Adventure to Live After Hours

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This is the Truth Network. Coming to you from an entrenched barricade deep in the heart of central North Carolina, Masculine Journey After Hours. A time to go deeper and be more transparent on the topic covered on this week's broadcast. So, sit back and join us on this adventure. The Masculine Journey After Hours starts here, now.

Welcome to Masculine Journey After Hours. We are talking about the topic of adventure and how God will take us on adventures. We talked a little bit in the previous show and the regular radio show, not the After Hours portion, which we are now, about how God would take people on adventures all throughout Scripture. I mean, honestly, it's hard to find anyone that didn't go on an adventure with God.

Even Jesus. Yeah, yeah. I mean, name somebody that didn't go on an adventure. I'm talking about out in the wilderness. He was on a serious camping trip because there was nothing to eat. I mean, it was— And it wasn't until the weekend. It was like 40 days, 40 nights. Yeah. It was interesting to me that it was one of the first things that God did.

And really, in that time of testing, which they actually called it, and when you think through the real idea behind that, was that he wanted Jesus to know he had what it takes to beat Satan, to beat Satan, even after he'd been through, you know, all this essential struggle of taking the same trip that Moses took. Actually, three different times he went up there 40 days and 40 nights without food and water. It's an amazing thing. Yeah, I think that a lot of times when we're thinking of adventures, we're thinking of the fun things, right? And there are some adventures that are fun, and those are good. There's nothing wrong with that. You know, God created that desire for adventure. There's just a lot of different levels to adventure.

When you said come up with somebody, I thought I had one, but by my definition, it wasn't. Job didn't go anywhere, and it definitely was not an exciting adventure, but he was definitely out of his comfort zone. Right. And he learned a lot.

And once God showed up in the cloud, I don't know. That was pretty exciting. That's true. That was, you know, one of those moments that... That's the way to end an adventure. That's a way. Yeah, they, you know, if you look back, and God chooses to document through Scripture that everybody goes on an adventure, for the most part, you can, if you think of one, I tell you what, just reach out to us at masculinejourney.org. You can email any of our first names at that, Sam at Masculine Journey, Robby, Rodney, Danny, et cetera, and you can reach any one of us.

But, you know, reach out and say, hey, what about this person? But I can't really think of one that didn't go on an adventure. So that means that's going to be a key part of our life. And so I guess part of the question would be why? Why go on these adventures? Robby, you said something about learning that you have what it takes to get through things, right?

That's part of one, right? Jim, you talked about your being out of your comfort zone, right? Which actually reminded me of another adventure I had with two friends from going through chaplaincy training. We decided after a year of that to head out west. And we went to the Badlands, which doesn't sound great, but it was one of the coolest places I'd been. But we had three levels of adventures. Tom was there. Tom is, well, to give Tom a quick one, he jumped a good 10 feet off of the Grand Canyon onto one of those pillars and then jumped back.

And I was the one that was struggling with that. He was having fun. But we were in the Badlands. We had three levels of adventure. We had one guy who was deciding that the best thing for him to do was hang back in the parking lot and videotape.

I didn't even remember him being there. I am kind of afraid of heights. And there was this two to three foot wide path along the top of a ridge where if you went off either side, you were going to slide, tumble, slash, fall a few hundred feet. So for me, that was okay. I'm going to walk carefully slash crawl going out here.

And Tom is dancing along the rim going all the way out. It was an adventure for all of us at different levels. And we were doing it together. And that to me is a big part of adventure, too, is it draws you closer to those you're on the adventure with. Yeah, it draws you closer to God. You know, I'm sure there are a few times as you're walking on that path, you're praying.

Oh, there was praying, plenty of praying. I think that these adventures do something for you, they expand your comfort zone. Right? When you get through an adventure of something you didn't believe you could ever do, you have the power of knowing, hey, I can get through that. Right? So when something less comes up, it's like, well, I've handled this. So definitely I can probably handle this.

