Love Conquers All

This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Man Talk, brought to you by TAWCMN, talking and walking Christian men's ministry, where they're devoted to breaking down the walls of race and denomination, and challenging men to take their God-assigned role. Here's our hosts Will Hardy and Roy Jones Jr., a black guy and a white guy.

Welcome once again to Man Talk Radio. I'm Will Hardy, the black guy. You sound so excited about that, Will. I am. You are, and that's why you should be. Hey, I'm excited to be black.

Well, I hope that, too, but it's not like you're so excited to be back with me. You're Roy Jones, the white guy. That's what I thought you made me so excited about. Oh, okay. Well, you might come in second place there, Roy.

I'm sorry. But we thank you all for tuning in. Welcome back to Man Talk Radio. And last week, we were talking about a very sensitive subject. And I think it's a subject that it's on the mind of a lot of people. But it's a subject I think that's more as we close last week's show, talking about opinions rather than the truth. We get all this social media influx of ideals, ideologies, and things like this that's pouring out. And it makes us, after we read this, it makes us react and respond. I think sometimes if we let too much of it enter in, we let it sometimes affect us negatively. Oh, I agree with that, Will. The impact that the mind has, I mean, the brain can rationalize anything.

If you're constantly downloading garbage, you know, eventually you start to believe the garbage or you start allowing that to influence exactly what you're saying. I totally agree. You know, so when we ended last week's show, Roy, we want to now come back and say, what should this father have done? And let's look at this, I guess, from the Christian standpoint. What should have taken place here?

Yeah, you want my take on this? I mean, as the father, I guess, since the kid was just jogging the neighborhood, he should have done just like we'd mentioned last week's show. In my mind, if I had done this, I would have just said, hey, you know, if it had been my son said, look, it looks like there's a potential this is somebody that might be of interest to the break-ins.

Let's call 911, get the police out here, and then let's just go follow them, see if they're going in any homes, if that's what the father felt led to do, like we talked before. You know, and I guess none of us know how you react in a situation until you're there. But the practical side, and then, of course, the father should, I don't know where he's at faith-wise, but then, of course, what we've always talked about, Jesus did nothing before he went to the father, right? So, I mean, that would be the obvious thing. You know, father, give me guidance and wisdom in this matter.

Do I need to be engaged here would have been the ideal starting point, but I don't know this man's life. I don't know if he's following Christ or not, but for us, for you or I, that would be where we would start. And, of course, we're talking about the situation that happened on February 23rd down in Brunswick, Georgia, where two men, it may have been three men, you know, but two men, in the video, one man who was the younger man, the son, he was confronted this jogger, and, you know, a series of shots were fired at this jogger. And, of course, we read the story from the Associated Press last week. So, this week, you know, we're talking about as born-again believers that even though some of us who are listening right now think that this was an absolute atrocity, you know, in a mild sense. I want to take you to Philippians chapter 3, verse number 12, and it says, Not that I have already attained, this is the apostle Paul being inspired by the Holy Spirit to write unto the church at Philippi, am already perceived, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ has also laid hold of me.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to the things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And, you know, Roy, a few weeks ago when we were talking about, you know, forgetting and forgiving, you know, that it's much easier to forgive than it is to forget. Exactly, because it's like how can you forget something after you already heard it? And see, we used the example on last week about the attorney. If he knows that he's going to get an objection on a statement that he's about to make in reference to all he want to do is plant that seed. He wants to plant that seed into the juror's mind, and then, of course, the judge says, strike the last statement. Well, how can you strike something from your mind after you already heard it? See, that's the thing here. So it's putting these things in your mind of what people are writing.

We have to forget those things because, again, they could have a negative effect on us. So are you saying what maybe this officer, former officer, had experienced led him to this reaction in this matter? So he was not looking forward. He was still looking back. Exactly.

Okay, yeah, that's why I thought you were headed with this. You know, it's funny you bring that up, Will, because I guess it was Monday or Tuesday this week during our devotions. God just laid on my heart about long vision and short vision. Short vision being the things that are temporal, that we experience in our earthly walk. Long vision being eternal matters, and it was just an amazing, profound thought that he put on my heart.

