God's Gift of Creation After Hours

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This is the Truth Network. Announcer 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. Matt Welcome to Masculine Journey After Hours, and I was just listening to our intro, and I do listen to it once in a while.

I'm going to hear it every week. But, you know, when we wrote that, and I didn't write it, I think Robby probably wrote it, or someone helped Robby write it, or some of us wrote it. But when it got written, you know, the whole thing of being in an entrenched barricade, we thought was kind of funny, you know, that sounded like a very war kind of thing. Well, after we did that, it wasn't that long later, we had COVID, and it felt like you were in a barricade, right? And with our current political environment, regardless of which side you're on, it feels like you need to be in a barricade, you know, that it's just a very hostile world out there.

But what we're talking about is the opposite of that, getting out of the barricade and spending some time in God's creation. And so, Art, tell us a little bit more about your topic that we're talking about today. Art Well, my topic is God's creation, the earth and the nature and our connection to it, our appreciation of it, of the beauty. And this topic came about from putting things together from conversations with brothers here before and after the show last week. We have a guest here of Kenny's, his name is Joe, he spent quite a bit of time on the west coast. And he was telling about how beautiful the earth is and how there are places out there that are kind of earned from from mining and, you know, the landscape is just ruined and the earth is ruined and I haven't been out there.

I don't travel a whole lot. But anyway, he was telling telling that and I got a picture of the place from from his words. And then Danny was telling about raising these chickens and how, you know, his connection to the animal world with those chickens that are he says are pets now and he's got some raised some babies, he I guess, fertilize some eggs and took care of them.

And he's got some babies and he was raising those. And I just put that kind of together and said, Well, why don't we make a show out of that, you know, God's creation of earth and nature and how we're connected to it. That's awesome. Yeah, that's good. Well, you actually have the next clip. And this is probably our most used clip ever. But that's, that's the thing. And it should be. That's, that's, that is a hypothesis.

Anytime you need a clip and don't have one, you can just yeah. That's what I was gonna say. The flexibility of Aloe josie. Well, you wouldn't think that. But it's very flexible. Oh, yeah. So our tell us what we're going to use from this well known clip. Well, let me let me read a verse for a Bible verse first, because I'm gonna add a Bible into this. All right, that's probably a good idea. And when we're talking about God's creation, you got to mention the Bible at some point. Yeah.

And and I'm going to go with with another component. And that is how God's creation sustains us. And the verse is Psalms 104, 14. It says it causes the grass to grow for the cattle and herb for the service of man that he may bring forth food out of the earth. So that's the verse and we will we will play the famous clip. All right, here we go. And every spring when the grass turns green, the committee moves north, you can rest here in peace, which are some of our cattle and jerk beef for the journey. The sign of the Comanche that will be on our lodge. That's my word of life.

And your word of death is here in my pistols and there in your rifles. I'm here for either one of these things you say we will have. We already have these things you you say we will have we already have because God has created the the nature and the food to sustain us and they are present and they weren't Josie's to give. They were already there.

And so that's that clip. We we everything we need and we're pretty much most of us are pretty far removed from getting our own food, although there are fishers and hunters in this group that like to tell their stories about their their activities, their their trips and so forth of when they are on hunting and fishing trips. And I have you know, I have a little garden. I have a tiny little garden. That's my connection to you know that we have the seeds that grow into the plants and we harvest them and and they sustain us. When my parents were alive, I had a great big garden.

They enjoyed it so much. And now I'm down to like one row of okra and two tomato plants and one fruit tree. But it's a connection. You know, the doing of it, you know, I'm not I'm not trying to save a ton of money or save a ton of money or or by doing this or grow all my food. I'm just maintaining that connection to the natural world that that God created with my little garden.

And I enjoy that joy doing that. Well, and there's something to be said for you. I know I'm going to spend probably more money buying the tomato plants, getting the fertilizer, getting all the bone meal to keep them from rotting on the bottom. But when you taste that first tomato off your plant, it's like, man, this is so much better than anything you can get in the store. You know, there's just something when it comes right from the earth to your table.

