Heritage After Hours

This is Stu Epperson from the Truth Talk Podcast, connecting current events, pop culture, and theology, and we're so grateful for you that you've chosen the Truth Podcast Network.

It's about to start in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, and please share it around with all your friends. Thanks for listening, and thanks for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. 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, and if you're anything like me, I am so excited. I could not hit the play button fast enough on the after hours to get to the rest of the story, which we're going to talk about here in a second. But Andy, you got a story that I'm going to have you finish, but first I want to go ahead and kind of set up what we're talking about. So Danny, would you kind of tell us a little bit about the topic we're talking about today? We've been talking about the word heritage, and basically what it boils down to is, you know, for me, it's why am I who I am? The negatives and the positives of that and trying to untangle this life sometimes and find out who God truly meant me to be. And so what has gone into building who I am.

So that's kind of where we've been dancing all over the place with. Yeah, and it's kind of the core question we all have. Who did God create Danny to be? Yeah, he's been asking that for years. What did he mean when he meant Danny? You know, that was kind of the topic when you're not here.

No, it's the same question we all kind of have at our core, you know, but I don't think we can articulate it a lot of times, but it's there. And so Andy, when we left the regular airing radio show that we do, and we came over to the After Hours podcast, you were sharing a story of your heritage and where you left off, you kind of look back into your actual lineage, right? You'd look back into Ancestry.com and kind of uncovered some things there. Yeah, so I don't know why, but 2019, God, I felt like he impressed upon me. I know everybody had been doing Ancestry.

I guess I saw the commercial too so many times I finally decided to go ahead and do it. But I really felt like he led me into it. And I really got into it and was getting excited. I've always been one that was focused on, I've always loved history. So then when you see your family in your lineage that had, you know, even though a lot of times all you did was get your family tree, you would get stories and you would find out that, I mean, I've got, I don't know, a great, great, great, great grandpa that was actually was like a sniper sharpshooter in the Revolutionary War. And then I had two or three generations back, I had a grandpa that was a pastor or more of a lay person, but he was very spiritual stuff.

But then I just started delving in there. I had some trips. I've told a trip about when I went to Yosemite. And God gave me some gifts on that trip, just signs, some would say, but I felt like they were gifts. But they linked that back to a trip that my dad had taken me on.

When he and my mom split up, he left the state. And he knew I needed something for my heart. And there was three places, significant places that he took me to that really made an impact on me. So I had that trip that was to Yosemite. And then that same summer, I went to France, with my daughter, she went and spent some time there.

And she was it was to the western part of France, and I was able to go to Normandy. And I just, I went and walked, you know, the, the grave, the cemetery, just everything, all the different places of significance in Normandy and the D-Day invasion. And really, that made an impact to me, because I felt like, you know, these guys really laid, there's a heritage there for all of us, because we are living on our freedoms that we have, we're on the backs of those men who died. So in that heritage, I think also God always calls us to be a warrior. So I felt like there was heritage handed off then.

And then I came back. And as I was going through this ancestry, ancestry, our family, who had moved to Missouri, while I moved back to North Carolina, when I was 11 years old, or whatever, but my family, a few generations back, it came through the western part of North Carolina around the industry. So I took a trip that that same summer and went out and spent some time just going to grave sites and going to places. So, you know, a lot of that is just the physical. But it got me thinking about the spiritual and, you know, what really was God trying to do with our family tree, because if you look at through Old and New Testament, there's lineages that are documented quite a bit, right? So, you know, there's a lot to what God's trying to do in a family. And I just began to look for the spiritual aspects of it, of what my family had. And then I looked at kind of what my dad had done in my life, and some of the things he did. And when I started really looking at him, I saw, you know, back where I came from, in Missouri, we lived along this river, and this river was going to be dammed up.

And he said, No, we cannot do this, it'll totally affect the environment. And he fought and got that dam, he was one of many that got the dam stopped. And then I started looking at my life, and I started seeing things where there's things that I see that I don't like in society, where I'm beginning to stand up more and more. And I begin to see the heritage, what he left with me was caring about certain things and taking action on. So I know I've kind of gone along so much though my heart about this, because it's so fresh, going through it in 2019. So but I'm not gonna make the whole show.

But, you know, that's just some things of what God did in 2019. And he continues on of just getting me to look at how, you know, he's got, he's got a plan for not only us, but our families, and then how he uses that to impact and change the world. You're actually doing that right now, right? Standing up, I am, you could tell our listeners where you are. I'm up at DC at the the prayer, I'll just say the prayer march up here. Actually, I've came up quite a few times during this whole season around, you know, the election, I think it really impacts our nation. Not to get into too much political, but I just feel like we're at a very critical time.

I personally think we're almost in a situation where we really need a second revolution. But we, I believe God is all in it. And I just want to be, do my part.

