Sermon
Bible Guys Classics: Psalm 63
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a
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couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in
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practical ways. Hey, good morning everyone, it's if, in fact,
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it's morning. I'm Chris, this is Jeff, and we are
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the Bible Guys.
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We are so happy to be here.
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Do you know that I was actually contemplating putting I
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have a bottle of water over here. I was contemplating
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actually gurgling good morning. But but you know, here's the thing.
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I didn't trust myself because I I was gonna spit it,
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and so I thought to myself, Oh, I don't think
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I could ever do that.
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So I don't think I could do it by surprise.
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So who knows. Maybe tomorrow I'll start that way.
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Maybe.
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So there you go. That's the reason to tune in
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if you're a.
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New listener with us. Chris has a habit of at
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least once a week singing good morning to our listeners.
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Yeah there, yeah, listeners, just wait yesterday, today, No.
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They do know, they do not. I think like five
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people and they keep on saying it.
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Well, that's about the extent of our listeners except for
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the new one listening today.
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Look Billy's listening from Canada. Hi Mom, Hi mom, that's great.
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All right.
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Well, hey, Desiree has a section that's it's called stump
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the Pastor. We do this every once in a while. Yeah, yeah,
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and uh. And so here's the way this one reads.
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And this is from Bella L.
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Bella, Hi, Hi, Bella, Yes, Hi Bella. Hell, we're so
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glad that you're listening. Yes, and you decided that the
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thing you wanted to do was stump us.
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Try to stump us, Yes, try to stump us. All right,
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So it says this, it says, wow, Chris, what made
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Chris mad this week? Is my favorite bit? Oh look
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at that.
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See I told you, I told you it's everybody's favorite.
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It's Bella's favorite bit. She said, Stump the pastor is
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my close second. So here's my question. Wow, my husband
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and I were reading through Genesis and we came up
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with a question we couldn't find the answer to. So
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what are your thoughts on dinosaurs? And are they biblical
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or they in the Bible? There's no direct reference to
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them in creation, says Bella L. So she wants to know,
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you know where DoD Bibles fit in the Bob where
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did dinosaurs fit in the Bible?
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Where did dinosaurs fit in the Bible? I don't know that. Well,
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I don't know. One. Great question, Yeah, great question, really
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great question.
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Yep.
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Two, what do you think, Chris.
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Well, I think that they were I believe that they
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existed with mankind. So I think there's a reference to
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job talking about Leviathan, which which is literally translated into
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great terrible lizard. Right, there's a I think there's a
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couple other references to things like that.
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And I think that.
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Perhaps when things you know that the theory is there's
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one common theory that says that they could have been
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on the arc. So, you know, and people say, wait
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a minute, dinosaurs were huge, they couldn't go on the arc.
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What about baby dinosaurs?
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Right whatever, So, so so they could have been on
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the arc. God could have, you know, just allowed them
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to cease to exist. So, but one thing is clear,
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they were a part of the world. Now there's another theory.
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The other theory is is that because God exists out
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of time and and and God, uh, you know, uh
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could have could have allowed the earth, you know, to
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have gone through and dinosaurs could have been before humanity.
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Uh, you know, you know there's another theory like that.
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Yeah, there's kind of a doctrinal issue with that one
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with regard to this earth, because it says, wherefore as
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by one man, sin entered the world talking about earth
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and death by sin. So death passed upon all men
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for all of sin. So death came because of sin.
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So if all those dinosaurs were here and then they
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died before humanity came.
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That's doctrinally where would.
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Death have come from? Right, So there was no purpose
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behind death prior to man's sin. So the idea that
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they existed before and then died and then men came
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is doesn't really lying. Yeah, so I think you mentioned
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a couple things you mentioned.
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Is important to know because that's the theory, right right,
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that's what the world believes.
