Good morning.

Thank you for joining us on our sixth episode of season one, and this is our final episode of season one.

And I'm joined, as always, by Pastor Mike.

Pastor Mike.

Good morning, sir.

Good morning, Jason.

Glad to be here with you, man.

It's hard to believe that we're at the end of season one.

I know.

Already six episodes.

I was just thinking about it last night, thinking, man, I don't.

I don't know that I remember the other ones.

Yeah, it's like just how time flies.

Well, that's when you have 7,000 things to do in the course of the week, and this is just one of them.

So.

No, but it's such a blessing.

It's been so fun being here, and it's been a lot of work, for sure.

But, man, what a.

What a fun thing to do with.

With you and just kind of tackling these.

These issues specifically around voting and voting issues this season.

Yeah.

Last night at our trunk retreat, had one guy came up to me and just thanking me for us doing this, and he said, you know, what he really appreciated is that we're able in this podcast to cover in a little bit more depth, you know, topics that are what we call hot topics that we just can't address in detail, you know, from the pulpit.

So it definitely serves a wonderful purpose, and I hope in time, more and more people catch on and appreciate it.

Yeah, for sure.

You know, I've had two people, too, just this season come up and say.

Which kind of shocked me a little bit.

But, man, I can't believe you guys are talking about that.

I can't believe that's a topic almost, like, surprising.

Like, you know, Christians aren't supposed to talk about that stuff.

Yeah.

But, man, what.

It's almost sad that that's kind of the.

That that's shocking because it shouldn't be.

We should be unashamed of God's word and what it says.

And.

But we, you know, sometimes it just doesn't seem to be the case.

So today I think what we wanted to do is just kind of recap then this season.

Like, you know, we've gone through five episodes already, this being the sixth.

And so I have a couple questions that we pulled together from different sources.

You know, whether it's people asking in person, hearing online, whether it's sending us an email@reallifecbakersville.com so I kind of put them all together and try to pick the top two or these two most common for each episode.

So we'll start then with episode one.

And just kind of recap.

And we'll really just recap through the questions because I think the questions perfectly kind of summarize what the topic was that, you know, that episode as well.

So starting with episode one, that was kind of our intro to the podcast, you know, kind of, why.

Why are we doing it?

Why this format?

Why did you choose a podcast?

And I think that, like you said, that person who had asked or who had approached you last night saying, hey, man, thanks, kind of speaks to the format, really, of what a podcast is really good for.

So we'll start with the first question there.

It says, the question is, you mentioned that no topic is off limits on this podcast.

What are some specific issues you're excited to tackle in future seasons that you haven't addressed yet?

You know, really, it's kind of whatever's happening in the moment.

You know, it's like this first season, we specifically chose this topic because we're coming into, you know, obviously a major election in November.

And so those were the hot topics.

That's what people are talking about.

So, you know, going into this next season, and I don't know, pun intended in this, but regardless of who wins, we're probably going to face a lot of addiction in our country.

You know, people are going to be.

Somebody's going to be turning to.

We did plan alcohol.

We did not plan that.

No.

But as I'm sitting here, it's an epiphany.

So, you know, we're going to go into, you know, like addiction, addictive behavior, you know, after this.

And in all fairness, I mean, a lot of that, you know, will be very timely for people because they're struggling, they're dealing with stress and anxiety.

Our biggest thing is we just always are looking for topics that are important to people, but sometimes they're afraid to ask it or they think, like you mentioned, that maybe, you know, it's a topic that won't be covered in a traditional church or service.

But there's still issues that are important to people.

So we're just trying to listen.

That's why we invite people to write us and to reach out to us and let us know.

And like you said, we've said, really, there's no topic that we wouldn't be willing to discuss.

So, you know, we're just excited to see where the Lord leads us each and every season.

Yeah, no, amen.

And the second question kind of covers what you just said, so we'll just read through it here.

It says, since you emphasize.

Which we emphasize at the very front, we said, look, we all have opinions, but what we want to end with and really what we want to drive to is what does God say?

What does his word say on the topic?

Whether it's abortion, whether it's addiction, what does God have to say about it?

