Scars And Bruises After Hours

Hey, this is Mike Zwick from If Not For God Podcast, our show.

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Welcome to Masco and Journey After Hours. And we're talking about an interesting topic. I think it's pretty interesting. Not that it's not interesting other weeks. It is, unless David makes a topic. It's not as interesting in those weeks. But fortunately, David never makes a topic.

Anyway, we'll keep moving. The reason I said that is David's not got a microphone in front of him and he's in studio so I can pick on him a little bit and he can't do anything about it. So, but if you didn't listen to the last show, David had some really good points on a very subpar movie clip.

But it was, it was some really good points. And so it would be good to go back and listen to that on our topic. Our topic are scars and bruises and the role that they play. And it comes down to who you give the power of those scars and bruises to. Do you give them to God? Or do you give them the enemy, the world, all the other places you can take them other than God? So let me say it a different way. You can give them to God and have hope and healing and, and move to places of positive in your life, or you can give them anywhere else and not end up there. It's just really kind of that simple.

And so what do we do with them? You know, we talked earlier on the first show about the uncle scar, you know, in Lion King. He's known based on the thing that happened to him. He has a big scar on his face, so that becomes his identity. You know, what things have you let become your identity that the enemy's whispering to you saying, Oh, you're no better than this. You're no better than this wound. You took this betrayal that you faced or this bad decision you made, right?

What is he holding you hostage with? What are those things that it's keeping you held down and can't those scars become opportunities for victory that you can talk about the power that God's done in your life. And Robby did a good job of talking about the victory over pornography. And as he shares that how it impacts other people's lives.

You know, and that's the thing when God steps in and does work in your life, and you share that with others, oh my gosh, they know there's hope and there's opportunity for that to happen for them. You know, and so we're going to do more of that. But we're going to talk more about the topic of scars and bruises. And we're gonna start with a clip that everybody tried to get, but already had it is from the movie movie Lethal Weapon. And honestly, it's a great clip about comparing scars. But other than that, it's not a whole lot to it.

It's not really that deep. But when you when you have it, you have, oh, gosh, what's it Mel Gibson's character in any of Renee Russo, and they're both police officers of sorts. I can't remember what she is. And he's a police officer, a city police officer, and they're back at his trailer, and they're talking, they start comparing scars. And she's looking at his head because he has a fresh wound, and she sees a scar and they start talking about it. And then at the end, when he's trying to show another scar, which in order to do that, he has to remove his trousers, she's okay with not wanting to see that scar.

And so we're gonna kind of listen to that and come back and talk about it. What is this knife? Oh, that's an ax. Some guy just took my head for a log. That's a natural mistake.

Are you saying I got a wooden head? Yeah. Oh, hey, this is all right. Oh, that's a pavement.

Oh, yeah? Texture. Look at this. Same thing.

Third and Highland. Dragged for about half a block, I'll tell you what. Feel that texture.

Feel it. Cheese grater time. Moving truck. Moving truck? Moving bullet.

Moving bullet. Yeah, here, right here. This is the best. Oh, hey. Yeah, and it goes all the way through to the back.

Right through. You're lucky. Was it 22? It's a 38. That's a 38? It's a 38. That's a gun. Wimpy 38. Now this is a 38.

Yours is bigger than mine? I think so. I don't think so. Maybe not, but look, watch.

A whole family of 44s on the back. Yeah. Look, there they are.

That's impressive. One went through, got one got stuck in my lung. I was breathing blood bubbles.

It was disgusting. Bubbles? Yeah. Okay. You got one?

Pump ax into a gauge. Oh, yeah. Yeah, right down here. Oh.

Went through. Oh, that must have hurt. Right. Not too close. Riggs, if you were that close, I'd be dead. I can beat it. I can beat it.

Have a look at this. I'll take your word for it. No, no, no. Riggs, you got to see this. I'll take your word for it, Riggs. No, you're going to love it. I'm sure.

You're going to love this. He stuck it right in my leg and ran around about eight times. I'll take your word for it, Riggs. Yes, there is some redeeming value in it in the fact that, you know, they're comparing these scars out of joy that it didn't kill them and take them out. And I think there's some value in that of realizing that these things that we think are so terrible, and they are terrible when they happen to us, that they're going to affect us for life, but they don't have to.

Well, that my phone, Harold, he was pretty lucky he didn't go blind. Yeah. Makes me wonder about the group Third Eye Blind. But I just, I don't know. Yeah. If you want to know what we're talking about, you'd have to email Robby at masculinejourney.org and he would be very happy.

That's R-O-B-B-Y at masculinejourney.org. He'd be happy to share the story on the temporary blindness that our friend Harold experienced at age 13. By hitting a part of his body, you wouldn't think that would cause blindness. But that's a story that we'll just leave untold for right now. But yeah. Anyway, uh, but what I liked on that clip from the standpoint was, you know, you do hear people doing that, that they're comparing these things when they start doing it, they don't get to any real depth. That's what I don't really like about it.

