April 13, 2025

Are Christians Satisfied Pt 3

Are Christians Satisfied Pt 3

Are Christians truly satisfied with Jesus alone?

Spreaker podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Castbox podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
Deezer podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
RadioPublic podcast player badge
Podcast Addict podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Fountain podcast player badge
PlayerFM podcast player badge
Goodpods podcast player badge
Podverse podcast player badge
Podyssey podcast player badge
Breaker podcast player badge
Podurama podcast player badge
Audacy podcast player badge
JioSaavn podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconTuneIn podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconRadioPublic podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconYouTube podcast player iconFountain podcast player iconPlayerFM podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconPodverse podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player iconBreaker podcast player iconPodurama podcast player iconAudacy podcast player iconJioSaavn podcast player icon

Are Christians truly satisfied with Jesus alone?

WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:05.960
Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

2
00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:12.759
the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central. Good evening everyone.

3
00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:17.839
It is Sunday, April thirteenth, twenty twenty five. It is

4
00:00:17.960 --> 00:00:22.120
currently six oh seven pm Central Time, and I'm coming

5
00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:26.320
to you live from the Theology Central studio located right

6
00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:32.159
here in Abilene, Texas. Now, at one point in my

7
00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:37.799
military career, six seven pm on a Sunday evening would

8
00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:41.439
mean I had been at work for about seven minutes

9
00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:45.359
because I had walked into the building and started my shift.

10
00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:50.840
At six pm, I walked into Earling Birkwist Regional Hospital

11
00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:53.960
to begin my Sunday evening shift. Because the way it

12
00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:56.520
worked is one weekend I would have off. The next

13
00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:58.600
weekend I would work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and I

14
00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.560
work twelve hour shifts. It was this three on two off,

15
00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:04.799
this kind of weird. I don't remember the exact way

16
00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:08.000
it worked out, but the simple way is one weekend

17
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.760
I was off, and the next weekend I worked Friday, Saturday,

18
00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:13.319
Sunday six pm to six in the morning. All right,

19
00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:16.959
So at six oh that's now six oh eight pm.

20
00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:19.920
If I go back to that time, walking around the hospital.

21
00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:24.959
It was Sunday evening and my job, I was considered

22
00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:29.640
noncommissioned officer of the day. I had so many different responsibilities.

23
00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:33.200
I was responsible for security of the hospital. I had

24
00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:35.799
all kinds of different things to do. I won't go

25
00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:38.879
through all all my responsibilities because it would just be boring,

26
00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:41.319
and I'm not here to tell you, you know, the boring

27
00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:44.680
stories of the glory days. To quote Bruce Springstein, I'm

28
00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:46.400
not here to do that. I'm not here to do that.

29
00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:51.480
But for the sake of this introduction, I think it's

30
00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:55.400
an important story because of my job. I walked around

31
00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:58.319
and you know, at the hospital in the evenings, obviously

32
00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:01.079
everything is basically closed other than your inpatient wards in

33
00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:04.719
the emergency room, everything else is closed down. Everything. So

34
00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.639
as I'm walking around doing security checks, everything's locked up, everything's,

35
00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:11.439
you know, fine. I did a walk around the perimeter

36
00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:14.199
of the base hospital making sure everything is safe there,

37
00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:17.479
checking cameras, doing a lot of security work is what

38
00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:20.199
I did. A lot of it was security work. So

39
00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:23.520
I walked around a lot of times. And this big

40
00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:27.400
hospital what four stories five stories again, I don't remember

41
00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:32.360
this huge hospital with basically empty walking around by myself

42
00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:36.960
on Sunday evenings and time and time again, I would

43
00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:38.560
I kind of refer to it. And I did a

44
00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:41.240
lot of talking to myself. Okay, if anyone would have

45
00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:42.599
walked up on me, like what are you doing? But

46
00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:47.240
I do like to talk to myself, okay, spending time alone,

47
00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:48.919
I will, I will do a lot of talking to

48
00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:51.639
myself and I and I would always kind of reference

49
00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:54.919
this Sunday night feeling. I would get this Sunday night

50
00:02:55.639 --> 00:02:59.479
vibe that I would get as the Sunday night blues.

51
00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.560
I don't know why I call that, but a lot

52
00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:04.919
of times I would get, you know, I just I

53
00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.000
don't know. I would kind of become introspective and just

54
00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:11.840
kind of think about my life and how things had gone,

55
00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:14.599
had things gone the way I wanted to, remembering all

56
00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:18.520
of my mistakes want and there would be a sense

57
00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:26.639
sometimes maybe a little bit of melancholy depression, discouragement, dissatisfaction

58
00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:31.680
in life, a little like you know, what where am

59
00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:34.120
I going? What's going? You know, just a lot of

60
00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.879
questioning of everything, maybe getting a little too philosophical, but

61
00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:39.759
I would get you can call it I get into

62
00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.240
my fields, get I get into my emotion whatever terminology

63
00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:48.120
would you you would like to use. So Sunday evenings

64
00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:53.520
historically I have I have a tendency to do a

65
00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:59.080
little bit of that. And I was thinking about this today.

66
00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:03.360
Millions of Christians got up this morning and they went

67
00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.240
to church. They got the family, a lot of them

68
00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:09.520
have families, get in their car, drive to church, and

69
00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:12.879
they heard about Jesus. They heard a sermon, they heard

70
00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:17.240
the word of God. They sang some hymns or praise songs.

71
00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:21.240
They may have prayed, maybe they partook of the Lord's Supper.

72
00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:25.360
Whatever they did, they went to church and heard things.

73
00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:30.839
Right now, it's now Sunday evening. I wonder how many

74
00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:35.240
Christians right now, if they're even remotely honest with themselves,

75
00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:40.319
can say, I am fully satisfied in my life. I

76
00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.519
have nothing to hunger and thirst for. I have Jesus.

77
00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:45.720
I went to church, I heard the word of God.

78
00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.000
I am full, I am perfectly content, I am happy,

79
00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:53.600
I am satisfied. I have all that I need because

80
00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:59.759
I have Jesus. Oh, and I wonder how many maybe

81
00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.120
they have some of those same feelings on a Sunday evening,

82
00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:12.720
maybe some questioning and longing and wanting and needing and desiring.

83
00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:20.160
I wonder because I know by Monday, even if they

84
00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:24.600
haven't said anything, their discomptentment, their frustration, their irritations with

85
00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:27.920
life will probably show up, maybe even by the end

86
00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:32.720
of this evening. But sometime tomorrow they'll voice their displeasure,

87
00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:39.560
they'll voice their dissatisfaction. They will do that because that's reality.

88
00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:42.560
Even though Christians try to teach oh no, no, no

89
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.399
no no. If you've got Jesus, you've got all you need.

90
00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:49.319
Jesus is all I need. I'm perfectly happy with him.

91
00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:53.720
I just don't think reality proves what we claim, what

92
00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:59.680
we pretend. So and in this series we've been discussing

93
00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:07.319
satisfaction spiritual satisfaction, and part one I began challenging the

94
00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:13.600
popular Christian claim that Jesus fully satisfies. I explored how

95
00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:16.600
this idea is often repeated in sermons, songs, and books,

96
00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:21.199
but rarely examined honestly. I began to ask some hard

97
00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:25.639
questions about what satisfaction actually means, and whether most Christians

98
00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:31.279
who claim it are really just enjoying circumstantial blessing like marriage, friendship,

99
00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:36.839
financial stability, and emotional support, things that naturally bring satisfaction,

100
00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:40.399
whether Christ is involved or not. And I keep bringing

101
00:06:40.439 --> 00:06:44.319
that question up. Are you really satisfied with Jesus? Are

102
00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:47.160
you just happen to be satisfied because your life is

103
00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:51.800
pretty good and you can act all spiritual and you

104
00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:54.639
can act all godly and you can talk about Jesus

105
00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:59.240
and how fulfilled Christianity makes you. But just like, yeah't

106
00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:02.800
it interesting that you just have all the things on

107
00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:06.720
any list about satisfaction. You have this, you have this,

108
00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:09.480
check check check, check check, but you share act all

109
00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:15.000
super spiritual and pious. Yeah. I call into question a

110
00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:19.600
lot of that. And Part two, I think I deepened

111
00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:22.120
the critique. I think I went a little deeper. I

112
00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.600
looked at how many Christians feel pressured to say they're

113
00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:28.680
satisfied in Christ even when they're actually not, because dissatisfaction

114
00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:32.879
is often treated as spiritual failure. I examined the role

115
00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:37.160
of privilege in this theology, how those who claim spiritual

116
00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:43.240
satisfaction often have most of Maslow's hierarchy of needs they

117
00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:46.399
already have all of those needs already in place, and

118
00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:49.839
how the Church tends to overlook or even shame those

119
00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:56.199
who are hungry, hurting, or emotionally hello and empty, and

120
00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:59.319
they all the while will insist Jesus should be enough.

