This is the Truth Network. The heart of every man craves a great adventure, but life doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates and wide roads, but the masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns.
So, how do we keep from losing heart while trying to find the good way when life feels more like a losing battle than something worth dying for? Grab your gear and come on a quest with your band of brothers who will serve as the guides in what we call the masculine journey. The masculine journey starts here now. Welcome to Masculine Journey, and we're back again this week. We are Sam Lewis in Seattle, Harold.
He's actually in San Antonio, I think. on his honeymoon um and pretty exciting actually yeah yeah congratulations to sam and misty Um, miss you guys, but uh Right now I'm running the show, so uh The uh This week's topic is is my topic. And I could just do my topic, set up my clips and it'd be all about me, wouldn't it, Robby?
Well, it's unusual to have somebody pick a topic and actually be here. Yeah. Even more unusual to pick a topic, be here and host. Yeah. And and so it's pretty spectacular, especially w When the topic is far, far away.
Yeah. At least the host and the topic getter is not far, far away.
So anyway, our topic is on a hill far away. It was kind of prompted by Yeah, if you're familiar with the old hymn. the uh the old rugged cross, the first line and it is on on a hill far away. stood an old rugged cross. And as I thought about that, I think I was listening to the song or something, and I thought about how so often We see the crosses on a hill far, far away.
you know, depending on where you are, you know, whether you're before you come to Christ, you think I gotta get my act together before I ever show up with that or You know, even if you've been a Christian and been walking this walk for quite some time, there are those spots in life where it seems like God is so far away. And, you know, it's our feelings that drive this thing, and that, you know. It seems so distant. And when in reality and in truth That's never the case. He's never far, far away.
But, you know, we want to talk about a little bit tonight about how maybe some situations where. we felt like he was far, far away. But in reality, in hindsight, we look and know that that wasn't the case. But It seems very real. At the time.
And so, you know, that's kind of the topic, and we'll just see where it goes. you know, I've I've been chewing on it for a couple of weeks now. And so kind of like a pastor or something, you know, who's prepared a sermon and then you throw it out to a congregation that never heard it before. And you go, Why didn't they get that? you know but uh anyway the uh Robby, we're going to start with your clip.
Yeah, you might remember um in the book of Exodus that Pharaoh's heart got harder and harder. And unfortunately, when I look at my own heart at times, I wonder Uh we have a clip from a movie, The Kid, which is one of the great genius you know, just amazing movie that shows so much about that childlike spirit that we're supposed to have. And in this movie Bruce Willis plays an older Bruce Willis, but he had His younger self shows up in the movie. But before that happens, we're going to see him here at the very beginning of the movie when he was a very hard-hearted individual.
Now, it's kind of comical the way he treated people, but let's play the clip and you get an idea of what kind of a person this was. And he would certainly seem, as you listen to him, very hard-hearted and far away from the cross. I'm sorry, I can't seem to find my purse. I must have ten of them. Can you just ring mine first, please?
There's someone ahead of you, sir. I usually keep my change in my little change bear, but... That's what most interesting. How much is hers? 526.
Just add it on, please. Hold on, hold on. If it's not in this one, it'll be in another one. That'll be 965. Thank you very much.
How sweet! You didn't have to do that for me. I didn't do it for you. Check some bags next time. Sure.
How can I help you, Governor?
Some dirt bag. dirt peg from the Attorney General's office has dared to mention the word Jail. But Whoa. Mm-hmm.
Somebody called away Fabulous. What did you say? Do you know what the number one killer of politicians under the age of 60 is? No. Self-pity.
Now Governor, I'll be more than happy to help you out of this mess that you so willingly seem to have stepped into. But you'll have to do something. What's that? Stop crying. Try.
No, I mean right now. You're giving me a headache. If I do it, will you shut up? Quiet is the dead. Your hair is too big, your brows are too dark, your nails are too long, and your foundations too orange.
Your perfume's too sweet. It's the news, honey, not the prom. I like your eyes. Ah!
Okay. Bluer. Try the tinted contacts, but only when you're anchoring or in LA. You're on assignment, take them out. Thank you.
You're welcome. Uh Will you please shut up?
So you can see this is not a picture of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. It's a pretty hard character, and I should have told you. is setting up the clip that he's an image consultant. And so the one lady he's speaking to is, you know, how to be a better anchor on the TV. And the other lady's the governor.
