Ep 490 ｜ Most Misused： Philippians 4_13
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Summary
Philippians 4:13 is one of the most commonly misused verses in the Bible and is often taken out of context and misapplied. In this episode, we dig into the context of the verse and see what it really means.
Transcript
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Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Thursday. As promised, today we're doing a most misused.
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Our verse is Philippians 4.13. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Now,
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there is a lot going on in the news that I wanted to talk about. And quite honestly,
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I'm super overwhelmed with everything that I want to talk about when it comes to
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the corruption that we are seeing in many of our institutions when it comes to the so-called
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public health response to this virus. New things seem to be unfolding every day, new developments
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that are extremely disturbing. I think that I'm going to cover all of that on Monday. The reason
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I'm not talking about it today is because I promised you guys a Theology Thursday. And
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honestly, I think that this is what we need. I think that this is a lot of what you guys need,
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what you said that you would like to hear. So we're going to take a step back. We're going to
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remember what's most important. And even though I think it's important to care about everything
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that's going on, we have to keep our perspective and we have to stay rooted in what is true. The
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realest reality, the biggest narrative, the truest narrative that is unfolding always without a hitch
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is God's eternal plan of redemption. And we get to read a lot about that and gain a lot of hope in
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that from reading and most importantly, understanding his word. At the end of this episode, we're also
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going to play a few voicemails that I got from you guys about your dreams. And maybe we'll also play
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an interpretation of the dreams that I said that I had been having on Monday. And I'm super excited
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about that. So this is the episode, even though we're not talking about anything that's going on,
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I really think this is the episode that we need right now. Like we need some biblical,
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eternal, unchanging truth. We also need some levity. And I listened to a little bit of one of
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the voicemails that you guys sent me and it was so good. I was cracking up and I know that you guys
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are going to love it. So, all right, we've done several of these most misused episodes in the
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past. We've done Jeremiah 29, 11, for I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. We've done Micah
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6, 8, seek justice, love mercy. Psalm 37, 4, delight yourself in the Lord. He will give you the desires
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of your heart. Matthew 7, 1, judge not lest you be judged. If you search relatable, most misused,
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wherever you listen to your podcasts, all of them should come up. So you can go listen to those
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previous episodes if you're curious. This is basically where I take a popular verse, a verse
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that's very often taken out of context and then misapplied, and dig into the actual context of
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history and of scripture to see what the verse really means. And every time, what we find in
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doing this is that the true meaning of the verse is always so much better than the popular misapplication
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and misinterpretation of the verse. I actually can't believe that we haven't done Philippians 4,
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13 yet, because it's one of the most commonly misused verses ever, especially within Christianity.
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So verses like Matthew 7, 1, judge not lest you be judged, are not only misused by professing
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Christians, but it's also used and abused by non-Christians, especially typically while they're
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judging the views of someone else on Twitter. But Philippians 4, 13, I can do all things through
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him, Christ, who strengthens me, is one that you have probably seen thrown around a lot in Christian
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schools, at church camps and youth groups, especially when it comes to some kind of athletic competition.
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It usually is used to mean, I have this really difficult game in front of me, or this big obstacle
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in front of me, or a big goal that I want to reach, and Jesus is going to come help me win,
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or overcome, or accomplish that goal. And it's not necessarily that this verse can't ever be applied
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to those kinds of scenarios where you need immediate divine power to overcome what's in front of you.
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It's that using this verse as some sort of talisman, or a good luck charm, or a guarantee of success
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is wrong. It misses the point of the verse, which is far deeper and so much better than any sort of
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promise to reach your goals or win your soccer game or pass your test. Again, praying for those
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things and praying for the strength of Christ in those situations is not necessarily bad, but
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Philippians 4, 13, it's not a good luck charm. So first things first, let's look at the context.
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When it comes to reading the Bible, context is king. We need to know a few things when we are
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looking at a verse. What does the rest of the chapter say? What does the rest of the book of
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this Bible say? To whom was this book of the Bible written and why? Is there any historical context that
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helps me understand what this verse is saying? And then how do I read this in light of all of
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scripture? We also ask, what does this teach me about the character of God? What does this tell me
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about the gospel? And how do those things apply to my life? Is there a sin that I need to repent of?