121
00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:05.000
And it's always interesting those who are without, those who

122
00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:08.480
have don't have Maslow's hierarchy of needs actually being met.

123
00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:12.920
They're told Jesus is enough by the people who have

124
00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:17.720
everything on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It's total trash the

125
00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:23.959
way the game is played. So in this episode and

126
00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.680
episode three, Part three, we're gonna kind of slow down.

127
00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:33.360
We're gonna ask a question what does real satisfaction actually

128
00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:38.120
require psychologically and theiologically, Because before we can ask whether

129
00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:41.919
Jesus satisfies, we need to define what satisfaction even is,

130
00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:44.559
and we've kind of been trying to build on this definition.

131
00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:48.039
We'll even dig in a little further. If we take

132
00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:53.360
the actual definition the fulfillment of a need, desire, or appetite,

133
00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:56.159
reaching the point where you've had enough, then we have

134
00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:58.639
to ask what does it take as a human being

135
00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:04.159
to be truly said satisfied. Psychologists have spent decades studying

136
00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:07.120
this question, and what they found is both incredibly helpful

137
00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:10.919
and deeply uncomfortable for how we usually talk about satisfaction

138
00:09:11.320 --> 00:09:15.360
within the Christian world. Because the truth is, unless your

139
00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:18.960
basic needs, your emotional world, your sense of agency, love,

140
00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:21.919
and meaning are being addressed. You won't feel satisfied no

141
00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:24.559
matter how many Bible verses you quote, no matter how

142
00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:27.440
many church services you go, no matter how many small

143
00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:30.039
groups you join, and no matter how many worship songs

144
00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:34.159
you sing. So in this episode, we're going to look

145
00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:38.440
at what psychology actually says is required for deep, lasting satisfaction.

146
00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:43.720
Explore how sin is often misdirected attempt or an a

147
00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:48.080
misdirected attempt to meet legitimate needs in illegitimate ways. I

148
00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:50.320
think that's key. And then I'm going to ask what

149
00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:54.759
does the gospel actually promise? Does it promise freedom from need,

150
00:09:55.039 --> 00:10:00.000
freedom from desire, freedom from want, freedom from frustration, irritation, discourage,

151
00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:03.159
and depression. Or does it offer a savior who enters

152
00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:08.679
into our hunger, into this reality and then walks with

153
00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:13.200
us in it. What does it actually promise? So that's

154
00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.440
what we're going to do. I know this has been

155
00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:19.840
somewhat controversial. Some people have really appreciated what I'm trying

156
00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:22.840
to do. We built a lot of the things we've

157
00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:26.000
done all kind of fitting together, the discussion about fear,

158
00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:30.799
the discussion about pornography, this all is fitting together now.

159
00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:35.039
A lot of times I'm foolish, right because I think, ooh,

160
00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:39.080
look at this. This is pretty clever, this is pretty brilliant.

161
00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:42.559
This fits this, This connects to this, this connects to this.

162
00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:47.559
I think I'm giving this really very deep discussion, and

163
00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:50.639
a lot of times it's met with other people like, well,

164
00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:52.320
I don't think it's that deep. I don't think it's

165
00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:54.480
that interesting. I think it's a waste of my time.

166
00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:57.919
And I hate that you feel that way. But I

167
00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:00.200
just think there's more here, even if other people people

168
00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:02.200
don't see it. So are you ready, Let's just dig in.

169
00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:05.120
Let's just dig in. That's as quickly I had to

170
00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:07.480
try to offer some kind of review, and that's the

171
00:11:07.480 --> 00:11:10.679
best way. So I'm just going to imagine I'm walking

172
00:11:10.679 --> 00:11:15.399
around early Birk West Hospital and well, Belleview, Nebraska is

173
00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:18.279
not really located in Omaha, Bellview, Nebraska, off at Air

174
00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:21.159
Force Base Nebraska, all right, off at Air Force Bace.

175
00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.759
It's Sunday night, and I'm having my typical kind of

176
00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:30.159
existential crisis. Okay, I'm talking to myself about life. And

177
00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:33.799
just remember, when I'm walking those halls, I was in

178
00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:40.919
school working on degrees on theology, Bible, biblical studies. I

179
00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:42.799
don't remember all the degrees. I was working. I was

180
00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:46.039
attending a Bible institute. I was a full, full, full

181
00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:48.960
time student. I was involved in three different schools at

182
00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:52.200
that time, so a lot of that time and that job,

183
00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:53.799
I was sitting at a desk when I didn't have

184
00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:55.840
other things to do, and I was working on homework

185
00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:58.879
is what it was doing. So it's not like I

186
00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:02.440
wasn't a Christian. I was a believer. I was reading

187
00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:05.919
the Bible, studying the Bible. I was a student in

188
00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:09.720
three schools and a full and full time job in

189
00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.720
the military. I was, but I was all in and

190
00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:18.879
trying to become equipped and you know, understand theology and doctrine.

191
00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:23.000
But I still had these feelings. Now, I probably would

192
00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:24.759
have denied it if you would have confronted me, because

193
00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:26.519
I was at that time, Oh, I'm a Christian and

194
00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:28.799
Jesus is all enough and that's all I need. I

195
00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:34.879
would have really given you a pious, pretend, garbage answer.

196
00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:41.080
But in the in the solitude of an basically empty hospital,

197
00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:45.679
walking around by myself, and a lot of times especially

198
00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:47.519
when it would get dark, especially in the in the

199
00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:50.559
in the summer, I would go all the way up

200
00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:53.480
to the top of the stairwell, and there was a

201
00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:55.279
I had the key to the door, and it took

202
00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:57.879
me out on the roof of the hospital, and I

203
00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:00.679
would go up there two in the morning, one in

204
00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:03.480
the morning, just sit up on top of the hospital

205
00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:05.960
looking at the stars, and then have all kinds of

206
00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.960
deep existential crisis and wonder about life and thinking, you know,

207
00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.960
is it what is it all really mean? At the

208
00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:16.039
same time, though, if you would have found me later,

209
00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:20.600
I would have given you all the Christian answers. But

210
00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:23.279
here we go. Let's take a step back and ask ourselves.

211
00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.159
What is the actual definition of satisfaction. I just alluded

212
00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:35.559
to it in my introduction. Satisfaction fulfilling a need or

213
00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:38.639
let me do it, do it this way, fulfilling a need,

214
00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:45.399
desire or appetite appetite if I can speak correctly, So

215
00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:48.879
let me do this again. We're off to a great start.

216
00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:55.080
The actual definition of satisfaction fulfilling a need, desire, or appetite.

217
00:13:55.799 --> 00:14:03.720
Reaching the point where you've had enough, You've been satisfied,

218
00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:08.960
you don't need any more. You're satisfied now. If you

219
00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.639
just think about that that this is why we're never

220
00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.200
truly satisfied, because do we ever truly have enough of anything?

221
00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:21.879
Maybe temporarily, but appetites, desires, wants, needs, longings, they all

222
00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:26.440
come crashing back in. So if that's the definition, we're

223
00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:31.039
going with satisfaction, fulfilling a need, appetite, reaching the point

224
00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:33.720
where you've had enough. If that's the definition, then we

225
00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:37.320
have to ask what do psychologists say is actually required

226
00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:42.360
for someone to experience satisfaction in a real, lasting sense.

227
00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:48.360
So I put together, utilizing artificial intelligence, a synthesis of

228
00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:54.600
what psychologists and what their research generally has identified as

229
00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:59.320
core ingredients for real satisfaction. So here's a synthesis of

230
00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:05.679
what psychologis and psychological research has identified as core ingredients

231
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:08.759
for real satisfaction. Now, I know what you're saying, this

232
00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:13.360
is psychology, I need scripture. I understand. But there is

233
00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.399
something to this that I think a lot of Christians miss. Okay,

234
00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:20.480
because remember Christians want to handle every issue with just stop,

235
00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:23.440
just don't do it. Just die to yourself, don't have

236
00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:25.960
that desire, don't have that need. Replace it with a

237
00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:28.399
desire and need for Jesus, and you'll be perfectly content.

