Transcript
Speaker: Welcome back to Woodward's Vale. I am so incredibly glad. He pulled up a chair and chose to join me at the table today. If you're listening to this right on schedule.
Speaker: or close to it. Then this episode is posting on Wednesday. which is the exact day I am packing my bags and leaving town to celebrate my birthday. which is coming up just two days from now.
Speaker: Bye! I refuse to head out the door. without making sure we sat down together for this season. It was just weighing on me so heavily that...
Speaker: I decided I'm gonna go ahead and post. I'm not gonna... leave you guys behind just because I'm going on a
Speaker: but what makes this day even more monumental. is that this very same day, Also marks the official release of my second album. titled Unshaken.
Speaker: My heart is completely overflowing with gratitude to God for everything. he's doing. And I'm so honored to share both this milestone and this brand new music with you today.
Speaker: Today, we're moving into episode nine of our project. And I've titled this session. standing firm in a shifting world. We're turning our focus toward a song that shifts our entire perspective From the rescue itself?
Speaker: to the character of the Rescuer. It's track 9 on the album. title. because of who he is. This song is a direct line in the sand.
Speaker: It is for anyone who has ever felt the intense, burning pressure of trying to hold on. to your biblical morals and convictions. while the culture around you completely slides backwards.
Speaker: It's about why we draw boundaries. Why we refuse to compromise what we know is true. and why the ultimate reason we follow Christ has to run miles deeper than just our minds or our logic.
Speaker: ever since the beginning of this project. I have been absolutely amazed. at how the Holy Spirit moves. Usually, on a Friday or a Saturday.
Speaker: he'll drop a heavy word or a specific direction into my spirit while I'm working. And without fail, When I walk into church, there will be something that I hear in a Sunday sermon.
Speaker: or an open discussion during Sunday school or a Wednesday night Bible study. that goes right along with exactly what I was writing. Yes. There are a lot of my own personal thoughts woven into these tracks.
Speaker: but the direction and the overall. arching why behind this music? is Completely moved by the Holy Spirit. When I get that unexpected affirmation from my leaders,
Speaker: and those who are far more knowledgeable in the word than me. It completely validates that I'm on the right path. It reminds me that I'm not just speaking out of my own intellect.
Speaker: I am following a divine blueprint.
Speaker: So let's drop our need for cultural approval right now. Quiet the noise of what the world demands. Settle your mind And let's open our hearts together in prayer.
Speaker: Lord Jesus. this. We look at the world around us today and we confess that the current feels so incredibly strong. The noise is loud.
Speaker: The standards of this culture are constantly shifting. and it is so easy to feel entirely isolated. when we choose to stand firm on your truth. We ask that you would anchor our spirits today.
Speaker: Strip away our desire to be understood by the world. and deepen our revelation of your holiness. Give us the supernatural courage. to stand for what is right.
Speaker: to speak your truth with me. absolute love. and to follow you completely. not just for the miracles we want to see. was simply because of boo you.
Speaker: are. Amen.
Speaker: When you step out into the world with the decision to live out your faith authentically, you realize very quickly. that the public square is not neutral.
Speaker: The lyrics of this track open up by exposing a very specific kind of cultural friction. They talk about how people will literally label you as crazy. simply because of the boundaries and lines you choose to draw.
Speaker: They will call you reckless. for giving your heart away to a savior. that demands a higher truth. an absolute standard of holiness. and an uncompromised lifestyle.
Speaker: Where is he? Have you felt that burning friction in your own life lately? Has it been at the office water cooler? We're refusing to participate in the usual gossip. Makes you an instant outsider?
Speaker: Has it been in your family circle? where holding to biblical morals gets you labeled as rigid or outdated. Where is that line that you've drawn?
Speaker: that has caused the culture to look at you and ask. Why do you do this?
Speaker: It is incredibly easy. tend to internalize that pressure. and start wondering if you're the one who is losing your mind. The crowd is loud. The mainstream narrative is completely synchronized and if you don't bow to the current trends,
Speaker: You were viewed as an anomaly. When people challenge traditional boundaries, You can look at the media landscape today and see a very specific pattern. layout.
Speaker: It's not so much about how everyday believers react. but it's about how those big names on TV react. just to get a reaction from the crowd. Let's look at some of the ways they were react.