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Is there something I can take comfort in here? Is there a promise that I can cling to? Is there an
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action that I need to take that I read here? Is there a lie that I've realized that I now need to
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reject and replace with truth? And just a quick aside before we get into this verse, I just want to say
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like we do not have to have seminary degrees to answer all of these questions and to understand God's
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word. You don't have to know everything about the Bible to do that. If you are new to reading scripture
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and maybe you're intimidated by it and you feel like maybe you just shouldn't read it because you
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don't even know where to start or maybe you feel dumb for not understanding it. No, that is Satan
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lying to you. God has given you the capability to understand his word through the power of his Holy
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Spirit. And this takes time. It takes diligence. It takes careful study. It takes prayer. It takes
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faithful teaching by people who love Jesus and his word. It takes reading the same verse and in the
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same chapter and book over and over and over again for decades. And every time learning something new
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about the God who made us and who saved us. It is a process. God is faithful to begin that good work
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in you. He is faithful to complete it as Philippians 1 says. So you have got this with the power of the
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Holy Spirit. You've got this. My advice is to get an ESV study Bible. That's an English standard
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version study Bible I've talked about. I think I've done an episode on. I'll link it if I can find it.
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The previous episode where I talked about why I like the English standard version. It is an amazing
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investment. It's a little bit of money to get that ESV Bible, but it's a great investment. And if you can
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also swing systematic theology by Wayne Grudem, that's a great supplement to your Bible reading.
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And then you take that ESV study Bible, you start in the book of John. Or if you just have a Bible
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lying around that maybe you haven't opened in a while, that'll work too. You don't have to get the
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ESV study Bible. Open to the book of John. Read forward from there. Then go back and start at the
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beginning. Read a chapter a day or even a verse a day. Really dig in. Ask God and other strong,
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solid Christians around you for help. Join a Bible teaching church in your area. I will link a tool
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from foundersministries.org where you can find a local church. I will link that in the description
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of this episode. All right. I want to actually look now at this verse, Philippians 4.13, that I think is
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so rarely understood. And I am not pretending to be the arbiter of understanding and interpretation,
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but I do have the tools at my disposal, just as you do, to look at the context of what is
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happening here. Again, who's writing this? Why is he writing this? Who is he talking to here? What is
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the purpose? We can even look at some of the original Greek and really understand what this is saying.
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Okay. So first I look at the commentary in my Bible. When I want to understand a book of the Bible
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and a particular verse, the ESV Study Bible, like I said, was the one that I, is the one that I love
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and the one that I used for about 10 years. It's my first study Bible. A friend in college gave it to
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me, I think, when I was a sophomore in college and it was literally just torn apart. And so I wanted to
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change things up when I got a new Bible last year and I got the John MacArthur ESV Study Bible.
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And I love it. I really do. I love his wisdom. I appreciate his wisdom. Got a little bit of
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different eschatology than him. And so sometimes that colors the commentary as is usual commentary.
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We know is not inerrant like the word of God is, but it is still super helpful. And I just
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appreciate his wisdom so much. Honestly, though, I do sometimes miss my ESV Study Bible just because
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that's what I'm used to. And that's, it helped me so much grow in the faith when I was really starting
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to take Bible reading and studying seriously. But for this episode, I did use my commentary
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from the good old Johnny Mac. And so when we look at what his commentary and his analysis has to tell
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us about the book of Philippians and what it's all about, what we find is that Philippians is a letter
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written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi, which was a Greek city. The Philippian
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church was actually the first church Paul established in Macedonia. Philippians is known as a prison
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epistle because it was a letter that Paul is believed to have written during his first imprisonment
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in Rome from about 60 to 62 AD, probably toward the end of that stint in prison, probably 61 AD. So
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Philippi was named after Philip II. He was the father of Alexander the Great who conquered the region
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in 4th century BC. Philip did. In 42 BC, Philippi became a Roman colony, and the people who lived
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there received Roman citizenship, which was a really big deal that came with a lot of rights and
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privileges. So the people of Philippi were very proud of this. They adopted Roman customs. Latin is
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their official language. They changed their city government to imitate Italian cities. Philippians
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are said to have really adopted this identity in a very proud way. And so they put on this Roman
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citizenship. They put on their identity as Romans. So when Paul says in Philippians 3.20 that, hey,
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our citizenship is in heaven, he is likely speaking to that, reminding them that, you know, this is all
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well and good. Paul himself was a Roman citizen and exercised some of the rights and privileges that