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Yeah. Yeah, so you mentioned Leviathan and you can look
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this up. So one, you're right, it's not in the
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creation story other than the fact that the Bible just
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says he created everything on the land and on the
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sea right right, and in the air right. So, but
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the Book of Job does seem to reference. Now that
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Job is the oldest book in the Bible, and Job
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was probably written about the time of Abraham, So this
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is a couple thousand years after a thousand years, a
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couple thousand years after Adam. And in job forty one,
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it describes Leviathan. It'says, can you pull a Leviathan in
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with a fish hook? Or tie down his tongue with
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a rope? His back has rows of shields tightly together.
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His snorting throws out flashes of light. His eyes are
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like the rays of dawn. Right, so it's kind of
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a seems like a marine, kind of a dinosaur type
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of animal. In or he also mentions Behemoth in chapter forty.
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It says, look at Behemoth, which I made along with you,
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and which feeds on grass like an ox. We know
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a lot of the dinosaurs. Eight you know, we're herbivorous.
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And he says, what strength that has in its loins?
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What power? And the muscles of its belly? Its tail
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sways like a cedar.
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Right right, like his cedar tree.
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Yeah, like a cedar tree. The sinews of his thighs
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are close knit. Its bones are tubes of bronze. Its
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limbs are like rods of iron. It goes on and
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talks about how neither one of these animals can be
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subdued or tamed by humans. In Isaiah, it mentions the
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idea that he shall slay the dragon that's in the sea.
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So there seems to be these references of these great
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creatures that humans just accept it as like they're not saying, hey,
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did you ever hear about this? They're referencing it as
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if everybody knows what they're talking about, right.
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Right, Otherwise they would have made more of a spectacle
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of it.
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Yeah. Yeah, But at some point they became extinct. Some
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people would point to the flood as being one of
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the reasons. There's a lot of If you've never been
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to the Creation Museum, that'd be interesting to go down.
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They have some theories about it. There's lots of different
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people who have different theories about but there are tons
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of animals that are extinct today that existed thousands of
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years ago. You know, I was at a guy's and
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a guy he has a private family museum, and he
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has a baby wooly mammoth, and they're trying to bring
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back the wooly mammoths using the DNA from this frozen
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it was frozen in the tundra, and the South Koreans
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are working with him. He's a billionaire and they're working
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with him to bring back wooly mammoths from the DNA
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that's still in that wily mammoth, Right, isn't that amazing?
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Yeah?
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Right, So that kind of stuff, there's lots of animals
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that become extinct. So I don't think that there's a
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problem with the fact that we see dinosaur bones. I've
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got a bunch of fossils in my office, right, don't
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I ye yah, And I love that stuff, And I
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just don't have a problem with the idea that dinosaurs existed,
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and I don't have a problem to the idea that
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they exist at the same times humanity. Every single people
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group in the world that draws in caves have drawn
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some kind of version of Europe has it, South America
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has it, Asia has that, Africa has drawings of long
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necked animals, large animals that aren't elephants or hippos or
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rhinoceroses that are much larger, And so it seems like
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there's this collective memory among humans that there were these
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animals that were bigger. Yeah, and then every continent has
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dragon legends that are the same, fire breathing, flying, big
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reptile kind of animals. Every single continent has those. Right.
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So when I was in New York just a few
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months ago with my family, my brother Jim, who was
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a pastor down in Texas, doesn't necessarily hold the title
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pastor now, even though he has a pastoral degree. But anyway,
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he works for a creation organization.
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Did you know that?
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So anyway, he that's all he does. So as we
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were looking through the museum. We were in the museum
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in New York, and they had a dinosaur section, right,
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so there's all these different bones and uh, and they
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had pictures of kind of how they were found, and uh,
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my brother Jim was explaining the whiplash positions that some
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of these very large creatures would have been in and
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how their necks looked like they were broken, right, And
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he said, so, how do you break the neck that
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looks like a cedar tree? And he said, guess what?
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Guess what a big flood?
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Right? Those those bones, some of those bones are as
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big as whale bones. Yeah right, and right, I mean
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they're they're they're bigger than your body.
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Right.