And so since we emphasize that on episode one, you know, the importance of biblical truth, the question is, how do you decide which real life topics are most important to cover on the podcast?

And I think you really just kind of covered that with what you were saying with question one.

Yeah, and something that's interesting, though, you know, when we first began to kick around this idea, like, why do this when there's so many podcasts and stuff out there and, you know, we're reminded, you know, Ecclesiastes says there's nothing new under the sun.

Always like John Corson said, you know, if it's true, it's not new, and if it's new, it's not true.

But our biggest thing is, like Paul, you know, he said, you know, speaking to the church at Corinth, you know, like him and Apollos, he said, you know, one waters, one plants, God gives the increase.

And so our hope is, you know, if just one person that maybe wouldn't hear otherwise could hear the truth, you know, that comes from God's word and it would help them form, you know, a biblical worldview or help them, you know, deal with an issue that they're facing.

That's all the more reason, you know, to have a podcast like this.

Yeah, absolutely.

And we come from a very clear place that the Bible is inerrant and fully sufficient.

So when we go for answers, that's where we go.

And if God says it, we believe it, we trust it.

And that's our answer.

So episode two, we talked about that.

We jumped right into how Christians should vote.

And I think that was carried over in each episode when we talked about the different issues, because that was the idea is these are the main kind of political issues in this election.

There's many, many, obviously, but the main ones we addressed, I think, to a large extent.

So the first question for episode two on how we should vote says you discussed the importance of voting as a form of civic engagement for Christians or kind of our civic duty.

How should Christians navigate situations where both candidates seem equally flawed?

You know, I always think of in the book of James, you know, James, you know, chapter three in particular, you know, it says, who's wise and understanding amongst you?

Let him show by good conduct that his works are done.

In meekness of wisdom.

But if you have bitter envy and yourself seeking, your hearts do not boast and lie against the truth.

It says, for this wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly and it's sensual, it's demonic.

Wherever there's envy and self seeking exists, confusion of every evil thing are there.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure and then peaceable and gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

You know, I read that because I think that's the most important thing.

And we're not voting for Jesus, obviously, so it's always going to, in a sense, be the lesser of two evils.

So what do we do?

And very simply, what did James just tell us?

You know, ask God.

God gives wisdom without partiality to those who seek it.

And that's really what we want to encourage our listeners to do is in everything.

Listen to what we're saying.

But go and study your Bible like the Bereans and show yourself approved to God, a workman who needs not be, be ashamed.

So that's our hope.

You know, just pray, ask God.

God will give you wisdom.

Go to the word of God, match, you know, the candidates up against the word of God have a biblical worldview.

And like I said, it's the lesser of two evils in that regard, regardless of who it is.

I mean, we're all sinners saved by grace.

Yeah.

And the bottom line is we have two choices, period.

And one of them is getting in the White House.

So.

Yeah, or any election, you know, any.

Election, anything that we vote for.

Yeah, you've got an A or a B.

You got to.

And really it's not an A or B.

You got one choice or the other choice.

And so, you know, well, well said for sure.

The next question is similar, but it says, what could you say to someone who feels then that their vote doesn't matter, especially in states where the outcome seems predetermined.

So we think of like, you know, if you're a conservative, then living in a state like, say, California, you know, it could be easy to feel like, well, what's even the point?

And the same can be said for maybe living in a state like Florida, if you're more of you believe more liberally, you know, the same could be said too, in that instance.

So the question then would be, what do you do in that situation?

Yeah, and I mean, I just know I was learning myself as we were addressing these topics and thinking about Jesus telling us, you know, that we're the light of the world and to let our light so shine before men that they see our good works.

And in turn, they would glorify our Father in heaven.

And I'd never had this thought before, but as I was studying that, we happened to be in the book of Acts, and I was reading about, you know, the Apostle Paul and how, you know, when he was being threatened, you know, with death for standing up for Jesus, that, you know, the religious Jews, you know, they wanted to kill him.

Yeah.

And, you know, Paul was going to be on trial, and he then appealed to his Roman citizenship.

And it was such an interesting statement, you know, that he.