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he had with that. But he reminds them, hey, where you belong, where your identity ultimately comes
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from, what you place your hope in, and what you boast in, is it here? It's not your citizenship on
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earth. It's your citizenship that's in heaven. It is the hope that you have in eternity because of
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Christ. There was a small Jewish population in Philippi to whom Paul shared, or with whom Paul
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shared the gospel. This is where Lydia, who was a very wealthy merchant, converted to Christianity
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after hearing Paul's teaching. Immediately, the church suffered spiritual and political opposition,
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as we read in the book of Acts. They were seen as a threat in some ways to Roman power and
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identity because of that piece of citizenship elsewhere, citizenship in an eternal dwelling
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place. And yeah, the Philippian church, in the midst of that persecution, was faithful and was
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generous. They supported Paul throughout his missionary journey, attending to his needs however
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possible. So part of this letter to the Philippians, while Paul is in jail, is thanking them for their
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generosity. He also speaks to them about his circumstances in Rome and in prison. He urges them to
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remain unified in the gospel, to stay away from false teachings and teachers, and to remain
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steadfast and joyful and thankful in the Lord. The tone of this letter, even while he is in prison,
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is one of joy and one of gratitude, a very fatherly type love that we see from Paul, not just in this
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epistle, but also in other epistles of pride and expectation in the Philippians' faith in their
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pursuit of Christ. And I mean pride, not in the negative sense, but in the positive sense,
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an exhorting kind of pride, a thankful kind of pride that a father has in their child when they
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are emulating the Lord. He reminds the Philippian church where they belong, ultimately to whom they
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belong, why they are still there on earth, what they should be doing, what they should be looking
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forward to in heaven. And then after explaining all of this, we get to the last chapter of the
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book of Philippians, chapter four, which starts with this word, therefore. Now you've probably
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heard if you grew up in church, when you see the word therefore, you ask, what is it therefore? And
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so that's what we're going to look at. Philippians 4.1 says this, quote, therefore, my brothers whom I
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love and long for, my joy and crown stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. So that therefore
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is in relation to all that he's just explained in the first three chapters about who they are and
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what their purpose and belonging and hope is in Christ. And now he's saying, in light of that gospel,
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in light of that good news, in light of who you are, remember and do these following things. So
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verses two through three, these are obviously my words summarizing what he's saying. He's saying,
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agree in the Lord with fellow believers for the sake of the gospel, even if you have disagreements.
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Verses four through seven, rejoice in the Lord always. You guys probably know these verses. Again,
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if you're familiar with the Bible and grew up in church or have spent any amount of time in church,
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rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. I won't sing the song that is now coming
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into my mind from my childhood, just to spare you, spare you that. Let your reasonableness be made known
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to everyone. And just as an aside, so many people today lack reason. We all unfortunately suspend
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our reason when we allow emotions to rule us. But surely, certainly, I should say that reasonableness
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is certainly not seen as a positive characteristic today or an important characteristic or Christ-like
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characteristic that we need to prioritize. It seems like many people even within the church have
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forgotten that that's an important characteristic of a Christian. James 3.17 says the wisdom from
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above, so heavenly wisdom, wisdom from God, it lists a number of qualities, but one of them is
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open to reason. It's open to logic, to biblical truth, to factual truth, to scientific truth,
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to truthful persuasion. People who do not have the wisdom from above are not open to reason.
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Verses six through seven of Philippians four say, don't be worried about anything. Paul says this
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in prison, not knowing his imminent fate. It says, don't worry, don't be anxious about anything. And
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we see this repeated by Jesus over and over again in his ministry, knowing everything that was to come
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both soon when he was saying that and also for the millennia afterward. This verse says,
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don't be anxious about anything, but in everything. Those are really big words. Don't be anxious about
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anything, anything at all. Big, small, in the socio-political sphere, even in your personal life, don't be
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worried about anything. Yes, this covers it. Don't be worried about anything, but in everything, everything,
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every single thing that you go through, every single thing that you find yourself concerned with,
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in everything, by prayer and supplication, so making requests, with thanksgiving,
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present your request to God, and he will give you the peace that transcends your comprehension. So even
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if you don't understand how things are going to work together, even if you don't understand how
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you're going to get through what's in front of you, God promises for Christians the peace that
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surpasses anything that your mental faculties can come up with to try to make sense of what's happening.