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But that neck got snapped somehow, and it's not just one,
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it's the whole field of them right where they found
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them laying right, yeah, yeah, and so and so they
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died in cataclysms, right.
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And so that's that's the reason why, because you know,
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even if there was meteor or lava or you know,
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which is sort of the imagery that we have, you know,
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for the extinction of Oh there's a comment that came
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and then you know, lava, meteors and all these different things,
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but water, water is the force that could do exactly that.
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So anyway, it was interesting because he is so educated
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and I can't even begin to repeat what he what
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he said because I would look dumb, right, because he
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said ten thousand things.
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And as we were walking through and he was like,
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but it was basic.
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But I just remember thinking, holy cow, and and and
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he was right in that when he pointed out like
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I remember him pointing out like ten different things. He's like,
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see this photo, He's like that neck is snapped. And
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then we go to the next one and he's like,
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you see this. Uh, they can be preserved this way,
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this way, or this way, and one way was underwater.
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And the only reason why this whole thing would have
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been because it was a conglomerate, like almost like a
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burial site. Right, you know, like member Lion King when
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they said the Elevant's graveyard.
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Argument, that that's what most fossil discoveries are found in
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large fossil they call them literally fossil beds. And it
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can be a whole valley or the whole side of
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a hill and just it's just covered with all these
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different dinosaurs.
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Yeah, and and uh and it's because they believe that
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they were washed away in the flood and taken down
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to a place where they collected right together, and and
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all of them, like I said, you know, just having
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evidence that sort of pointed to a great force. So
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it was interesting, It was really interesting to me. So
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I am I am not the believer of the before
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man theory. I am a believer of the flood theory
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that the flood was was the thing that wiped them out.
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So now here come all the angry anti science emails.
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So we just want to thank you for bringing that
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up as well for us. But thanks, thank you, Bella.
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Yeah.
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But so here here's where we are not scientists. Nope,
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we just don't have a problem with what we know.
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We don't have a problem with saying that they live
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during human times and that the Bible does reference them
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on multiple occasions. Yep. So with that being said, let
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me encourage you. There are other great places to find
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lots of information about dinosaurs and humans from a biblical perspective.
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And so I like the Creation Museum. I like what's
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what they're doing down there in Kentucky. A lot of
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that stuff. They're not the only ones. Your brother has.
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What's the name of the organization? Maybe we should put
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that in the notes and see if that be helpful. Okay, well, hey,
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great question, Bella, And well you almost stump this there.
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That's a tough one.
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I want to text him right now and I'll see
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by the time the end of this podcast happens if
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he answers.
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Oh, great, Well, we're gonna pivot. And we're still in
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this time when David is running from Absolom. Is where
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we're at now. And this is a psalm of David
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regarding a time when David was still in the wilderness
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of Judah. He's hiding and he's asking God for pres
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God's presence, for his provision, for his protection. And so
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here's what it says. David says, Oh God, you are
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my God, honor earnestly search for you. My soul thirst
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for you, My whole body longs for you. In this
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parched land, in this weary land where there is no water,
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I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon
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your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than
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life itself. How I praise you. I will praise you
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as long as I live, lifting up my hands to
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you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
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I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie
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awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night,
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because you are my helper. I sing for joy in
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the shadow of your wings. I cling to you. Your
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strong right hand holds me securely. But those plotting destroy
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me will come to ruin. They will go down into
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the depths of the earth. They will die by the
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sword and become the food of jackals. But the king
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will rejoice in God, All who trust in him will
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praise him, while liars will be silence. It's awesome out there.
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So there you go.
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My brother wrote me back right away. Oh wow, he
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works for the Institute for Creation Research.
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Oh I've heard of them. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
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Institute for Creation Research is interesting. Now. You know, all
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science is the study of things, it's not the law
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of things, right, right, So all these different science organizations,
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both on the secular side and the Christian side, they're
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they're they're studying a thing, they're research a thing, they're
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looking for plausible answers. And so I think that the
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Institute for Creation Research, and then also ken Ham's organization
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up there and at the Creation Museum and all that
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kind of stuff, is it. Well, hey, great, check those out.
