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 the topic of yoking. No, I'm serious.
No yoke. No, it's uh We're talking about yokes. I can't do it. Yeah, I agree. Wow.
And this burden, light. Anyway, we were talking about yokes, you know, and the one that Jesus tells us that we can have. The his yoke is light, the burden is easy, right? But that isn't the way life comes at us most of the time. Right, and so what yokes are you taking on?
What causes that? How much are you letting him lead? All those kinds of things we've been talking about. We're going to continue to go into different aspects of this. And on the air with us, we have Danny still.
Danny, are you still awake? I'm still awake, still here.
Okay, there we go. There we go. Darren, you have the first clip for this show if you want to go ahead and talk about it.
Well, this comes from a movie called Love and Other Drugs, and it's not what you're thinking, maybe. Um. But you're gonna meet a a lady named Maggie and and her Boyfriend. Um Jamie. And Maggie has learned and is beginning to experience early onset of Parkinson's.
And they, uh you know, they're They're working on their relationship and she basically decides it's time to run him off. because she knows what he's in for. or at least she thinks she does, right? And so basically she doesn't want to be a burden. On Jamie.
And Jamie is kind of pushing back on that and What's your Here in here, it's hard to hear because it's soft voices and they're standing by a road, but The conversation kinda ends up in a phrase that She'll say, I've got places to go and he says, You'll go. I'm I just may have to carry you. And in the end, She says, But I but I can't ask you to do that. And he's got a response to that. I have never known anyone.
Yeah. Who actually believed that I was enough. Until I met you. And then you made me believe it too. Yeah.
So uh Unfortunately. Yeah. I need you. And you need me. Mm.
No, I don't. Yes, you do. No, I don't. Yes, you do. Stop that, stop safe.
You need someone to take care of you. No, I don't. Everybody does. Yeah. I really need you more than you need me.
That's okay. No, it's not. It isn't fair. I hate you. Places to go.
You'll go there. I just may have to carry you. Oh I can't ask you to do that. He didn't.
So there you go. I mean. It's funny, he starts out that that conversation with You know, I've never had anybody that believed in me enough for me to think that I'm enough. And uh Jesus has the same problem. Uh he knows he's enough.
His father knows he's enough. But we continually Fail. to believe that he is enough. And he says that my yoke is easy and my burden is light. I know you can understand when I said it as opposed to when Handel's Messiah said it, but um.
What he's meaning is, the connection that you have with me is not going to be. Heavy. It's it's But we in Western Christianity have made it very, very heavy at times. And Jesus is saying, no, guys, I mean, I I'm afraid sometimes we're as guilty as the money changers in the temple. That He was upset with them because they were making it hard.
for people who wanted to worship in spirit and truth. and they had to jump through all the hoops and sometimes we make it very, very hard. for people. But we often do that for ourselves. we make it hard on ourselves.
Or We say, yeah, Jesus, I mean, I know your yoke is easy and your burden is light and all, but man, I. I I don't have the right to ask you. to do all the stuff you're doing for me. to which Jesus would answer You didn't. I'm choosing to do that.
And so, to whatever that yoke might be, whether it's I'm a prisoner of fear, maybe I'm a prisoner of addiction, maybe I'm a prisoner of a relationship, maybe a very abusive relationship. Whatever that is. Jesus is saying I'm not like that. I'm different. Um I'm easy.
And That's That's that's my story. One of Jamie's lands in that movie really. hit me that uh when she says that she doesn't need anybody. He says, or that he she doesn't need him, he says. Yes, you do.
and everybody. does and that's true. We rely on thi things and people that we shouldn't. But every one of us has a desire for the relationship that completes us. And there is only one of those.
And he's the one that does. By car. Yoke easy at our burden light. I think one of the things that most people miss. is that they're they rob people of the joy.
that they get from serving and helping. I mean, she's looking at it like it's a burden he shouldn't have to carry. And he's saying, I love you and this is the way I'm going to show it.