Right? It's a comparison kind of thing. You can say, well, I've gotten through this so I can and can probably get through that. If you think that you've just lived in this one spot, you've never ever done anything, everything's going to knock off your feet, if you don't really know how to deal with it. And so God takes us on these adventures, whether they're ones that are fun in nature, ones that we don't really enjoy as much. It's all part of the critical thing of rising us up to be the men, to be leaders, to be kings, to be people that are to be trusted with authority. Yeah, there has to be some sort of initiation going on somewhere in your life, or you're not living. And through that initiation, you kind of start to eventually learn your identity.

And that's what we like to talk about is making sure that you're initiated properly. And that you identify as, you identify as who God says you are, not as who others in the world say you are. So you have to maybe go through some adversity to find out, okay, yeah, you've been through that, but that's not you. You've had a rough time. You can get through things.

Finding out what your kind of calling is, where you want to go, what you want to do. You may think that something sounds like a lot of fun, you go try it. And it just, it stinks, man. It's no fun. I don't like doing that. I didn't like that adventure at all. Okay, well, go on a different one. Go with somebody else. Because there's so many things that you can learn from other people when you go on their adventure and find out, wow, I had a lot of fun doing what they did, but yet I was sitting there all along thinking, this is going to be dumb.

This isn't going to be fun. And you have a great time. You just never know what makes your heart come alive until you try something. It's through these adventures that God lets you move past those labels, as you were saying, right? So maybe I've always been told, I think of the TV show Lost. And if you haven't seen the show, then you're going to be lost in me talking about it. But one of the key characters on there was a guy named Jack. And if you knew anything about Jack is he didn't want to be a leader.

But he was constantly thrust into leadership, right? And I think God does those things to us sometimes that we get these labels from the world. He got that from his dad. His dad told him he'd never have what it takes, right, in the TV show. And I'd like to say that that's just a drama that's not real life, but that's real life to a lot of people, that someone's told us that, a coach, a parent, a grandparent, a sibling, all.

You take your pick, right? We've had people that's come and tried to tear away at our identity that God gave us when he brought us to this earth. And he said, this is who you're going to uniquely be, right? And the enemy has been tearing that down.

And so God comes in and takes you on these adventures to help you get some of that back so you believe that you know that it's true and let you walk in it. You know, I think of a boot camp Robby not too long ago. I guess it's been a while where we had the two brothers that were there. Josh and can you give him the mic? Josh and I worked with the other guy.

I'm drawing a blank. Darrell Bock Yeah. Josh is the one we're going to remember. Ben Stuart Yeah. Well, I shouldn't know his brother.

I worked with him for a long time. But you know, Josh's story was he had never thought of himself as a leader. Darrell Bock Right. It's interesting because at the nursing home, I was laid that story just- Ben Stuart Jesse is the brother. Darrell Bock Right. Jesse is the brother.

Jesse and Josh. And you know, I was just spectacular how God took something. You know, I just remember Josh coming up wanting to use some fishing. Well, I just said, well, go in my fishing box right there.

He'll get whatever you need. And that little thing for him because his father had always, you know, gone crazy whenever he asked to use any of his stuff because I just said, go get in my box. It really took him into a path on that particular adventure where he started to hear that same thing that you're a leader. He heard it from God in the new name talk and then was so emotional that actually he didn't want to get up because he was crying and he had a hood over his head. So we thought that he'd stayed behind to be prayed over.

It's kind of funny that what had happened, right? And so we prayed over him. And after that boot camp, we got this letter that was just unbelievable on how God had worked with him, given him that new name of leader and how he felt that he needed to lead his way back into his relationship with his father and putting the family back together. And he did.