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Verses eight through nine in chapter four, Philippians say,
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to dwell on only that which is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable and
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excellent and praiseworthy. There are certainly days and hours and minutes when I am not dwelling
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on these things. I'm fixing my mind only on the things that are worrisome. But God through Paul says,
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fix your mind, your thoughts on all of these good things. And not only that, but verse nine says,
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to practice these things. And then there again in this verse is the promise of the presence of God
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and his peace. That's a worthy exchange, right? Like that's a pretty good deal for us. Okay. We dwell on
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good things. We cease to worry. We pray to God. We give him our requests. We lay our concerns before
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him and we thank him. And in exchange, we get the peace of God. Wow. That's, that's a really good deal
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that we get. So in this first chunk of chapter four of Philippians, he is saying, um, therefore in
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light of the gospel and the hope that we have in Jesus, unify in truth and in love, rejoice in God,
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dwell on that, which is good and right and true. And in doing these things, you will have peace,
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a peace that transcends circumstance, a peace that isn't predicated on what's to come,
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but rather is dependent on the unwavering faithfulness of God. Then in this second part
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of chapter four, Paul thanks the Philippians for their love and care, uh, for their concern as he
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is in prison in a time of apparent need. But, but he says, yes, you know, they met his needs. He
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seems to be in a dire situation in prison, but he says in verses 11 through 13, and this gets to the
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verse that we're talking about today, quote, not that I am speaking of being in need for I have
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learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound
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in any and every circumstance against, again, we're just seeing such encompassing language here
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and any, in every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance
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and need. I can do all things, all things through him, Christ, who strengthens me. Let's break that
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down just a little bit. So Paul being persecuted for Christ in jail, knowing he will likely die for
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preaching the gospel in a situation that looks pretty darn destitute is saying, no, I'm not in need.
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I'm not talking about being in need. I actually don't lack anything. Again, this is my paraphrasing,
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even though ostensibly he lacks most things, but he says in whatever situation, whatever situation he
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is to be content, whatever situation, even here when, when maybe it seemed like his suffering and
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his punishment was unjust, even when his plans didn't seem to be coming to fruition in his mission
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work, even when he may have been struggling alone, maybe tempted at times towards hopelessness and
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despair in a dank prison cell. Even then he's to be content with where he is. Paul is saying that he
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has no needs and that he is to be okay and rejoice and dwell on good things even there. So let's do
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some etymology on this word content. It has its roots in the Latin word contentus, which means to be
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contained or satisfied. And I really, I really like that description of the word. The word literally means
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to be held or contained within limits. So when you think of the feeling or the state of contentment,
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that means your desires are contained within the limits of your current situation. They're not
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reaching into what you don't have. So it's like a jar filled with, filled to the brim with water.
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The water perfectly fills the jar without overflowing. So our happiness, our joy, our satisfaction
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we're reading here is to fill the parameters of our current circumstance without wondering,
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why me? Or I'd be happier if, or if only God would, or if this person would just do this thing,
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or this thing would finally happen. If it did, I'd be happy. Or if I wasn't going through this trial,
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if I found the right person, if I got the right job, if I conceived a child finally, if I lost the weight,
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I want to lose, if the state of America were just better, if our leaders just got it together,
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if all of these terrible things weren't happening, both politically and personally,
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if I just had the life that she had, then I would be content. That's not contentment. That's not what
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we're called to. We don't see Paul saying here, if I were free, if I were not in jail, if I weren't
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being persecuted, if I didn't face imminent danger, if I actually knew what was going to happen to me,
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if I actually knew when I was going to die. We actually see in Philippians 1 that he is torn
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between wanting to die and be with Christ and wanting to stay on earth and fulfill his mission
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work and continue sharing the gospel. He doesn't say if I just knew what was going to happen, then I
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would finally be content. Or if I got more gifts and more aid from the other churches and from the
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Philippian church, then I would finally be satisfied. He says, nope, I'm not even talking about being in
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need because I have learned how to be content in whatever circumstance. So the mentality of the
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Christian, Paul is saying, is not predicated on what does or does not happen to us at all. Not on
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our accomplishments, our failures, our popularity, our mood, our hormones. How many times do we use that
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as an excuse to not be content in what's happening to us? The happy things that happen to us or the sad
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and unfair things that happen to us. It's not dependent on who's in office or the state of the
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country. Man, I have to remind myself of that every day. It is dependent on one thing and one thing
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alone, we read here. And that is Christ and his strength. As our verse of the day, Philippians 4.13
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says, which does not waver. It doesn't change. It doesn't diminish. His strength doesn't depend on
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our strength. It's not circumstantial or conditional. It became yours when by grace through faith, you are
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made alive in Christ. Your sins were forgiven and you became a new creation and a child of God.