238
00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:31.600
It's all law, law, law, law, law, and you can

239
00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:33.240
do that. But I don't think it's ever going to

240
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.240
fix the problem because whether we like it or not,

241
00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:41.320
there's two things about us that that are foundational. Here. One,

242
00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:45.879
you're a human being, and these needs and these desires,

243
00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:52.080
these emotional needs, physiological needs, biological needs, they're inside of you.

244
00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:55.679
You didn't ask them to be there, they're there. And

245
00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:57.919
I don't think all the Bible verses in the world,

246
00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:00.200
and all the condemnation in the world, and all the

247
00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.240
fire and brimstone is going to make those desires just

248
00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:06.879
go away. Christians love to do that. Someone has a desire,

249
00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:11.840
had just stop it, just stop it. And it's always

250
00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:14.320
great because you get to tell everyone else to stop

251
00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:18.279
their desire. But you have your own desires that you

252
00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:21.360
don't just stop. It's so weird. And then secondly, so

253
00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:23.440
not only do we have all of these desires, they're

254
00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:26.399
inside of us. We have a sinful nature and all

255
00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:30.440
of that's inside of you. This is like key to

256
00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:37.440
understanding ourselves. So here's the synthesis of psychologists and psychological

257
00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:42.399
research generally identifying the core ingredients for real satisfaction. Here's

258
00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:44.240
some of these and we're going to kind of again

259
00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:47.679
be borrowing. We've already alluded to Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

260
00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:49.759
This is kind of just breaking it down a little

261
00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:52.440
bit more so. The first thing you need is basic

262
00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:54.879
needs must be met. These are the base levels. This

263
00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.360
is the base level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs before

264
00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:01.679
someone can even think about spiritual or emotional satisfaction. You

265
00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:05.279
need food, you need water, you need shelter, you need safety,

266
00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:09.599
you need rest, and you need security. You gotta have those.

267
00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:12.759
You gotta have food and water just to survive. Right,

268
00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:15.559
and you already know what happens. Just remove food, just

269
00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:18.599
miss a meal, two meals. You know what happens, and

270
00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.319
you immediately see the external evidence that you've missed a meal.

271
00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:25.720
You become grumpy, You become gripy, you become complaining, You

272
00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:29.599
snap at people, you're frustrated, you get angry. What is

273
00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:32.079
going on? Oh well, you just haven't eaten and all

274
00:17:32.119 --> 00:17:34.480
of it. That just shows you. You just take away

275
00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:37.359
one of these things and boom you get you get

276
00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:43.319
a reaction. And sometimes the reaction is what sinful because

277
00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:47.759
you're showing anger, you're showing discontentment, you're complaining, you're grumbling,

278
00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:51.799
You're you're not showing love to your neighbor as yourself.

279
00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:54.480
You're not loving your enemy, you're not turning the other cheek,

280
00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:57.279
you're not responding with a kind word. Why Because you're

281
00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:08.720
hungry and you're frustrated. These must be in place. Chronic stress, poverty, trauma,

282
00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:13.000
or instability undermines any sense of satisfaction. If you've got

283
00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:16.920
something bringing stress, if you're experiencing some form of poverty,

284
00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:21.519
any kind of trauma, any instability in your life you

285
00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:24.680
just don't know, there's a lot of instability. This undermines

286
00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:29.119
any sense of satisfaction. Until you can find stability, these

287
00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:31.440
things will I mean, I'm sorry, you're never going to

288
00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:35.160
get satisfaction. You can claim Jesus from you can talk

289
00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:38.119
about Jesus twenty four to seven. You're never going to

290
00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:43.759
have true satisfaction because these things are missing. Basically, this

291
00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:46.480
puts you in survival mode, and once your in survival mode,

292
00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:51.319
you will struggle to experience satisfaction of any kind. So

293
00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:55.480
the implication much of what people call spiritual satisfaction is

294
00:18:55.519 --> 00:19:00.000
inaccessible to those in crises, poverty, or trauma on life,

295
00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:04.079
that definition is radically redefined. So here's the thing. If

296
00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:06.559
you claim Jesus is that all that you need, will

297
00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:09.799
take it to people in these conditions, and I'm sorry.

298
00:19:10.279 --> 00:19:11.599
You know what you're gonna end up doing. You're gonna

299
00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:13.680
basically say, well, you don't believe in Jesus, you don't

300
00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:16.319
have enough faith, or you're not saved. No, it's because

301
00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:19.559
they don't have their best basic needs met, which then

302
00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:23.799
demonstrates that Jesus clearly isn't enough when you don't have

303
00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:26.160
your basic needs met. And what happened We see it

304
00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:30.160
in job. Things start being taken away from him. And

305
00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:35.279
what happens. He starts crying out. He's he doesn't even

306
00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:38.359
he wish he was dead, he wish he wasn't ever born.

307
00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:43.880
I mean, he expresses pain and frustration because those things

308
00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:45.960
are being taken away. He doesn't say, oh, well I

309
00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:50.079
got God, I'm satisfied. Now. He's unhappy, he's angry, he's mad,

310
00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:53.240
he's got questions, he want answers, he wants something to change.

311
00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.400
So basic needs must be met or there's not gonna

312
00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:02.599
be any saturd faction, and so you can forget spiritual satisfaction.

313
00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:08.279
So those are basic needs. Second, psychological stability and emotional regulation.

314
00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:13.359
According to self determination theory and related models, a person

315
00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:20.799
must have a stable emotional baseline to experience satisfaction. Chronic anxiety,

316
00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:28.319
depression or unresolved trauma interfere with the ability to feel

317
00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:31.720
to feel like needs are met even if they are.

318
00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:37.839
And guess what, chronic anxiety depression. Some of these things

319
00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:40.599
are beyond people just say well, just stop feeling bad,

320
00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:44.920
just stop. These are deep rooted issues and they can

321
00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:48.440
be caused by lots of different things, and just giving

322
00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:51.599
someone Jesus just doesn't make all of a sudden, oh

323
00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:54.720
it all fixed, it's all better. Christians like to believe

324
00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:59.799
that it's basically Christians sometimes treat anxiety depression a lot

325
00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:02.839
of mental health and emotional issues. They treat it in

326
00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:05.839
a very weird way, right, because you would never go

327
00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:09.160
to someone like, Oh, I mean, well, maybe some crazy,

328
00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:13.319
whacked out charismatics would do this, but charismatic theology is

329
00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:15.599
evil and should be you know, removed from the face

330
00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:17.359
of the earth. Okay, so don't even get me started

331
00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:19.640
on charismatic theology because I don't even acknowledge it as

332
00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:22.839
being Christianity. But any reasonable person would not go to

333
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.680
someone who's got terminal cancer, say, get Jesus and your

334
00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:31.000
cancer goes away. Get Jesus and this disease goes away.

335
00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:34.079
Or hey, you're an amputee, well come to Jesus and

336
00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:36.599
you'll get a new leg. Are you're paralyzed, come to

337
00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:39.039
Jesus and you'll walk again. It doesn't work that way.

338
00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:42.839
And guess what, just getting Jesus does not take away

339
00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:48.640
your physical illness or physical disability. It doesn't just magically

340
00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:54.960
make you mentally whole and emotionally whole. And therefore, having

341
00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:57.519
Jesus you can tell everyone Jesus is going to make

342
00:21:57.559 --> 00:21:59.640
all of this better and you're going to be perfectly satisfied.

343
00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.200
But these things, if these things are in place, you're

344
00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:05.759
not going to have that satisfaction. It's just a reality.

345
00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:11.039
Distorted beliefs about yourself or the world can block satisfaction

346
00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:14.319
even when external conditions are good. So these are situations

347
00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:18.680
where you can have some psychological instability or some something

348
00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:21.960
messing up your emotions that maybe even be on your control.

349
00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:25.319
And even if you have all of the everything seems

350
00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:28.400
to be perfect and you've got everything good going on

351
00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:31.680
in your life, you're still not going to experience satisfaction.

352
00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:36.440
So people with guilt, shame, or low self worth may

353
00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.960
find it impossible to feel satisfied, even spiritually, because their

354
00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:44.839
inner world is fractured. And that's why sometimes there's things happening.

355
00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:50.079
It goes back to something inwardly is not right for

356
00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:56.240
whatever reason, whatever reason, and sometimes those are complex, they

357
00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:58.359
are deep, and they take a lot of time to

358
00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:02.839
try to figure out. So you're not going to have

359
00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:05.440
any true satisfaction if your basic needs are not met

360
00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:11.039
and if there's a lack of psychological stability and emotional regulation.