It just stays on the surface, right? They're at least talking about some things. Uh, and some of it's interesting, you know, feel this, it feels like a cheese grater. It's like, Ooh, that's kind of descriptive.

Don't really want to hear that. But you know, these scars, you know, when we talk about them, especially when we talk about the victory over them, right? That's where they have the power.

That's where they have the impact. You know, when you read about all the things that happened to Paul, you know, being snakebit and shipwrecked and all those things, and it didn't, it didn't stop him. It didn't dissuade him from doing what he was doing. You know, there's times I get a hang down and I'm like, Ooh, I'm done for the day. I can't proceed anymore.

No, it's those things that, you know, it's that perspective of saying, okay, God, I'm going to give this all to you, right? Which actually brings us to the next clip that I want to play. And Rodney, we're going to play your clip. If you want to talk a little bit about it, why get it ready to be set up?

Sure. Hacksaw Ridge is a great movie and it's great story about Desmond Doss and how things early in his life really impacted the outcome of his life and the impact that he had on so many others. And this scene is early on when actually there's two scenes here that I'm going to play. They're back to back that the first one is Desmond and his brother, how they're fighting and their father's just sitting there drunk looking on.

You'll hear him talking there. And then how is beating up Desmond mostly because he's the older brother. He's got him down on the ground and Desmond finally gets up and then how lands a really good punch. Well, then Desmond, he wants to strike back.

So he staggers and he sees this brick, grabs it and hits his brother Hal across the head with a brick, knocks his brother out. So Desmond at that point, with everything that goes on in the middle of that first part of the clip, you're going to hear, and it's Desmond realizing, oh man, I might've just killed my brother. And he walks over to the poster on the wall and it's the 10 commandments. And he's just staring at thou shall not kill. And that part of the clip ends with the father talking to the mom and says, the world, if you want to, you know, a world's a soft and gentle place as he's describing to the mom, like, oh, you just want to cuddle him. You know, then years later, Desmond is working with his mom at the church. He's looking out the window and there's a bunch of commotion.

He runs out and a boy was working on a car and the car fell on him and he lends a hand, which you can hear on the second part of that clip, how that turns out, but both greatly impact his life. Lock him with your right, Desmond. Stop it. Do you hear me? What are they fighting about? When they ever need a reason. Why stop him? Save me whipping them both this way.

I just whipped the one that wins. Tom, wake up. Can you hear me? He can't hear me.

Get some ice. You ship that basket? I got it. Is he breathing? Al? Al, can you hear me? What do you think you're doing?

I'm gonna have to beat you now, you know the rules. Can you hear me, Desmond? Tom, stop. What's that gonna teach the boy? He's violent enough already. Okay, fine. You go smother him in kisses.

You tell him the world's a soft and gentle place. What's going on out there, Desmond? I'll phone an ambulance. No time.

Joshua, pick up. Quick. Okay.

Okay. You're gonna be fine now. You're gonna be fine.

You're in good hands. What do we got here? It's a severed artery. Get some sutures. Put some pressure on it. Should you apply this tourniquet?

Yes, sir. Nice work. You might have saved this boy's life. And you can hear from that, later on in his life, he's in the army and he says, I'm not gonna carry a weapon. That's the thou shall not kill part where he injured his brother. And then he's like says, instead of taking lives, I want to save lives because of the power of the second event that had over him.

I think it's pretty much the same for all of us. We can let these events, these scars, bruises hurt us and take us down a bad path. Or like with Desmond, he lets God in and lets God come in and do the healing, lets God take over his life. And he had a deep conviction for thou shall not kill. And he wants to save lives. I want to fight along the other men, no different than anybody else.

I just want to save lives rather than take it. A deep conviction comes from that spirit of God in him that just says, no, you're gonna, you're gonna stick to this. He took abuse after abuse from all the men around him. And in the end, he wins out with winning them over big time. And that's where, for me, it just is a really good example of, in 1 Peter, there's a couple of passages.

One is chapter three and then 13 through 18, then I'll get into the other chapter with a few verses. But who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed.

And do not fear their intimidation. And boy, he got a lot of that. And do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.

And again, Desmond did a great job with that. And keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, and they slandered him greatly, those who revile your good behavior, and they reviled his good behavior, in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better if God should will it so that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.

And then even in chapter four, 12 through 14, just gives more explanation here. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But to the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing. And that's what you kind of really see in Desmond's life is he keeps on rejoicing. So that also at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exaltation.

If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rest on you. And I just see the whole story of Desmond in that passage, that he constantly is looking for God for strength. And even when they're finally learning who this man really is and what's in him, they're, nope, we're not going to go into battle until Desmond's ready. And he's over there praying.

