Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:08 Hey, welcome back to the Grace House podcast. Brian Phillips with you here today, we are a band of brothers being trained by grace to conquer darkness and empower men to live upright. It's awesome. I love this podcast is growing by the day. Please keep sharing on your social media, subscribe to the podcast. If you haven't. And you know, when you listen to one of these, click, the share button, go share it with some friends, go invite some other guys into this or families, ladies, whatever. All right, follow us on our social media is you can find us on any platform at gray SOPs, two 12. We'd love to have you consider partnering with us financially. You can go to grace sops.net/partner, and you could do five bucks a month or 50 bucks a month, whatever. We're just kind of looking for some early adopters to put fuel in the tank of the vision.
Speaker 1 00:01:02 We are planning and building a national strategy for this thing. So we want to take it to the nation. And we're also building a strategy, pretty hardcore strategy for taking it to your backyard around bonfires and barbecue pits, that kind of stuff. All right. I want to get into our topic today. The episode's going to be based around honoring God and conquering darkness. So essentially we're up against the gods of Egypt. Now this is an ancient concept it's found in the book of Exodus and the gods of Egypt. God actually says in the book of Exodus, I will deal with the gods of Egypt and the way God deals with the gods of Egypt is through his might and through his power and also through his people. So I want to hone in on that today for a little bit like, uh, what does it actually mean to honor God?
Speaker 1 00:01:55 You know, it's the first of the five star charge, honor, affection, Liberty, war, and valor. What does it mean to honor God, Jesus said it really well. And the gospels, he, this is very popular. Even if you've never read the Bible you would under, you probably would know this one. When he says pray like this, our father in heaven, hallowed, be your name, your kingdom, come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So when Jesus says this concept of, you know, hallowed be your name, it means father, may your name be great. May your name be honored? May your name be honored? So to honor, the name of God is this is the same concept of hollowing. The name of God and Jesus, his audience would have automatically kind of referenced the, referenced the opposite. What is, what is the opposite of hollow would be to profe profane the name.
Speaker 1 00:02:53 And that's not just through profanity in our language. It's actually through the way we live. So his original audience would have heard this hollow, the name of God, and they instantly would have connected it to their lifestyle. So that's the answer. How do we honor God in a 21st century culture, you do it with your lifestyle, not your talk, not your cheap chatter, but you do it with your lifestyle. And we live in a culture. So when we look at the gods of Egypt, um, God dealt with Pharaoh. He delivered his people. Israel did nothing to save herself. God redeemed her, God saved her. God brought her out, brought her into a place of covenant, brought her into a place of promise, very powerful story. That's still happening in our lives today, but we also face, uh, some of the gods of Egypt in this American culture that we live in, or if you're living in other countries, uh, you know, you fill in the blanks of what your country deals with, but we deal with spiritual complacency being passive.
Speaker 1 00:03:55 We deal with immorality, sexual immorality. We deal with idolatry and you know, most of the church culture, not all of it, but most of the church cultures guilty of kind of like not partnering with God and the great commission, not partnering with him in his own will, uh, his own, you know, your will be done. Your kingdom, come on earth as it is in heaven. We're, we're guilty in a lot of ways of overlooking, uh, the two key things, which is intimacy with God and partnership with the great commission, knowing God and making him known very powerful. So how do we establish a life of honoring God, not with just lip service, but how does our hearts and our actual lifestyle in the way we live actually back this up? Well, that's a pursuit that takes time. That's why we championed the whole concept of being a band of brothers.
Speaker 1 00:04:50 We want, we're championed the idea of you getting some comrades, a band of brothers to do the five-star charge with, um, get together. We've got some curriculum that's gonna be coming out soon about how to actually, you know, meet once a month or twice a month with some guys and how to talk about the different topics in the different values and virtues in the five-star charge. So just getting together on a bonfire and say, let's talk for a few minutes about this concept of honoring God, how, how are we doing? How are we failing? You know, I mean, I think it's powerful to talk about our failures, where we're, where we missed it so we can learn together. You know, like I just started a 16 week, um, a whole new fitness plan and, uh, diet nutrition, all that kind of great stuff and what I'm learning.
Speaker 1 00:05:36 And it is, uh, it just three days in, um, I'm hitting the goals pretty well. I'm in the 90 percentile and that's kind of like how the five-star charges. It's, it's something that isn't like a one and done, you did it good one day and you're good to go. It's a daily thing. It's a, you think about E is real. You think about God dealing with the powers of bondage and slavery and governmental powers, all this stuff. And he took Israel out of Egypt, created a covenant. They were covenant people. That's very powerful. If we want to be a man who honors God, we have to actually walk in covenant with God through Christ. We have to, we have to do that. Um, we have to commit ourselves to that covenant relationship. And so, but then God, what he does for the rest of the days is in his people, through his teachings, through his, uh, instructions, he's now taking Egypt out of his people.