There's nothing better. Yeah. You know, and it may be a pretty expensive tomato, but man, it's a good tomato. Yes. And the young okra pods, it's, I guess you can buy them at the farmers markets, but you really can't buy fresh okra pods in a store. They're frozen or they're, they age pretty quickly and kind of turn black, the ones that maybe you can't see, is my experience.

I don't know. But anyway, I take some. I like to pick some and take them to Miss Jan Dyer for her to eat. She likes to steam them and eat them. And it's, they're hard to come by unless you, unless you make trips to the farmers market, which I usually don't. But I'll have to try that.

I've never had fresh okra. Okay, go ahead. And Danny, before you make a comment, I was going to make a comment about you so you can respond to it if you want. Okay. I know you're a fisherman, but I've seen your fish. It'd be hard to sustain a family from that. Oh, we don't have the Danny cam.

That would have been a good one for that look. Okay. Oh, my gosh. Okay, come back. Okay, I'm gonna be talking about vegetables now.

To be fair, though, you catch like fly fish and I just cheat and use like a regular rod. Yeah, well, we'll discuss that later. Yeah, I was thinking last weekend as we went over to there's a little farm right around the corner from the house and we buy tomatoes and stuff from there. And those big German Johnson tomatoes, the one slices, what I call them. And I was making a tomato sandwich and I got to thinking about the joy that I had growing up that I didn't realize I had because I grew up on my grandpa's farm and he had retired farming basically, but he grew these enormous gardens. And in the course of the weekend, I had had a tomato sandwich and some watermelon and, you know, potatoes and stuff like that. We used to just literally, if you wanted some watermelon, go to a watermelon patch, dump a couple of them, bring one back to the house and bust it open and eat watermelon or go down to the barn and get potatoes or we, I'm saying potato now, taters.

Maters, taters, and beans is what we grew up on. But to do that, it was just right there and such a connection. And that's what art made me think of just such a connection to, you know, we really didn't have to go anywhere. And we did catch some bigger fish too. So anyway, but growing up, we had, we didn't have any money growing up, you know, and so we had to have a big garden. That's how we sustained, you know, getting through stuff, but I would go out there and eat tomatoes so much that my mouth would get so sore.

I couldn't eat anything else, you know, just because that garden food is so good when you're out there in it. Well, Rodney, we're over to your clip. You're going to take it in a different direction a little bit. Yeah, I'm sure I'm usually the one who takes it in the old Josie Wales direction, but love it, Art. Love it. Good man.

I want Rodney, Rodney. But I, all I could get into my mind after he mentioned last week, Hey, let's talk about the creation was, well, whose creation it is. And it's like, the world loves to just talk about how, well, things just evolve and all this stuff. And it's supposed to be science and answers in Genesis is just a wonderful place for me to go and learn that, okay, I can trust the Bible. It is authoritative in the science and the Bible match. Now, scientist will tell you about all kinds of stuff because what they're going to do is you're going to take some information. Look, take good science.

Observational science is what we see. They throw some stuff in there that is not proven. They make a ton of assumptions. And then they come out with their own interpretations. And that's what you're even going to see here. It's like, you're in here at the end of this, like intentions, we can have a good intention and a horrible outcome.

And that's what happens in the world today is that people, I think some, not everybody has a good intention, but some do. And it's like, it just comes out poorly when we try to walk away from God's word and go, well, I'm going to take something that I think and believe and put that into the Bible and make it say what I wanted to say versus just letting it talk to us and letting it just say, no, it's six days of creation, for instance. And basically the genealogy, we're at about 6,000 years. And I know for me, I have never studied deeply into the science to try to figure it out, to be able to talk about all that and why the science is a good, but answers in Genesis takes the time to explain it to you and do those kinds of things in our apologetics. And it's really good. And I think like this is just one of many where you have a lot of talks and speeches about the creation. And this is Brian Osborne from Answers in Genesis.