They're like, we're not going anywhere until Batman's done praying to his God, because they realize his God's more powerful than anything else we've got going up against the enemy. Yeah, it's such a cool story. What was it in the movie that said he saved like 70 some people or something like that, but in real life, he saved more than that. Amell Gibson, who did the movie, he was the director, said that they didn't think people would believe how many people he actually saved.

And so they lowered the number down of people that he saved on the top of that hill that day, that night, you know, overnight, whatever that time period was. It is just a very inspiring story. And I know in my own life, there's physical scars that are there that do remind me of some stupid human tricks I did. Most everything, as you've been thinking about, everything almost happened on a snowmobile, but the other big one was in the winter when I lost control of a vehicle and really should have had a big crash.

And I don't know why the Lord and his providence said, okay, you can survive that. But I did, but you have, for me, it was more emotional things and just relational type events because I build something up in my head. And really, it's not what people did to me. It's either what I did or didn't do to others.

Just not loving well, not treating them with irreverence or using them in some way, shape or form to better myself. Those are the things that stuck with me. And I really, I let those things in the kind of the spirit of the fear of man control me.

Like, well, I care more about what others think about me than doing what's good or what's right. And those kinds of things really hurt me for a long time. And then coming to Christ is just amazing. The new spirit, the new nature that just says, no, I'm done. It wasn't like a switch, but it faded pretty quick.

The vulgar language, the pornography that you talk about, Robby, it just, those kinds of things started to go pretty fast. I could reconcile and get rid of those and not just feel like this big hypocrite because I'm like, okay, I really fessed up the who I was, you know? Yeah, I'm a sinner, but yes, I am now a child of God as well. And I can live with that understanding of, yeah, in my own flesh, I know where I'll go, but in God's providence, I can be his child and I can overcome these things and be a better man for it. Thank you.

Kenny, what did you think? Well, they jumped out at me, that scripture was reading about that word test, because what we've been talking about, where do you take these hurts? Where do we get the healing? Because like when the hurt started in the garden, what did Adam and Eve do? They tried to cover themselves.

They tried to hide from God. And that's where Satan wants us, in the shadows, because that's where he does his devious work of condemnation, of being ashamed, of trying to heal our own wounds. But as Christians, we understand it's by his wounds, we are healed. And he came to give them rooms, because in Genesis, when he was introduced, you know, as the seed of the woman, you're going to crush his head. But he's going to bruise her heel. And he was wounded for her iniquity. Yes. But then he got some scars later.

You know, that's what he used with Thomas. Hey, you weren't here last time, and you're doubting what is the testimony of my brother, come here and check it out. And that's one thing I love about Masculine Journey. Y'all give us what we call a covenant silence. Y'all lovingly tell your stories, then ask what's God bringing to you?

What do you need to deal with? Because we all got battles and struggles in our life that we need to deal with, or they'll become a wound instead of a scar. And Satan loves wounds where he can pick at you, pick at you, pick at you, pick at you, because that's what he does. We're trying to wear you down, pull you away from God, pull you away from your brothers, your fellowship, your faith, your hope. Because if you can take those, then he'll get you into the darkness, the despair, and those are places you don't want to go. But thank you for sharing that and all, but I just want to touch base on that, because it's a test.

Where are we going to take it? Because the world's not going to get you healing. You might get band-aids and patches, but you will not get the healing that you really need, except through Christ. Yeah, I was just listening to something that was talking, I think it was released a few years back, but somebody in the secular world, a psychologist wrote a book and basically like, oh, it's so great, feeling anxious and fear and all those kinds of things. Oh, it's okay, because it could be a good thing and all that. But it was just all this secular, well, turn to something else, put your attention on happy, joyous things.

It's basically like, if you can be a glutton for food, or do that, it will make you feel better. You just turn to something else. And it's like, unless you're turning to Christ, that's going to go away, and it's the next thing, it's the next thing. It's a vicious cycle because it's going to get worse and worse. If you don't get true healing and say, no, eternity is taken care of, your biggest fear, now we can start working on the little things that are coming up time and time again.

And when you sit there and just do the, you know, snap your rubber band on your wrist or something, that's not going to really do you much good here, folks. Trusting, that's just taking yourself and others and putting them on a pedestal that is way too high for anyone or anybody to live up to. Yeah. No, God does use people to help with the healing. Absolutely.

God's the one that ultimately does the healing. I'm going to play another clip. And it's hard to understand, Jim, as you pointed out at the beginning, but the payoff is a little worth it.

I think it's from the movie Jaws. And so I'll go ahead and play that and come back. And then when I hear some stuff from Danny, um, but in this clip they're comparing, it's just like the one a little bit from, uh, uh, we just played from lethal weapon. They're comparing pairing wounds and scars that they had, but I want to want you to hear how this ends and how they just laugh it off and quit talking about maybe the wound and the scar that really matters.