So this is a classic example. If this man, as the senior, had said, hey, I need to be and, again, we don't know where he's at in his walk, if he's walking with Christ or not, but he said, hey, if a person's in this situation, they think about is this decision going to affect long vision, my eternal matters, or is this decision just something in the short vision, temporal? And if you were to ask, and if all of us were to do that, we would react so differently. Oh, absolutely.

You know, because we talked about this, too. I'm reflecting back on some lessons that we had in our breakfasts and how if we asked ourselves simple questions that we don't, and we answered them truthfully according to the Word of God, and see, that's the key truthfully, with ourselves, then we don't have to venture into that realm where the enemy will take us by the mind and attempt to put things in our mind that we shouldn't even enter in. And, for example, if we asked ourselves, if what I'm about to think or if what I'm about to do, is this something that will glorify God, is this something God would want me to do in my life? Would he want me to inherit this thought and then act upon it?

Is this something that he wants me to do? So that's the litmus test. If the answer is no, then you don't do it. You don't embrace the thought.

If the answer is yes, then you pray about it and continue to move forward. Or if you know what the Word of God states in reference to matter. To support or deny it. Exactly.

Exactly. And then the second question I think we need to ask is, does what I'm about to do conflict with the Word of God? And, of course, we have to know what the Word of God says in order to know if it's a conflict. 2 Timothy 2.15, we always talk about this scripture, study to show thyself approved. So if you're studying to show yourself approved under God, then the Spirit of God will quicken you because the Word of God is in you. And if the Word of God is in you and he quicken you, then here comes this thought, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming, it's trying to get in here. And then all of a sudden the Word of God puts the defenses up and says, no, this is what you're about to enter into your mind and it's not in there. Reject it.

Reject that thing for all that it's worth. That's good, Will. Very good. Well, that goes back to the long vision piece, eternal matters. And that's a great way to put it, too, Will, the way you just shared. Is this something that's going to glorify God? Is this something that's going to build the kingdom?

Is this a long vision opportunity or is this a short vision temporal opportunity? Exactly. Or issue. That's right, that's right. Because, you know, with born-again believers, I think we should always be looking for opportunities. And, you know, with this account, there was a lot of things that went wrong.

Oh, there was. Scripture just came to heart about, in all that you do in work or deed, do it as though doing it for the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's exactly what you're saying here.

If everything we did were to glorify and as if we were doing it for the Father and the Son Himself and the Holy Spirit, then what would it be different? Absolutely. And that's our litmus test as well.

Would you do something different? Absolutely. And if the answer is yes, then what you're about to do is probably not what you should be doing. Exactly.

So, if we can get to that point. So let's talk about some of the practical pieces of this, Will. If I'm, and you can speak to this because obviously we're joking about the start of the show, if I were a black person in today's environment and having seen this, you know, what does that do to a black man that's seen this? I mean, talk to me from a black man's perspective of how this impacted you when you saw it.

Did you feel like he was shot only because he was a black man? Well, you know, I think having a lot of history, and it goes back to these things about forgetting, you know, it's hard to forget how a people have been persecuted, you know, in time. You know, and again, we can look at how, you know, the Asians were brought over here and used to help build the railroad, you know, how the Indians, Native Americans, you know, were persecuted, and then the Israelites were persecuted. So, you know, there's a lot of persecution that have gone on.

So I think when looking at it from my perspective, and I think looking at it from most black men's perspective, and I'm speaking predominantly to those, when they see this occur, you know, they think about this is a racial profiling. Right. Or this is a thing that's another thing that has just come up against the black community, and black men in particular, you know, as a sense of racial injustice. Right. And we know the root of all this, right? This is back with the enemy, where Satan's got his foothold, and he's creating this kind of distress in the community, right? And let's not forget that, folks. We're getting ready to take a break, but when we come back, we'll talk a little bit more about that. The practical side of being a black man in today's time and being a white man in today's time, what does it look like? And we really shouldn't be worried about that, but we've got to come together, so we need to talk about what it looks like.

Absolutely. And so we'll be back after this break. First Christian Church in Kernersville, 1130 North Main Street in Kernersville.