Speaker: They try to pull out historical data. They jumped straight into an aggressive defense mode on television. pointing to archaeology and arguing about how some of the exact cities structures, and ancient places.
Speaker: mentioned right in the pages of the Bible. have actually been dug up. and found by science. turning historical facts into loud, combative debate.
Speaker: just to prove a point. There's a saying in Greece that to dig is to lose. Because back then, They built on top. of all of the old city and if you dig and find something Your land. now belongs to the government.
Speaker: They try to lean on philosophical debates. They use their massive platforms to pick apart the world's thinking with deep, complex arguments or high level apologetics.
Speaker: trying to logically mock society's changing morals. and shifting ideas just to fire up their audience and stir the pot. or they fall back on a strict checklist.
Speaker: They broadcast a rigid catalog of religious mandates. handing down a heavy list of Do not touch. Do not look. Do not do rules. Creating a loud defensive wall that feels more like an angry corporate campaign than a reflection of Christ.
Speaker: I have my own saying these days that some people just want to argue. But this song pivots on a massive truth. You can watch people have all their historical facts lined up perfectly on screen.
Speaker: You can watch them win the intellectual debates. Hand down for the cameras. You can watch them follow every religious rule to the absolute letter. and still see them.
Speaker: completely missed the heart of Jesus. Now. Let it be known. I'm not discounting those things or saying they don't matter. or that we shouldn't learn from them.
Speaker: Not at all. There is a massive value in studying the roots of our faith. and understanding the history behind the text. But those tools are meant to deepen our awe of God.
Speaker: not to be weaponized as to tools for public performance. or a means to get a reaction from the crowd. That is exactly what happened to some of the ancients. They started with the pure foundation of God's commandments.
Speaker: But over time, As people tried to strictly adhere to them, They began piling on their own endless layers, rules, and human interpretations. They expanded the checklist so much that they became... entirely obsessed.
Speaker: with the exterior minutiae. drawing pristine lines of performance, yet their spirits remained. Totally holla. They had the frame wrote.
Speaker: down to science. But they walked right past the living God in human flesh. because they were too busy checking the boxes they built.
Speaker: the deep underlying reason we stand firm. and not just be about winning a clinical debate. or proving what right. It runs miles deeper than our human logic.
Speaker: We don't hold the line to win an argument. We hold the line because we are completely in love with a person.
Speaker: In Romans 12 .2 Paul delivers a brilliant unyielding command. to every believer navigating a hostile environment. and do not be conformed by this world.
Speaker: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. so that you may prove that what the will of God is. That which is good. and acceptable. and perfect
Speaker: To fully unpack what Paul is saying here, We have to look at the environment of Rome at that time. It was a cultural melting pot completely saturated with pagan idolatry.
Speaker: materialism, and societal patterns that stood in direct opposition to God. When Paul says, do not be conformed, He is issuing a defensive warning.
Speaker: Against letting that toxic. Eternal environment shape. your internal soul. Look closely at the word conformed. It carries the imagery of being... poured right into a mold.
Speaker: It is the world's actively applying heavy constant pressure. to squeeze you into its shape. forcing you to think like it thinks, speak like it speaks, and compromise what you know is holy.
Speaker: But Paul doesn't leave us in a defensive stance. He immediately introduced the spiritual cure. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Speaker: The word for transformation here is where we get our word metamorphosis. It is a complete alteration of nature. like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.
Speaker: The purpose of this internal renewal is so that you can actively prove what the will of God is. When your mind is completely renewed by the presence of God,
Speaker: The mold of this culture completely loses its grip on your life. You stop drawing lines out of a sense of obligation built on human interpretations. and you start drawing them,
Speaker: Because you have caught a glimpse of a higher reality. you realize that being set apart isn't a punishment. It is the design for true spiritual survival.
Speaker: Jesus is the ultimate blueprint. He stands as the exact. uncompromised standard. for what it actually means to be righteous.
Speaker: The lyrics aren't telling us to try harder or perform better. They're pointing us to a living, breathing model of someone who refuse to conform, refused to compromise, and remained completely faithful to the Father.
Speaker: When you look at your own life right now, Whose blueprint are you actually building with? Are you sliding into the world's design? that emotional crowd -pleasing mentality where if it makes you feel good in the moment then that's all that matters.
Speaker: Or the Simon Says, follow the leader culture where you just go along with whatever everyone else is doing. that age -old You remember when your parents said it? If they jumped off a bridge, would you?
