It's this verse too I'm content Like a weaned child. I'm content, in other words, I've matured to a place to where I'm content, like like a weaned child. I'm content, in other words, I've matured to a place to where I'm content.

Rhett: 1:03:14

So the driving force of of everything that you just mentioned is the root is from a place of contentment. So good, and I have lived in I think there's a lot of people listening, and I would have been one of those at one point to where I was trying to apply everything that you just said in every area of those lives, of every compartment, you know, family relationships, all those things, yeah, but it was being lived from a place of performance, of needing to be needed, rather than living it from a place of being content, and already enough for how God loves me, so good, right, big time content and already enough for how God loves me.

Rhett: 1:03:52

So good Right, big time. And so you can get into this mindset of well, if I just do these seven things and organize my life in these seven intricate ways and prioritize those, everything's going to start coming to alignment and I'm going to start maturing. And while you can do the process, you can miss all of it because it's not rooted in contentment. And so you're searching and you're doing these things in hopes that you will become content as, rather than leading for it, not from it.

Justin: 1:04:23

Yes.

Rhett: 1:04:24

And and so when I think about everything that you just said in, so beautifully spoken and I appreciate the encouragement that means a lot because I don't see myself in that lens. And I appreciate that because, as you were pointing that out, I do see that in myself. Now I would never see that in myself. Well, I appreciate that, but I've I lived my life so many years saying I was content, but I wasn't living from a place of contentment. I was grateful, but I always needed more. And there's this idea of God I got to have more. Yeah, there's more, right, and while that is true, god does have more for us, but we can't, we can only appreciate them more when we're already content with what we have. So good.

Rhett: 1:05:05

You know, and so, in the secret here in Psalm 131, is this learning how to calm or humble ourself? Right, that's the root. If I think about the root, we all want the fruit, but none of us want to develop the root, to go down deep. It comes from this place of learning how to calm ourself, quiet our soul, quiet our spirit. Be with Jesus. Yeah, and you mentioned prayer, you mentioned worship, you mentioned all of that, and and you know, I know I mentioned earlier about this we're a triune being. You know, we're a spirit and we have a mind, will and emotions as her soul. And then we live in a body, right, and so all three of those are in, are fighting for attention. Yeah, right, every single one of those. And so the loudest voice that you feed is going to be the one that wins out. And so, when I think about dealing with root issues, our spirit man is saved when we give our heart to Christ, but there's a sanctification process that needs to happen. We're talking about maturity, we're talking about growth, we're talking about growing into all these areas that you just mentioned.

Rhett: 1:06:15

Well, the root of all of it starts with our spirit of contentment that comes from Christ and Christ alone in us and as we grow, content in that, the fruit then begins to bear everything else. Our body comes into alignment, our mind, our will and emotions come into alignment. But too oftentimes we're dealing with the fruit of our mind, will and emotions from bad habits or our body or the things of the lust of the flesh and the things that felt so good that we filter our body and our spirit with outside of Christ, and so those always usually went out. But when we reorganize and reprioritize our life to where our spirit man or spirit woman right is, in this quiet place, is humbling ourself before the Lord and asking him Lord, speak to me through your word in the simplest form of a Psalm right and teach me. I'm positioning my heart and my spirit to be fed of the word of God, which is alive. It begins to take root.

Rhett: 1:07:08

And now, all of a sudden, we're not behavior, modifying ourself into all these things that are important, it is a heart transformation that begins to take place, where the byproduct is well, I'm praying, I'm enjoying this because I want to be with God. In fact, I don't want to hang out with the friends I used to hang out with, not because I'm better than, but I want to hang out with people who are wise and who are making better decisions with their family and their finances that are turning out to be great investments of where I see myself, because I used to not have a vision for my life five, ten years down the road, but now I do, because my spirit man is content and now that my spirit man is being fed, now the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, self-control, gentleness, faith, and I find myself living in these areas a little bit more naturally and I'm being a lot more productive from a place of contentment rather than being productive or a performance mentality to try to feed something I'm missing.