361
00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:16.119
Number three the fulfillment of core of physio of psychological needs.

362
00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:18.920
I was going to go physiological. We've already covered physiological

363
00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:25.119
fulfillment of the core psychological needs. Self determination theory identifies

364
00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:29.759
three universal needs for deep satisfaction. These are psychological needs. Autonomy,

365
00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:33.640
the feeling that you have agency, that your actions aligned

366
00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:37.240
with your values and are freely chosen. Everybody wants to

367
00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.000
feel some sense of autonomy, that you have some sense

368
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:41.599
that you can do this or you can do this,

369
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:45.880
and you're not just being controlled and everything's being made

370
00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:48.759
for you. Everybody wants to feel some sense of autonomy.

371
00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:51.920
There's some sense of that and if you don't have it, well,

372
00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:56.200
you're wellbeing and sense of satisfaction can be taken away.

373
00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:01.319
Number two competence feeling that you are capable and effective,

374
00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:03.519
that you're growing or achieving in some way. You want

375
00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:05.519
to feel competent. You want to feel that there's some

376
00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:09.559
level of competence. You want to feel that or if

377
00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:12.920
you don't, then you get frustrated, you get ear. You

378
00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:15.400
see this with a kid right when they're trying to

379
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:18.000
do their schoolwork. If they can't get it, they don't

380
00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:22.440
understand it. What happens Do they feel satisfied? Oh, they

381
00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:25.880
get very frustrated because they lack that sense of competence.

382
00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:30.279
You get humiliated, you get embarrassed. You're not very satisfied

383
00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:31.839
at that point in time. I don't care how much

384
00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:41.200
you have Jesus. And then so autonomy, competence, I guess

385
00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:47.200
with a third one relatedness or relationship or you want

386
00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:50.279
to feel like people can you can relate to people

387
00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:53.039
and you can be related to all Right, the idea

388
00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:57.000
here is feeling connected to someone, to others. You want

389
00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:58.960
to feel that you belong. You want to feel that

390
00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:02.839
you're actually and that you're actually valued. You don't want

391
00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:04.680
to feel like you're being used. You want to feel

392
00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:06.640
like you're being actually loved. You don't want to feel

393
00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:13.640
like that, You want that you're actually valued. Satisfaction increases

394
00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:17.000
when people feel they're living a meaningful life with choice, impact,

395
00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:21.440
and connection. These are relational, psychological, and functional needs, not

396
00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:25.559
just emotional highs. If any of these are missing, boom,

397
00:25:25.640 --> 00:25:29.839
there goes satisfaction. And again I'm trying to set this up.

398
00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.200
These things have to be in place. If they're not

399
00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:37.279
in place, and if they're not present, then guess what

400
00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:42.319
something's going to happen. You're going to be doing, You're

401
00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:47.400
going to be thinking, pursuing, desiring, and doing things that

402
00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:51.200
in many cases will lead you right over into sin.

403
00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:54.000
And we're going to talk about I believe sin in

404
00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:58.319
many cases is simply our attempt to satisfy and to

405
00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:02.319
meet unmet needs. But we're doing so in a way

406
00:26:02.519 --> 00:26:11.119
that Scripture condemns number four. You need some type of

407
00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:15.839
congruence between expectations and reality. Now this one is a

408
00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:23.680
little bit more complicated if your expectations are unrealistically high,

409
00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.400
which is often true even and I think some cases,

410
00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:30.160
and I think Christianity makes it worse you will almost

411
00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:34.200
always feel disappointed. We talked about this in a previous episode.

412
00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:36.799
I'm telling you all of these things are interconnected. Look,

413
00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:41.039
I'm saying, if you have any expectation for anything, you're

414
00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:46.839
bound to be a dissatisfied, unsatisfied and frustrated because expectation

415
00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:51.519
is the very thing that will lead you to dissatisfaction. Now, Christianity,

416
00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:54.599
that we sell Christianity in a way that gives you

417
00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:59.359
the highest level of expectation in the world. Because it's

418
00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:02.799
basically so you come to Jesus. Done, dun, dun, dunn,

419
00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:09.839
You're gonna be perfectly satisfied because Jesus it's all you need.

420
00:27:10.039 --> 00:27:13.480
You're never gonna hunger and thirst again. You've got everything.

421
00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:16.480
You don't need to look to anything else. The world

422
00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:19.680
can't satisfy you. Nothing can satisfy you. You have Jesus,

423
00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:23.559
you have purpose, you have meaning, you have an identity.

424
00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:27.119
You've got everything. You should be completely content. Oh and wait,

425
00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:29.960
there's more. Now that you have Jesus, you have the

426
00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:34.039
power of God working through you. You can now say

427
00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:37.799
no to sin, yes to God. You've been said free.

428
00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:40.680
You basically can be perfect. You're a new creature. All

429
00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:42.720
things are passed away, all things have become new. You

430
00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:45.960
basically can do you never have to sin again. And

431
00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:48.160
you're like, WHOA, I got a light when I became

432
00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:49.839
a Christian, and then all of a sudden you get

433
00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:51.640
slapped in the face. Day in and day out. You

434
00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:54.680
keep sinning, You keep sinning, You keep sinning, you keep sinning.

435
00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:57.319
You still have these desires, you still are not happy,

436
00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:00.400
You're still not satisfied. Or to quote again, I've said

437
00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.039
this already once in this series, the Youtwo song, I

438
00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:07.039
still haven't found what I'm looking for all of a sudden,

439
00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:10.799
what's wrong with me? Well, what's wrong is you are

440
00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:14.599
sold a bill of goods and your expectations are way

441
00:28:14.680 --> 00:28:25.240
up here and they're unrealistic. Satisfaction happens not just when

442
00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:29.640
needs are met, but when you expect, but when what

443
00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:32.559
you expect and what you experience are in alignment. You've

444
00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:37.359
got to have some alignment here, They've got to be

445
00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:40.880
in agreement. Here's what I expect, here's what I get now.

446
00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:43.759
So right here we could get into a discussion do

447
00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:47.400
we just need to lower our expectations to literally zero?

448
00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:52.200
What are the negative consequences of having no expectations? If

449
00:28:52.200 --> 00:28:56.559
you have no expectations, you will never be disappointed. I

450
00:28:57.319 --> 00:29:01.240
don't think. I don't think that actually works. It sounds good,

451
00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:05.599
but here's the problem. Even if I have no expectation,

452
00:29:06.359 --> 00:29:09.519
I have none. I can, I can. It may help

453
00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:14.200
me some, But here's the reality. These desires, these needs,

454
00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:21.920
these wants are built into our DNA. It's built into

455
00:29:21.960 --> 00:29:27.160
our DNA. Forget even our sinful desires, our sinful nature

456
00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:29.200
and the wants and desires it has. We haven't even

457
00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:31.880
got into that yet. So I think even if I

458
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:35.480
have no expectation, I'm still gonna feel the pain and

459
00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:37.799
the need and the desire. I may be able to

460
00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:41.599
it'll be a little easier maybe to try to process, well,

461
00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:43.200
I don't get this, and I don't get this, and

462
00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:45.559
I don't have that. Well, I don't have any expectation

463
00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:49.200
to ever have that, So I'm good. Right, Maybe you can,

464
00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:51.400
maybe it will be helpful, But then you're gonna one

465
00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:53.599
day wake up and go, well, why why can't I

466
00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:56.920
have no expectation to have any of this? When I

467
00:29:56.920 --> 00:30:00.680
can look over there and go that person has this, this, this, this, this, this, well,

468
00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:03.160
why do they get all of that? And they can

469
00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:05.920
only can expect it. They get it, but I'm not

470
00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:08.599
even allowed to have the expectation because I'm never going

471
00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:13.279
to have it. Yeah, now that becomes very complicated. Now

472
00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:15.839
Christians will come in. You just need to trust God.

473
00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:19.720
You just need to trust his sovereignty. He doesn't want

474
00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:22.319
you to have it. Now be quiet, because I'm going

475
00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:23.960
to go back to all the things you don't have.