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There's a bunch more, but check those out. So back
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here with David running from his son Absolom and saying, God,
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I don't really have any hope except for you. But
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I'm completely content in trusting that you're going to take
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care of me.
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Yeah, that's great. And by the way, this is beautiful imagery,
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isn't it.
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Yeah, you know.
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The latter half of this when he says, because you
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are my helper, I can sing for joy and the shadow.
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Of your wings, well, the shadow of your wings is
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uh uh.
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It's it's like a mother hen who protects, right, or
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or a you know, I guess a father could do
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the same thing, right.
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But any animal always the it's always.
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It's always, it's always the hen.
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Yeah.
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So but it's a uh, it's a it's a protection thing. Right.
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So you know in the previous chapter that we just read, uh,
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he says, God, you are my shield.
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So there's this.
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You know, there's like a word picture that comes with
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every metaphor, right. So you know, for instance, think about
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this when Jesus says, uh, I'm the shepherd and you
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are the sheep, You're like, oh, well, you know, every
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shepherd knows that that has a thousand applications.
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When he says I'm.
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The vine and you are the branch, and then and
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then you bear fruit if you're connected, you're like, wow,
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every vennor knows, every vineyard knows, like, oh yeah, and
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when I get disconnected, then there's the pruning, and then
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there's the harvest, and then there's the there's the water
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source and holy cow, right it be like a tree
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plant about the rivers of water.
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Oh yeah, that's a great word picture. So here it
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is again. And he says, I sing for joy and
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the shadow of your wings. I cling to you. You
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hold strong with your right hand, you hold me securely.
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I think to myself, that is a beautiful word, picture
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and everything that comes with it. Right when you observe nature,
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you could probably watch an entire documentary about a mother
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protecting her chicks and understand just how awesome just that
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one sentences.
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I was going to comment on that same verse. So
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that's great that that's what got yeah. Yeah, So growing up,
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we had one hundred chickens, well you know, growing up
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as a kid, and so I have a lot of
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familiarity with chickens for a while when we lived we
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live in the suburbs, but we had four chickens in
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our backyard for quite a while and that was that
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was pretty great too. They lay hens, they were hands.
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They lay eggs every four days. They lay four eggs
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a day. I'm sorry, that's what we will get. So anyways,
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just recently, I was in Tanzania and we were doing
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this safari drive one afternoon. It wasn't a safari trip,
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it was a mission trip working with Christian leaders, but
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we had this afternoon, so we drive out to look
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at the animals and we stopped at a spot by
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the way. About fifteen minutes after we'd seen lions. We
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stopped and we get out of the truck and there
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was a little picnic area and some restrooms and stuff,
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and so there's no fences or anything, you know, and
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you're kind of thinking in the make your mind, we
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weren't driving very fast to get here. I bet we're
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like a half a mile from where those lions were, and.
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That tall grass is not very far away, exactly.
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But when we so I walk around, there's there's a great, big,
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giant banyan tree, and I and I walk around that,
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and there's some guinea fowl. You ever see guinea fowl,
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They look like a chicken kind of right. They're a
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little bit bigger, but they looked like a chicken. And
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she had a whole bunch of hens and she made
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a clucking kind of a noise, and all the baby chicks,
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peepepeepepeep peep, come in and she kind of fluffed out
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her wings, and it was like eight chicks just disappeared, right,
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And then she was kind of dancing around. Everywhere I
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would walk, she would move to face me, and you
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can hear peepepeepee peep, but you can't see any of them.
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They're all hidden under her wings like that, right, And
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I was thinking that this is exactly what he's talking
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about is those little chicks had no protection. Now, of
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course she wasn't gonna do much either, but she was there,
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ready to risk her life to protect those baby chicks.
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And she was squaring off with me. And I'm two
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hundred none of your business pounds and she probably weighs
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like five pounds, right, But she's there, she's protecting these chicks.
