Spend Some Time in the Trenches

                Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Acts 17:16-17

The verses above show us that Paul’s spirit was provoked. Now we must understand this is Paul’s lowercase “s” spirit and not the Holy Spirit provoking him. This tells me a lot about Paul and his heart. He actually cared about those around him and their eternity. What should have been a holiday for Paul in Athens, instead, turned into a heart troubling experience for him as he recognized the idol worship of the people there. Paul, I guess, could have let this go and enjoyed his time off, but his heart and love for the gospel and those around him wouldn’t allow him to ignore what he was seeing.

The idol worship found here in Athens is not much different than the idol worship found in America. This should trouble all of us because we are all guilty of idol worship. Tim Keller does a great job explaining this type of worship in his book Counterfeit gods.

“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”

Do you see that? What absorbs your heart and the hearts of those around you? We spend so much of our time looking to manmade idols that cannot save us. Please realize that idols are in need of man. Idols absolutely do not exist without man. Idols will ultimately fail man and bring an eternity apart from God. Jeremiah 10:5 lays this out clearly.

Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.

These truths point us to the ultimate truth of God. God needs nothing. God existed before man and will exist long after man. God brings salvation and an eternity with Him. This is why we focus our praises and all our glory vertically to our Father. This is what Psalms 121 is pointing out.

I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heaven and earth.

We must take Paul’s lead and quit sitting on our hands. We must get up and tell everyone about the gospel and the God that is greater than all idols. How do we this? Look at verse 17. Paul noticed his surroundings and saw a need and he was intentional about providing that need. Scripture doesn’t tell us that Paul wished that something would change. No, Scripture tells us that Paul did something about it. Paul started preaching in the synagogues and in the marketplace every day. Did you hear that clearly? He preached the gospel to an idol worshipping lost population every single day. He did this without fear. He did this without hesitation. He did this with the Kingdom on his mind.

Is your spirit ever provoked? Do you ever hurt for those around you? We must spend time thinking about these things. We must recognize that God deserves our worship above all idols. There should never be a time where we truly take a holiday. I am not calling for us to not go to the beach or not take time off from our jobs. I am calling on us to not take time off from the gospel. We should bathe in this gospel by always having the Kingdom on our mind.

Paul understood the desperate need of the people around him. He understood that their idol worshiping would ultimately be their destruction. Paul wouldn’t allow himself to be on the outside looking in while people were dying and going to hell. Paul made it a point to be on the inside. His mission his call was to be in the trenches amongst the lost. He didn’t do this to be a hero. He didn’t do this so that we would be talking about him today. Paul willingly went to the trenches because lost people were found there and he longed to see them saved. Paul went to the trenches because he had an answer for the lost in the saving God he served.

The trench is a home for the loss and can be a scary place. The trench can be unwelcoming. The trench can be harmful. The trench used to be our home—Christian. This is why we must take a cue from Paul and intentionally and willingly go to where the lost are found—in the trenches—taking them the amazing saving news of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Humbled by His Humility

                Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Is this easy? Does this come natural? We know that we are to count others before ourselves and we know that we are to seek out the interests of others before our own, but every fiber of our being is screaming, ME. My thoughts, my bones, my heart is seeking out what is best for me. Is that girl or guy good for me? Is that job good for me? Is that purchase good for me? How will this community service project work for me? Is this church good for me? Left to ourselves and our sinful nature this is our life. We are always looking out for number one—ME.

Understanding that man, in his natural state, would only seek himself Jesus did the unthinkable. He showed the ultimate sign of humility. He did what we couldn’t. Paul lays this out for us in Philippians 2:6-8,

…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus took the form of a servant. Jesus—God—became man. He “emptied Himself” and became a Jewish baby destined to die on a cross. Jesus did this for an underserving population. Jesus willingly took the cross so that we—sinners—would not have to. He had his eye set on you—Christian—as He made His way to Calvary. He had His eye set on you—Christian—as they drove nails into His wrists. He had His eye set on you—Christian—as He screamed in agony, “IT IS FINISHED!” Jesus truly counted others more significant. Think about that. Our savior, our God thought of us even though we deserved that cross not His love.

This act of humility saved us. This act of humility paved the way for our eternity. Do you understand that? Do you appreciate that? Even as we were sinners He took the cross (Romans 5:8). We must not overlook this wonderful truth. In the middle of our failures our God our Savior set His sights on us. What a wonderful truth. What a wonderful example. What a wonderful Savior.

We live for self. “I will help my neighbor but he will owe me.” “I will serve at church but I better be mentioned in the bulletin and receive the credit.” This is man’s focus and motivation—what is in it for me? When Christ enters and grabs ahold of us all this will change.

Our motivation will no longer be our own motives or our self-interests. Instead we will be motivated by a humble heart and love for others. We will help that neighbor because we want to share the love of Christ with those around us. We will serve at church with the Kingdom on our mind instead of our credit on our mind. We will do things in secret (Matthew 6:3-4) so that we don’t receive the glory but instead Christ receives all the glory. This is the life we are called to lead.