And so we'll go ahead and play that and then we'll come back and talk about it. Hey, don't you worry about you. It won't be permanent.

You might feel something permanent. Just put your hand underneath my cap. Just be a little lump.

Knock on all of them. Some patties they Boston. I got that beat some Moray Eel bit right through my wetsuit. Well, no, no, listen, I don't know about that, but I ended an arm wrestling contest in Loki bar in San Francisco. You see this? I can't extend that.

You know why I got to the semi-final celebrating my third wife's demise. Big Chinese fella. It's a bull shark. Scraped me when I was taking samples. I got something. That's the thresher. You see that? Thresher's tail. Thresher. It's a shark. I got the creme de la creme right here.

Hey, see that you're wearing a sweater right there. Mary Ellen Moffett. She broke my heart. They laugh it off at the end, but if you think about it, that's the only thing that was shared that required any depth, you know, to really enter into the part of a conversation. And, and so I'm going to ask Danny to share here in a second, but if you're trying to think about, okay, I don't really know where my scars are. Scars are. There's some things to think about. Where do you feel like you're all alone?

That no one else could understand where you're at. And there's probably a scar involved there. There's probably a wound somewhere there, right? That is a place that God needs to dig in. Where are you angry with God? Where do you feel like he wasn't there for you or he cheated you or he left you hanging? And that's probably a good place to start, you know, and we're looking around this room so far.

We're two for two on people. That's felt those ways. You know, I mean, you're not alone and just asking God, okay, where can you uncover something that you want to work in here? Remind me, you know, take me back to it. David did a great job of saying, Hey, I picked this clip mainly because I want to irritate Sam and I like it. But then God worked in that clip all day and reminded him of something he really needed to hear. Right? And so God, God will outwork you.

You just got to invite him into it. And so Danny, I'd like for you to share a little bit about your story of dealing with some scars or the way God's kind of worked with you on it. Yeah.

I love the clip I come across this week in a devotion. You had through this topic out and I wasn't looking, but Dallas Willard says, feelings are good servants, but they are disastrous masters. And you know, a lot of our scars emotionally come because we acted on feelings that may or may not have been accurate. And you know, one of the, I was talking to the pre-show about, I've got a scar under my nose where they pretty much had to sew my nose back on. And I was in a car wreck and I will never forget, I was in the depths of alcoholism and addiction. And I don't remember getting in the car and driving and I drove all the way across town, which wasn't a big town, but I drove all the way across town and I ran off the road.

It was icy night. I ran off the road. And when I came to the car was sliding down the ditch and I hit a concrete drain culvert, ripped the suspension out from under the car.

And my nose bounced off or my upper lip bounced off of the steering wheel, bent the steering wheel. And I remember the doctor saying that, he said, son, somebody upstairs loves you. He said, because an inch higher and we'd have put a toe tag on you tonight. He said, you would have never survived.

He said, but you hid in the perfect place. And, you know, I didn't, my life didn't turn around from that moment on, but you know, it took a little time, but I can look back now and, you know, I made the comment earlier that, you know, if I forget about grace, it's right under my nose because, you know, my life is obviously changed from that moment on to now, you know, being free of that and, you know, and beginning with this ministry and coming into, you know, breaking some agreements because all that stemmed a lot from, you know, a marriage that broke up and having a child taken away for a period of time. But, you know, when God begins to pull at those vines and those roots, you know, I thought of a story or my first grade teacher embarrassed me in front of the class.

She threw papers in the floor. And from that, from that moment on in school, if I didn't like the teacher, I got bad grades. I didn't apply myself to get at them based on feelings, which is ludicrous in a sense. But when you sacrifice yourself on the altar of acceptance, this is how you live your life. And God has began to unravel so much of that in the last year, year and a half. And so, you know, what we do here is serious business. I mean, we laugh, joke and cut up.

It is serious business because there's so much entwined in our lives. There's scars and there's wounds and stuff that have to be healed. And, you know, the only way to do it is to, is to take it to Jesus. Yeah. And this is the God I'm going to leave it at your feet. Anyone else have anything you'd like to share?

Yeah. You know, I had a number of serious physical things that happened to me, but I realized as I'm through journaling, actually, I was like, God, what are you getting at? Why do I keep, you know, why am I getting this happening?

This happened to me, that happened to me. And he was trying to get at that I had an agreement, an agreement to break that I wasn't lovable. And all the people that poured out to me during those illnesses and whatever were breaking that agreement where, come on, Robby, look at this. All these people are loving on you intensely, right, during that. And so I think it's a great idea when you're undergoing a lot of suffering in some way to ask God, okay, what's this about? Is there something that you need to get at? And that was the deal. Well, thank you, Robby. And please go to masculinejourney.org. We'll talk with you next week.