And I think it's just kind of a good small snippet of a larger talk in many talks, but it's solid in what it says. The Bible says, God looked down on day six before man sinned, they called everything very good. Surely he would not call millions of years of death, suffering, bloodshed, cancer, coronavirus, very good.

All right. If he did, he would not be a very good God. And guys, if this were true, it makes God the author of death.

And he used death as part of his creative process. That's not the biblical God. We find thorns in the fossil record supposedly millions of years old, but the Bible is clear. Thorns came after the curse. They're a result of the curse. They're a symbol of the curse. Thus why Christ wore the crown of thorns. He bore the curse of thorns.

He bore the curse on our behalf. And then most important of all, if we try to squeeze millions of years into the Bible, it does not matter how you try, they all put death before sin. And watch this logically and theologically. If there's death before sin, that would mean death is not the consequence or the payment for sin.

It's just always been part of God's original, very good creation. And if death is not the payment for sin, then Jesus's death cannot, does not, pay for our sin debt. And we just annihilated the foundation for the Gospel through Christ's atoning work on the cross, whether we meant to or not, and at best, at best, made this event in history unnecessary.

And guys, can I tell you something? This is why we care so much. It's why we're so passionate about this particular idea. Again, it's not fundamentally about winning a debate about the earth's age or the universe's age, rather defending biblical authority and the Gospel rooted in that authority.

That's why this matters so much. And hear me, I'm sure that many of you, like myself for a long time, had the best of intentions when you try to squeeze millions of years into God's Word. He had really good intentions. But guys, can't we as Christians have really good intentions and still get really bad consequences?

We can, right? Yeah, so let's just summarize the six days of creation. You know, the first day was light and earth. And then the second day is a separation of the waters above and below. And then you have the dry lands and the plants on the third day. Day four, sun, moon, planets, stars, galaxy, those kinds of things. Then you get day five, starting to populate even more. Now you get the flying birds and the sea creatures.

And then the land animals and man rounded out at the end. That's just, again, very easy to read in the Bible, and it's six days. And so often, so many people see that, read that, and they go, but it can't be. Because they take man's word, it says, well, there's millions of years. There's all the scientific evidence and all this stuff. And as soon as you get scientists that believe in the Bible that can easily pick it apart and say, well, no, this actually supports and supports and supports and supports the early earth, the 6,000 years and the six days of creation, it's just, it all fits really well. Like right now, you get so many evidence. I listen to a lot of Answers in Genesis, their news thing every weekly, and they pull these articles. And the articles constantly contradict what previous people have predicted about the age of the earth, about all their theories and how things were formed. And it's still expanding and all these kind of words, and yet they just keep putting out the new stuff, forgetting about what they said last week and going on to this week. And it's like constantly changing. God's word doesn't. You can stand on it.

It's wonderful. And basically, when you go in there, like Proverbs 30, 5 through 6, every word of God is tested. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Do not add to his words lest he reprove you and you be proved a liar. And that's what's going on here. And I stand with Joshua.

For me and my house, I stand with the Lord. That's where I'm going to stand. And when we have the wrong assumptions, it leads to the wrong conclusions. Like he was saying there, the interpretation is what's going on, and you have good intentions. You're trying to do something.

Well, okay, I'll try to blend this. And when we compromise on God's word, it just makes everything a faulty foundation. Genesis is the foundation for everything. It's where we talk about creation. It's how we know who we are within it, not just, oh, some pond scum who happened to grow a ear and then grow a nose someday.

No. God formed you exactly who you are to be. He knows every hair in your head. He knows every thought you're ever going to make. He knows all these things. He's in control of things. And we don't have to sit there and just wonder, wow, what are we going to turn into next if global warming and all these other things that just give so much anxiety, you can just rest in God's word. He's got this.

He's under control. Yes, we are to be good stewards. We are to do what he commands us to do.

