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 continuing to talk about peace. And I'm realizing that the squeak of this chair gives me peace.
You've got a peaceful music on the peace. And it disturbs me. Yeah, yeah.
So it just depends on which side of the, you know, it's the chair screaming, get off of me, get off of me. I know what it is. One at a time. Anyway, welcome back. We're talking about Sam's stand-up comedic hour.
We're talking about the boulder of peace, the peace boulder. I'm going to hit you with the peace boulder. That's right. Hey, maybe. Yeah.
put some effort into that one. Yeah, so we're we're trying to give peace a chance tonight, as John Lennon would say, and trying to define what is that? What does that mean? Um, we're called ministers of reconciliation.
Well, I mean, you don't need reconciliation unless two people are not getting along, right? Um We're called enemies of God at some point in our... Yeah. Um well that's not a good place to be. And then we're told to be at peace one with another, you know, in as much as it's within our ability.
Um And we're even told: if there is strife between you and your brother and you're on your way to worship, lay down your gifts. Don't go worship. Go. Go. Get with your brother and and work that out.
And then come back and offer your gifts before God.
So peace is a big deal to God. Um It's such a big deal that Jesus died to bring peace. He was called the prince of peace. But as Andy pointed out in the first show, um Jesus even says, You you think, and you say, I came to bring peace. They didn't come to bring peace.
I came with a sword. And which obviously is basically saying, look, Somebody's got to die in order for this thing to get better, which is a phrase that my wife developed years and years ago. I don't know exactly when. I don't know that she knows when, and she has told this story publicly before, but at some point in her life she grew up in a very, very Difficult life, full of strife, a lot of alcoholism, a lot of abuse, a lot of. Um and anger.
And at some point in life, she she just kind of develop this question of, okay, who's got to die for this to get better? Not meaning she was ready to kill somebody at all, but just asking that question. I mean, what's got to stop? Who's the troublemaker here? type of thing.
Jesus ultimately says, Well, I gotta die. in order for this thing to get better. And and he does that and Our piece. We tend to hook it to something else. other than God.
We hook it to justice. If I can just get justice, I can get peace. If I can just stop this war, I can get peace. If I can if if people will just give me mercy, I'll be at peace. If if they'll give me grace I'll be at peace.
If I get that relationship where I want it, I'll be at peace. Or you know, if I get my finances where I want it, I'll be at peace. All of those different external things. And The piece that we're talking about is a very, very internal process, not an external thing at all, and it can only happen. when God is involved in the process.
But How do you pursue that piece? That's kind of where we're at. Yeah, and last at the end of last show, we talked in big picture. You know, we did say it's God's will, not our will, those things. But there's what we're hoping to do with this part of the show is also talk about the little pieces that we hold on to.
You know, as you're saying, the things that we throw into the equation. As you said in the between shows, you know, we're called to die to self, right? But we hold on to some things we shouldn't hold on to. Right. And so we're going to learn more about that because those pull at the piece and it pulls at God's will when we do that thing.
And so the first clip of this show is Andy's.
So this clip is From Antoine Fisher, which I watched this weekend, and I can't recommend it enough. It's based on a true story, and it's about a a young man who you find him in the Navy. He's got a lot of anger problems. He goes to a A therapist who's kind of walking him through it, but it takes him back through, kind of like Goodwill Hunting, back through his childhood and how jacked up it was. And this kid had no peace.
His. Dad was killed before he was born. His mom was in jail. He ended up in the foster system and was abused in a multitude of ways. He saw his best friend be shot.
in a robbery that his friend was doing that he had no idea he was doing. Tons of trauma. And of course the kid was mad and angry at the world and he he had to go. He was about ready to get thrown out and they said, You're going to go see this therapist. Therapist is Denzel Washington.
can't remember his name, but he uh He does an excellent job of guiding this kid. Uh through healing But there's one thing that the kid kind of will not do is go and find his family because he believed. The therapist felt like it would bring a lot of healing, and this is the interaction when they meet up after he's done that. How are you doing, sir? I'm great, sir.
Good, good, good, very good to see you.
So? I took your advice. I found my family and I found my mother.
Okay. Yeah. So Oh, in my heart I forgive her, but if I never saw her again I understand. It's funny to feel that way about your mother, but I did it, and I owe it to you to tell you that you were right. You owe it to me.