You know. But Here he is an image consultant, but he quite obviously has no patience. He quite obviously You know. has a pride issue, etcetera, etcetera. He's he's on a hill far away.
But what we find is there was a reason why he said to call the way ambulance. was that He'd had a significant wound as a child when his mother was dying of cancer. You know, his father had kind of placed this in, like, stop crying, stop crying. And this wound. that needed to be healed.
Um that Young Russell Dortz came in and showed him what had actually happened so that he could get it back. But one of the beauties of the movie. was At the beginning of the movie, as you see with the hard-hearted Bruce Willis, he couldn't cry. And By the end of the movie, You know, he and Rusty are And he said he he he becomes a kind-hearted person that can cry. Right.
And You know, if I'm just completely honest at times, Like actually right this very day, I was very concerned with the fact that I knew of some things that really should make me cry. Like, I really should be weeping if I understood this from God's point of view. I really should be concerned about these things. Yeah. I don't, I kind of feel like Bruce Willis, like, you know, why don't we call the Wayambulance?
Like, you know, if and I'm, I'm, I'm feeling that, like, I really need. uh what this show has to offer. Uh which is a an insight of you know, my own life and what's Been taught to me through the years of masculine journey: like, there are some wounds, there are some things in your life. That You need Jesus to come in and help you to get that kid back because a kid can cry. A kid can be kind, a kid can do all that stuff and part of it is is beautifully in that picture.
It's a matter of pushing into it and having friends to help you. Yeah, that uh that hard charging basically cost me a marriage. after, you know, twenty-six years. Of charging hard all the time, being very much a lead follower, get out of the way. type of guy and not doing it very kindly With the churches that I pastored, or the wife that I was married to, or the children that I raised.
And As uh As you just said, you have to find that child. Again. And that very recently happened to me in a very, very vivid way. Um It happened to be on my 61st birthday. I didn't even realize it was my birthday.
As I began to journal what God had done that day, but it'll apply later to a a clip that I may use, but Yeah. Ultimately I just had this sense that Jesus was standing at the door and knocking. And he wasn't by himself. The Holy Spirit was there. father was there and he was knocking.
And I went to the door. And I kind of opened the door, but I also stood behind it. You know, when you open the door towards the wall. Between the door and the wall, you can stand there, and the person in the doorway doesn't get to see you very well. And that's where I saw myself.
And uh I said, come in. I mean, you know, I was big. I was like, hey, he stands at the door and knocks. I need to tell him to come in. All right, you come on in, Jesus.
as I'm standing hiding behind the door. And Jesus said, No, you come out here. And I went through that process of kind of going outside. and allowing Jesus to minister to me in the Holy Spirit and the Father. Um and it took me literally all the way back to early childhood, all the way back to almost birth.
and I actually saw myself as a little baby. I'm standing outside of myself and I see myself as a little baby and the father. is Cleaning me up as if, you know, you just did that with a baby that was just birthed. And uh Um as I began to witness that, you know, I I kind of way too long of an experience to to share all of that. Come to a boot camp.
Maybe I'll share it there sometime. But, um, In the end. Ultimately I I s Stood up eventually. um and was there communicating with God And I said, I am so sorry. I I I s I so need your forgiveness.
And Jesus looked at me with kind of a sly smile, is what I saw, and he said, You've got it. You know, like jokingly, like, hey, you got, okay, you got it. I, you know, or you've already had it for a long, long time, but you've got it. Um And it it turned from A very, very poignant, tender time to somewhat of a grieving time to somewhat of a. Laughing Joyful Time and went through all of those emotions to which either I'm You know, David, the The psalmist, or I'm schizophrenic, or I just walk with God, and I'm choosing, I just walk with God.
Um but It was shame. that he was cleaning up. It was it was shame that he was removing, and what that shame had done to me all my life was cause me to hard charge. because I had to prove that I had nothing to be ashamed of. And that literally was the biggest driver in my entire life.
childhood, adulthood, business, church, you name it. Yeah, the uh Looks like we're going to break. We got a boot camp coming up November 19th through the 22nd. I don't know why. I can't remember that.
I can't remember what day it is today. Anyway, you know, you go to our website, basketballjourney.org, and register and get all the details, or some of the details, anyway. And we'll see you after the break. What we have at our boot camp is something that makes you stronger and it gives you the strength to go on your regular walk with God. It's something that will make you be bigger than you were when you got there.