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So right now you have the Holy Spirit inside you, a co-equal, a person in the Godhead. The Holy Spirit
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is the third person of the Trinity. First Corinthians 6.19 says, or do you not know that your body is a
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temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are bought with a price to glorify God
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with your body. The chapter goes on saying, Jesus says that this Holy Spirit is our helper. John 14.26.
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But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and
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bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. So the Spirit is our helper, our teacher,
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who helps us remember Jesus's words. And Jesus tells us that he who is in us is greater than he
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who is in the world. And Jesus tells us, he promises us that we will have trouble, but take heart because
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he's overcome the world. So when we read in Philippians 4.13 that his strength will allow us
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to do anything that God wants us to do, that's what he is talking about. He is talking about the
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strength to be content, to be joyful, to rejoice in all kinds of terrible situations. It's not
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dependent on anything that's happening to us. It's not dependent on any mood that we have or any way
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we wake up one morning or anything that anyone says to us. It is dependent on the unconditional,
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unchanging, undiminishing strength of Christ who promises us in Romans 8 that we are going to
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be, that we are right now more than conquerors, that nothing can separate us from the love of
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Christ, that all things work together for the good of those who love him. That is what Philippians 4.13
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is talking about. Philippians 4.13 is talking about a strength that surpasses any kind of obstacle that
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may be in front of us. And I'm going to talk a little bit more about it in just one second.
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So, Jesus' strength allows us to be content in every situation. That doesn't mean that we don't
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care about things that are going on. That doesn't mean that we don't have a responsibility to make
00:25:41.580
the plot of earth that he has placed us on, this speck of eternity that he's placed us on,
00:25:48.680
better. Of course, it is our responsibility in loving God and loving our neighbor and seeking
00:25:53.380
the welfare of those around us. That's something that we talked about in the most misused Jeremiah 29.11
00:25:58.600
episode. Yes, all of those things are good stewardship of the time that we have, the resources
00:26:05.040
that we have. It's part of caring for the least of these. That's why we talk about such what I think
00:26:10.500
are very important subjects on this podcast. As we have said before, politics matter because policy
00:26:18.180
matters because people matter because politics affect policy and policy affects people. I think
00:26:24.640
all of those things matter. So, we have to balance. We have to not ignore politics because they have
00:26:31.880
an effect on people whom we are called to care for and love. It has an effect on our country that we are
00:26:37.080
called to seek the welfare of, but we also can't idolize politics. We also can't allow that to rob us
00:26:43.360
of the contentment that is ours in Christ. Being content and praying for the strength
00:26:50.320
to be content is also making sure that we are obeying the commandment against coveting. Not being
00:26:58.620
content is coveting something else that you don't have, which of course is what coveting means. So,
00:27:05.480
it's wanting maybe you're not satisfied with your schedule. So, it's wanting more time or you're
00:27:10.540
wanting more money or you're wanting another job that is coveting something that you don't have.
00:27:14.800
Even if you're not specifically thinking about someone else's possessions, that is still coveting
00:27:20.320
and God calls us against that. That robs us of our peace that He desperately wants us to have. That
00:27:26.000
gives us anxiety. That gives us insecurity. It gives us this kind of self-obsession that doesn't lend
00:27:32.880
itself to a Christ-like and peaceful life. 1 Timothy 6, 3-7 says this. It says,
00:27:41.140
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus
00:27:45.300
Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.
00:27:51.300
He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy,
00:27:57.640
dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind
00:28:03.360
and deprived of the truth. I love that play on words. Imagining that godliness is a means of gain,
00:28:09.500
but godliness with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot
00:28:16.220
take anything out of the world. I probably could have just given you those last two verses,
00:28:20.160
but I love that whole paragraph in 1 Timothy 6. But these last two verses say again,
00:28:26.380
but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot
00:28:33.640
take anything out of the world. Our life here is relatively, in relation to eternity, it is very
00:28:44.500
short. We take nothing into the world. When we are born, we are dependent on other people for
00:28:52.520
everything. We will take nothing out of the world. And so as Jesus says, we don't store up treasures on
00:28:58.480
earth. We store up treasures in heaven. We seek first his righteousness, his kingdom, knowing all
00:29:03.680
of the things that we need will be added unto us. As we talked about, I think it was last week when we
00:29:10.400
were talking about anxiety and how Jesus warns us against anxiety and exhorts us to trust in the Lord.