Speaker: Or are you leaning on a blueprint built entirely on human rules and interpretations? the kind of mindset where you judge everyone around you incredibly harshly because you are so super focused on your own added checklist that you totally forgot why the truth was even written in the first place.
Speaker: Now, Make no mistake. That doesn't mean the word of God is open to our own personal interpretations. It says what it says, period. but We cannot afford to forget the massive heart of Mercy.
Speaker: Standing right behind those words. We are called to hate the sin. but we must absolutely love the center.
Speaker: What would it look like? to throw out both of those broken human designs today. And look at the way Jesus walked. Stud. And great. When we look closely at his life,
Speaker: we realize that Jesus completely shatters both of those traps. He didn't play a game of cultural, Simon says, to keep the crowds happy. But he also didn't use an expanded book of rules like a club to be people down.
Speaker: The music challenges us with a standard that completely flips our natural instincts upside down. calling us to speak truth. and love. as scripture reminds us in Ephesians 4 .15.
Speaker: We are to be speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up in all aspects into him. Who is the head? That is Christ. Ephesians is all about church maturity and unity.
Speaker: Paul shows us that we aren't meant to just stay babies in our faith. Easily tossed around by every route, trend, or trick. this culture throws at us. Instead,
Speaker: He lays down the real secret to growing up spiritually. We have to combine truth. and love. perfectly. Truth without love is a brutal weapon of rule adherence.
Speaker: But love without truth is a purely feel -good mentality. that leaves people stuck in sin. He is Christ. and he held both in absolute perfection.
Speaker: showing us that true growth only happens when we anchor our words in his character. In Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 8, Paul maps out the deep humility behind this perfect balance.
Speaker: while writing from a dark, cramped Roman prison cell. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus. who, although he existed in the form of God,
Speaker: did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. but emptied himself. taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men. being found in appearance as a man.
Speaker: He humbled himself by becoming obedient. to the point of death. even death. on a crisis.
Speaker: Look at the radical nature of that blueprint. The King of Glory. who held the universe in his hands. didn't use his power to demand his rights or crush his enemies.
Speaker: He emptied himself. He chose the posture of a servant. He became obedient. all the way to a horrific Shapeful. I promise. True righteousness isn't a weapon of pride.
Speaker: We used to look down on the culture or judge people harshly. It is a posture of humility. humility. that drives us to our knees to offer the same mercy we've been given.
Speaker: This beautiful portrait of Christ's sacrifice? perfectly explains what Jesus cries out to his disciples in Luke 9 23. If anyone wishes to come after me,
Speaker: He must deny himself. and take up his cross daily. and follow me.
Speaker: These truths are completely woven together because they revealed a profound cause and effect relationship. in our everyday discipleship. Philippians shows us the heavy price.
Speaker: Jesus paid. He humbled himself. emptied himself, and carried his cross directly to his death. Luke shows us the practical response we must carry out.
Speaker: if we claim to be his followers. We have to take that exact blueprint and apply it to our everyday choices. Following him, requires sacrificing our self -will.
Speaker: In all honesty, The Christian walk is not easy. And to follow him means matching his pattern of rejection. If you aren't being looked down on by the crowd,
Speaker: If you haven't lost certain alignments or people in your life, or if you haven't been talked about behind closed doors, You have to ask yourself. Are you truly following Jesus?
Speaker: Because when you choose to walk this narrow path, there will inevitably come a point where you will be looked down on. by a world that has rejected you. or more importantly,
Speaker: Rejected Christ What are you? Hear me clearly on this. When the crowd looks down on you, Your response isn't to look back at them with pride or self -righteousness Your footing is simply anchored securely on higher biblical ground.
Speaker: You look out at the culture with a heart. completely broken. for the brokenness around you. Separate it from the trends. simply because you are standing firm on the rock.
Speaker: Now. I've always been completely open with you. I am still learning all of this. I'm still a student. This is me talking directly to you as I read and learn.
Speaker: and fight to build my own better relationship with God. every single day. I am someone who has always been The odd person out. I am not typical in any sense of the word.
Speaker: And to be completely honest, I'm happy about that. I want to stand out. I don't want to blend in with the culture that's sliding backwards. I want to walk down the street and have people look at me and just see a light.