You know, I have the freedom to go a little bit more than others. And I just feel like that presence matters and I've been coming up just because I care. Well, and one of the things I want to point out, Andy, I know you and you're going up and you're praying for God's will.

Right? I know we all have an opinion on the way things should work out, but you're walking around literally around parts of Washington praying for God's will to be done. And I think that's what we all want in whatever the situation is for God's will to manifest itself.

Right. Rodney, so what about you? What's some stuff you want to share? Yeah, as long as God's will matches mine, I'm fine too. Well, last week when we had this word heritage, we talked about inherit, inheritance, and those kinds of things. And what I love about God is he is so faithful to us that when we lock our radar in on something, he shows us things within that. That's why we do the word of the year. And that's why we, for some reason, when Danny's came kind of last because he wasn't here the week we shared, it was like, oh, it just kind of resonated with us.

And we're like, hey, we need to go in that direction. And John and Alan talked about it on the Wild at Heart podcast too, is that when you focus on that word for that year, it's amazing where God will take you and it'll pop up in the strangest places, the smallest places, and how often it comes up and then themes and things of that nature. And that's what I love about this just this week was how it just came up because right away it came up in our, we had a guest pastor and he came in and he preached on Luke.

And it was the end of Luke 9, 57 through 62. And basically that's kind of like the kind of showing the cost of discipleship where, you know, he's got three examples where one says, I will follow you anywhere. And a couple others, he says, follow me.

And each one of them, he really knows their heart and points out, well, this is where your idol is. And the one that kind of got to me on this one, this main topic was when he said in 59, and he said to another, follow me. But he said, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. Well, of course, back in those days, you didn't bury him days later or even months later, like we do now, because COVID, we can't even have a funeral for months. They buried him that day before the sun went down, right?

So this was something that was near and dear in this guy's heart. And I'm just thinking, okay, he just wanted to go bury his father. But to continue on at 60, but he said to him, allow the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God. So the inheritance part really hit me because the pastor even pointed out, he's like, not only did he want to go bury him, but what happens? This guy may have been the first heir, the oldest son. He may have been somewhere down in the lineage, but he's going to get some kind of inheritance in this exchange, right?

He's going to go. So who knows what's on the heart because it doesn't explain it, but very possibly this man's sitting there going, oh, well, I want to go get my inheritance. Well, does he realize the inheritance he's given up by not following Jesus at that point? For me, it's like, oh my gosh, his inheritance was right there in front of him, more than you could ever ask for. And his mind and his heart's really going, no, I would follow you, but gee, if you're not going to wait for me, I'm going to go back and bury my father and get my inheritance back over here. And I thought that was just a very unique way to look through that passage when Jesus pointed, well, where's your heart at?

So that's where I've been asking myself, where's your heart at? Where are you not taking the inheritance from Jesus and taking your inheritance more from your earthly father and parents and family and your country and other things that you inherit? And what is that influence on you? And so I just started digging around it, but the one that really came to me and it was like, oh my gosh, it spoke huge to me.

It was 1 Peter 1, and I'll just go three through five, and it's, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again, to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith and salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. I mean, there were several different passages I went through. I just got through inheritance, and it's just a great little study to do. It was just kind of fun because I typically don't get into the word that often and do this much digging, but it was just a, since, you know, we had the word in the, even right away, then there's the sermon that's on it. I'm like, okay, let me go dig some more.

Let me, let me see what's there. I don't know, it just, when it pulls at you, you can't resist. So it was just, it was just such a fun week to see where inheritance comes up all the time over and over and over. And it's something you're supposed to receive. Well, how many of us have horror stories in our families or from other people that receive an inheritance only that they have to pay taxes or they end up in fights and it causes so many disruptions? It's like, we're just looking at the wrong inheritance.

And it's like, just, we can just, again, hearts and eyes on Jesus, it's just so much more wonderful. So back to a question. Sure, sir. Who has led into your heritage? Well, that's, that could be so broad because I think there are, you know, the obviously influences are your direct parents and I'm an only child, so I don't have influences like you guys all have from your brothers and sisters. My mom was definitely the spiritual side.

My dad was unsaved. And my mother's mother, you know, she was so quiet and reserved, but her faith was super strong. And on her, on that side of the family, you know, they all go to church. I don't know, you know, so my aunt, my mom's mom, sister, you know, they are all very faithful. Now we've got, you know, so many different chasms in the family of unbelievers, but the other big influence is my dad's half-brother who became a huge, you know, follower with his family. And those two were the patriarch and matriarch of their families and brought their whole family to Christ. And most of the grandchildren, because they had four children, they have what, like 12 grandkids, and most of them are following Christ, I know very well. There's a few that don't, but, you know, you have that heritage that you get from that. And that's where I love hearing the stories of where bad heritage is broken, and good heritage has come, and I hate also hearing the opposite. Oh, there was a very good heritage of following the Lord, and then at some point somebody broke it. But it's always interesting and intriguing to go into that, but mine mostly comes from my mother's side.