But we don't have to sit there with the creation and worry about it so much as long as we just follow his word on it. We'll take great care of it. Thank you. Cody, would you like to share a little bit of what's on your heart on this topic? Sure. So I'm Danny son Cody. I was just thinking about it.

I always try to like sit in and absorb everything you guys talk about. And I've been going through a lot of personal stuff lately that I won't mention. But a couple months ago, it was a really rough day and sitting in the living room talking to mom and dad and mom's like, we need to go outside right now. There's a we can see the Northern Lights.

I said, Are you serious? And she said, Yeah. So we went out there and we went looking and dad got cold and got back in the car. But it was just amazing to see that.

I mean, I never would have thought living in North Carolina, you could ever see the Northern Lights. But it was just God showing me like, hey, this is what I can do. Just imagine what I could do for you in your life. So it was just it was the most magical thing and just what I needed in that time. Absolutely. Boy, and you admitted your Danny son.

That's very brave. It's on the steps to healing. Yeah.

Restoration. I was thinking about when you said, you know, God knows all the hairs on your head. And yeah, I think he lost dad. Yeah, he kept those pretty quick. Yeah.

That's a one hander. Even I know all those. Well, it depends if they count my ear hair, you know, there's a lot more of those anymore.

So it's hard to say. Well, thank you, Cody. Kenny, anything you want to add on this before we get to arts next clip? The thing that came to my mind was God started, he's the first one that made a garden and put us in it. Yeah. We were made connect with nature itself. That's one reason I hear y'all's hearts, about how it does help energize us when we spend time and realize this is God's creation. And he did all that and then he put us in it, to enjoy it. And that's what Satan came to steal was that relationship, not only with God, but with his creation and the beauty that he gives us from a simple bird flying in front of you, reminded me, hey, son, I've got this. That's his whole Satan saying is trying to distract us from his love, his attention. And as sons, I know sometimes I take it for granted. And I'm glad, like you say, he throws these things in our life to get our attention, to bring us into the eternal relationship.

And I love that verse that Danny was using a while ago about that new one, when it really comes in and all these distractions and distortions that Satan and the corruption and, like you said, the cancers and all that was, it's going to be gone. And we're going to have that true connection that we, this band that brother fights for to be there for each other. There for each other. And we all have our ups and downs and all that. But by God's grace and mercy, he gets us through it together.

And I do appreciate you, God. It's good to be back. I've had some health issues and all, but by God's grace, it's heartwarming to be back. And thank you for welcoming Joe in so much. He's been a, God sent him into my life to help me get some things back together too.

And we'd like to see Chuck again too. Amen. Amen. Me too. Keep him in your prayers.

If he doesn't show up soon, I'm going to put out an APB. He would understand that. Previous profession, even know what that is. Anyway, as you were talking, I was thinking about Adam's first job was to name all the animals. Right.

I mean, God's first thing he did with him and said, let's look at creation. Yes. And you're a part of it. Right.

And you're instrumental in it. Yes. God, that was his first thing he did with him. At least that's what I remember. Right. Yeah.

And before you, before any of that, it was, I'm going to introduce you to the creation that I made. Yeah. We were meant to be in charge of this whole thing and to name everything and all that kind of stuff. We, we fail.

Yeah, we did. But the other thing I thought about, Kenny, as you were talking about how glorious it's going to be when all things are made new again, not all new things, but things are restored to the way God originally intended. Right. How beautiful is it going to be when there's not the affliction, when there's not the pain, when there's not all that. And we just have beauty. We just have creation.

That's going to be pretty amazing. It's wonderful to think about that. And we tend not to when things are going well. Yeah. It's when we're in the suffering and stuff like that. And you're like, well, why is there suffering in the world? How does God show his grace and mercy towards us when we don't have any of that?

Right. It's like, oh man, in the midst of all that, he still loves us to the end when we are completely against him. We turn our backs on him. We go our own ways. We do what we want to do. And yet he still provides. Yeah, absolutely. The rain falls on everyone.