Okay. Yeah, and it's funny if if i in the movie it depicts some of his friends basically telling him that. that you you need to pack your bags and get out of here. because this disease is going to take everything that you love about her.
Well, so is the disease of sin for every single one of us. It tries to take everything that. We love everything that people love about us. Um But if you don't allow Those people, Harold, to come in and share that load, you are depriving them of the joy in which they have. And Jesus died Not because it felt good, not because he just enjoys dying on a cross.
He did that for the joy that was set before him, which was you. Accepting the gift that he wanted to give you. And so, if we don't do that, obviously, we're refusing that. and were cheapening. Um not just his gift.
but anyone's gift that wants to give us a gift of service or love.
Well, I think in our in our legalistic society that we live in sometimes, We take it as Jesus plus something. You know, I have Jesus. And if I memorize enough scripture. where if I I can have Jesus and if I attend church enough, None of those things are bad. But his offer and his yoke is Just believe on me.
I am enough. And we have a hard time with that because especially as men you know somebody tells you they're going to buy you dinner, you at least want to leave the tip. Or give 'em a ride over there or something. But Jesus says, No. Danny, I paid it all.
I've taken care of everything. There's nothing in your imagination or beyond your imagination that I haven't taken care of. And we have trouble with that. We have trouble with that. One of the things about that yoke with human other humans Uh and it hit me kind of hard while listening to that.
two of the best times in my marriage. Or when My wife. was, and she was calling herself, a burden that I needed to get rid of. She wasn't. Those built up Ma.
love for her in ways that wouldn't have happened if things were going well. And that's what Jesus wants with us. He's he'll be there with us through the running through the daisies and having a nice ride on the Ferris wheel, but He also is going to be there in a much bigger way. when we are struggle wi struggling with brokenness and loss in our lives. And that's where the burden And the yoke.
comes in. but he makes those bearable. I I think they already made the point I was going to make, but it It really is. We were talking about from a human perspective and not accepting the gift, and we all struggle with. that sometimes of getting the getting the meal or whatever.
But truly, Jesus did come.
Somebody made the point, Jesus did come. To be able to carry that burden, to give us access to him to where he can carry the burden, and then we reject him carrying the burden. is what we do on a regular basis. And it's easy for again, to me it's more of that self-reliance or orphan spirit where we want to pick it up and do it ourselves. With a little kid who doesn't want to be bothered by being helped as a young kid, he keeps throwing off the help from the adults.
We do the same thing to him, I think. Yeah, that's uh that feeling of control. Yeah. Right. At least I can control this.
Used to be uh you want to be a self-made man? No, if you Or or if you run into one, run. That's the last thing you want to be. We want to be God made men.
Well, Jim, I think we're going to go ahead and do your clip before we go to Robby's. And so, if you want to, you have the microphone in front of you. You want to talk about that? Uh I'll not say a lot, but this is Uh Samwise Gamji uh taking the yoke that Frodo was trying to bear alone. Uh Do you remember the Shahi, Mr.
Furvon? It'll be spring soon. The orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And then we sow in the summer barley in the lower fields.
Uh and eaten the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries? Oh, Sam. I can't recall the taste of food. Not the sound of water.
The touch of grass. Naked in the dark. There's nothing. No veil. Between me and the wheel of fire.
I can see him with my waking eyes. Then let us be rid of it. Once and for all. Come on, Mr. Frodo.
I can't carry it for you. But I can carry you. Come on! That moves me every time I hear it. He's trying, I mean, Frodo is so messed up, he can't even remember the taste of food.
from carrying this heavy burden, the ring. And what all he sees is evil. But Sam is able to carry him to complete the mission that they both were on, and all of the. Uh Fellowship of the Ring were on that mission. And they're the last two to get to the final point, but everybody did their part through that.
and that sort of connection. between Christians. shows us God in the flesh. in a real way when we have people that are stepping up and doing what Jesus tells them to do in carrying one another along. And this group We do that in weird ways sometimes, but that's okay.