Thank you. You know, Robby, you'd pose the question before the show, you know, where did you see that childlike thing? You know, and what's funny was, as I thought of my dad, my dad would not have been a spiritual leader in my house. He didn't, he eventually came to Christ not long before he died, you know, within the last couple years of his life.

And so he'd lived, you know, 60 some-odd years without really being a Christian or walking in that. But, you know, I saw him come alive with his quick wit, you know, and that's really where, and I was drawn to it, because he was so quick at things, you know, and so I've definitely inherited some of that from him. Anybody that knows Sam knows.

Yeah, it's just been around since I've been around. You know, I've never known life without it, as I kind of unpacked that as you were talking. But, you know, I was thinking of my mom. My mom didn't come to know Christ either until I was in youth, in the youth group. You know, she didn't know him, but she became a very big spiritual influence to me later in life. But, you know, looking back at my mom, she always had this amazing capacity for love. She loved you where you were, regardless of whether she was a Christian at the time or not. That's just kind of how God made her, and that only amplified as she became in close union with God. You know, she really walked with Christ over the last several years of her life.

That just amplified more and more and more and became more and more of who she was. You know, and I look at that, and that's really something I strive to be part of my heritage. You know, as I think about my kids, they don't always make the decisions I'd like for them to make, but I need to love them in the decisions they make. I don't have to agree with the decisions.

That's not what I'm saying. But love them in the decisions. Because I know there were many, many times she didn't agree with the decisions I made, but never once did I feel like she didn't love me. You know, and there were times that's all I felt like I had to hold on to. You know, when life's beating you down, the enemy's beating you down, and you don't really know where to turn, it's nice to know that you have an anchor like that. You know, and so that's what I hope to be and strive to be a heritage, you know, to leave a legacy to my kids of, you know, I know dad may not agree with me, but I don't doubt that he's going to love me.

You know, and so I think that we're impacted. I've had bosses that were great spiritual influences on me. Surprisingly, a boss gave me the book Wild at Heart, you know, and gave it to me, and I read it obediently, initially, until I got through the first chapter, and then I was flying through it and stopped at chapter four, like most people do, at the wound part. You know, it takes a lot of work through that one, but, you know, I can't imagine where my life would be had he not handed me, and at the time it wasn't even a book, it was a binder, because the company I was with had known John, had helped John, and he actually sent him a forward copy of the book before it was the book. So we were literally reading eight and a half by eleven pages on the paper, initially.

You know, it was when I first saw it, and then the book came out within a couple months, and then I actually got the book. So I wonder, you know, your sense of humor, which, you know, clearly anybody that knows you is a giant part of Sam, and I had a distant, distant cousin that, you know, I hadn't seen in, I don't know, and she had listened to one of my shows, and she immediately commented on my Facebook that, wow, you had the same humor that my father had. You're so quick with the puns and all the stuff that I do. And when she did that, I realized, wow, my father did it too, and guess what, my grandfather. You know, so, you know, it's a heritage that really is quite a gift. Think of the joy that has come as a result of Sam's humor. I mean, anybody that's been around us, you know, it's a gift.

Some people would question it. Andy! There's been times Andy's not been real fond of it, I'll give you that. No, I was on mute. I was trying to laugh with you all. I've only made you mad one time, officially, that I know of. Yeah, I'm not real fond of the blank stare humor.

Yeah, that one was kind of at you, a little bit more than with you, but yeah, it was fun. But this topic, you know, I do want to play a clip real quick. I think we have time for it.

Oh, okay. Never mind. No, we'll just go ahead.

I don't think we do. So I want to go ahead and talk a little bit about digging into your heritage. You know, Danny, the sad thing is, I've already spent more time on your word this year than I did on mine most of last year.

If I want to be... Appreciate the effort. If I want to be perfectly honest, percentage of time for percentage a year, it's way ahead on heritage. That's why God made me spend two years... Whatever that word was. Yeah, God made me spend two years on it.