476
00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:29.279
That's again Christianity doesn't sometimes have a good answer for

477
00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:34.279
this number five. So let's go through these. These are

478
00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:39.079
things based off psychological research and psychologists. Here's what they

479
00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:43.079
typically identify are the core ingredients for satisfaction. Basic needs

480
00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:47.519
must be met, Psychological stability and emotional regulation. Fulfillment of

481
00:30:47.559 --> 00:30:53.440
core psychological needs, congruence between expectations and reality, and a

482
00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:58.160
narrative or framework that makes it feel like life is

483
00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:02.079
makes life feel coherent. Let's stay it that way. You

484
00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:05.079
need a narrative, you need a framework that makes life

485
00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:09.400
feel somewhat coherent. Psychological well being is tied to having

486
00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:14.920
a meaning making system. Now, Christianity likes to believe that

487
00:31:14.920 --> 00:31:17.359
we're the only ones who have a meaning making system,

488
00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:22.000
but people can find a coherent philosophy to a place

489
00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:25.359
upon life that gives us some sense of that gives

490
00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:27.920
them a sense of wellbeing because they need to know

491
00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:31.279
that life makes some kind of sense. So people may

492
00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:34.480
turn to Islam, they may turn to Mormonism, Jehovah's witness,

493
00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:38.039
it doesn't matter. They will find some system. Some atheists,

494
00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:40.559
we'll talk about having great well being. All you need

495
00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:43.680
is something that will make it all make sense. And

496
00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:46.119
if it makes sense to you, then that's all you

497
00:31:46.240 --> 00:31:49.319
need to then have some sense and level of satisfaction,

498
00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:54.400
some sense. I don't think that's again. You've got to

499
00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:56.119
have all these things in place. You got to really

500
00:31:56.160 --> 00:31:58.920
have all of these things. People need a story or

501
00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:02.839
a framework that helps them understand their experiences. Even suffering

502
00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:06.400
can be endured if you basically try to convince yourself,

503
00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:11.119
oh there's purpose in this. It's redemptive, and Christians love

504
00:32:11.160 --> 00:32:14.920
to do that. Hey, you were you were molested for

505
00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:17.680
fifteen years. Oh, I got good news for you. It

506
00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:21.160
was for your good. It's all gonna work out to good.

507
00:32:21.599 --> 00:32:24.799
There's redemption in it. God was doing that so that

508
00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:28.000
you'll be better off. I mean sometimes it's the most

509
00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.880
twisted and psychologically scarring thing I've ever heard in my life.

510
00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:34.599
But if you can be convinced, oh, I went through

511
00:32:34.599 --> 00:32:36.319
all of this and it was for good. There's a

512
00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:38.440
purpose in it. A lot of it's just you're kept

513
00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:40.920
trying to convince yourself and then maybe it will make

514
00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:47.599
things better. A person who sees pain is meaningful will

515
00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:51.519
report greater satisfaction than someone who sees life as chaotic

516
00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:54.119
or pointless. So that's why people got to feel like, oh,

517
00:32:54.119 --> 00:32:56.880
there's a purpose behind everything. There's a meaning behind everything.

518
00:32:57.480 --> 00:32:59.680
Now again you can say, well, scripture gives these ideas.

519
00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:02.880
I am understand that, but I just want you to

520
00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:05.720
see everyone tries to come up with these concepts because

521
00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:12.839
everyone needs this. This is a psychological need. This is

522
00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:15.680
where religion and philosophy could possibly help or hurt. A

523
00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:19.279
bad theology can destroy satisfaction. Well, if I loved God more,

524
00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:22.640
I wouldn't feel this way. A gospel centered theology can

525
00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:30.400
offer hope despite dissatisfaction. So what is required for real satisfaction? Psychological?

526
00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:35.799
Psychologically satisfaction arises when a person experiences basic survival needs

527
00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:39.400
met emotional stability, a sense of autonomy, competence and connection,

528
00:33:39.960 --> 00:33:44.480
reasonable expectations, and a meaningful framework for life. If even

529
00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:49.200
one or two of these are absent, true satisfaction becomes

530
00:33:49.319 --> 00:33:58.680
elusive even for religious people. No matter how much Bible

531
00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:04.240
you read, how much church you go to, that satisfaction

532
00:34:04.359 --> 00:34:06.079
is going to be gone. You're gonna get discourage, you're

533
00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:08.159
gonna get depressed. You just remove one or two of

534
00:34:08.199 --> 00:34:15.760
these things. From a psychological perspective, real satisfaction includes the

535
00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:19.599
fulfillment of emotional, relational, and even physical needs, not just

536
00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:24.199
intellectual and spiritual ones. When we talk about satisfaction in

537
00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:28.840
any meaningful or lasting way, here's what's typically included. All right,

538
00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:30.599
So now we're going to kind of even double down.

539
00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:32.719
We're going to expand us a little bit more, because

540
00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:34.840
I really want you to see all the things that

541
00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:38.159
seem to be required for it to occur. Christianity is

542
00:34:38.199 --> 00:34:41.800
just like get Jesus, and it's usually get Jesus, believe

543
00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:44.360
in him, trust in him, die to yourself, and you're

544
00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:46.159
and you're good to go. You're good to go, and

545
00:34:46.440 --> 00:34:48.960
everything should be good again. The people who preach that,

546
00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:52.639
in most cases have many of these needs met, which

547
00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:56.519
then it's so irritating, right because is it Jesus or

548
00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:59.199
is it just because you have your needs met? But again,

549
00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:04.679
here's something emotional needs. People need to be to feel seen.

550
00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:07.719
They need to feel heard, and they need to feel understood.

551
00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:10.519
If you don't feel like people see you, if you

552
00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:12.840
don't feel like people hear you, and if you don't

553
00:35:12.840 --> 00:35:17.760
feel like people understand you, the wills are coming off

554
00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:21.800
the satisfaction train. Are the are the you know, the

555
00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:24.000
wills are coming off the truck, coming off the car.

556
00:35:24.039 --> 00:35:28.480
It's just coming off. You need to experience emotional safety

557
00:35:28.519 --> 00:35:30.639
and validation. You want to be validated. You want to

558
00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:31.760
be seen, you want to be heard, you want to

559
00:35:31.800 --> 00:35:34.280
be understood. You have to be able to express and

560
00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:36.840
process emotions without fear of rejection or judgment. You want

561
00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:38.119
to be able to You got to be in a

562
00:35:38.119 --> 00:35:41.199
situation where you can express your emotions, express your fear,

563
00:35:41.400 --> 00:35:44.280
express your anger, express your frustration, and people are not

564
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:47.199
going to go well, that's not very Christian of you.

565
00:35:47.639 --> 00:35:51.000
All right, okay, but you've got to have this. If

566
00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:56.280
you have it, then this is a good step to satisfaction. Satisfaction.

567
00:35:56.760 --> 00:35:59.960
If emotional needs go unmet, even someone with food shall

568
00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:03.880
and a job can feel empty, anxious, or unfulfilled. Emotional

569
00:36:03.960 --> 00:36:10.599
deprivation leads to dissatisfaction, even spiritual dissatisfaction. If you're deprived

570
00:36:10.920 --> 00:36:16.199
of some of these basic emotional things, not going to

571
00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:21.599
go well another one and again, when these emotional needs

572
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:24.360
are not being met, I'm telling you it's going to

573
00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:28.559
have an impact on every area of your life. And remember,

574
00:36:28.920 --> 00:36:31.360
these needs are built inside of you. You didn't ask

575
00:36:31.400 --> 00:36:33.760
for these needs to be put there. Now you can

576
00:36:33.800 --> 00:36:36.840
try to say I have no expectation that any of

577
00:36:36.840 --> 00:36:39.880
my emotional needs will ever be met. You can pull

578
00:36:39.920 --> 00:36:42.440
that off, but those needs are still there. And then

579
00:36:42.440 --> 00:36:45.800
you take the need, mix it with your sinful nature. Boom.

580
00:36:45.880 --> 00:36:53.360
You see where things are going. Intimacy and connection. Psychological

581
00:36:53.400 --> 00:36:59.880
satisfaction requires intimacy, not just physical, but emotional and relational closeness.