Today I learned how the reason why Rudy didn't make the team because he was a hobbit. Apparently. It was the same actor from both of those clips. Yeah, Sam Sean Austin. Sean Aston.
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So from Rudy and from there. Robby, we are up to your much-awaited clip.
So this clip comes from the movie City Slickers. You know, two of the main characters are Mitch, who is in a... Um Dude Ranch situation where he's, you know, in his midlife crisis and trying to get the knobs out of knots out of his rope and His marriage is in trouble and all sorts of things are going on in his life. And so fortunately, you know, he goes on an adventure, which is a lot about what our lives are on. And he meets a character that's a character by the name of Curly who lives from his heart, but he also.
A cowboy, a real cowboy. And in a moment they'll come upon a cow that is trying to give it calf and losing its life in the process. And it goes curly. is going to instruct a young bitch on how to deal with that. You might wonder what that has to do with what we're talking about.
Well, I interviewed this. Los Angeles County fire captain. this month. I mean actually last Friday. And I was asking him how he dealt with all the responsibility of like, man, you got earthquakes and mudslides and fires, and like, how in the world do you take that?
Kind of responsibility on every day of your life? And he said, Well, you kind of have this creed within the the fire department here in Los Angeles. That every fire that ever was Is stopped burning. The San Francisco fire is out, the Chicago fire's out. You know, 9-11s.
Over and done with, all the mudslides are gone, you know, everything eventually works out. He said What we want you to think about is when you approach that situation that that fire is going to go out. Don't make it worse. And the wisdom of that Is is beyond comprehension from I've been thinking about it since I heard it. is that I loved what Darren's clip was But fascinatingly, I looked at it from a completely different angle.
He said, I never met anyone who thought I was enough. And immediately, I completely resonated with that thought. Like, I never have met anybody that thought I was enough either. I mean. Uh that's a really tough place when you when you put your heart into that, But that thinking somebody enough is called faith.
That's the word. That describes that. And so when you walk into that situation, if you're certain that the person you're yoked to If you have faith, then it changes the equation. And so as you listen to... Curly.
and the situation, which is obviously You know. Pretty hair raising for nitmidge for a lot of reasons. But then note his his his buddy when he goes to deal with Norman the calf. No, he he isn't getting any help from Curly and he's not yoked to anybody, leads to trouble. What's the matter?
What's going on? This cow's having a baby. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I noticed it when we found her.
I was hoping she'd make it through the drive, but... He's ready. Does she do it herself, or do you have to help her? I'll hold her down. You deliver the calf.
Excuse me? Hello? Why don't I hold it down? You don't know how. She'll kick you and kill you and her, the calf, and that's too much for me to carry back.
Same point. Come on, she's ready. Just reach in and pull out the calf. Mm-hmm. You know, this was not in a brochure.
She needs help. Uh oh. My watch came off. How? It was a gift.
Do it! Yeah. Uh Look what I did! I met a cow! Yeah.
Uh It's unbelievable. This is amazing. He looks like you. Look at him, Marfa. Yeah.
Yeah Look, look at this. He's walking already. He's a genius. He gets that from my side of the family. We all walk very early.
Uh I'm gonna name him Norman. There is something wrong with your cow. What?
Well, I thought it'd help out with the chores, you know.
So I figured Not the cow. I reach under there, I'm pulling and tugging, I'm tugging, I'm pulling. Nothing, not a drop. The cow's name is Norman. I'm gonna go wash it.
Let's Up. Yeah, it's What are those Like, man, when you are with somebody that You're yoked to somebody that can pull, right? It's amazing. the journey that that that they that you go on the adventures and the things that you come to see and learn and enjoy. And certainly, Mitch, this changed his life, fixed his marriage, a lot of things.
And she was a redhead. Mm-hmm. Oh. But there that was one tremendous piece of wisdom. I got that.
on Friday. I got some last night. from an older lady. And these words are so applicable to this as well. What she simply said was When you meet your soulmate, You can't run them off.