00:29:17.360
He reminds us that not even a sparrow falls out of the sky apart from the will of the Father and two
00:29:24.100
sparrows are sold for a penny. So how much more does he care about us who are made in his image,
00:29:30.040
his children who have been bought with the price by the blood of Jesus Christ? Don't we believe that
00:29:34.800
he is going to meet all of our needs in accordance to his will? That doesn't mean hard things aren't
00:29:40.560
going to happen. That doesn't mean that there won't be situations like Paul's situation where it seems
00:29:45.440
like we're in desperate need, when we're lacking the things that we need. However, what Philippians
00:29:52.360
4.13 reminds us is that what we actually need in those situations is not maybe what the world thinks
00:29:59.240
that we need or what it looks like we need. We actually need Christ's strength to remain content, to
00:30:04.220
remain joyful in all situations. So using Philippians 4.13 to say that you want God's strength to accomplish
00:30:11.480
what's right in front of you is not necessarily always wrong. Again, as long as you're not using
00:30:16.460
it as some kind of promise of personal success or promise of a particular outcome that you want in
00:30:24.300
this athletic event or this test or this job interview, whatever it is, he is saying, look, I'm
00:30:30.080
going to sustain you in any and every circumstance. And look, I'll give you peace. Dwell on the things that
00:30:36.260
I'm telling you to dwell on. Practice the things that I'm telling you to practice. Believe in hope
00:30:41.860
in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you will have peace and you will have strength to sustain you.
00:30:47.280
That's much better. That's a much better realization. That's a much better truth than just saying,
00:30:53.120
okay, Jesus is promising that I'm going to, you know, win my baseball game. It's much bigger than
00:30:59.080
that. It's much more eternal than that. It's much more satisfying than that. Again, like reading
00:31:03.300
scripture and understanding what is meant in all of these verses is so much more satisfying and
00:31:09.780
contentment producing than simply reading the scripture to say, okay, what do I want this to
00:31:15.220
mean? And what does this mean to me? We don't ask, what does this mean to me? Primarily what we ask
00:31:21.600
first is what does this mean? And then we look for proper application in light of all of scripture.
00:31:28.560
And there's a lot more that we could say about this verse. I'm sure that there is a lot of awesome
00:31:34.700
commentary out there, but I hope that it gives you some encouragement and maybe some clarity on this
00:31:40.120
verse and on this book. All right. Before we're going to play a couple, I think we have time. I'm going
00:31:46.600
to play a couple voicemails from you guys, which just crack me up. All right. Now we're going to
00:31:55.040
get into a couple or a few of those voicemails. The first one is telling me about a repetitive
00:32:02.800
dream that this person had. And I'm really excited from the description. I'm super excited to actually
00:32:10.460
hear it. So let's go ahead and play it. Hey, Allie, Rachel here from Denver, Colorado. I never miss
00:32:18.240
your podcast and I just love it so much. Thanks for all you do. I'm calling to tell you about a recurring
00:32:23.620
dream that I had every single year from when I was eight years old until I was 19 years old,
00:32:31.480
but only on one night of the year. And that was Halloween. So every Halloween I would go to sleep
00:32:38.500
and this is my dream. I grew up with a chihuahua named Toby. He was a very obese chihuahua. He was
00:32:45.500
very cute. And so, uh, we would let him out to go to the bathroom and in the dream, I let him out.
00:32:52.480
And then a couple minutes later, I go to let him back in and he's gone. And so I go outside in the
00:32:58.620
yard and I call his name, Toby, Toby, can't find them. And I'm starting to panic. I look up and the
00:33:05.480
moon is full like a classic Halloween moon and, um, the clouds go over it really creepy. And then
00:33:12.980
all of a sudden the street that I live on is deserted. It's on a hill. I hear a tricycle
00:33:18.400
squeaking coming up the hill and I look in the distance and there's a witch driving up with on
00:33:26.440
her tricycle and she has Toby in her arm. And she says the classic, I'll get you my pretty and your
00:33:34.400
little dog. And so I stand there panicked and all of a sudden I realized that my arm is weighted
00:33:44.320
down. And I look to my arm and I have the classic like eighties, nineties Halloween bucket full of
00:33:50.540
candy, you know, with the jack-o'-lantern, uh, the orange bucket and it's full of candy. And then she
00:33:55.420
tells me that to get Toby back, I need to give her the candy. Well, I say no. And then I wake up.