Speaker 1 00:06:37 And that's the same thing we find ourselves in even now in a 21st century culture. So I just want to kind of talk for just a few moments. I don't want to go very long, but I just want to talk about this concept of honor. We're up against some very powerful things in our culture. We've been seduced in our country by a lot of, a lot of the church. I believe personally has been seduced by growth and wealth. And, um, even as a man, wherever you're at in your careers, I mean, it's just this constant comparing ourselves. How big is our bank account? How big is our toys, all that kind of stuff. It's just, that's really not a kingdom minded lifestyle. It's, uh, it's very worldly and wealth can become an idol to us if we're not using our wealth for the purposes of God.
Speaker 1 00:07:28 So we've got to really put ourselves in check biblically and then really establish a life of honoring God. And if you're failing in this area, but you're trying, you're on the right path in Greece. Ops is a culture that's going to forever, uh, champion the five-star charger, you know, in the first one is honoring God with our lifestyle, learning to love God learning to spend time with God in a covenant relationship. We've got to really learn his love for us, his grace, for us, his mercy for us, and allow that to change the fabric of who we are in the DNA and the clothing. Uh, if you will like the spirit and the Bible talks about clothing yourself with righteousness and moving forward in a lifestyle that Sasha lifestyle living upright. And so basically the storyline goes like this. Uh, this is another good way to kind of look at it.
Speaker 1 00:08:25 God sanctified a people of all the people he could have chosen. He chose Israel, they're his chosen people. Um, and God sanctified them by pulling them out by, um, putting his instruction in them, his Torah, his laws, his commands. And by the way, they live in their lifestyle. They in turn, his people will now put him on display in the earth. So God deals with the gods of Egypt through his own might and power. And also through his people, he has a covenant people in the earth that are set apart. Holy people that are supposed to be fashioning, a lifestyle of honoring God with the way we live. And that means to honor the word of God, um, wholeheartedly counting the cost of what this costs, you know, so for me, in my own personal life honoring God has cost me financially. It's cost me in my reputation.
Speaker 1 00:09:23 It's cost me. Um, I've been very, uh, humiliated by people who diminish the passions and the love I have for God. They, they mock it and, but it's okay. I still have grace and compassion for them, but it has cost me a lot. It has cost me a lot to be the man that I am today. It's costing me a lot. I've walked through hard, very hard, crazy hardcore terrain, very hard wilderness. In my only goal in all of it was to honor God and to be a man who built a life that actually honored his name, honored his will being done in the earth. So I talk about Malakai quite often. And, and, um, there's, there's this great question in Malakai. And so Malikai was written in a day and age when like God's people weren't doing it so well, they were failing huge.
Speaker 1 00:10:19 And actually the leadership called the priesthood was failing huge. And I want to highlight it here just to kind of drive this point home, but to honor God. So, um, in the book of Malika, chapter one, there's this dialogue that's happening between God and his people. And you could read it if you want to rally Malika chapter one, but it basically, God starts off. Like I have loved you. And he leaves it kind of hanging there for them. It's it's God saying, but how have you loved me? And he goes on a few verses into it. And he's, he says, if I'm your father, where is my honor? So God was looking for honor. And so even though his people were failing in Malakai, one 11, he actually talks about, um, you know, he actually he's addressing them in, in chapter one. He's actually, he actually says, where's my funeral priest who despise my name, you know?
Speaker 1 00:11:12 And they, they th they asked the question, well, how have we despised you? And he tells them, but in verse 11, you know, he actually makes this powerful proclamation. He's he, he proclaims, even in the midst of his people, not living the way they ought to be living, not hollowing his name, not honoring his name. He makes this powerful declaration. He says, my name will be great among the nations from the rising of the sun until it's setting. And God made this statement, Israel, like, you know, I hope you wake up and get in tune with me. But even if you don't, I'm letting you know that my name will be great, despise your behavior, despise lifestyle. And then he goes on and he says, so here's kind of what they were doing. You know, they were Israel in the days of, uh, the temple and they were bringing sacrifices to God and they were supposed to bring like their best. I mean, when God gave us Christ, he gave us
Speaker 2 00:12:09 The best. He gave us the best, the perfect lamb that
Speaker 1 00:12:18 Was slain, who takes away the sins of the world. So God set up this process for Israel to bring sacrifices and they were supposed to bring the best. And what they were actually doing was they were bringing the lame. So imagine being a father back in that day, underneath a corrupt priesthood and corrupt temple times, and you look over to your son and you're like, Hey, we're going to go sacrifice to the Lord. Uh, go grab that lamb. That's been sick for a few days. Go get the one over there. That's, uh, th that's blind or go over here and get this one. That's it's really about to die as it moved for a few days.