And as Darren started that clip, He said she was trying to run him off. Right. And the beauty of Jesus I shouldn't say the beauty, one of the exillion beauties of Jesus. is you can't run him off. Oh.
I mean I It's impossible. You can't run him off as long as you're in this world. You literally. can't run him off. And and The idea of that for me Because I have people I love.
that aren't yoked to him yet. I've got people that I don't want them to, but part of the reason that my yoke is light. It's when I go to bed at night or when I really you know, cons consider these these options, like Wait a minute. He's got this. We win.
You know? He promised in Isaiah, he's going to teach my children. He promises all the, you know, like, oh my gosh, like, and that's faith. And so if I have that. Then It's really An amazing opportunity to be yoked to somebody like that, knowing, like you, you know, there's no doubt when Mitch was yoked to Curly there in that moment that he was pulling the calf.
But He knew he was with somebody that had what it took. And there you go. Probably you said something that surprised me and I want to respond to it. Oh. That you usually feel like you're not enough.
You are enough. And God made you that way. And sometimes you're more than enough. With this particular clip, I was thinking that. Were you trying to say you were too much, Jim?
Yeah. Wow. Wow. There's the love. Anyway, welcome to the Banda Brothers.
Danny, you got any thoughts on anything?
Well, I was just thinking of how just uh Robby was thinking about talking about the celebration show when Michelle and I first met. you haven't had Lots of baggage in both of our pasts and that kind of thing, but there was a time when. We tried to run each other off. Because Well we felt was real. And it scared both of us.
But obviously Yeah, this December will be twenty four years. I think he's gonna last. You know what I mean? It's beautiful, right?
Well, I'm going to go to a clip that I have from the movie Cinderella Man. And i if you haven't seen the movie, it's a boxing movie, but it's about life, it's about a lot of other things, you know, kind of like those shows are. And it's based on a true story of John Brannick, I think was his name. And he was a fighter back in the Depression era. And uh he'd done pretty well for a while and then he kind of fell into a bad stretch and kind of got out of boxing to raise his family and then the depression hit.
It was Jim Braddock, but Jim Braddock. I said John, didn't I? John was his brother. Yeah. Well, he was a lesser-known fighter.
Yeah. But I do know that he fought Jethro's dad. I think he felt that I may have fought Gandorf. He may have fought Gandorf. Yeah, but he did fight Jethro's dad.
Anyway, I'm sure I wasn't at that show. Can anybody tell me who Gandorf is again? Moving right along. Moving on. Only Danny.
So, as we're talking about this yoking thing. Just because it's easy And the burden is light doesn't mean we don't have something that God will call us to do at times. And He may call us into something that's uncomfortable. You may call us into a place where we have to ask for help. from other people.
Which is not typically easy to do. Right, we've heard the side of, you know, I don't want to burden you, and but you can take that and say, I don't want to be a burden to anybody, but sometimes God says you got to ask. And so, what we have going on here is Jim, I guess his friends called him John, is what it was. That's where I got confused. Jim, John.
He's from the bottom. Why do you guys all call me Jim? We'll go with that. No, but in the scene, he hadn't been able to have his heat on, and so he had to send his kids to go live with other family, and he's trying to figure out a way to get his family back together. And so he goes into this group of people that was the boxing commission kind of thing, and just listen to how it plays out.
The thing is, I can't afford to. I can't afford to pay the heater. I've had to farm out my kids. You know, they keep cutting shifts down to the docks, and you just don't get picked every day. I sold everything I got that anybody would buy.
I went on public assistance, I signed out of the relief office. They gave me $19. I need another $18.38 so I can. Pay the bill and get the kids back. You know me.
well enough to know if I had anywhere else to go. I won't be here. It goes on to he says a little bit more, but then They pass the hat around and he gets enough money. And in the scene, you see people that are willing to help, and people shy away from him, judging him. But sometimes God will call you in that yoked place to participate in that.
And so you just got to continually walk with him. I don't know what this has spiked in your heart and in your mind about the subject, but take it to God this week and love on somebody well. We'll talk with you next week.