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And those chicks knew instinctively when danger was here, I
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need to run underneath her wings. And so that was
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the immediate images I thought. And then it talks about
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how he holds me with it securely with his strong
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right hand, and I can remember my daughter, she's the
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youngest of my three and my two boys. I'm like,
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suck it up, buttercup, right, you're gonna be tough, be tough.
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I might have been a little too tough on them,
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but Jenna was exactly the opposite way. Jenna wrapped me
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around her finger the minute I saw her, and from
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that point on it was like, Okay, I'm gonna do
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whatever protect her. So but she always had this desire.
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She wanted to be tough. The boys were tough. She
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wanted to go do dangerous things and so I can
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remember we were at a carnival and there were these rides,
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and the ride might have been just a little bit
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too big for her, but the boys went and she
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really wanted to go, and Daddy come with me. So
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I get with her, and then, you know, it was
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a pretty rambunctious ride, one of those I don't know,
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spinner things or whatever, and she got really scared. She
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started crying. So I put my arm around her and
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pulled her in real tight, and she grabbed a hold
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of my arm like this, and by the end of
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the ride she was laughing. So it was scary when
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she felt like she was by herself trying. She was
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just trying to stay in the ride. You know what
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I mean, You're that little You're just trying to stay
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in the ride. The ride just bouncing all around, she's
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crashing all around. But when I grabbed her and pulled
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her in tight, she grabs onto my arm like that,
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and then at that point she's not bouncing around. She
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has a certain amount of security. And then it went
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from being terrifying to fun. And so we get off
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the off the the ride and he have you ever
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seen a kid that's laughing and crying at the same time. Yes, right,
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the little kids have this ability. So she's like, I
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don't know, like seven or eight years old, and she's
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got tears streaming down her face with a big smile
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on her face at the same time. And I think
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of that that that's this is what I say. I
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cling to you, and your strong right hand holds me securely.
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That's that's what he's He is our father. That when
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when the world is just bouncing us around, we feel
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like we're hanging on, trying not to fly out. Yeah,
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God puts his arm around his hangs on and then
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from that point it's not so bad.
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Yeah, that's great. Yeah yeah. And uh And David is
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once again talking about his enemies, right, yeah.
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Yeah, let's put that they'll go down to the depths
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of the earth. The Hebrew there is they're going to
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go to hell, right right, He's like, God, they're trying
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to ruin me, but I know they're going to hell.
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Yeah, And he says, he says they would die by
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the sword, they would become the they would become food
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for the jackal. Right, but the king will rejoicing God
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and all those put praising him in the while the
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liars will be silenced. So this is this is him
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basically proclaiming the future. And he says and he says, hey,
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regardless of how things look, right, now, here's what I know.
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What I know is God, You're going to give me
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the victory because I stand on the side.
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Of what is right, and and I.
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Know that You're going to accomplish this just like you
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always have. And think about David's you know, first fifteen
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years of his you know, race to the throne, right,
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how many battles could you count? Could he count on
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his fingers and toes where God just showed up and
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did miraculous thing against all odds and so and so
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David knows this is not unfamiliar with him. And so
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there's a sermon in there somewhere where it tells us
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to let's let's trust God for future, you know, fears
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based on his past deliveries.
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Right, So there's there's a better way to say that.
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So, so because of what I can trust to trust
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God's past faithfulness for that which lies ahead. So I
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think that, you know, it's a reminder if we can
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see God's hand in the small things, there's no reason
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to believe that he's not going to show up in
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the big things. And by the way, my brother keeps
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on texting me, this is so funny, he says. Their
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mission statement is on the website, but they mainly exist
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to show that scripture is supported and confirmed by science, right.
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They want to.
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Provide the information, the science and the research and the
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resource resources to quit believers and give them confidence of
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knowing that the Bible is supported by science.
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That's what it ists.
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So well it's in there then that sounds good.
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Yeah, yeah, I think that's good.
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So all right, well that is our time and so
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we will see you, hopefully next time on the Bible guys,