God's Kingdom Comes First: Finding Peace in Uncertain Times

What happens when we choose faith over fear? This riveting conversation explores the transformative power of faithful living in a fear-driven world. 

"Fear is false evidence appearing real. Fear honors the devil. But faith honors God." With these powerful words, we dive into how fear paralyzes while faith mobilizes. The discussion reveals how living from a place of faith rather than anxiety creates forward momentum in our lives. When you're filled with faith and become faithful, everything changes - your perspective, your actions, and ultimately your impact on the world around you.

The conversation takes a fascinating turn toward humility, described as the essential virtue that attracts honor. "Arrogance is the worst smelling perfume on the marketplace," we learn, a scent that offends everyone except the person wearing it. This provocative metaphor illuminates how pride creates distance while humility builds bridges. The spiritual principle emerges clearly: those who humble themselves will be lifted up.

We also explore seeking God's kingdom first as the antidote to worry about material needs. This timeless wisdom from Matthew's gospel challenges our culture's obsession with accumulation and status. The conversation touches on Christ's sacrifice, controversially noting how its portrayal has often been sanitized in film, diminishing our understanding of its significance. In lighter moments, there's even a delightful recommendation for Old Ebbett's Grill in Washington DC, where apparently the Trout Parmesan is so divine it makes "Baptists speak in tongues."

Have you been letting fear hold you back? Are you wearing the offensive perfume of arrogance without realizing it? Listen now to discover how choosing faith over fear can transform your life from the inside out.

Chapters

• 0:00 National Prayer Service Controversy
• 1:48 Faith Overcomes Fear Message
• 3:38 Humility vs Arrogance Discussion
• 4:30 Old Ebbett's Grill Recommendation
• 6:08 Christ's Sacrifice in Film
• 6:50 Standing Against Mainstream Narratives

Transcript

SPEAKER_05: 0:35

But I I gotta ask, I mean, you were there yesterday, uh, you know, at this um national prayer service at the cathedral. You know, we just played the bishop's remarks yesterday. Uh we also played her history of remarks, you know, going back to four plus years ago. Yeah, how how do we get another Trumper? You know, how do we get this bishop in here? Uh what's the how how was she selected to speak here?

SPEAKER_04: 1:00

Okay, well, that's a great question. So, number one, you've heard of the right bishop. Well, this was the left bishop. Can I get a name? Oh my goodness. So true. So true. And this has been going on since president. Yeah, I like that. Um this has been going on since FDR, frankly Delwart Roosevelt. Uh, this um the National Cathedral puts this on. Uh, she has been fairly recently picked there. Um, this wasn't something the White House or this administration picked.

SPEAKER_03: 1:36

Remember this. Fear is false, evidence appearing real. Fear honors the devil. But my friends, faith honors God. You know, fear will keep you on the couch, but faith will get you in the game. Fear will have you looking in regret and reverse, but faith will have you move forward. And God not only wants you to be filled with faith, he wants you to be faithful. And uh, just like we need to fill up our car with some high octane gas, when you get in the word, you're gonna make a difference in the world. And uh, the last couple shows I've talked to you about how God has a way to turn it around. Uh, we also talked about humility, you know, humility brings honor. Do you know that uh arrogance is the worst smelling perfume on the marketplace? Uh conceit is dangerous and it stinks to high heaven. Do you know that those who are arrogant, it stinks to everyone around them, but the one wearing it, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_06: 3:10

It's like uh, hey, look, God gives, God takes. We come in with nothing, that's the same way we go out, you know. And um here's the deal: you'll always be okay if you seek first the kingdom of God. You'll always be okay. You'll get what you need. Look at the flowers of the field, look at the birds of the air, they get fed, they get clothed. I mean, it's Matthew, I think. But uh that was one of my dad's favorite passages. He said, Stop worrying about stuff, about money, about stuff. So, you know, that that's I think I, you know, he put that in my head when I was very young, and it stayed, and I believe it, you know.

SPEAKER_03: 4:18

And after the next time you're in town, I'll buy you a meal.

SPEAKER_01: 4:22

That would be great. You know where? I won't I won't make you pay. I just I would like to go out with you, though. You know where's a great restaurant in Washington, D.C. Old Ebbett's Grill? Old Ebbett's Grill.

SPEAKER_03: 4:31

I ate there two nights ago.

SPEAKER_02: 4:32

I thought you were Baptist. How'd you pick that up on the gift? I don't drink, but it's the oldest bar in Washington. I'm saying, how'd you pick up in the spirit what restaurant the exact restaurant I was going to say?

SPEAKER_03: 4:42

Yeah, we're not dropping names, but but Meadowlark Lemon, the famous Harlem Glenn, tried it before he died. Every time he came to town, he said, Frank, take me to Old Ebbett's.

SPEAKER_01: 4:50

That's where I ate every night when I finished preaching to these people. They do full menu till two in the morning.

SPEAKER_03: 4:54

Trout Parmesan to die for it.

SPEAKER_02: 4:57

The what? Trout Parmesan. Yes. And it's available, that's sort of everything. Even my Baptist friends start speaking in tongues.

SPEAKER_01: 5:04

It's a great place. And I'm sure a lot's gone down.

SPEAKER_06: 5:43

And the extent of the sacrifice, take it for granted. Yeah. And filmically, particularly, cinematically, I think it's been sanitized a fair bit so that it becomes, I don't know, ineffective, ineffectual, not emotional.

SPEAKER_00: 5:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06: 5:57

And I wanted to illustrate the extent of the sacrifice that Christ made. So I felt that to do a film like that and my own experience contemplating over the years on the passion, uh, my imagination soared, and there are readings on the on the matter that kind of brought home the dreadful reality of how bad the uh how bad it was. And I just wanted to put that on film to give people maybe a new look and to sort of bring another theological perspective to it that perhaps they hadn't thought of before.

SPEAKER_03: 6:38

God gave me a passion to expose what has been going on. You know, we weren't out to hurt anyone, but I was one of the few pastors. I'm going back in 2000, 2001, that when they were screaming, trust the science, I was one of the few standing up, no, you better trust the savior. And then we were fighting the mainstream media lies, and we were helping other folks have a backbone to stand up against the tyranny and unjustice. And then we talked four or five years ago about the scandals in Hollywood. Again, we weren't out to hurt anybody, but everything we said, where everything's crashed, I mean, you've heard of the casting couch. I was also saying what was going on back then, and then you heard about these parties, and there's now people in prison. Well, the preacher me, God is a God of grace and forgiveness, but God is also a God of justice and judgment. And we need to get the Lord before time runs out. So everything that we said was true.