And so, you know, I think it was Festus, you know, he says, well, to Caesar, you have appealed to Caesar.

You'll go.

And then at every court that Paul would go to on his way to Rome, he stood up in court and he testified of Jesus Christ.

And that's exactly what Jesus said.

Let your light so shine before men.

Your vote is your testimony.

I mean, you think about every issue that is on a ballot is an opportunity for us as Christians.

Like, so if you're pro life, I mean, you should be able to say, you know, this sixth commandment is, thou shall not murder.

You know, and life begins in Genesis 1, when God breathes life.

And, you know, as the word of God declares that we were fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together in our mother's womb.

And so you stand up and you testify for the Lord.

And that's your right.

That's your privilege.

It's God's command in our life.

So voting is just an opportunity.

I see it, and maybe in ways I never had before, as an opportunity to stand up and to testify for Jesus Christ.

Amen.

So it makes no difference if you're one vote or if you're a thousand votes.

Like you said, if you live in California and it's predominantly a blue state and you vote Republican, you go, still your testimony, it's still your opportunity, your privilege, your right to testify for Jesus.

Don't miss that chance.

Yeah, absolutely.

And so if you have, let's say, you know, we talked about this, I think, in episode two, that there, or even episode one, that, you know, there's estimated that between 40 to 45 million evangelicals, you will not usually typically vote.

They'll set out elections.

So, I mean, that's.

That's 45.

The high end of it, 45 million people.

And that's a way of telling our elected leaders that, hey, there's.

Maybe it's 120, maybe it's 130 million people saying that, hey, we believe in the sanctity of life.

And so it's a lot of single voices.

Yeah.

And you look at it in that magnitude, you go, then could a Christian community that's united, could they set the course for a country as to what the agendas are?

And then having a.

As our country was founded on a Judeo Christian ethic, you know, and I hope that, you know, we return to that.

Episode three, we broach the topic of the right to life and a woman's right to choose and definitely a heavier conversation.

One of our longer episodes, I think we actually recorded it twice because the first one was about 50 minutes.

And so the first question then is in the conversation about abortion, you focused on the sanctity of life.

So believing that how can churches better support women facing unplanned pregnancies?

And that's a, you know, obviously that's kind of one of the arguments.

Well, what is a Christian's going to do about it?

You want women to keep the babies and what are you doing to help the issue?

And it's a good question.

So then how can churches better support women facing unplanned pregnancies?

Well, there's so many, you know, Christian families that are looking to adopt, you know, that want babies.

You know, we obviously, because of abortion, I think we talked about especially like in, you know, a country like China, you know, all of a sudden with the number of abortions, you start having a negative population growth.

And so if there were families that were, you know, had an unplanned or an unwanted pregnancy and went to terminate, there is amazingly.

How many?

I don't even know the number exactly anymore off the top of my head.

But how many Christian families, Just Christian families don't look outside just families in general, but Christian families who would be willing to adopt and willing to support.

And I love that.

But the thing is, it gets lost in all the noise about, you know, woman's right versus, you know, the right of the unborn child.

Yeah, absolutely.

Question two, you mentioned that some Christians view abortion as the most important or one of the most important issues on elections.

So the question is how should Christians balance this with other moral issues, like.

Or other issues, rather like poverty and immigration, kind of the other ballot issues.

Is this, should this be like a single issue thing?

I think is what the question's getting at.

Yeah, I'm not, not really sure, you know, how the question's worded there, but, you know, I would think that, you know, again, it's.

You have to take them, you know, line upon line, just the same way we teach the word, you know, line upon line, precept upon precept is separate.

The issues, some can be intertwined together because, you know, abortion.

And you think about the.

Just the issues that people face and the fear of poverty and everything else.

I mean, you can start intertwining these issues, but I think you have to be fair to them.

You have to address them individually and not look to try to connect them all together.

Because I think that's kind of the sanctimonious position of those that are against the pro life movement is to try to twist things and turn things and to deflect from the real issue at hand.

And that issue being, you know, is that a human being, you know, in the womb?

And when does that right to life begin?

Does it begin at conception?

You know, I read an article yesterday and it was saying in the argument, I couldn't believe it, but I get it.