Yes, sir. I needed to find him. But I was right elsewhere for all the wrong reasons. Sir. It stays between you and me, okay?
Yes, sir. My wife and I we were gonna have a bunch of kids and we found out we couldn't have any and it rocked him to the core. I knew what to do for her, though. She needed help. Treatment.
I made sure she had it. The best psychiatrist, the one that trained me. But I, the well one, the strong one. Same time I went about the business of shutting down. Very subtle, very quiet.
It was my little sequel. Until one day a young man came in a moment. my office and into my life. And he blew up that little secret. Right in my face and he put me to shame.
In a way I never thought possible. Because of you, Antoine, I'm a better. Doctor. Yeah, um Learning to be a better husband. Mm.
You don't owe me anything. I owe you. You're the champs on you beating everybody who was beating you. I salute you.
So, you hear that? I didn't share the second part there, that was the biggest part of the clip. But the point there was the impact of peace. Because he was struggling through all this. He was still getting in fights when he was going to the therapist.
But he kept engaging, and he kept pursuing healing, and he kept pursuing peace. By listening to what the therapist said, and there were some hard things. But then you see the impact of it. That's what's what our lives should look like. Whenever we find this peace and we walk through and get some healing, your peace will bring peace to others, and that's what he did.
His situation was much different. But he was he had a lack of peace in his home. He was destroying his home, as you would see in the movie. The the therapist, and and there was a lot of healing, and of course, you hear that acknowledgment. But uh not only that, Antoine also Uh it what are the best Parts and it wasn't a lot of dialogue, but whenever he finds his father's family and how they embrace him at a dinner, they just he.
You know, he was, that's what he had always wanted: an identity with a family, which he never had. And again, that's the. We've all heard testimonies of people who lived a very traumatic, turmoil-filled life who were like, that's not fair that they ended up with that lot. But when they find Jesus, when they find people to love him and walk them through it, they truly find that peace. And I think it's like Jim's clip.
It's a piece that's on the other side of war that actually makes an impact and what we're truly looking for. You know, another one last point is that You know, we're talking about what John Eldred says. We're in, we're. Born into a love story. And a lot of people stop there.
Because they just want it to be the love story. You know, whether it's Christians, some Christians believe this. A lot of the world believes this. That we're just here to love one another and all, but it's set in a world at war. And peace is finding.
Finding that contentment, that connection with God, that peace that no matter what kind of thing is going on, whatever battle's coming towards me, whatever. is happening in my life that I know that I have peace through him. I think one of the other things, and what was in that clip, and you spoke to it a bit, was what gets in the way is our Desire to not go into unhealed places. You can't be broken so badly and have peace. Wow.
Right. I mean God will give you grace through that, right? Through that time, but you're gonna have to go into some difficult places to get over those. And that's what you see in that movie and in lots of movies is going to those difficult places, dealing with those things. And letting God lead you through them.
And it's, you know, you've heard us say it a bunch if you've listened to the show very long. That usually God meets you at the place where the wound happened, right? If you were abused as a child, you're probably going to have to go there. And you're not going to want to because you don't want to go back there. You don't want to remember that.
That was Antoine. Yeah. But. If you will allow God to take you back to where the wound happened, Because that's when you can best understand what healing now looks like and what peace on the other side really is. And I mean, I'm with everybody else.
Okay, God, why can't you just give me the peace, right? I mean, just give it to me. I'm here for it. You know, I'm here for that. I prayed the prayer.
Come on. Yeah, right. And so. Ultimately, if we demand Our way. Then we're probably never going to get the peace.
If we demand the justice, we're probably never going to get the peace. If we demand The grace, we're probably never going to get the peace because even if everybody gave you the grace, you probably wouldn't feel it. Um God's already given us grace half the time we walk around not feeling like He's given us that. And so. there's there's so much going on and y w what What that clip, Antoine Fisher, which I again, I'm with Andy, man, it's such a great movie.
And it is a little bit hard to watch in spots, but it's also very funny at times, and it's so good and just leaves you with a really good, hey, this healing can happen that it's worth the watch if you've never watched it. But I'm going to play a clip from the original LaMiz movie.