They have a hard start at seven o'clock and a hard stop at eight o'clock. First time visitors eat for free. Join your hosts, Will Hardy and Roy Jones Jr., a black guy and a white guy. Affordable Chiropractic in High Point. As you might tell from their name, affordable chiropractic, even for the cash patient. Dr. Jeff Fricke has been caring for patients in High Point for 34 years. Physical therapy such as ultrasound and spinal decompression for disc conditions such as herniation. Comprehensive care for auto accident injury patients with no out-of-pocket expense. Remember, affordable chiropractic on West Lexington Avenue in High Point.

Call 336-885-1987. So welcome back to the show, folks. Right before the break, we were talking about the black man and the white man.

What does it look like and how does it look? And what should it look like? And so we've got to come together, and that's one of the things that this program and this ministry is all about, is that there's been enough divide in most of our lifetimes to last generations beyond. And if you're listening to this show and you're not a solution and you're not helping to break it down and become the solution, we're asking you to become a part of that. Because these are the very things that these incidents like in Georgia, I'm so happy to see that the NAACP leader said, look, and he had a mixed audience behind him. He said that we need to still be unified.

We need to have a show of unity together that we're going to come through this. Because we can't judge one person, one behavior, and stereotype all white people because these two white people made a mistake in what they did and, from what we're able to tell, seemed very irrational behavior at the time. Nor should we judge a black man by that same standard. He made a mistake, so therefore all black men should be treated a certain way or be stereotyped like we were just talking about. Oh, allegedly made a mistake. Allegedly made a mistake. Exactly.

Yeah, exactly. In this case, in this young man's case, there was no evidence in this moment. He made a mistake. I'm talking about in the overall that there's potential somebody's made a mistake. Yeah, in this young man's case, there was no merchandise on him.

He was out, literally looked to be out for literally a jog. And a very productive young man had gotten his degree and was pursuing an electrician's career, I think, as a secondary option. And there was nothing at all that indicated this was a problem child. But when you state, and again, when people see this, it drives this wedge, I think, between the races. And it doesn't stop, I think, at just an incident. And the mind says, look what has happened in history. And it's just that... And I think you were alluding to that one right before the break, and that's what I was trying to get to. And I think, and forgive me, Will, if I'm trying to read something.

Oh, no, no, go ahead. I think what you were trying to say is yes, that you thought in your heart and felt it because of the history that he was shot because he was a black man, or pursued because he was a black man. Had it been a white man jogging through the neighborhood, probably not, this would have never happened. Because he, white man, wouldn't have fit the profile that, quote unquote, they had been told of whoever was breaking in the homes. Which is interesting that they have a profile, but there's not been any pictures up of the supposed person that was breaking in. So you would think somebody's security cameras or something was picking up whomever that it was, right? Yeah, and they didn't tell how many homes were broken into and what was taken and things like that. So again, there's more questions than answers.

There are. But when we're wrapping this thing up, we want to talk about love. See, because that's what Jesus Christ, that's what he was. He was the embodiment of love coming down from the Father to mankind. And so, again, in 1 John chapter 4, beginning with verse 7, it says, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God.

And knows God. So if you are a born-again believer, you're going to do things out of love and not out of suspicion. I suspect. I mean, you and I can walk out here, just walk out here right now and start exiting the door, and somebody goes, oh, those two guys look suspicion. Well, what does suspicion look like? That's my question.

I mean, is it because you have a white man who has no hair and you have a black man who has gray hair? Yeah, exactly. What does suspicion look like?

You look suspicious. What does that really mean? Right. Well, I mean, you only know what you've been taught.

So it goes back to that hard wire, what I call hard wire. That's what you've been trained up, you've been raised in, and unless you make a conscious effort to break that, you're always going to have that first thought. It's whether or not you act on that thought or whether you go down that path like you were talking about. Are you going to receive that thought or are you going to put on the armor and say, nope, not taking this one in, Father.

It's yours. Exactly. Yeah, and I think the love piece, we lose sight of that. And I think there's been an exorbitant amount of love shown for people through this journey, the folks delivering food to families and children going to see their school teachers on drive-bys and to blow the horn and say, we love you, and those kind of things. And you and I have been talking about this, we're praying for revival across our world and specifically in our nation for us through this journey that God's going to wake up people's hearts and God's going to say, look, enough of this nonsense, enough.