Speaker 2 00:13:03 It's sick. Let's bring
Speaker 1 00:13:05 That to the Lord. I mean, could you imagine that like, just the corruption and the, just, just dishonoring to the name of God in, in what was really bad as I'd get to the temple and the priest would be like, yeah, come on in. That's acceptable. Oh my gosh. I don't even know how to handle that. You know, the Bible talks about all, if we're in Christ, we're actually identified as a Royal priesthood, a holy nation, and people are chosen people of his own possession and we're grafted into Israel. So you and I in Christ in a, as you're a man, who's learning how to honor God with your life. You're becoming part of a people that God uses to deal with darkness. So how has God conquering darkness in the earth while he's doing it in all the God kind of ways that he can do, but he's also empowering his people by his holy spirit to honor him by loving him and receiving his love, and then going forth into the earth and bringing that repair and that redemption to a broken world. So it's awesome. Now this whole concept of sanctifying, God, God sanctifies, the people God's pulling his, uh, he pulls us out of bondage and then he's pulling the darkness. He's pulling Egypt out of us all these days and he's sanctifying us. So that in turn, we would live in such a way. We live a lifestyle that sanctifies his name and draws people into the might and the power and the wonder. So they can be fascinated with the living God.
Speaker 2 00:14:36 So God says,
Speaker 1 00:14:37 This is what he says in Malakai says, take your lame offerings to your local governor. That's what he said. Take him to your governor. Well, essentially, they're not going to do that because their governor would kill them, was such a lame offering a lame gift. God's like, you wouldn't even treat your governor that way, but yet you're treating me that way. And one of the things that plagues our land today is this whole concept of passivity. We're just passive,
Speaker 2 00:15:13 Passive, passive in our pursuits of God, distracted by wealth, distracted by power,
Speaker 1 00:15:25 Distracted by our devices and scrolling through screens and just consuming, consuming, consuming, consuming, consuming. And if we could just do Malakai one 10, this is God's solution. This is the heart of God crying out in the days of Malakai to his people. And I bring this so passionately to the gray SOPs culture, because it's the same thing. It's the heart of God crying out to a 21st century culture. It's the same heart and plea that we would get back to honoring him. And this is how God phrased it in Malakai one 10. He said, oh, that there were one among you who would shut the door that you would, that you might not Kindle fire on my altar and vain. God's like, if there just be one among you, who would shut, stop the process, stop the madness, stop the corruption. Now it doesn't say tear that altar down and tear the temple down and throw it all away.
Speaker 1 00:16:25 God is calling them to reboot, to reset, to come back. And he's like, if there just be one among the priest, one of among my leaders who would have the passion to honor my name into look at that man who brought that lame, uh, animal into my temple to look at him and go, you can't do this. This is not honoring the living God. And to actually older, there'd be one among who'd shut the door and actually raise the standards again of the passions of God. So honoring God is about God, God first, not man honoring God is about fearing God like revering. God is a good way to say it. It's it's, it's about revering him saying, God, I want to live in a way that honors your name. Even if it costs me everything.
Speaker 1 00:17:21 So men and all the listeners, we have women, families, children. I charge you today to be an individual who shuts the door, stops the madness and honors the name of the living. God, that's what this world needs. It needs not a perfect people. We make mistakes, but it needs a people in pursuit of the living. God, it's not perfection. We're already perfect in Christ. We just don't fully know it yet. But as we learn what that means, it's polling Egypt out of us as pulling darkness, all of this point, strongholds all of us. So we can go into the world with Heizer, compassion, Hartsville, with love and kindness and grace and power and resolve. And we can speak things out of our mouth that have to do with proclaiming him his power. His might the signs and wonders. We can go forward in the earth and we can do mighty things.
Speaker 1 00:18:17 And we can be part of God's redemption plan in the earth. We can sanctify the name of the living. God. So I charge you to do, to be one who S who continues to establish. You've probably failed a thousand times like me, a million times like me, but you get back up, you rise again. You set your heart and knowing God set your heart on honoring God. Even if it disappoints, man, that's the beauty of it. We're not here to purposely offend people or offend, man. We don't set out to do that. But sometimes when you honor the harder God, it can convict people. You can really mess with their heads, but do it anyway. Do
Speaker 2 00:18:59 It in love. Be one who
Speaker 1 00:19:02 Would shut the door today and honor the living God. And therefore you would have a lifestyle that would literally conquer darkness and even conquer the gods of Egypt
Speaker 2 00:19:14 Until
Speaker 1 00:19:14 Next time know that we love you. We care about you and we're empowering you to live upright.