What is your motivation? Does the world revolve around you? Read these verses again and appreciate the truth given to us. Our world must revolve around the One who will never fail—Jesus. As long as your world revolves around man it will most certainly crumble. We must not set our foundation on a fallen world or in this case a fallen man—me. We must, instead, set our foundation on the One who gave it all. We humble ourselves and serve others because He—Jesus—humbled Himself and served us.  

He is Mindful of us

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

(Galatians 4:9 ESV)

This verse is full of truth but I want to focus on seven words, “or rather to be known by God.” Does that humble you? It should. These seven words blow my mind. Paul immediately takes the focus off of man and centers it on God. How can we turn back to our sinful ways and to the world when the God of the universe knows us? This is what Paul so desperately wanted the Galatians to see. This is what we so desperately need to see.

God knows us! We could not be saved apart from God doing a work in our lives. Think about your life and your priorities. Are you living a life that shows a love for the One who knows you? Do your affections point you to God or to self? Paul is arguing for a life lovingly devoted to the One that saves. To the One that creates. To the One that loves. To the One that calls.

Do you understand that? God knew you—believer—before the universe was created. We see this clearly in Ephesians 1:4,

“…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him…”

God set His sights on believers before the first star was in the sky, before the sun was told to shine, before the mountains were formed, before the water covered the earth, before the galaxies were designed. Should this create arrogance in us? Should this bring about man-centered boasting? No, this most humbling truth should bring us to our knees. The Sovereign Creator of the universe chose us. David explained this best in Psalms 8:3-4,

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

Does this sound like an arrogant man? Does this sound like a man focused on flesh? This is a man that understood we are undeserving of salvation, forgiveness, and an eternity in heaven. This humbled David and should humble us, that even in the midst of all our sins, God is mindful of man.

I pray this truth penetrates our hearts and we turn from the elementary principles of this world and turn to the sovereign saving God.

Press Into Christ

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

Acts 14:19-20

Have you ever thought about your life and what motivates you? Why do you do the things you do? These are questions that come to my mind when reading the above scripture. We see in Acts 14 that Paul continues to preach the gospel regardless of what context he finds himself in. The book of Acts, up to this point, has illustrated an explosion—in a good way—in the church. We see thousands upon thousands saved—Jews and Gentiles alike. This explosion is encouraging. This explosion brings confidence. This explosion brings boldness. This explosion also brings murder, persecution, arrests and a host of other horrible reactions towards those who are preaching the gospel. So why do it?

Why preach the gospel if this could be the reaction from those we are preaching it to? Why risk ridicule? Why risk losing friends? Why risk losing our lives—actually dying—for this gospel? We must not run from these questions or keep these questions locked away inside of our hearts. These questions should make us press into Christ and His Word because that is the only place answers will be found.

Take another look at verse 19. Paul, after preaching the gospel is stoned and dragged out of the city to be left for dead. Do you think Paul knew this was a possibility? Do you believe he was shocked at the reaction of the crowd? Of course he wasn’t. This reaction was of no surprise. Paul, himself, participated in this type of persecution before God saved him and was well aware of the desire of some to suppress the gospel.

So why do this, why preach the gospel if Paul knew what could happen? He answers this question in Philippians 1:12-14.

             I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

He did this for the advancement of the gospel. Paul did not walk into the mission field to lift himself up. Paul did not seek his own glory. Paul’s only motive was bringing God glory. We know this because even while he was in prison he was concerned with the spread of the gospel. Paul was not worried about his safety or comfort. Paul is exclaiming the good news and can have peace, while locked up, knowing that the gospel is being advanced. Paul’s imprisonment brought about boldness and confidence in the gospel. Brothers and sisters didn’t tuck their tale and run, no, instead they stiffened up and fearlessly preached the gospel.

2 Corinthians 11 tells us that Paul faced a great deal of obstacles during his life; beatings, stoned, danger of robbers, danger from people, danger in the wilderness, sleepless nights, and anxiety. Paul was prepared to risk it all because he understood what mattered most—Christ and His glory. Jesus transforms us—our hearts, minds, and desires.

We see this clearly in Paul’s journey. God grabbed a murderer, a terrorist and completely changed him and his focus. Please don’t miss that. Paul could face those stone throwers because he had glory on his mind. Paul could face imprisonment because he knew that the chains that held him on this earth would be broken for eternity. Paul could face anxiety and sleepless nights because he knew and trusted that his eternity was secure and he would be soaking in the glory of the Almighty Lord forever and ever amen.

Did Paul rethink his calling after the stoning—the attempted murder? Did Paul turn in a letter of resignation because things were starting to get tough? No, he rose to his feet and joined Barnabas on the mission field. Paul could not be sidetracked.