And that's what he did for the next year. But unfortunately, we got word that the brothers were cleaning a gun and Jesse unfortunately shot Josh and Josh died. And we were at that funeral and we saw what God had done to put that family back together and that father that put his arm around us and told us what it meant to him that his family had had a chance to heal over this last year or so since the boot camp that I can still remember the bagpipes playing and just thinking, God, what would this scene have been like had you not given us a chance to get in on what you were doing in their lives on that adventure? Yeah, we went to the funeral, obviously, very upset because we'd lost somebody we care deeply about, you know, and it had happened with his brother, which we care deeply about as well. And, you know, was not expecting what we got when we got there. We got a mother and father that was so very grateful that the boys had went to boot camp, that Josh had heard some of the things from God and how God had used Josh to put the family back together.

You know, and it was just an amazing thing, nothing that I could have ever expected and a terribly sad occasion, but a wonderfully cheerful work of God in the midst of all that. Right. And just to your point, Rodney, that we do have an identity that he's using these adventures that, you know, our hearts are stirred to go do that, whatever that is. It was built into us. And so, you know, poor Danny's been sitting there and he's got something, he's got some scripture for us.

So, you know, somebody had to bring it up. I'm going to be the one. Preach it, Danny. In Romans 8, it says, in all things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. And, you know, you can't be more than a conqueror if you never get to conquer anything. So that's part of the adventure, I think, whether it's the, you know, the cool adventures we've talked about or the tough things that, you know, the family challenges and those kinds of things, because you do learn that you have what it takes. Yeah, I think back a lot of the adventures that God's taken me on over time. You know, one of the ones, I've shared it on here before, but, you know, a couple of years ago, God kind of laid it in my heart to quit buying my boys presents for Christmas. Not that I don't love them.

I don't need to get them something. I just talked to him and said, why don't we go on an adventure together? Let's go someplace we've never been. Let's go together, the three of us, and let's do something fun. Let's create memories.

Right? And we've done that two of the last three years. We're going to do it this year, but my youngest son got sick right before we left. So we didn't get to share it as the three of us. But it's been a wonderful thing because I got to tell you, I really probably won't remember what somebody gave me for Christmas three years ago, four years ago, five years ago, but I won't ever forget the adventures we went on together, which has been really cool. And another one that I would classify as an adventure, when I moved down here from Indiana to North Carolina and the company shut down and went through a lot of different things after I got here.

Within about, I'd say about 16 months of coming down here, I was making 40% of what I made when I got here. And that was an adventure too, because it really taught me how unhealthy I had been living financially. Right? And it was not a fun one, but it was very healthy adventure that really helped me get into a better place. And God's taken me through another one of those now that is helping me get to a better place as I'm getting closer to retirement. Right? And I know it's not something I really enjoy, but I know it's a part of adventure my heart really needs.

And I got to learn some critical things from it so that I can enjoy down the road. If you think adventure is not a part of a boy's life, what little kid ever read about King Arthur and didn't wander around hoping to find a sword stuck in a stone? Yeah. And what young man standing on an altar didn't know he was fixing to get into a big adventure when he said, I do? Yeah.

Now with the King Arthur, you read that in the newspaper, I'm assuming. But hot off the press, you know, talk about it. I'm going to change gears on a clip here, then I'm going to go to your clip here in a minute, Danny.

But even, you know, the media understands the desires. I'm going to play a little bit of a clip here from a really old song from the 70s, a group called Steppenwolf. And I'm sure that once you hear it, your heart will beat faster and you'll be ready for an adventure. Now I'm looking around the room and we're various ages.

I would say that there's not a wide a swing as we'd like to admit, but there is a pretty wide swing. But I think everybody in this room pretty well enjoyed that song, didn't we? Yeah. Yeah.

Right. And there was something about that, that getting on the highway, looking for adventure and something in your heart says, yeah, I want that. There's no definition of what the adventure is, right?

He didn't lay out these five steps of what we're going to do across the country like Clark did. It's like, no, there's just something in your heart that says, I need an adventure. That song. And I did have the album, if anybody knows what an album is of that, but that leads me on an adventure every time I hear it while I'm driving.

You are guaranteed to get an extra 10, 15 miles an hour out of it when that comes on. That William Tell Overture, but you never hear that on the radio. So those two will set me going. Yeah.