00:34:04.400
And as an adult, this dream sounds very funny, but as a child, it was very scary. So I have this
00:34:10.320
dream. Um, okay. I'm just, okay. There are a couple of things. Well, one thing I do not believe,
00:34:17.760
I do not believe that you are from Denver. I hear that Southern accent girl. That is South Carolina,
00:34:24.480
Georgia, maybe some parts of Texas, maybe Alabama. There is no way that you're originally
00:34:29.800
from Denver, Colorado girl. Uh, but Oh my gosh, your dream was adorable and very detailed. Uh,
00:34:38.760
very detailed. I think it got kind of cut off at the end there, but, uh, the fact that you kind of
00:34:44.700
have this like wizard of Oz slash, I don't, I don't know, maybe like, um, like hocus pocus type
00:34:54.420
thing going on. I can't tell you exactly what it actually means, except for maybe that you had a
00:35:01.820
fear that your dog, your obese dog, Toby would be taken from you. And maybe that was a serious
00:35:11.920
concern that you had. And that there was, you know, some kind of fear of the unknown happening
00:35:20.300
there. I think it probably is a little bit more obvious than any kind of profound interpretation
00:35:28.360
that I could give you. If it was on Halloween every year, I guess you were thinking about
00:35:32.760
witches and I don't know, did you watch the wizard of Oz? Cause like, you've got this whole like
00:35:37.400
Toto thing going on and then it's combined with trick or treating. And so I guess it's just that,
00:35:47.380
I guess it's just the time of year. You probably loved your dog. Maybe the candy had to do something
00:35:52.880
with the fact that your dog was obese and you knew deep down that your little chihuahua probably
00:35:57.720
needed to be on a diet. Maybe that was part of it. I am curious to know why it kind of just stopped.
00:36:03.620
I guess when you moved out of your house or maybe when you stopped going trick or treating, you no
00:36:07.460
longer had this, this nightmare. It's a nightmare. Let's not call it a dream. That's a nightmare.
00:36:12.080
Um, Rachel, thank you so much for sending us your dream. That gave me a good laugh. And I need you to
00:36:19.480
tell, I need you to tell the audience though, if you ever call back or you message me on Instagram,
00:36:23.620
where you're actually from, if you're from Denver, Colorado and Denver, Colorado, uh, has people with
00:36:30.560
a Southern drawl like that, then I just must not understand. I must not understand where certain
00:36:36.560
states are in the union and how people are in certain areas of the country. I need to know
00:36:42.760
where you're actually from. All right. Uh, let's play the next dream.
00:36:47.260
Hi, Allie. This is Katie. I'm from Southern Missouri. Love your podcast. This is my response
00:36:52.840
to your, uh, dream interpretation request. So I'm going to say that, uh, your dreams of being
00:37:01.840
pregnant and flying are actually connected. So I hate to break it to you, but I think that
00:37:08.040
you are actually, uh, living in an alternate reality. One day you are going to wake up from
00:37:14.500
whatever trance or dream that you're in right now as a human. When you wake up, you're going
00:37:20.100
to find out that you are actually a stork. Yes, a stork. And all you've been doing your whole
00:37:27.400
life is delivering babies. They're basically like living in the world of Dumbo. And you
00:37:33.220
don't even know it right now because you haven't woken up yet from these two dreams. So Allie,
00:37:39.180
you're a stork, you're delivering babies, and you're not actually a real person.
00:37:45.320
I'm opening up your line to share and I can't wait to hear these stories. Super fun. Have
00:37:52.140
You know, I think that that is exactly, I think that's exactly what it is. I think that
00:37:57.480
I am, I am actually a stork and I am actually delivering babies. I think that that, um,
00:38:04.820
it goes together perfectly. You know, I never, I never really thought about that. Um, it's
00:38:09.360
a little bit inception like that. Apparently when I'm dreaming, it's like a dream within
00:38:13.020
a dream, maybe like even within another dream. And if storks have dreams and then I wake up
00:38:20.280
and I remember when I was a human, what's that going to be like? Um, anyway, I really
00:38:23.960
appreciate that very profound and apt interpretation of my dream. I think that
00:38:29.120
you're exactly correct. I'll, so if one day I stopped doing this podcast, it's because I
00:38:33.380
have turned into, I reverted to my real self, a stork that's delivering babies. All right.