Well, we learned it wasn't the original. Harold said there's one in black and white. Yeah, I mean. Talkies and all that. Yeah, it was the original one that any of us remember.
Harold, sorry. Love you. But. Yeah, the Jean Valjean has been hiding his identity the whole movie, right? And he's turned his life around.
He's been pursuing mercy and grace and transformation, reconciliation, all of those things. And he's living it out. Because of the grace and the mercy of of the priest that, you know, basically saves his life. Um But there's somebody else that It hates. Jean Valjean.
And his name is Javiar. And Javier is the guard that abused him in the prison that he was in, and then he's the one that he has the battles with outside. And Javier doesn't know who Jean Valentine is when he's having these battles. legal battles, if you will, because You know, he looks a little different. He's made himself up and all of that.
He's the mayor. He's the mayor. Right. But Javiar knows there's something not right.
Well, this is towards the end of the movie when Javiar. Basically, he figures out who Jean Bajan really is, and he goes to arrest him. And he is basically saying there is justice in the world and justice will be served. And the law, the justice, demands No mercy. There is no mercy with regard to law.
And so you have the two people. You have the one guy who's living out mercy and grace every day of his life and changing other people's lives. You've got the other guy who Is living by total legalism and demanding justice. And but he finally gets to the point where he decides Who's gotta die? in order for this to get better and that's where we'll pick up this clip.
That is an important memo for the Prefect. will explain what I've done with the prisoner. Make sure he sees it before breakfast, sir. I'm glad I had time to myself. I needed to think.
About what you deserve. You're a difficult problem. Move to the edge. Why aren't you taking me in? You're my prisoner.
Do what I tell you. You don't understand the importance of the law. I've given you an order. Obey it. Why didn't you kill me?
I don't have the right to kill you. But you hate me. I don't hate you. I don't feel anything. You don't want to go back to the quarries, do you?
Then, for once, we agree. I'm going to spare you from a life in prison, Jean-Valjean. It's a pity the rules don't allow me to be merciful. I've tried to live my life without breaking a single rule. You're free.
So, what you have to watch the movie to see there. Is that Javier decides somebody's got to die, and it's not going to be Jean-Valjean? um that he c he's wrestling with He is a changed man. But the law still demands what the law demands. Mm.
And while God could foresee That you could be a changed man, that we could all be changed men, changed women. But the law still demands what the law demands. And not out of legalism, not out of anger, not out of frustration. but out of love and kindness and mercy and grace and yes, even justice. Jesus decides to go to the cross.
which allows for us to have the opportunity of peace. Yeah, it's good. I I forgot about that part of the movie until you brought the clip in, because we use other parts more prominently, but that's a really solid the way it ends, you know, for that. Um The next clip we have is from the movie Invictus, a story of Nelson Mandela. having been in jail, coming out, being back in power.
And the one of his lead people in his cabinet or whatever it is, the people that work for him, come in and are talking about four guards or four policemen that are in the uh waiting room out front. And you'll hear the interchange with them and then really pay attention towards the end of some of the things that uh uh what's the guy's name again? No, Mandela, but the actor. Morgan Freeman. Morgan Freeman.
I I I'm man. I was just going to say God. Oh, yeah. All right, here we go. We're going to listen to it.
You look agitated, Jason.
Well, that's because there are four special branch cops in my office. Oh, what did you do? Mm-hmm.
So they say they are the presidential bodyguards and they have orders signed by you. Ah yes, ah yes.
Well, uh, these men are special trained by SAS. They have lots of experience. They protected the clerk. Yes, sir, but it doesn't mean that they have to come here. You asked for more men, didn't you?
Yes, sir. I asked the. When people see me in public, they see my bodyguards. You represent me directly. A rainbow nation.
Start here. Reconciliation. It starts here. Reconciliation, sir. Yes, reconciliation, Jason.
Comrade President. Not long ago, these guys tried to kill us. Maybe even these four guys in my office tried and often succeeded. Yes, I know. Forgiveness starts here too.
Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon. Yeah, it's uh in your spirituality The unforgiveness is the spiritual weapon that the enemy uses against you. You know, part of the process of going through healing with God.
through stuff, you do have to go back to the painful time and help him set the context of it properly. But at some point it's going to require forgiveness. You know, and if you don't have peace and you haven't forgiven people that he's called for you to forgive? You can't have bitterness and peace in the same person. You can't hold on to that and get the peace that your heart desires.