This is my third camp and as always it's fantastic because one, it's a getaway from day to day. Two, I get to be around brothers and three, I get to intentionally spend time with my father. Does the camps feel the same when you come to each one? No, they don't. And that's what I was worried about with my second one was is it going to be the same exact stuff as the first one?
And it wasn't. It still feels different because God is wanting to speak to me in a different way no matter what. And this time he's really been digging in on me growing up without a dad in my life and him really trying to impress on me what it means to have a father that loves you in your life. And that's been really difficult for me. And I'm still going through that and unpacking a lot of that and what that actually looks like in my life.
If you're available, you need to come to this. If you're listening to me or listening to this show, you need to register for the next one. You need to be down here. You need to experience this. It will legitimately change your life every time you come.
Register today at mascularjourney.org. Witness to your faithfulness in every storm, in every step, looking back. Never once did you let me go. And no matter what the future old you working for, my good, I know you're faithful, and I never walk alone. That was a song by Hope Darst.
I'd never heard the song until I went looking for a bump. And the thing about finding a bump is you have to squeeze it into about 30 seconds. And the song that I originally had, I couldn't squeeze the chorus into 30 seconds. But I was just looking and never heard that song before, but that's kind of the healing side of what we're talking about. You were talking about on a hill far away.
And, you know, she makes the case that, you know, when I look back, I see I've never walked alone. And you which was you prompted part of this um Topic was prompted out of. I've heard several messages, and one of my favorite stories is. You know, the guys on the road to a maus. And you know, Jesus has just been crucified, all that stuff has gone down, and confusion is in.
The discipleship. Rail. They're scattered all over the place. They're hiding in upper rooms and they're doing all this kind of stuff. And these guys are heading back home.
And they're, you know, and here comes this stranger up to them. Hey, guys, what's going on? And they're basically like, where have you been? And, you know, and they're they're looking at the cross from a distance. They don't understand.
What has happened? the greatest thing that's ever happened to them in their life. has just happened. And they don't see it. And so Jesus comes along beside him.
and begins to explain it to them. and impart truth to them. And ironically when they sit down to break bread together. He's revealed to them. And, you know, d I think that's the whole, you know, we'll get to that, hopefully, is that, you know, even though we see that that he's so far away sometimes.
It's when we turn and when we start paying attention. It's honestly Robby when we sit down and break bread with him. that he reveals himself to us. And we realize just how close he is there. You know what I mean?
So, you know, that was my That was my two cents on that, so uh whatever that's worth. Um Darren, we're going to go to your clip that you mentioned several times, so I figured we better play it.
So. You got everybody in suspense at this point. What is the clip?
Well, the clip is uh. From the movie Despicable Me, and it's the three little orphaned girls. that uh are not being cared for very nicely by the person that's running the orphanage where they're at and They are literally being used to go out and sell cookies. um all day and they come in and they think they've done pretty well. And she informs them that they have not.
and threatens them with The box of shame. Hi, Miss Hattie. We're back. Hello, girls. Libaytan to adopt us while we were out?
Hmm, let me think. No. Adiff. What did you put on, Mattiask? A mud pie.
Ah. You're never gonna get a job today, Death. You know that, don't you? Yeah, I know. Good.
So how did it go, girls? Did we meet our quotas? Mm, sorta. We sold forty three mini mints, thirty chaco swirlies and eighteen coconutties. Ooh.
Okay. Yeah. You say there, like it's a great female day. Look at my face. Do you still think it's a great sale day?
Hey, team coconutties. I think we can do a little better than that. Don't you? Yeah. Yeah.
We wouldn't want to spend the weekend in the box of shame, would we? No. No, no, Miss Hattie.
Okay. So But Miss Hattie is the voice of the enemy, obviously. And uh oftentimes we we spend a lot of time in his realm where he gets to speak uh Unabated. And Most of our lives, the enemy is saying something like, You know, you're never going to get adopted, right? You know, you didn't do good enough today, right?
You know, you're not going to be. your father's son, right? Or your brother, or as good as your sister, or you name it, that athlete, that preacher, that you know, good person. And the enemy is constantly doing that. And We oftentimes go and hide kind of in the box of shame because we don't want to expose our shame out there.
We don't want to go out and go, Hey, this is what I believe about myself. Could anybody talk me out of that? you know? Which is what community is for. That's what a band of brothers is for.