Justin: 1:08:06

That's so good. I hope that makes sense. It's great. And it reminds me too, when the mind monsters, if you will start to invade just your mental space, of saying, well, what are you going to do? And when this happens? Or what are you going to do down the road? That's where you're trained to. You're not going to ever get rid of those. Those thoughts are always going to be trying to make their way in. But how do you? Yes, take it captive.

Rhett: 1:08:35

Yeah.

Justin: 1:08:36

You know Akmalatiza once again, as we learned from Lance Ingram early episode. But when you learn, it's like you're learning to react by calming your spirit, quieting your soul and then just saying I don't have to worry, I don't have to concern myself with what those thoughts are. I heard a couple of weeks ago at a graduation ceremony at Highlands College where I'm an adjunct instructor and my wife is too Nita Cubain from High Point University. He's the president, he came, he was a commencement speaker and he said something very familiar to what you just said that you know the, the rigor, the development, the contentment, all these things that they have been learning as students. You have been spending all these years, this four years, of developing your roots, a lot of roots have been developed.

Justin: 1:09:26

I'll never forget. A lot of roots have been developed. I'll never forget. He just then puts his arms up. He's like so you can develop wings and so you can soar.

Rhett: 1:09:39

And I remember thinking of you when he said it, because it's that roots and wings, mindset.

Justin: 1:09:44

A component to your growth is we. We talked about humbling yourself, we talked about developing yourself. And then, really, from verse three, oh Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forevermore. As you said a while ago with King David, you no longer are trying to do this to hit this certain kind of level, to be the best to lord it over the people I'm not going to concern myself with those things anymore when you go through this transformation.

Justin: 1:10:19

Yeah, and when you go through transformation, you make it your goal that you want people surrounded by you to understand this same contentment. Hey guys, I get what you're saying. Oh, I know. Yes, I get the worry. Yes, I get the sense to keep up with the joneses. Oh, I get it. Hey, put your hope in the lord, and that's where we get to play a part.

Justin: 1:10:44

Everybody, whether you're on a stage or whether you're working your um engineering job right now, and you have a sphere of influence of people that you still have access to. Your voice hits their ears is. We have a responsibility to develop others in their God story, and we have to not ignore the fact that it's easy to want someone, as a mentor, to speak into us. It can be easier to have friends that you talk and do life with, but you can't sell yourself short, because it's not about the performance you give that makes you worthy to get to speak into somebody. We are charged with the responsibility we have been mandated from the Lord to make disciples and to develop others in their God story. How do we do that? It really is the first two points we made Live your life and lead with humility every step.

Justin: 1:11:45

And then the second one, just as you have been growing, as we were talking about the maturation process, we were talking all this stuff to learn to quiet yourself, All these tools that you have been growing as we were talking about the maturation process, as we were talking all this stuff to learn to quiet yourself, all these tools that you have learned by running a long obedience in the same direction. Now you turn that to them and you help them grow on the same journey. You're running a different race. You're responsible for your own race, but you're also there to help your brother and your sister along the way, because the Christian race, the Christian life, is all about loving Jesus, falling in love with the Father, but it is all about community and developing community and doing it with a people not individual.

Rhett: 1:12:30

Yeah, as we're talking through this, I look at humility as the soul connect to the source of life that leads to contentment. From contentment, that root takes place to then develop the fruit of everything we've been talking about, which is put your hope in the Lord, now, forever. All this stuff, man, I mean, I'm just saying like it all, yeah all. I'm not saying like it's not important, I'm just saying it's not as important as you think it is. And so when I think of humility, it's like the secret sauce and it's something special, because, you know, scripture says that God holds at a distance those who try to approach him with pride and that with arrogance he can't stand it. But there's something about a gentle and a humble in this meekness. Not not walk all over me, meekness, but this mindset of going hey, wherever you are, just take a step and humble yourself. Because when the humility connects man in a way that is supernatural to God, the source cause, you can't do this in your own strength. Yeah, you've tried, I've tried.