And so, at some level, and we've talked about many times, forgiveness is not letting them off the hook. They're just not letting them have any power over you anymore. They're not empowered to change how you feel. And so, one of the things that gets in the way of your peace is your inability, not inability, your lack of desire to step into the place where you can forgive. Yeah, and you know Isaiah 61 says that Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted, to set the captives free, to give sight to the blind, to give freedom to the prisoners.
To declare the day of the Lord's favor and The Day of Vengeance, the Year of Vengeance. Um And so Jesus knows. He he knows you've been hurt. He he knows it wasn't right. He knows all of that.
And he came to deal with it all. And until I begin to really understand that, that you know what, Jesus is going to have the ultimate say over justice, there are people that I believe should. be mhm, you know. dealt with severely.
However, I say that out of my knowledge. out of all that I know about them. But I don't know everything that Jesus knows. Nor can I know what's going to happen to them next year or the year after that or the year after that. But Jesus will.
And I can depend on All right, Jesus. You're going to give them the justice. that you feel like They deserve. And that justice may include mercy. It may include grace.
It may include forgiveness. It may not. But Jesus is the arbiter of that, not me. And It wasn't until I really understood that He's Going to deal with what he needs to deal with, and he's going to forgive who he wants to forgive. That I could truly go, okay, I can let go of some things.
Because, you know, I kind of need to know that. Hey. If this person never repents, if they just keep living their life the way, you know, that is and keep hurting people and being evil and killing people and maiming people and destroying people's lives, then There's some stuff that they deserve, right? And I would love to be able to give it to them.
However, it would be better for me to let Jesus do that because. Jesus knows way more than I do about it, but I can trust that he's going to. Good or bad. either way, but it's going to be justice. Uh a facet of this that kind of got awakened in the last few clips and then what you your wife said.
So much of what We let take our peace away from us. is temporal. It's of this world. no lasting impact. If we could focus on what's eternal And pursue those things as opposed to you know, that person cut me off and I'm gonna get even.
That's that we have so many little things like that. that steal our peace. in a moment. That if we say, oh, they might be having a bad day and I'll pray for them. But can have an eternal impact.
And it I'm getting better at that in my old age. I haven't perfected it. I never will tell a poke, but. That could make a huge difference in whether or not we have peace. Yeah, it it it really can.
I just forgot what I was going to say. I was going to say, Andy was evidently praying that as we were leaving the restaurant to come because there was a person that could have turned left about 87 times in front of Andy to let us all out of the parking lot and didn't. And I'm thinking he's driving a Jeep truck. He can get over that car if he tries hard enough. Yeah, I'd like to think I was that holy, but.
No, there was I'm You know, I was just thinking of some things today that didn't go well that I didn't handle well. And I'm like, I'm sitting here talking about all this stuff, and I didn't do such a good job. But these things are still real, you know, particularly people in your life that have. Har that have you felt like it was done wrong and have done just as much wrong to them. But I was just sitting here thinking, you know, what forgiveness is to me.
when it relates to where you don't have peace with somebody else, 'cause there's all kinds of things that you can have in that but but personal relationships where somebody's done you wrong and you need to forgive. I just feel like if you think about it, forgiveness, the first time you choose to forgive when you've held something for so long, it's like your down payment on peace. And if you continue in it, you begin to experience more and more of it to where you actually. Obtain it. You know, like a hou paint off a house, you know, but it it does take that first one.
It's very difficult. That first one's hard to hardest to do, I think. Yeah, I do remember what I was going to say. I'm glad I could help. Yeah, well, as you were talking, I just quit listening and was thinking about it.
Obviously. No, that wasn't it. The lack of turmoil is not what we're talking about. No. When you look back at the disciples' lives, I would hope to think that they had peace.
They did not have easy lives and it didn't end along together for most of them, right? Yeah. I mean, they had really bad things happen to them. And so we're not saying you're going to get away from that, but it's having peace in the midst of whatever's going on in your life.
So this week, just take some time and say, God, you know what's going on. You see the bigger picture. Help me turn this over to you. Help me take the steps I need to take to get closer to you and move past all these things that keep the peace away from me. We'll talk with you next week.