That's what you know, this ministry is about. Is showing you that you can say, hey, here's what I'm carrying around. Can anybody help me out with that? And you can live to tell about it. And uh and not only live, but live abundantly that life that Jesus talks about.
The thing that brought that clip to my mind was The the box of shame was a room. It it was, you know, it was a room. And that's where I was spending a lot of my time. And as long as you're in the box of shame, you can't see the cross. I mean, it doesn't look very far away, it doesn't look there at all.
And you think it might be a long way away, but it's literally just on the other side of the open door. All you've got to do is open the door. and let Jesus come in or let him invite you out. Yeah. But oftentimes we choose to keep the door closed.
to our shame. That's got to be done. It's interesting. You know, you brought a thought to me that it's not even sometimes. the shame of what we'd done.
you know, my wife and I were talking. She asked me what the topic was and, you know, we were having a conversation like we do quite often and um You know, we talked about last year with the diagnosis and the year that we had last year. and all the different events. and how It's even like You're right at the beginning of my diagnosis of cancer. the God gave me a word in a prayer He said, I've got you and I've got this, but don't look through the cracks of my fingers.
I won't ever forget I held on to that dear life, still do. And there were times when The enemy comes alongside and says, you know, did God really say he had you? And so it creeps in in the shame of Well, you know, I ain't been the most stellar Christian guy in the world, you know what I mean? Probably not going to be inducted into Sainthood Hall of Fame anytime soon, I feel sure. But And you know, those kind of doubts and shame kind of Creep in.
It's not even something that you did, but he still has that ability to just kind of create that facade of. Yeah, you think God's got you, but... Oh, what about this? Or what about that? And that makes It on a heel far away.
Yeah. It brings up the other part of that. It could be shame, it could be suffering. The song, the writers of the song were genius.
Okay. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. That's not the beginning of a trio, by the way. The uh geo-gat subject? Uh if we're through with that, I don't want to jump into Early, but And before we came in the studio, you were talking about the road to Emmaus and you took me back to Seminary.
And Alice Cullinan, who was a She looked like your basic spinster librarian, and she was one of the most dynam dynamic people you'd ever want to meet. But she taught us it was Personality and Religion was the name of the course. She was teaching us through that. I mean, that was our Bible study before we started class. Uh I'll week.
And if you don't know that story, go read your Bible. But one of the things that I've learned over the years. is how often what we see or hear Is it necessarily what is in front of us or what is said. It's what we're expecting to see or hear. And those guys walking with Jesus We're not expecting to see Jesus.
So and I've heard all kinds of sermon well, not all kinds, but a few sermons about, oh, he was so mangled from but you would think that would be something they would recognize. But no, I think that the they were Jesus was dead. to them. And We are all All those that have professed that He is our Saviour and our Lord are walking with Him. But we don't expect to see them.
and we often do not. And and that was what hit me with that. It's uh If you see a disaster around every corner, there's likely to be one. If you don't, And you see sunshine, you know, that's what you'll find even if it's raining. Harold, you had a perspective in the pre-show that you were holding out for surprise.
You want to elaborate on that? I I think it's difficult for us to visualize the hill far away and what's on it. We have a sanitized version. Our Italian Renaissance Jesus. hanging on of shaped, smooth, crossed.
with his loincloth on, is not the image that I think was really there. Uh th I don't think that they went out of their way to hide his shame by addressing him. And he An Italian Renaissance Italian. Mm-hmm.
So we have a pretty Jesus. when Scripture tells us there was nothing comely about him. physically.
So it I think and and we we don't experience crucifixions. The only one I've ever been anywhere near. is the movie And I'm I'm guessing that's close to it. if not completely accurate with it. But I've never had to walk in the shadow of a cross.
and hear a dying person. moanin' and groanin'. in their pain. Those first century inhabitants of Jerusalem. I did.
They walk by. They saw and heard. the impact of that. had to be enormous. We can't experience that.
I don't know that I'd want to. No, you don't. No. Do you uh Well, we have a boot camp coming up. In November 19th through the 22nd, I learned something, Darren.
That's awesome. And, you know, you can register at. Um Master Journey.org. And you get the details there. You can see some of our other stuff there.
You know, you can email us if you've got a topic idea or a question or anything at. Any of our first name, Danny at maximumjourney.org, Jim. Robby, Harold, any of us. And we'll talk to you next week. Yeah.
