Beyond Existing - Beyond the Small Talk
Has life's struggles left you feeling like you were going through your days "just existing?" In this podcast you will hear stories/testimonies from myself and others who have dealt with the struggles life has to offer and getting to that place in which life is being lived "beyond existing." I appreciate all of those who have been willing to "put themselves out there" to open up and share personal information for the betterment of others.
Beyond Existing - Beyond the Small Talk
What is Glory, Jesus' Prayer for his Present and Future Disciples, and Remembering Charlie Kirk
Glory extends far beyond the halos we see in medieval paintings of saints. After being repeatedly drawn to John 17, where "glory" appears eight times in Jesus's prayer for his disciples and future believers, I discovered deeper meanings that transform our understanding of God's presence.
• Exploration of what "glory" truly means beyond simple visual representations
• Detailed reading of John 17, Jesus's prayer before his betrayal and arrest
• Reflection on Charlie Kirk's bold faith and commitment to biblical truth
• Discussion of the challenge of being confrontational when necessary versus being "nice"
• Three dimensions of glory: God sending His Holy Spirit, believers uniting with Jesus as one, and God's presence revealed
• Understanding that only those who are children of God will ever experience this glory
May we go out and live boldly for Christ and for country, leading as many people as we can to experience God's glory.
Music. Hi, it is with heavy heart that I welcome you today. Something that struck me on Sunday that I want to talk to you about is the word glory. Glory is something that I've just been wanting to know what it looks like. You know, we see these medieval pictures of the saints and they're all painted with these halos of light. Or, you know, when you hear about Christ coming into His glory, you know we picture light, but it just feels like there's so much more to it than that.
Speaker 1:God led me to Sunday evening to read John 17. It was a prayer of Jesus concerning the spiritual safety for not only his disciples but also his future disciples, just before he's betrayed and arrested. This prayer took place Eight times. Glory is mentioned in the Living Bible Translation in John 17. I mean, that's what I counted, so you know you can look back and check and make sure I'm right. But I counted it. You know you can look back and check and make sure I'm right, but I counted it twice to make sure and I read it Sunday and then I thought about it Monday and I went back and I read it, and then Tuesday, like I wanted to move on, and I thought you know, am I just being lazy? But it's like I could not get that off of mind. So I went and Tuesday I reread that chapter and I kept wondering why am I being sent back to this? And then last night, wednesday night, when I reread it, it became perfectly clear. While reading this passage again, there was one person's name that was repeated in my thoughts again and again concerning the future disciples, and that was Charlie Kirk. I'm going to pick up my Bible now and I'm going to read to you the chapter of John 17.
Speaker 1:When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he looked up to heaven and said Father, the time has come. Glorify your son so he can give glory back to you, for you have given him authority over everyone in all the earth. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him and this is the way to eternal life to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do, and now, father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. I have told these men about you. They were in the world, but then you gave them to me. Actually, they were always yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the words you gave me and they accepted them and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.
Speaker 1:My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you and all of them, since they are mine, belong to you and you have given them back to me, so they are my glory. Now I am departing the world, I am leaving them behind and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them and care for them, all those you have given me, so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I have kept them safe. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the scriptures foretold. And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them, so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word, and the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They are not part of this world any more than I am. Make them pure and holy by teaching them your words of truth. As you send me into the world, I'm sending them into the world and I give myself entirely to you, so they also might be entirely yours and guys.
Speaker 1:The next part that I'm going to read to you from starting with verse 20, I feel like applies to us today. I am praying not only for these disciples, but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, father, that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us and the world will believe. You sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me so that they may be one as we are, I in them and you in me, all being perfect into one. Then the world will know that you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me, father. I want those whom you've given me to be with me so they can see my glory. You gave me the glory because you loved me even before the world began. O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do, and these disciples know you sent me and I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you. I will do this so that your love May be in them and I in them.
Speaker 1:You know, like I said, when I read this Wednesday night after what I'd been watching on the news with Charlie, his, just his name just continued to resonate because, just with all the videos I've watched of him and Charlie Kirk was a constant name in my house, we all followed him on social media. You could often hear my house, my boys or my husband ask, or even I would ask oh man, did you see what Charlie Kirk posted? Or you know, like one of my boys would say, mom, watch what he says to the college kids and then, like one of them would shove a phone in my face so that I could watch it and I didn't have the heart to tell that, yeah, I'd just seen that on Instagram. But Charlie, he was.
Speaker 1:One thing I admired about him was he was just so bold in his faith and I know that you know so much of the news portrays him as negative, but he wasn't. He was. He was honest, he was truthful about the word of God and more than that, he was just obedient. And if people were going down a wrong path you know with different, with wrong philosophies he wanted to steer them back to the truth. He was respectful and on his college campus tours he would give others the microphone people that he disagreed with. But he practiced that so socratic method of of just uh, debate, you know, and he allowed people to speak and he would shush his crowd. If his crowd didn't agree with the person at the microphone, you know he would he. He quiet them down so that he could hear and give that person time to get their opinion across. He was true to himself and true to God. He was honest even when the truth hurt.
Speaker 1:And this is something that I struggle with and a lot of people struggle with, because I hate hurting people's feelings. I know my husband might disagree with that some, but honestly I do. You know it's hard being confrontational, but we're called to tell the truth. And I don't mean the truth like oh, that outfit looks terrible on you. What I mean is if you see somebody going down the wrong path, someone you know is a Christian. It's okay to be confrontational and use the Bible and show them hey, you're doing wrong. Like I said, that is just something that I definitely struggle with.
Speaker 1:But going back to Charlie, he loved Jesusesus, he loved people and he loved america, and he stated in an interview that a preacher had mentioned or had said to him charlie, you need to be nicer to people. Why can't you be a little more nicer? Now I'm just paraphrasing Charlie said that he would rather be obedient to God instead of being nice. Another video clip there was a podcaster that asked him what he wanted to be remembered for, and Charlie said he wanted to be remembered for having courage for his faith. Thank you, president Trump, for awarding Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and may we go out and live boldly for Christ and for country.
Speaker 1:Oh and as for the word glory, it goes way beyond what our human minds can comprehend. In my opinion, it can't be summarized in just one phrase because it's so multifaceted. So here's three things that I came up with. Number one glory is God sending his Holy Spirit. Number two, number two it's believers uniting with Jesus as one. And finally, number three another thing about glory is that it's God's presence revealed, and unless you are a child of God, unless you are one with Jesus, then unfortunately you will never see this glory. It's my hope and prayer that we can lead as many people as we can to this glory. Thank you, thank you.