Belief, because I didn't spend enough. But I think, you know, digging into this heritage is really key to unpacking a lot of things. I think along with it, you're going to find some joys, you know, like Andy was talking about with finding out some of the historical warriors that were in his past. I also think you're going to find some woundedness, you know, because every family tree has a few broken rotted branches, and we all have it, but it gives us opportunity for God to unpack that. I look at how my vision of my dad has changed over the last several years as I got to know more about who he was. Now, my dad died in 1984, you know, so I haven't had him around to ask questions, but, you know, being with a sister that shares a lot of information about my dad when I was in Florida one time, and just talking to my mom before she passed away, and learning his story helped me to understand him better, which helped me to move past some things that were wounded areas, because I knew it was coming from a place that I had no way to fathom, if that makes any sense, and I think we've all probably lived that to some degree. Yeah, and getting back to the movie The Kid, you know, Rusty gets to see his dad give him the wound that caused the eye twitch and all that stuff, but when he saw it as an adult, he could immediately interpret it as dad was scared, he didn't know how to raise you because mom was fixing to die, and he was able to forgive the father when he could see it in context, but at the same time love his younger self, and, you know, it's one of my favorite parts of the movie is when he hugs his younger self, and he's no longer ashamed of it, and I think in my own life, how many times have I been ashamed of that young place in me, and it doesn't lead to the childlike place I know God wants for us. No, it leads back to where, you know, we get back to the beginning of the show with Loki, then me twisting and turning what the truth is, you know, as I learn more about my dad's story, and I think I shared this on the air once before a long time ago, but when my dad was a late teenager, 17, 18 years old, he and his dad got in a fight, and not a physical fight, but a argument, he disobeyed his dad on something, and the rule at the home is, you know, you're going to get a beating, and at the time that was literally a beating, you know, you took a belt and beat you with it pretty much, and my dad said, I'm an adult, you're not gonna, you're not gonna beat me again, that's not gonna happen, he said, well, you don't have a place to live, and so my dad had to leave the house that day and left, and my grandma got really, really sick, I don't know how long the time span was later, but got really, really sick, and my dad wanted to come home to see her, but his dad would not let him come home until he took his beating first.

I mean, wow. And so when I learned that about my dad's story, now keep in mind, my grandpa that I knew, that's as far opposite of the guy I ever knew. I knew this loving, Christian, compassionate guy that God had changed over the years, you know, that's not the dad that raised my dad, you know, but when I could understand that, I looked at some of the things my dad did and thought, well, he wasn't that hard of a dad, you know, I could have had it easy, you know, and what that does is unpacking that heritage, and the reason I went into that was it takes away some of the enemy's foothold. When you can start to understand even the wounded parts of your heritage, right, it gives God opportunity to work in it, which is just an amazing place to be. Darrell Bock More transparent, that becomes it's better.

Mark Bailey Yeah. What was that, Danny? Danny Well, about the only way you'll be able to, any of us, unpack it, and, you know, if you look at, you know, the Loki clip, the kid clip, is, you know, somebody pouring into you and a misconceived idea of what they're trying to do sometimes. And, you know, and it twists and turns and, you know, sitting down or, or walking through a journey like I embarked upon is, okay, God helped me unpack this and see the truth in this. And so, you know, you're right, it's gonna reveal some pretty cool things. And it's gonna, you know, there's gonna be some wounds that are unveiled and uncovered and, and healed, hopefully. Mark Bailey Yeah, the enemy's, you know, foothold, the problem with childlike faith when you're a child, is you also have childlike reasoning.

Right? And that's what you see in the kid, right? One plus one has to equal two. And as you become an adult, you realize that, yes, that's true in math, it's not true in life.

That one plus one must, there might be three or four other ones in there you don't know about. And that's why it's not adding up. And it doesn't seem to make sense, like the enemy says it does. And so, you know, to be able to recapture that childlike faith with an adult, healthy adult reasoning, you know, to where you can go back and look at it, like God lead you through it, man, how incredibly powerful that is, just even in that one little aspect of it, but then there's so much more when you discover that you have, you know, common ancestry with with other people, you know, down the road, because eventually, we're all going to get back to Adam. Some point, you know, we're all going to be related, you know, as we get back there. But you know, along the way, just discovering those things. And that's the part that we never even got to, which I think is significant, is we have a heritage because we are in fact, God's son.

Well, we could spend about three shows unpacking that one, I imagine that clearly, the neat thing that I see, when I see that reflection of somebody that truly lived from their heart is you're really looking at God. So what you're saying is, we're kind of Loki, really, that God shows us to be his adopted son. Does that make us Yodenites? Yeah, Yodenites. Yodenites. Yeah, it's Yodenites.

Is that Loki or Low-Key? Either or, you pick, it's L-O-K-I, but you can say it either way. Thank you for being on part of the show. Danny, thank you for this topic. We're praying that you get over COVID quickly. You sound good.

I'm glad we can't see you. But no, glad you sound good. We're praying that you get over it quickly. We're praying that it doesn't go through your family. And we just pray for all of you out there right now that's battling the effects of COVID. Currently, you have lost people to it. Just all the things that it's done in your life. We're praying that God will help you find healing in the midst of anything that's been going on through this year.

And pray for 2021. Please go to masculinejourney.org and reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you. We'll talk to you next week.