It said, well, you know, we don't celebrate birthdays until after the child is born.

And you go, but that's not scientific.

That, that's just a cultural thing, you know, but then we make a cultural choice almost like it's scientific.

Well, see, that proves that that baby isn't, you know, considered a baby until it has a birthday.

And you go, it has nothing to do with the law.

It has nothing to do with science.

It has nothing to do with the Bible.

That's just a cultural expression, you know, of celebration.

But you can make that, you know, an issue.

And unfortunately people do.

But I think we, we need to really focus on abortion as a single issue, focus on poverty as a single issue, focus on family as a single issue.

Yes, there's things that will connect them all together, but we can't get caught up in that.

Otherwise, you know, it's.

It'll dilute the impact of any one of those.

And they're all important issues.

Yeah.

And it really can come back simply to these are human beings that are being murdered that don't have a voice and not to muddy that down with other topics.

For sure.

Such an excellent point.

Because, you know, that's one of the things that, you know, in the episode where we talked about this, you know, it was Proverbs 31, 8, 9 says, you know, speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Ensure justice for those that are being crushed.

Yes.

Speak up for the poor and the helpless and see that they get justice.

And, you know, again, as we see it, we're speaking for a life that's in the womb that cannot speak for itself.

And we have that.

Not only is it a right and a privilege, I mean, it is a responsibility that we have to protect the most vulnerable of society.

And there's no more vulnerable than a baby in his mother's womb.

So episode four was specifically around the LGBTQ plus issues for this election, specifically transgenderism and gender dysphoria issue, sexual identity.

And so the question then from that episode was, you spoke about finding identity in Christ as a solution to gender identity issues.

How can the church support individuals who are struggling with gender dysphoria specifically?

Well, I guess you have to, you know, define again what is, you know, this dysphoria, you know, that people are suffering from.

And we have to, right from the get go, we recognize that it's a psychological condition, right, where a person feels like, you know, their personal identity doesn't match their anatomical sex, and so which leads them, you know, to gender dysphoria.

And so what we have to do is fight against our culture here because there's this.

This big push in culture, you know, to within the.

The transgender movement, that a person gets to define their own gender.

And yet how do they define that?

Well, it's not scientific, obviously, because it's not anatomical.

It's their feelings.

And so then feelings take precedent over fact.

And that's really where the danger lies, and we have to push back against that.

And the way that we do that in.

In the church and what we do is we offer biblical counsel.

We.

We want to counsel with people.

You know, the Bible says, come, let us reason together, says the Lord.

You know, a fool keeps to himself, but a wise person seeks counsel.

God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.

A lot of the issues that people are facing today, it's because of isolation instead of reaching out.

You know, as Jesus said, you know, what king, before he goes off to war, doesn't get together with his counsel and sit down and map out a plan how he might win.

And obviously, counsel is good.

And I think that's one of the things that the church is really strong in, is offering biblical counsel.

I think you brought it up, you know, said it best here just a little while ago.

We believe that the word of God is inerrant, but we also believe that the word of God is sufficient.

And I think some of the.

The counseling community, that's not some.

They even claim to be biblical, but they don't believe that the Bible is sufficient for today.

And so they introduce a lot of psychology into their council that.

And again, let me just earmark this thought.

To me, what I'm saying is psychology being man centered, where theology is God centered.

And if you're going to approach life from a man centered position, you're always going to end up in the wrong place.

But if you go back to the understanding that you were created so you have a creator, so let's go back to, you know, the, the manufacturers, you know, recommendations and start seeing what does the Bible say.

And I think that's the beauty of biblical council because we can help people that, you know, are struggling and it's okay to struggle.

I think that's one of the things.

We're not perfect, we're sinners, saved by grace.

And so we're going to struggle with issues.

And so to be able to sit down with somebody who, of all the things that I would hope that the church could be, because we see it in Jesus as being compassionate people, not judgmental, being compassionate and going, hey, we see that you're confused, you're lost in this.

And the beauty of it is here's directions and does God offer directions?

And you go, absolutely.

So for us to be, I look at it as we get to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Right?

Yeah.

And question two kind of flows right from that.