Get onto the long vision. Start looking about eternal matters and that's my love for you and you should be loving me and then you should be bringing the people home. That's right, because again, verse 8 and 1 John chapter 4, He who does not love does not know God.

That's pretty straightforward. So if God has shown love to you and you don't know how to show that love back to people, then you don't know God. This is what God is saying here in his word. He said, because God is love. And then verse 9, in this the love of God was manifested. And so now he's going to tell us how was it manifested? Toward us that God sent his son, only begotten son into the world that we might live through him because we were all dead. We were all dead in despair on our way to eternal damnation. And so he came as a result of bringing us back to the Father. And see, when you talked about the horns being blown and actually the fire department and the police in our local community, last Wednesday they drove through the neighborhood, had the sirens going, people came out with the pans and the spoons and they were banging the pans and the spoons together as a result of showing their appreciation for these first responders. And I was moved by it.

They had already passed, but I wanted to run in and get my pan and run out there with the spoon and bang it. But I'm hoping, as you stated, I'm hoping that this is not a temporary thing and that after a while things kind of go back to the way they were and then we start being long-faced again and we're going, how did I get myself in this situation again? And we lose all the momentum that we should be gaining in this time when we're together at home. Will, I think one of the keys to that is it needs to be about others instead of self. If you'll maintain that mindset and mentality, it's always about the others. Now don't get me wrong, you need to take some quiet time to yourself.

You need to have those moments of meditation and fellowship and worshiping with the Lord. But I think if we as individuals will make the other person more important, just like they tell you in marriage, make the other person more important than yourself, it needs to be all about them and less about you and none about you. We'll do that with our neighbors, love on our neighbors. I think I went back and checked the translational neighbor. That's everybody that you can see. That's within the eyeshot of everyone. So everyone that you can see, it's not just the person next door.

As we think of neighbor, if I remember the translation correctly, it's as far as the eye can see. So it's everywhere that you can see or anyone that you can see you should be loving on. And love, love is the essence of who God is. And down in verse 13 of the same chapter we're reading from, he says, by this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us his Spirit. So through God giving us his Spirit as we opened up our heart unto him and received him as our Lord and Savior, now we should let the Spirit control our thinking, control our actions, be that filter of what comes in and goes out. That requires surrender, Will.

It does. That requires surrender. And that dying to self, back to dying to self, take up your cross, die to self and follow Christ. So if you'll surrender, then that will happen or can happen. If you don't surrender, then that will never happen.

That's right. It's a total giving of oneself, a total, not half and half. So when we get up in the morning, that's what we should be thinking about. God, I'm giving my life over to you and at my expense. In other words, whatever you have to do to let you be manifested through me, then do it, God. I'm going to surrender myself at whatever it is that I want to do but what you would have me to do because our wants doesn't necessarily have to be given to us. Or satisfied, right.

That's right. But it's what we need. See, get the need fulfilled and then let God take care of the rest.

Amen. Well, you know, as we are getting close to wrapping this thing up, we've got about 30 seconds here. Man, if you're listening to this program and ladies, it's so important to have a fellowship. And I know right now hopefully this has stirred a hunger in your heart about loving on each other and also to get back in the body of fellowship. I think this time out from the body of Christ in terms of not being in the physical church hopefully has just really created a hunger like no other for you folks. So we want you to be out there fellowshiping with each other as soon as we're able to do that and create a community of people. We thank you for being with us.

It's time for us to say goodbye. I'm Roy Jones, the white guy. And I'm Will Hardy, the black guy. And we will see you next time on Man Talk Radio. Tell your friends and visit our sponsors when you can.

Yep. God bless you. Amen. As we wrap up today's show, be assured that TAWCMM, Talking and Walking Christian Men's Ministry, is building a community of men that are Christ followers with a desire to be servant leaders in their homes, communities, churches, and work environments. Check out our website for upcoming events and regularly scheduled meetings. Drop us a note for topics that you would like to have us visit in the future. Thank you for joining us on Man Talk today. Visit us at www.tawcmm.com. Men walking the talk.