Just NPR or someplace like that. You'd probably get that one. So Danny, you want to tell us a little bit about your clip? Yeah. The clip is from a movie Bucket List. And these two guys are thrown together from health issues and cancer. And they are opposite ends of a spectrum. It's Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. And they are just, one's a janitor, I think.

And the other is just, he's filthy rich. One's a car mechanic. Car mechanic. Yeah. Yeah. Morgan Freeman's car mechanic. Okay.

Okay. So it wasn't a janitor. Well, he probably cleaned up after they worked on the cars. He cleaned the cars after he worked. Yeah.

So anyway, janitor-ish. Yeah. And they are talking about a bucket list. And Morgan describes it to him.

This is the things that he wanted to do before he died. And it just captures the heart of what we've been talking about is that there is an adventure that lives in our hearts and to pursue those things. And so they talk about it. And of course you see the movie, they go on an adventure, but just their talk in their hospital room and they talk about what's in their hearts.

So. And they call it a bucket list. We're supposed to make the list of all the things we wanted to do in our lives before we kick the bucket.

Make what's going on and do the list. Help a complete stranger for the good. Laugh until I cry.

Drive a Mustang, she'll be not bad. I know. All right. How about skydiving?

Were you wrong for something? The most beautiful girl in the world. How do you propose doing that? Volume. You have a tattoo. Exactly the same with your own business.

And without taking baths deeper than you. It's easy to be deep in freshman philosophy. What's Dr. Holland say? We got months, right? A year, maybe. You think 45 years went by fast?

We could do this. No, I agree. Don't think about money. That's all I got is money. But I don't know. What don't you know? It was meant to be metaphorical.

Just trying to get a handle on blah, blah, blah. Here's your chance. My chance to what? Make a fool of my belt?

What do you think happens now? I go back and sit around listening to people talking about mezzanine financing and subordinated death. You go home to some ceremonial procession into death with everyone standing around watching you die while you try to comfort them.

Is that what you want? To be smothered by pity and grief? Well, not me.

And in your heart, Carter, I believe not you either. We're both in the same boat. Got to act for a metaphor. We got a real opportunity here. Opportunity kind of really twisted even by your standards, right? Energy's coming back a little bit asymptomatic, the dark says.

The way I see it, we can lay around here hoping for a miracle in some science experiment or skydiving. Yeah, you know, in our family, my wife has the more adventurous heart. I've always been somewhat reserved in stepping out of big things, but she is the adventure. And we always say she got Roman in her blood because she likes to roam here and roam there. But she has awakened that since she and I have been married almost not coming on 19 years. And, you know, she was one of the reasons I went to Bermuda.

She was one of the reasons I went to Brazil on a mission trip. And just, you know, the memories that and the things that, you know, even just everyday life, she's like, you know, step out there and do something different. And that's kind of the heart of what we're talking about. I think here's these guys that, you know, they have a date almost of they know their life's coming to an end. And, you know, we're not promised tomorrow. But, you know, it is Jesus said you'll have life and have it more abundantly.

And I think that's what he was talking about. Live it. Don't watch it go by. You know, that movie, that movie, I love that movie, The Bucket List.

It ends up in a place you don't expect it to end up. You know, and all I can say, I don't want to ruin it for you, but adventure changes people's hearts. You know, and you get to see that very clearly on what seems to be frivolous things.

But if God's in the middle of it, there's no frivolous things. And so it's pretty cool to watch that movie play out. But it reminded me of a thing that I had said that I wanted to go skydiving. You know, when the movie came out, I was married at the time and Heidi said, do you still want to do that? Because she'd always told me I couldn't. She didn't want me to go. I don't know if it's a good thing she wanted me to go. Now, you know, before she was always scared, but and for my birthday that year, she bought me a skydiving, a tandem skydiving jump, and I had to lose some weight to do it.

So it took a little while for me to do that. Did she pack your shoot? She did not. I made sure that the guy that was gonna be flying with me did.