It's actually similar in many respects.

It says, in a culture that increasingly, increasingly embraces diverse sexual orientations, how can Christians stand firm in their beliefs without alienating those you want to reach?

And I think you, you said it perfectly, is we have to do it with empathy and with love and compassion, but never at the expense of the truth of God's word.

Because God defines very clearly who you are, who I am.

And our identity is intricately linked with our creator.

I mean, he defined us.

He defined who we are.

We're fearfully and wonderfully made, knit us together in our mother's womb.

And so to try and find our identity in something like you said, outside of that will never meet that goal because that's not how we were created.

And so we have to fight against how we were created to try and understand something we can only understand in God.

Yeah, you said it.

Well, it's just we don't have the right to define ourselves.

We, we were created by God.

We were created for God.

Nothing exists, exists apart from God.

When you were praying before we started the podcast today, you know, you're, your prayer, you know, was, Lord, we know that you're in control, that you're sovereign.

And our prayer is that, Lord, our will would match your will, that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

But we know that ultimately, you know, God is, He's.

He's going to win.

So the key is not to go, hey, God's on our side.

You know, it's, am I on God's side?

God is the side.

Yeah.

And I think, you know, and you said it well, and that was our prayer.

It was our hope then.

And that's what we continue to do as we move forward.

Yeah.

Amen.

Episode 5 Last Week we talked about the subject of candidates, and the question that we sought to answer in the title of the episode was, what if I don't like the Candidate?

We touched a little bit on this in episode two as well, but we specifically broke down the candidates and how we can approach those.

And so the first question is, you explain that voting is a duty even when we dislike all candidates.

How should Christians respond when they feel forced to choose the lesser of two evils?

And I think pretty much we explain that very question in episode two.

Yeah, I just think of a verse as soon as you were sharing that, you know, 1 Timothy 2, 1 and 2.

It says, I urge you first of all to pray for all people.

So it's not like, okay, well, I'm going to pray for my guy.

You pray for your.

No, it's all people, you know, and ask God to help them.

There's our responsibility.

We need to be praying for whoever it is.

It doesn't make any difference, you know, and intercede on their behalf, not ours.

You know, go, God, be with them and give them wisdom and give them direction and then thanking God for them.

And it says, pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that you can live a peaceful and quiet life marked by godliness and dignity.

This is good and it pleases God, our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

And so, you know, regardless of the candidate you don't have, God didn't say, well, if you like them, pray this.

Matter of fact, Jesus went the opposite.

He said, love your enemies, so pray.

For those that persecute.

Yeah.

So again, what a responsibility we have as believers.

And sometimes that gets put to the test because it counted all joy.

When you go through trials and all this and you go and keep your.

Keep your faith where it needs to be and just purely centered on Jesus Christ and you'll, you'll end up in a good place.

Yeah.

And we talked about this last week, too.

Is that voting isn't a valentine.

It's not a popularity contest.

It's not who's comb over do I like better?

Whose hairstyle better?

Who does the media like more?

Who does Holly, my favorite actor, like more?

It's not a popularity context contest.

When we talked about them being responsible for a whole administration, I mean, thousands of appointees that really push a political agenda based on the stances, hopefully at least the stances that they campaigned for.

So going back to what you were saying earlier today in this episode is that it's whose platform aligns more closely with what I believe is a healthy direction for the country.

And as a Christian, it should be biblical values, the sanctity of life, you know, things like that.

So both candidates are flawed is the point.

So it's not a popularity contest.

We have to look beyond the person and what does that person represent in their, you know, in their administration?

And then we also talked about is that it's not voting isn't the appropriate forum to send a message.

What do I mean by that?

So, you know, when we go to the ballot and you vote for either, you have a choice of candidate, you know, A or candidate B, writing in that third candidate just because you want to make a point, because that third candidate's not getting elected, it's going to be A or B.

And so it's not really the appropriate form to try and send a message that nobody will read.

Like you were saying earlier, it's an opportunity for us to speak about what we believe.

And that's going to be in either one or two candidates.

That's just the way that the system works.

Yeah.