582
00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:04.960
This includes vulnerability, mutual trust, empathy, and feeling truly known

583
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:08.719
and accepted by another person. Loneliness is one of the

584
00:37:08.760 --> 00:37:16.400
greatest predictors of dissatisfaction and depression. Loneliness is one of

585
00:37:16.400 --> 00:37:21.199
the greatest predictors of dissatisfaction and depression, the greatest. Now,

586
00:37:21.239 --> 00:37:25.039
I have a number of articles right now about say

587
00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:29.840
call it the loneliest loneliness epidemic in society. This has

588
00:37:29.880 --> 00:37:37.599
been talked about everywhere. But if someone becomes isolated and alone,

589
00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:40.480
you said, but you've got Jesus, and Christians will say

590
00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:43.760
that you should never feel alone. Jesus is with you,

591
00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:47.480
so they'll talk to someone who's alone, Well, you just

592
00:37:48.039 --> 00:37:51.760
remember you have Jesus with you, so everything will be good. Now,

593
00:37:52.199 --> 00:37:54.559
all right, I'm going to go go back and get

594
00:37:54.599 --> 00:37:57.159
in the in bed with my husband or my wife,

595
00:37:57.239 --> 00:37:59.159
and I'm going to go back with my family, and

596
00:37:59.639 --> 00:38:03.199
you have good night. Okay, Everything's wonderful for you, right,

597
00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:08.760
and because you've got Jesus. Again. Christians love this game

598
00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:12.559
where you tell people who don't have they've got Jesus

599
00:38:13.559 --> 00:38:17.119
and that Jesus is enough, while they have the very

600
00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:21.440
thing that the other person is supposed to just have, Jesus.

601
00:38:21.159 --> 00:38:30.920
It's very contradictory. Satisfaction is not just about being loving.

602
00:38:31.239 --> 00:38:33.920
It's about being loved and being safe in that love.

603
00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:38.199
So you have intimacy and connection. A third physical pleasure

604
00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:44.400
and sensory fulfillment. This includes touch, physical satisfaction. I won't

605
00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:51.960
get graphic our physical satisfaction, warmth, taste, beauty, movement. Basic

606
00:38:52.199 --> 00:38:57.440
embodied experiences. These are basic body embodied experiences they're built

607
00:38:57.519 --> 00:39:01.920
inside of us. Well, this is downplayed and religious settings.

608
00:39:02.199 --> 00:39:05.239
Psychology see sensory and physical pleasure as deeply tied to

609
00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:10.280
overall satisfaction. Physical affection can dramatically affect emotional stability and

610
00:39:10.320 --> 00:39:16.079
satisfaction levels. Denying or repressing physical pleasure doesn't enhance satisfaction,

611
00:39:16.360 --> 00:39:20.480
It typically blocks it. Now, guess what you're missing? Any

612
00:39:20.519 --> 00:39:23.320
of these things you see? You see where this goes?

613
00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:29.480
You take? These are needs built inside, they're psychological, physiological, biological,

614
00:39:29.800 --> 00:39:33.599
they're inside. Now you mix it with your sinful nature.

615
00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:37.960
One doesn't h oh, we can see where this is going.

616
00:39:40.280 --> 00:39:44.679
Another is love, Giving and receiving. Love is essential to

617
00:39:44.719 --> 00:39:46.920
any real sense of satisfaction, not just the feeling of

618
00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:51.840
loving others, but being securely loved, unconditionally and consistently. Especially

619
00:39:51.880 --> 00:39:55.719
important is secure attachment, a stable sense that someone is

620
00:39:55.760 --> 00:40:01.199
for you even when you mess up. Next, derogation of body, mind,

621
00:40:01.239 --> 00:40:05.800
and soul. Modern psychology increasingly recognizes that true satisfaction must

622
00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:10.199
address the whole person. The body needs and pleasure, the mind,

623
00:40:10.519 --> 00:40:14.239
meaning and purpose, the emotions, connection and stability, and the

624
00:40:14.239 --> 00:40:19.400
spirit transcendence, hope, and a moral framework. You can't just

625
00:40:19.480 --> 00:40:24.400
meet one of those areas and expect lasting satisfaction. So

626
00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:31.239
psychological satisfaction requires emotional intimacy and validation, relational love and belonging,

627
00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:37.760
physical pleasure and safety, purpose, agency, and coherence, a loving

628
00:40:38.280 --> 00:40:42.400
narrative in which the self is seen safe and valued.

629
00:40:43.199 --> 00:40:53.320
And here's the kicker. Most people Christians included, don't experience

630
00:40:53.360 --> 00:40:58.079
all of this, So even when they claim spiritual satisfaction,

631
00:40:58.800 --> 00:41:05.760
there may be a lot of pretending saying, well, you know,

632
00:41:05.800 --> 00:41:07.880
I'm gonna I'm gonna put this over here and I'm

633
00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:13.679
not gonna think about it because you got to hide

634
00:41:13.719 --> 00:41:25.679
it under the surface. So that sets the stage now

635
00:41:28.519 --> 00:41:30.920
and again you could I told you to put Maslow's

636
00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:33.880
hierarchy of needs. We basically went through Maslow's hierarchy of

637
00:41:33.920 --> 00:41:37.159
needs like three or four different ways. Basically what I've done,

638
00:41:37.239 --> 00:41:40.199
I'm driving the point home. You got to have these

639
00:41:40.199 --> 00:41:44.199
things and if you don't, boom, now you're there's a

640
00:41:44.280 --> 00:41:47.960
lack of satisfaction Christianity. Again. The only answer Christianity really

641
00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:50.559
has is just have Jesus and you got everything. But

642
00:41:50.719 --> 00:41:53.559
usually it's you've got you have Jesus and you have everything,

643
00:41:53.719 --> 00:41:56.599
But then it's that's never enough. No, no, not though

644
00:41:56.719 --> 00:41:58.840
you just have Jesus. Well, wait a minute, how much

645
00:41:58.840 --> 00:42:00.880
are you praying? How much are you reading? How much

646
00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:02.880
you're going to church? Are you part of a small group?

647
00:42:03.239 --> 00:42:05.079
And then all of a sudden, there's like fifteen other

648
00:42:05.159 --> 00:42:13.880
things you have to do. So but here's the thing.

649
00:42:14.280 --> 00:42:16.960
You take all of that. Now what happens if you

650
00:42:17.039 --> 00:42:19.920
remove these things? You start removing I mean I went

651
00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:22.519
through all of them like fifteen different ways. I'm driving

652
00:42:22.519 --> 00:42:24.679
the part. Now just remove two or three of them.

653
00:42:25.559 --> 00:42:34.400
Now what happens? Two things happen. Are you ready? Dissatisfaction sin?

654
00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:47.559
Dissatisfaction sin Philologically and psychologically speaking, sin is us seeking

655
00:42:47.599 --> 00:42:52.159
to fulfill one of those deep rooted desires that plays

656
00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:54.559
a part and being satisfied, but in a way that

657
00:42:54.599 --> 00:43:00.719
goes against God's word. I want you to consider sin

658
00:43:00.760 --> 00:43:06.960
as a disordered satisfaction seeking. Sin is simply a disordered

659
00:43:07.039 --> 00:43:11.320
satisfaction seeking. Or we could say sin is simply seeking

660
00:43:12.119 --> 00:43:16.079
to fix your satisfaction. It's a disordered way to fix

661
00:43:16.119 --> 00:43:22.000
your satisfaction. Sin is you seeking to satisfy your dissatisfaction

662
00:43:22.239 --> 00:43:26.760
in a disordered way. Now that takes sin in a

663
00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:29.920
whole different level and a whole different way that goes

664
00:43:29.960 --> 00:43:32.760
beyond everything. And that's why just saying stop doing it,

665
00:43:32.800 --> 00:43:34.719
don't do it, don't do it. No, no, no, you're

666
00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:40.280
going to deep rooted deeds and desires. It's gonna be

667
00:43:40.360 --> 00:43:43.400
something more complicated. And we're not even again, we've not

668
00:43:43.480 --> 00:43:47.079
even added too much into this equation. The sinful nature,

669
00:43:47.119 --> 00:43:52.360
the sinful nature, the sinful nature, the sinful nature. Sin

670
00:43:52.480 --> 00:43:56.159
is not just the breaking of rules. It's seeking to

671
00:43:56.239 --> 00:43:59.719
fulfill a legitimate need or desire in a way that

672
00:44:00.119 --> 00:44:04.440
bells against God's design, will or word. This is not

673
00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:07.239
a new idea, goes all the way back to Augustine.

674
00:44:07.280 --> 00:44:09.440
It goes back to Aquinas, it goes all the way

675
00:44:09.480 --> 00:44:12.960
back to the Reformers in some different form, and all

676
00:44:13.199 --> 00:44:19.079
this all lines with modern psychological understanding. I'm not we're

677
00:44:19.159 --> 00:44:22.480
throwing out Christianity for psychology. I will say the early

678
00:44:22.599 --> 00:44:27.719
Christian fathers and leaders, many of them understood these concepts.

679
00:44:27.800 --> 00:44:34.400
Going back to Augustine, the Reformers, and Aquinas. Sin is

680
00:44:34.519 --> 00:44:39.320
in many cases simply a misdirection of a real God

681
00:44:39.440 --> 00:44:42.400
given longing. And I'm gonna say god given longing because

682
00:44:42.519 --> 00:44:45.000
we're built with this body and it's built into us.