00:38:38.880
Welcome to your podcast about your request for dreams. Um, my name is Chelsea and I live
00:38:45.220
in Cedar Park, Texas. So I have two reoccurring dreams. One is that I'm back in high school
00:38:52.240
and I don't understand why. So I actually in real life have a master's degree and I have
00:38:59.100
this dream that I'm in high school and in the dream I can't understand why I'm back in
00:39:03.000
high school. I'm always a senior in the dream and in the dream I'm trying to figure out why
00:39:08.180
I didn't get my high school degree, but at the same time I have a master's degree. It's
00:39:13.820
a very confusing dream. And the second is also that I'm back in high school, but in this dream
00:39:20.640
I'm actually, I guess, supposed to be in high school and I am sitting in a class or I'm walking
00:39:28.780
through the hallway and it's the end of the school year in my dream and I realize, oh my
00:39:34.000
goodness, there's these two or three classes I just completely didn't go to. Um, and I'm
00:39:40.620
really stressed out. So very interesting. I'm in my thirties. So very interesting that
00:39:44.480
I have these two reoccurring dreams about high school. Um, I think maybe your dream about
00:39:50.020
pregnancy is kind of the same thing. Maybe it's just fear of, uh, not being in control or fear
00:39:54.820
of the unknown. Um, not sure what the fly dream is. So anyway, thank you so much for your podcast
00:40:00.720
and everything you do. Yes. Okay. So a ton of people, a ton of people have this dream. My
00:40:06.660
husband used to have this dream. I was just talking to my team before this and they were
00:40:09.880
saying that they've had that dream too. I have never had that dream where I'm supposed to be
00:40:14.160
graduating or I'm supposed to finish school and I don't have, uh, I didn't finish a class.
00:40:20.720
Now I actually remember literally having that fear when I was in college that maybe I didn't
00:40:25.640
complete all of my credits somehow, but that didn't happen. Maybe I didn't care enough about
00:40:29.180
school to care whether or not I really graduated, but I hear that a lot. And I, I wonder if it,
00:40:34.460
if you have that dream when you're stressed about something else, if you're stressed about work
00:40:38.140
or if there's some other kind of pressure on you. Um, I wonder if it's a little bit also
00:40:43.400
people have like imposter syndrome that I'm not really qualified for the thing that I'm doing.
00:40:48.460
People are going to find out that I'm not really qualified for the thing that I'm doing,
00:40:52.460
that I don't have the proper credentials. Maybe it's something like that, or you feel like there
00:40:57.620
are other things in life that you don't know if they're going to come together, if you're going
00:41:02.080
to be able to complete them. I absolutely think that you are correct, that it is similar to my
00:41:08.580
pregnancy dream that I dreamed. As I said, I think it was on Monday that I dreamed that I am, um,
00:41:14.420
like 36 weeks pregnant and I, or I'm in labor and I never realized that I was pregnant and I don't
00:41:20.040
even have an OB and I'm like giving birth at home or I'm like trying to text some, someone to ask if
00:41:25.500
they'll be my doctor. I've had that recurring dream. Uh, and so I do think it's similar. It's like
00:41:32.600
you get to the end of something and you are not prepared for it or you don't know what's to come.
00:41:40.100
I think that's probably just like an adult fear. So I don't think it's surprising that you're still
00:41:44.680
having that in your thirties. I think it's probably though, maybe something else that's going on in
00:41:50.580
your life that you're worried that you're not going to be able to fulfill or complete or do well or
00:41:56.560
something or something like that. I, a lot of people, a lot of people, um, have that dream. Like I said,
00:42:03.080
my husband used to have it all the time and I guess it, I guess it stopped. So hopefully it's just
00:42:07.300
seasonal. Maybe you won't have that dream anymore. Uh, all right. That's all I have time
00:42:12.240
for, for today. Thank you guys so much for sending in your voicemails. I would love, we got so many
00:42:17.760
of them. I would love to play all of them. Unfortunately, we don't have time, but if we
00:42:21.180
do another dream specific segment, I will try to play some of the voicemails that you guys sent.
00:42:26.840
Um, maybe I'll do this every week. If you guys like, like it, like I'll ask for a particular type
00:42:31.280
of voicemail on Monday and then on Thursday, you guys, um, I'll, I'll play some of them. Uh,
00:42:37.440
thank you guys so much for listening. I hope you have a great weekend. We will be back here on Monday.