Rhett: 1:13:34

We can't do it I have Right In all the stuff we're talking about. There's no way you can do it in your own strength. You can wear yourself out, you can get exhausted and you're going to want to quit.

Justin: 1:13:43

Yeah.

Rhett: 1:13:44

But that secret place of Psalm 131, learning how to quiet yourself. That comes from humility, and that humility connects you to the source. It's like it's like a river man. Think of the river that that that is flowing, it's teeming with life versus the dead sea right.

Justin: 1:14:00

Yeah.

Rhett: 1:14:00

The dead sea is, you know, the Jordan river.

Rhett: 1:14:03

It's flowing, but then all of that water flows into a place where it no longer flows, and when it no longer flows and it's not a conduit and it's disconnected from a source of it becomes a dead sea.

Rhett: 1:14:13

It's full of salt and it's nasty, right. And so the conduit for our life, that source of contentment, comes from that quiet soul, which is that humility you've been talking about the whole time. And I would just say, hey, man, like my encouragement to anybody that's listening I know it's your encouragement too, from what we talked about is just take a step, quiet your soul, humble yourself before the Lord and just talk to him and ask I love this, I've been praying this Lord, speak, for your servant is listening, and then just listen and listen and just die. And I'm telling you, man, like there's something beautiful that happens. Those roots go down in deep. That's where those roots take place. And I think, if we were to sum up this humility, right, is that connection to the source, which is God, which is life, which is rooted in contentment and everything else blooms and everything else is fruitful from that place.

Justin: 1:15:07

Yeah, I love the take it's yeah, man, this is neat for me just breaking down that scripture and you know I can take my stuff and we just proved how it's living and active. It's amazing I appreciated, like hearing your description of just taking three simple verses and us iron, sharpening iron. So, good Back and forth, Like it really is. I'm so encouraged.

Rhett: 1:15:29

Me too, man, getting to do that. I'm so encouraged, me too, man, getting to do that. I'm glad you, you, uh, you decided to go that direction with us, man.

Justin: 1:15:36

I say you, but we together We'll try it again.

Rhett: 1:15:40

I mean it was fun. If anything, maybe, maybe, um, it just maybe it's inspired some people to kind of look at scriptures in a different way, in a different lens in the process. I think so. Three verses.

Justin: 1:15:50

That's a great goal that you could take three verses and you can do this wherever you are, when you have your time of Scripture. Take the Psalms as we've been encouraging lately and just set up some kind of regimen to go through them. But it doesn't always have to be in a hurry. It can be, and that's great too, to see how much you can dig into a Psalm and just get three or four or five, six scriptures and just watch what you can get in and the Lord will speak to your heart as you seek his face.

Rhett: 1:16:21

I would one note to that especially if you're learning how to do this, create some margin and some space and time to just sit there with that and to meditate on it.

Justin: 1:16:30

Yeah.

Rhett: 1:16:30

To think through it. Because even as you were talking through that scripture earlier, I was having a moment, I was reading and I was listening to what you were saying, but I was also just kind of looking at it and looking at it and meditating and I was ruminating on it. And then through that rumination of that process, some things just started to pop out at me that wouldn't have if I would have just read it and gone all right, let's keep moving on. So there's something about creating margin with the Lord as you humble yourself and connect and quieting your soul.

Justin: 1:16:58

So that would just be an encouragement, that's wonderful man, how do we end this thing, man? Great episode.

Rhett: 1:17:03

We don't. We just continue Dot dot, dot Ellipsis. Hey, Rhett, yeah, what are we going to do? Change the world. Hey friends, thank you so much for joining us on today's conversation. We cannot wait until our next episode that drops next Monday. So until then, we hope you have a great day, stay safe and we will see you soon, right here with your friends Red and Justin at Armchair Authentic.