Fast forward, I don't know that I would do it again. Not that it wasn't cool. The landing was not fun. Yeah, they don't tell you, you come in very, very fast and you slide like you're going into base. It's not, that part's not a lot of fun. But that's like a balloon landing if you ever ride in a balloon. Is it really?

Yeah, because you think about it, they have no control. I thought, oh, this would be my adventure. I want to ride in a balloon. Well, don't think about it.

It's absolutely a controlled crash because the wind is blowing the balloon. What are you going to do? Oh, yeah. Stop, stop. No. You just light a tree in the way.

No problem. Wham. You know. That's kind of the way it was when you landed. It was a big grass field, but there were a lot of mole holes, I think, in that field because I think I felt every one of them as we came down through there. Did she pick the field?

No, she didn't. But to be up in the sky for that few minutes of free-falling was so incredibly amazing. It was just, it was breathtaking. To the point where the guy's like, hey, you really need to pull the chute now. It's time to pull the chute.

Not quite as much like on the bucket list. And I'm like, oh yeah, yeah. So I did. And then you get a wedgie that you wouldn't believe, but yeah, still that part, not as much fun, but the view down was incredible even though it's painful. Are you talking about the moment that the chute opened? Oh yeah.

That's when the wedgie happened? Oh yeah. Yeah. Gravity becomes a very clear picture in your mind when that happens.

It's like, you're reminded. Yeah. Strap placement matters. I'm just telling you, if you go skydiving.

It's a whole different definition of the word chute, you know? Oh yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Michelle bought me a, it's a beginner's flight thing.

Cause I talked to her about one time. I always thought I wanted to be a pilot. And so she bought me the beginner's thing to fly a little Cessna. And the guy actually, we took off. It was very windy day and he actually let me fly the plane. Wow.

And I'm like, this isn't as much fun as I thought it was going to be. Cause I looked at him right when he said, well, turn around, let's go back toward the airport. I said, you are landing this thing. Correct? Yes. So, Oh yeah. Yeah. Hey Wayne, we forgot you there for a few minutes.

What would you like to add? We've got a couple of minutes left in the show. Anything that's on your heart? Yeah. I've been listening to you guys talk and you know, you've mentioned it a couple of times, each of you in kind of your stories is the expectation of things and how, in each one of these things, we, you've had some different expectations. And it seems, at least in my own life, that that's kind of, what's gotten me in trouble. That's what causes the fear. That's what caused the problems in my own mind. And also some of the exhilaration, right? You found an expectation that you weren't expecting there with the ultimate wedgie.

Yeah, I did. The funny thing about those expectations is we really have no control over the outcome of any of these adventures that we go on. There's really only one thing that, one expectation that we can truly rely on. And that's that we're not going to be alone in these things. No matter what the outcome looks like at the end, we're never alone. He's always with us. God is always with us.

He said, he'll never leave us, never forsake us. And I think ultimately, I think ultimately, we mentioned it in the first show, right? What is the outcome of a lot of these things? And I think that's the greatest outcome is that we learned that we truly are not alone in these things. That's a great point. Because that's what the enemy is trying to do, most of all, is trying to make you think that you're on your own. You're on your own in your debt. You're on your own in your sickness.

You're on your own in whatever, fill in the blank. You know, because that's what he's going to keep telling you. Go ahead, Wayne. Yeah, even with fear, right? I mean, with fear, that's an expectation. It's an expectation of something bad's going to happen, right? The enemy will come at you every way possible to get you out of the true adventure that God has placed you on.

Thanks, Wayne. So you'd pray this week about, God, what adventures do you have me on right now that I don't have eyes to see, right? I may think it's just something I don't want to be going through. It may be something that's painful, but what do you have in store for me through this?

And ask him to kind of open your eyes to that. I'd ask you to pray about coming to the boot camp because I can promise you he's got something special there for you. If not this one, the next one, but definitely if you can come to this one, please do. Go to masculinejourney.org to register, and we'll talk to you next week. In the meantime, just take an adventure with God, even a short one this week, and enjoy it. This is the Truth Network.