683
00:44:45.119 --> 00:44:49.199
And again we have the god given longing, a real desire,

684
00:44:49.320 --> 00:44:53.519
need want, You need it to be even remotely satisfied.

685
00:44:53.800 --> 00:44:56.039
Yet you have a sinful nature that's going to corrupt

686
00:44:56.079 --> 00:45:00.880
the desire already. So even if it's the desire is good, well,

687
00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:04.519
we're we are already corrupted. So then our desires are

688
00:45:04.519 --> 00:45:07.320
a mixture of good desires and wrong desires, and it

689
00:45:07.360 --> 00:45:10.199
all gets mixed together, and then your sinful nature is

690
00:45:10.199 --> 00:45:21.079
going to say, we'll satisfy that desire by any means possible. See, desires,

691
00:45:21.119 --> 00:45:24.480
in many cases reflects how we made, how we were made.

692
00:45:25.440 --> 00:45:29.320
Obviously we were made with a need for love. Obviously

693
00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:31.360
we were made with some kind of a desire built

694
00:45:31.360 --> 00:45:33.599
into us for pleasure. I mean, there's no way to

695
00:45:33.599 --> 00:45:36.079
get around that. We like to be pleased in a

696
00:45:36.199 --> 00:45:40.440
hundred different ways. Obviously we have some desire for purpose

697
00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:44.800
and meaning. Obviously we have some hunger and desire for

698
00:45:44.960 --> 00:45:50.719
belonging and intimacy. Obviously we have some craving for security

699
00:45:50.719 --> 00:45:55.760
and peace. Obviously we have some instinct for agency and identity.

700
00:45:56.679 --> 00:45:59.920
None of those desires are inherently sinful, but sin enter

701
00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:02.559
when we attempt to satisfy them in ways that defy

702
00:46:02.679 --> 00:46:05.480
what God, defy the God who gave them. And this

703
00:46:05.519 --> 00:46:09.519
can get very confusing within even within Christian theology, because

704
00:46:09.519 --> 00:46:13.679
wait a minute, God gives me these desires, but then says, no, no, no, no,

705
00:46:13.679 --> 00:46:16.559
no no no no no no no no no no

706
00:46:16.559 --> 00:46:19.360
no no no. You can't satisfy it this way, this way,

707
00:46:19.400 --> 00:46:21.079
this way, this way, this way, this way, this way,

708
00:46:21.079 --> 00:46:23.000
this way, this way. You can't even desire, you can't

709
00:46:23.039 --> 00:46:25.320
lust for it. No no, no, no, no, no no no, don't.

710
00:46:27.239 --> 00:46:29.760
Now that sounds good because many Christians, well, that's right,

711
00:46:29.800 --> 00:46:31.559
you should not lust and desire for any of those

712
00:46:31.559 --> 00:46:34.119
things because you should just love God supremely. Well, we're

713
00:46:34.119 --> 00:46:37.039
never going to love God supremely. And again, it's always

714
00:46:37.119 --> 00:46:40.800
easy for people to say that if they're getting many

715
00:46:40.840 --> 00:46:44.199
of these needs met. See, you can talk a big

716
00:46:44.239 --> 00:46:46.639
spiritual game and you can act like you're such a

717
00:46:46.679 --> 00:46:50.320
spiritual superstar when you're getting all the needs met. Remove

718
00:46:50.400 --> 00:46:53.039
those needs, and now talk to me, you'll sound like job.

719
00:47:03.679 --> 00:47:05.719
Let me let me show you how this plays out.

720
00:47:06.280 --> 00:47:11.119
Let's start with a desire for intimacy. What's the sinful substitution?

721
00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:17.119
Come on, what's the sinful substitution for a desire for intimacy.

722
00:47:17.159 --> 00:47:24.280
Come on, come on, come on, oh illicit sex, pornography,

723
00:47:24.519 --> 00:47:32.960
and codependency. The biblical counter is, well, God's love, be

724
00:47:33.079 --> 00:47:38.000
vulnerable with God. Find intimacy with God. Now again, it's

725
00:47:38.079 --> 00:47:42.800
usually the people who have intimacy. They experience intimacy, they

726
00:47:42.800 --> 00:47:44.480
have it. How they say, but you go find your

727
00:47:44.519 --> 00:47:47.719
intimacy with God. I'm gonna get my intimacy from God

728
00:47:48.079 --> 00:47:51.800
and the physical and emotional intimacy from a person. Well,

729
00:47:51.840 --> 00:47:59.480
how wow, you're a Christian. You're a Christian rock star. Whoa.

730
00:48:00.519 --> 00:48:04.079
And again this plays out so many times in the

731
00:48:04.119 --> 00:48:07.519
way it works in Christianity. They always talk about what happens. Well,

732
00:48:07.559 --> 00:48:09.960
these kids are raised in the church and then they're

733
00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:13.039
about this age, they disappear. And so we always say, well, man,

734
00:48:13.199 --> 00:48:17.079
it's because of liberal professors. It's because of Netflix, it's

735
00:48:17.119 --> 00:48:20.119
because of TikTok, it's because of rock and roll, it's

736
00:48:20.119 --> 00:48:25.920
because of rap. It's because or they have deep desires

737
00:48:26.119 --> 00:48:29.400
for what Christianni says. You can't have those desires, you

738
00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:33.039
cannot meet those desires, do not fulfill those desires, deny

739
00:48:33.159 --> 00:48:36.519
those desires, don't have those desires. So then what do

740
00:48:36.599 --> 00:48:38.679
they do. They're like, okay, well, Christianity's going to be

741
00:48:38.679 --> 00:48:40.039
all up in my case, going to get all up

742
00:48:40.039 --> 00:48:42.320
in my face. I'm going to go meet these desires.

743
00:48:42.360 --> 00:48:46.079
And then ultimately the situation works out. Boom, they get married,

744
00:48:46.280 --> 00:48:49.639
they have kids, Now they have the intimacy they so desire.

745
00:48:49.760 --> 00:48:51.639
Then they come running back into the church and now

746
00:48:51.639 --> 00:48:55.480
they're the young couple sitting in the front room, front row,

747
00:48:55.719 --> 00:48:59.440
condemning everyone and acting so godly and spiritual. I don't

748
00:48:59.440 --> 00:49:02.599
know what the problem is with everyone, because fifteen minutes

749
00:49:02.639 --> 00:49:05.000
ago you had the same problem. But now that you're

750
00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:06.880
married and you're back in the church, you think you're

751
00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:18.920
godly and you can condemn everybody. It's such a game belonging,

752
00:49:19.920 --> 00:49:26.440
sinful substitution. This turns into tribalism, peer pleasing cults. You

753
00:49:26.480 --> 00:49:29.800
want to belong so you got your team. This shows

754
00:49:29.840 --> 00:49:32.639
up in theology even in a sinful way. My tribe

755
00:49:32.639 --> 00:49:37.400
against your tribe. Politics. Oh, you give into peer pressure.

756
00:49:38.440 --> 00:49:40.840
Now the biblical count are supposed to be no, no, no, no.

757
00:49:40.880 --> 00:49:43.280
You don't need to worry about belonging to that peer group.

758
00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:45.199
You don't need to worry about what your friends say,

759
00:49:45.360 --> 00:49:48.760
you know, because you've been adopted into God's family, you're

760
00:49:48.800 --> 00:49:51.880
a child of God. You don't need to worry about

761
00:49:52.000 --> 00:49:56.039
anybody else. Now, guess what typically happens. It's the adults

762
00:49:56.079 --> 00:49:59.679
sitting in the pew. Right, they're out of high school,

763
00:50:00.119 --> 00:50:03.039
out of all of that peer pressure. Whether they've got

764
00:50:03.039 --> 00:50:05.760
their wife, they've got their spouse, so they are already

765
00:50:05.760 --> 00:50:08.480
what they feel like, they already belong, they've got that,

766
00:50:08.639 --> 00:50:11.000
they've got their church, they feel like they fit in.

767
00:50:11.159 --> 00:50:13.119
And they're like, I don't know what these kids always

768
00:50:13.119 --> 00:50:17.000
giving into peer pressure? What is their problem? Yeah, once again,

769
00:50:17.199 --> 00:50:23.360
you talk a big game because you're not there. But

770
00:50:23.519 --> 00:50:26.000
many of those same Christians will still show the tribalism

771
00:50:26.320 --> 00:50:29.039
and that they're getting their identity from something other than God.