Speaker: The undeniable light of Jesus Christ shining straight through my life. It reminds me of a popular shirt phrase that I saw. Now. A little bit off topic, but it's really funny and completely relevant for those of us that live here in Louisiana.
Speaker: It says, I want to be so full of the Holy Spirit that when a mosquito bites me, It flies away singing. There is power in the blood. That's the kind of saturation I am talking about.
Speaker: We don't follow him just because we want him to change our circumstances. or perform a sign. We follow him because we want him to change us. We follow him.
Speaker: because of who he is.
Speaker: True discipleship can never be something we keep hidden away in our private lives. When your heart is genuinely anchored in Christ, You are called to step right out into the dark places of our communities.
Speaker: and i actively live out his heart. We are pushed toward advocacy. standing up for people who have been pushed to the margins. Defending what is right and choosing to love exactly the way he loves.
Speaker: Where has fear kept you standing on the sidelines this week? Where have you stayed? completely silent. or look the other way when you knew God was prompting you to speak. Go.
Speaker: or to stand for someone else. What would it look like to step out of the shadows today? and actively show your neighborhood what the heart of Jesus looks like in real time.
Speaker: Stepping into those dark spaces is exactly where the world's crowd -pleasing emotionalism completely fails. and where a life built on strict human rules and traditions falls flat on its face.
Speaker: The follow the leader culture will tell you to only speak up if it makes you popular or matches what's trending on screen. On the flip side, an obsessive focus on strict role following,
Speaker: will make you keep your distance. judging people from afar because you're too busy protecting your own checklist. to actually touch someone else's mess. but true discipleship breaks both of those molds.
Speaker: It forces you to meet people with an unyielding commitment to the truth. balanced perfectly with the heart that is wide open in mercy and deep compassion. You learn to hate the sin that is actively destroying lives.
Speaker: Would you love the individual enough? to show them the real way out of the darkness. We are called to be a living demonstration of his character. refusing to judge from a distance,
Speaker: but instead walking the path with people to lead them. out of the trench and into the light. When we choose to value what he values. our lives naturally become an uncompromised standard.
Speaker: that challenges the darkness around us. in Micah 6, verse 8. The prophet speaks directly to a society that had completely corrupted its justice system.
Speaker: where religion had become nothing more than a hollow ritual to cover up greed and exploitation. God bypasses all that empty performance to deliver a direct,
Speaker: Unshakable command. He has told you, mortal man. What is good? And what does the Lord require of you? but to do justice, to love kindness. And so walk humbly with your God.
Speaker: Look at the simplicity. and the action in that standard. God doesn't ask for an empty checklist of added rules or human definitions. He demands. three active movements.
Speaker: Do justice. Love, kindness. and walk humbly. Doing justice means you don't just feel bad for the brokenness in the world. You actively get your hands dirty to show people the way out of it.
Speaker: Loving kindness means your heart is complete. quickly postured in mercy. Choosing to see people through a lens of grace and refusing to just casually cut them off. the moment they make a mistake.
Speaker: But... Hear me clearly on this. There is a point when you have to say, win. refusing to cut people off, doesn't mean you let people walk all over you just because you have a heart of gold. passion.
Speaker: boundaries, are holy. True mercy doesn't mean becoming a doormat or enabling destructive cycles. Sometimes the highest form of love is knowing when you have reached your limit.
Speaker: Stepping back. and choosing to let go and let God do what only he can do in their life. and walking humbly. means you recognize that you are just as dependent on the Savior as the person you are trying to help.
Speaker: This is the definition of true discipleship. We don't stand firm just to keep ourselves. clean. We stand firm to show a shifting world the unshakable,
Speaker: merciful, and wise heart of the living God. Standing firm on these boundaries, brings you into a space that feels like a settled storm. The dust finally settles from the battle.
Speaker: And you are invited into a beautiful state of peace. It is the profound rest that comes when you realize you no longer have to form. or prove your stance to the world.
Speaker: because your soul is completely secure in who he is.
Speaker: Where do you need that settled storm in your life today? Are you still exhausted from trying to fight the culture on your own strength? or tired of trying to manage other people's broken cycles.
Speaker: What would it look like to step out of the noise right now? Drop your hands and let his unshakable character bring total peace to your heart. This section serves as a massive...
Speaker: urgent reminder of our absolute non -negotiable need for our Savior. We have to face the fact that we simply cannot do this on our own. Are human intelligent?