The food, the breath, the air, everything. It's there. He just provides it. Well, Art, we get back to your other clip. You had two. You're Clippy. He's a double Clipper. Yeah, you're Clippy. Two short clips.

Andy's not here, so you're Clippy this week. Two singles. Yeah. There you go.

Okay. Well, uh, well, I've talked about my dogs on here. One is a German Shepherd and one is a German Shepherd crossed with a German, uh, short haired pointer. Uh, and the thing is, believe it or not, these dogs have, uh, taken up, uh, coon hunting for a hobby. They, we go back on our route across the property. There are, there are a couple of hollow trees and they stop and they, uh, lean up against these trees and bark and bail us. He tries to climb, climb the tree a little ways and they get all excited. And, uh, I assume there's a coon or a possum. One of the trees is kind of close to water. The other one's not too close.

One is either a coon or a possum in that tree that they are getting excited about. They, they, we enjoy that. And, uh, so we, we will play the clip now.

Okay. And this is Jerry Clower. Jerry Clower, a comedian from, uh, he was really popular, I guess in the seventies, early eighties.

And Harold said he was around when Jerry Clower started out down in Mississippi. And, uh, you know, I don't know that was, uh, four scores ago or so. I don't know. There you go. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

It's back around the turn of the century. Yeah. He's not quite so popular anymore.

Uh, uh, in fact, some in the group, uh, maybe, uh, haven't heard of him before. So we will, we will introduce, uh, Jerry Clower, uh, on this show. All right, here we go. Oh, Brummie. Oh, Brummie didn't bark at nothing but a coon. He had a deep voice, but when he cut out on him, it was a coon.

Don't worry about no possum or no Bobcat. Brummie was running a coon and an old trailer and old high ball and them famous dogs. And Mr. Barron's got in there with him and old John Eubanks and holla, speak to and my brother's son and holla look for, and all it was beautiful.

And it was beautiful. It is, uh, with my dogs and I say, you speak to me and you look for him and we have a good time doing that. It is fun. And people that do people, I think they're probably, it's probably not as popular a activity as it once was the coon hunting, but, uh, people that do that, they just love to run those dogs and hear the dogs Bay. And, um, I think that's the, that's the best part of it to them. I believe I'm not sure, but the, you know, being with the dogs and, and seeing them, uh, uh, hunt their not the raccoons, I think is, is probably the, one of the best parts of the, of the, of that activity. But, um, but it all goes around to, you know, still saying, you know, that they're a part of God's creation, part of nature, the, the, um, our, our connection to God, our connection to our dogs and our, uh, and, and also the, the providing of, uh, subsidence there, you know, uh, back in Jerry Clowers day, the, you know, the raccoon meat, uh, possum meat, I suppose was a major part of their diet back then. And, uh, but, but it's, uh, a lot of people still like to maintain that connection. And it's fun when my dogs do it, we don't do it for real.

We just do it for play. But, um, and Cody was telling, you know, they know that coon is in that hollow tree. And I was saying, yeah, you know, come to think of it, you know, sometimes they go by the tree and don't get terribly excited.

He must, they must not be home on, on those occasions. And they, they know that, they know that. Uh, so, but yeah.

Uh, and I was saying, yeah, the, uh, coon hunting isn't a terribly popular activity anymore, but most, most homes have a dog or a cat for a pet. And we can, we can have a connection to the natural world through that. You know, if it's a little toy poodle that you walk around the block or you hold in your lap, uh, that is a connection that, that we have that God has given us.

And that is part of his creation. Absolutely. Well, thank you. I have a challenge for you this week. You guys have a challenge for all of us in this room and everyone listening. Let God love on you through his creation this week. Right. And think of it that way.

God is loving on me through the sunset, through the sunrise, through these birds, whatever fills that void for you in there, in that creation area that God, God has for you. Go do that this week and let God love on you and give some of that love back to him as you love on others. Go to maskonjourney.org. We have a boot camp coming up November 21st through 24th. Talk to you next week. This is the Truth Network.