It's just an unfortunate thing that people do that, you know, without really thinking through the issues, you know, you go, instead of voting for, like you said, candidate A or B, who is going to win, you know, one of those candidates is going to be in office.

So writing a third candidate, you go, why did you even take the time to vote?

I mean, you know, it's like any type of test, you go, the answer is A or B, and you go C.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, it wasn't an option.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And so, but I think it helps if you look past the, you know, like in this election, we have Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Well, I'm not voting for either, but I'm voting for a platform that I believe most closely aligns with biblical values.

And are either of them perfect?

No.

Do either of them align 100%.

No.

Yeah.

Or even are their agendas perfect?

No, you go, in that especially way bills are passed today that, you know, there's, I mean, I wish they went to line item bills.

You know, it is what exactly what it says it is as opposed to, you know, you see these, you know, congressional votes and they go, yeah, we had to, you know, pass this budget and they gave it to us at 2:00 in the morning and it was 17,426 pages.

Right?

You go, and you voted yes for that?

And you go, yeah, well that's, you know, they gave us.

Well, did anybody read it?

Right.

Well, no, you can't.

No.

So I get where people are coming from.

I totally understand that.

They go, man, our system is flawed.

But that doesn't mean that you just do away with it, that you look to bring correction.

But how do you do that?

Well, you got to start voting for the right people that go into office.

I mean, the Judeo Christian ethic, both for Jew and Christian alike, is to love God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, your strength, and to love your neighbors, yourself.

And so if we just voted that way that we looked at things and when is this good for our country and is it good for people?

And then looking at that, you know, and for the greater good of our country, you go, if you just looked at it that way, we'd make better decisions.

You go, but when it becomes selfish in, you know, our choosing and we're putting ourself over other people, you end up, you know, in a really dark place.

And I think a lot of ways that's what's happened in our country.

You know, it's, it becomes partisan.

We hear this partisan politics.

It's one side against the other.

And if you look at the last, you know, couple elections, I didn't even know anything about executive order, you know, I mean, all of a sudden, day one, you go, you know, just undo everything that the previous president, you know, did do.

And you go, are you telling me everything he did was bad?

And you go, no.

And you go, but why did you do it?

Then you go, because I hate him.

Right?

And you go, wow.

And you go, and if that's what our countries come to, you go, it's a dangerous place for us to be.

We'll finish here our episode with our last question from season five, and that is, how can Christians maintain unity in the church when political opinions, especially those about specific candidates, are so divisive?

Well, from the pulpit, you know, I say this often, I just Say, you know, I could change my opinion and I could, you know, agree with you.

And I go, but then we'd both be wrong.

And I just.

I'm just teasing.

No, it's.

That's the beauty of the Christian faith is, you know, you look at the diversity, you know, in unity, that, you know, we're not all the same.

We're not all alike.

And it takes a move of God's spirit to knit us together and that.

But that's one of the great testimonies that we have to the world.

People walk in and they go, man, how do all these people get along?

And you go, because we make.

The centerpiece of our getting along is Jesus crucifixion, his death upon the cross, that we were sinners and we deserved hell, but he took our place and he made it possible for all of us, regardless of color, to think that we could all become the family of God.

And I think that's the driving force behind the church today, is to, you know, we say this often, you know, keep the main thing.

The main thing.

And what's the main thing?

It's Jesus.

Jesus.

Yeah.

Yep.

Yep.

And how many disagreements would be avoided just by focusing on Christ?

Amen.

In the gospel.

Well, that wraps up this season, Season one of Real Life with Mike and Jason.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Join us next season as we dive into the topic around addiction.

We'll be joined with pastor Mike Atkison, who is the recovery pastor, Recovery ministry pastor here at Calvary Chapel, Bakersfield, as we talk again about addiction.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Please pray, please vote, but most importantly, seek God in his word.

Thank you for joining us and have a great day.

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Real Life.

Real Life is a ministry of Calvary Chapel, Bakersfield, and we hope these discussions have inspired and encouraged you to live out your faith in everyday life.

New episodes release Every Thursday at 4pm so be sure to tune in for more real conversations about real issues.

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Thanks again for listening and we'll see you in the next episode.