Speaker: hits a brick wall. Our emotions leave us drifting. and our endless layers of human rules and definitions. leave us completely dry. We cannot manufacture true righteousness.
Speaker: from within our own weak frames. We must have the Holy Spirit. guiding our every single breath. we are entirely dependent on the glorious fullness of the Trinity.
Speaker: God the Father who designed our days. Jesus Christ, the Son who redeemed our broken souls and the Holy Spirit who convicts. comforts and lives inside of us.
Speaker: It is the three in one combined who work together to both light and lead our way. We are not called to forge our own path through the dark. We are called to look down and carefully follow his pristine footprints in the sand.
Speaker: When you stop trying to be your own guy, and you let the Trinity take complete ownership of your direction. That is where the striving ends. and the saddled storm begins. In Colossians chapter 3 verses 15 and 16.
Speaker: Paul delivers a clear blueprint for how to maintain our internal compass when being pulled in a dozen different directions. by false teachings and shifting cultural demands.
Speaker: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. to which indeed you are called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom. teaching and admonishing one another.
Speaker: with Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. to grasp the weight of this passage. Look at the vocabulary Paul abuses.
Speaker: He says, let the peace of Christ. rule in your hearts. In the original text, that word for rule carries the imagery of an umpire or a referee.
Speaker: It means when anxiety tries to push you around, or when the pressure of the culture tries to dictate your steps. The peace of Jesus steps in. as the final judge. It calls the shots.
Speaker: It draws the boundaries. And notice the immediate connection. to verse 16 that protective piece is maintained directly by letting the word of Christ richly dwell within you.
Speaker: It's not a superficial checklist. It's an absolute saturation of truth and wisdom. When you are completely filled with His Word and guided by the Holy Spirit, You have the discernment to know when to stand.
Speaker: Once it stepped back, and when to completely release a situation to the Father. You don't have to panic when the world shifts around you. because you are anchored in a peace that the world didn't give you.
Speaker: and a peace that the culture could never take away.
Speaker: Refusing to comprehend What we know is true. They say Giving heart
Speaker: To someone who calls
Speaker: They asked, why do you do I give up your life I'm moral. and convictions the culture has left behind
Speaker: Good point.
Speaker: Truth.
Speaker: Because of who?
Speaker: Righteous.
Speaker: But speaking -
Speaker: begun And that's why
Speaker: before we close our time together today. Let's carry two very honest, intentional questions. for the rest of their week. These will be your reflection questions because I will not be posting anything while I'm gone.
Speaker: Where have you allowed the fear of cultural labels or the comfort of a crowd -pleasing mentality? to silence your uncompromised convictions.
Speaker: Are you truly following Christ simply for the benefits and the miracles? Or are you ready to stand firm in a shifting world simply because of who he is.
Speaker: Let's gather our hearts together as a family right now. and stuff. into prayer. Jesus, we confess at this table that the current of this world is incredibly strong.
Speaker: and we cannot navigate it on our own. Strip away our exhausting need for cultural approval and silence our tendency to hide behind checklists of human interpretation.
Speaker: We ask that your Holy Spirit would guide every single breath we take. Thank you for being our unshakable anchor when the landscape completely slides backwards.
Speaker: Teach us to stand with absolute truth. to love with a heart of deep compassion. and to follow your foot. prints in the sand simply because you are healing.
Speaker: You are sovereign. And you. are worthy. In your beautiful name we pray.
Speaker: Standing firm in a shifting world isn't about winning an argument. It's about being compassionate. completely captivated by the character of your Savior. Stop trying to forge your own path through the dark.
Speaker: Drop the weight, try to please the crowd. and allow the fullness of the trinity to light and lead your way this week Please remember to like, share and subscribe to the podcast.
Speaker: so we can keep walking this path together. Thank you so much for sharing this unhurried time with me around the table today. Whenever the table opens back up for our next session,
Speaker: Our journey will continue as we dive straight into track 10 for the album. When we gather, we are pulling back the curtain on a song called woven tapestry We're going to look closely at how God has been. leaf family tree.
Speaker: from the very beginning of time. and how every name in that line reveals a secret mercy Horning straight to Jesus. There is a beautiful place saved for your own story in this design.
Speaker: And the door is always wide open with a seat at the table just for you. Rest in his unshakable truth this week. Open your hands. and remember that you belong to Him.
Speaker: God bless.