772
00:50:29.159 --> 00:50:31.239
But they'll talk a big game and still throw in God.

773
00:50:33.400 --> 00:50:37.159
How about peace? Well, the sinful way is you kind

774
00:50:37.159 --> 00:50:39.639
of just you get numb. You just you kind of

775
00:50:39.719 --> 00:50:44.000
just become comfortably numb to quote Pink Floyd, right, or

776
00:50:44.039 --> 00:50:47.559
you become you turned to substances and drugs and you

777
00:50:47.639 --> 00:50:50.280
look for something they give you some sense of peace.

778
00:50:50.400 --> 00:50:56.559
You look for a substitute. Christianity says trust in God's providence.

779
00:50:58.159 --> 00:51:00.559
You can have perfect peace, just trust in God's providence.

780
00:51:00.880 --> 00:51:03.440
Many Christians try to trust in God's providence. Again, it

781
00:51:03.519 --> 00:51:08.519
sounds good until I don't know. Your family's dead, you're alone, isolated,

782
00:51:08.800 --> 00:51:11.960
you're in a you don't have this, you don't have that.

783
00:51:13.480 --> 00:51:15.639
This has gone wrong, This is going wrong. You don't

784
00:51:15.639 --> 00:51:18.440
know about this. All of a sudden, everybody tells you

785
00:51:18.480 --> 00:51:20.880
to trust in God. And then what happens. You see

786
00:51:20.880 --> 00:51:24.280
the cracks and many Christians their lives, they're struggling. This

787
00:51:24.360 --> 00:51:33.400
happens pleasure, that's a desire. How does it show up sinfully?

788
00:51:33.519 --> 00:51:42.079
In gluttony and lust and escapism more entertainment than anything else. Now,

789
00:51:42.159 --> 00:51:45.679
Christianity will say you can enjoy things, but within God's boundaries.

790
00:51:45.760 --> 00:51:48.000
But then nobody can really agree on what God's boundaries are.

791
00:51:48.000 --> 00:51:49.920
Can I watch this? Can I listen to that? Okay,

792
00:51:50.320 --> 00:51:55.039
so Christianity sometimes it just becomes a convoluted mass. Now

793
00:51:55.039 --> 00:51:57.360
what some people say is, well, you should find your

794
00:51:57.480 --> 00:52:03.639
joy in God. The word of God should bring joy,

795
00:52:04.320 --> 00:52:07.880
Praising him should bring joy. Also that preaches good. But

796
00:52:08.199 --> 00:52:10.159
all the people who say that listen to it in

797
00:52:10.239 --> 00:52:12.119
church say amen, Then get home and go home and

798
00:52:12.280 --> 00:52:14.880
do all the things that brings them pleasure and entertainment,

799
00:52:15.039 --> 00:52:19.280
from sports to movies, to TV shows to family friends,

800
00:52:19.400 --> 00:52:24.639
board games, cooking out, hikes, exercise, long walks on the beach.

801
00:52:24.920 --> 00:52:34.199
Whatever identity, what's the sinful substitution? Pride, performance, rebellion, none,

802
00:52:34.400 --> 00:52:37.519
You just look for something to find your identity. Christianity says,

803
00:52:37.519 --> 00:52:45.239
your identity is in Christ. The power of agency. This

804
00:52:45.360 --> 00:52:48.360
is a desire. You want to feel that you have agency.

805
00:52:48.559 --> 00:52:51.079
This can and sinful substitution. It can show up in

806
00:52:51.239 --> 00:52:56.480
and manipulate, manipulating people, It can and trying to control situations.

807
00:52:58.840 --> 00:53:07.800
Biblical counter is stewardship, humility, surrender. Actually it goes completely

808
00:53:07.840 --> 00:53:14.360
against it. So sin is often not the desire itself.

809
00:53:14.559 --> 00:53:17.519
It's the direction of that desire towards something that becomes

810
00:53:17.559 --> 00:53:23.800
an idle or false savior. Now I'll stop right there.

811
00:53:27.920 --> 00:53:31.480
So we have Maslow's hierarchy of needs, all these things

812
00:53:31.480 --> 00:53:34.960
that we need to be satisfied. Christianity says Jesus satisfies

813
00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:37.280
all of those things. But we know in reality it doesn't.

814
00:53:37.280 --> 00:53:40.559
Because Christians have these same desires. What we need to

815
00:53:40.599 --> 00:53:48.199
realize is then when these desires are not met, it

816
00:53:48.280 --> 00:53:51.679
leads to sin, It leads to issues and our desires

817
00:53:51.719 --> 00:53:54.159
and our thinking and our wants. Now, what is the

818
00:53:54.239 --> 00:53:57.119
Christian solution? Well, on one hand, I would love to

819
00:53:57.159 --> 00:53:59.679
preach the Christian solution right and say, well, you just

820
00:53:59.760 --> 00:54:02.639
need Jesus and Jesus needs to be what you desire.

821
00:54:02.880 --> 00:54:06.000
But again it's such a game because everyone will say

822
00:54:06.039 --> 00:54:09.320
amen to that while they have half the ninety nine

823
00:54:09.320 --> 00:54:11.840
percent of what's on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. If you

824
00:54:11.920 --> 00:54:14.280
got eighty ninety percent of it met, well you can

825
00:54:14.320 --> 00:54:16.519
say all day Jesus is all you need. But it's not.

826
00:54:16.639 --> 00:54:19.599
Jesus is the reason you're satisfied. You're satisfied because you

827
00:54:19.679 --> 00:54:22.360
have everything on the list. So then you can't even

828
00:54:22.400 --> 00:54:24.960
claim Jesus is doing it. So the key is when

829
00:54:24.960 --> 00:54:28.280
you remove everything, would Jesus be enough? Would he really

830
00:54:28.320 --> 00:54:31.639
be enough? If you didn't have any of these things,

831
00:54:32.519 --> 00:54:40.480
where would you be? But it also can explain sin

832
00:54:40.800 --> 00:54:43.519
and a much deeper level. And you know what, it

833
00:54:43.840 --> 00:54:52.159
shows a simple law based approach. Stop doing it, stop

834
00:54:52.159 --> 00:54:55.239
desiring it, stop wanting it. Well, the desires are built

835
00:54:55.239 --> 00:54:59.199
into me. We'll just stop it. Now we could get

836
00:54:59.199 --> 00:55:02.760
into the answer of of just Christianity about dying to self?

837
00:55:03.000 --> 00:55:05.039
What does that mean? How far do we take this

838
00:55:05.119 --> 00:55:08.639
idea take up your cross, deny yourselfe die to yourself.

839
00:55:08.679 --> 00:55:11.159
Do we take that and expand it to every area

840
00:55:11.400 --> 00:55:14.440
or does it have a law gospel approach that maybe

841
00:55:14.480 --> 00:55:17.480
we haven't even considered on this podcast. We will have

842
00:55:17.559 --> 00:55:20.519
to get into that. But again, why is it that

843
00:55:20.880 --> 00:55:24.320
these people one group, they have to deny themselves from

844
00:55:24.360 --> 00:55:27.199
all of these needs that's on the Maslow's hierarchy of

845
00:55:27.280 --> 00:55:29.920
needs in order for them not to be sinful? But

846
00:55:30.320 --> 00:55:33.840
that person can get all everything on Maslow's hierarchy of

847
00:55:33.880 --> 00:55:41.800
needs and get God. Well, where do they deny themselves?

848
00:55:46.639 --> 00:55:52.039
So it's like that's where things get really all messed

849
00:55:52.119 --> 00:55:54.480
up within Christianity. But I'll stop right there. I want

850
00:55:54.519 --> 00:56:01.079
to get into Romans one and disordered desires. I wanted

851
00:56:01.360 --> 00:56:06.880
to get into Uh yeah, well, I'll just stop right there.

852
00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:10.199
I'll stop right there. But now you kind of see

853
00:56:10.239 --> 00:56:14.199
what I've been building towards and all of this and

854
00:56:14.199 --> 00:56:19.400
how this fits again with the whole subject of the

855
00:56:19.480 --> 00:56:24.239
whole Christianity and pornography. Christianity never addresses this deeper issue here,

856
00:56:25.519 --> 00:56:29.679
all right, I'll stop there. Thanks for listening. That was

857
00:56:29.719 --> 00:56:33.559
a lot of information, but there we go. Thanks for listening. Everyone,

858
00:56:33.559 --> 00:56:34.679
have a great evening. God bless