So I ask again, what motivates you? Why do you do the things that you do? I pray that you are motivated by the truth found in the inspired Word of God. This truth shows us that apart from Christ we are truly hopeless. We need a Savior. This truth motivated Paul to completely sell out to Christ. It is this motivation that allowed Paul to get up after being stoned, nearly to death, and continue to preach the gospel.

When this is our motivation we share Paul's anxiety for the lost and intentionally preach the gospel without fear. Truth-motivation allows us to let go of the superficial longings of this world and hold fast to eternal longings for Christ. 

Fearless Because of Christ

Due to the recent health decline of my grandmother I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about death and getting older. Death is real. It is the one thing we all have in common. Christians and non-Christians will die. Republicans and Democrats will die. Jocks and geniuses will die. The list goes on and on. We are all going to die eventually. Have you ever thought about that? Does this scare you?

I remember when I was nine years old I thought about death quite a bit. I would lie in bed at night and wonder if I was going to wake up in the morning. I often feared that I would wake up but no one else in my family would and I would be left alone. These are disturbing thoughts in the mind of a nine year old. I didn’t have peace. I couldn’t get away from that constant state of fear. Where did this fear come from? How could I shake it? I met with a therapist but ultimately this fear wouldn’t subside until God saved me and I understood the unlimited amount of love poured out from Christ on the cross for me.

We can be fearless because of what He did. We can be fearless because Christ conquered death.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

I love Paul’s focus in these verses. We thank God because He produces the victory. Apart from God we will always lose. Apart from God we are swallowed up by death. I praise Him today knowing that He saved me. He saved me from sin, death, and an eternal hell.

When this truth dug its claws into my heart I was overcome with an unbelievable peace. I no longer fear death. I no longer fear the things that I cannot control. I find peace in the One who has seen it all, done it all, and conquered it all. Please take hold of this truth.

While thinking about this truth I cannot help but think about my grandma. The last few years have been rough on her physically. She has dealt with mini-strokes and falls. Her most recent bout with a fall happened about a month ago. This resulted in a broken hip, which led to a blood clot that now has her, according to the doctors, a mere hours from death. I have watched her body slowly give up. This is what happens with age. Scripture points to this as well.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed… Ecclesiastes 12:1-3

These verses are scary if you are apart from God and His saving grace. Verse 1 tells us that there will come a day when we will not even want to wake up, “I have no pleasure in them”. What happens when you get old? Strong men are no longer strong. Your mouth that once was full of teeth is now vacant. Your eyes that could see everything grow blurry. Your ears that you took for granted began to fail you. This is the truth of life. Your body and eventually your mind will want to give up.

These truths can bring sadness but I pray they bring peace and joy. How can joy be found in such depressing Scripture? The joy is found in the Father. The joy is found in the One who conquered it all. This body, this fallen state that we are currently in is going to fail us, but our God, our Savior will never fail.

I find peace knowing when my grandma closes her eyes for the last time she will immediately see the King (2 Corinthians 5:8). She will immediately be worshiping the One who paved the way for her. Her eyes that were growing dim on this earth will be able to see the indescribable glory of God. Those ears that were failing her will hear the multitude of angels singing God’s praises. That body that plagued her will no longer be a burden. No more walkers, no more confused speech, no more stumbling, no more pain and no more tears (Revelation 21:4). This is what she is looking forward to. This is the truth of her eternal future. This is exactly what Paul was discussing in 1 Corinthians.

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:42-49

I love these words. This truth allows us to no longer have fear. This truth allows us to long for the day we are face to face with Jesus. This truth allows us to trust in the all saving power of God. This truth points us to the importance of the Gospel. Apart from God this will not be our truth. Apart from God our eternity is going to look very different. This is why we take hold of Him and the truth found in His Word.

I pray you take hold of this truth. I pray that your life would not be plagued with a fear of death. I pray that you would find comfort in the God inspiring words of the Bible. Will we suffer? Will we hurt? Will we face obstacles on this earth? We will absolutely deal with these things while here on earth but look what eternity holds. Dig into the Scripture and find peace knowing that we are not alone in these trials. Christ suffered, hurt, and faced obstacles as well. He did this willingly and He overcame. This is the victory we rest in—His victory.

I have peace knowing that my grandma is going to spend eternity praising our Savior our God. This pain and discomfort will no longer hold her back. The boundaries presented by her physical fallen body will no longer exist. I thank God for His saving grace and I thank God for grabbing ahold of my grandma all those many years ago. He is my treasure and He is my peace. 

Every Corner

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos… Acts 13:4-6

I love the boldness shown by Paul and Barnabas as they set out on their journey. Where does their boldness come from? Where were they able to find confidence? They found it in the only place that mattered. They found their confidence and boldness in God. He sent them. He prepared them. He called them to this mission. Do you share this confidence? Do you share this boldness?

What was Paul and Barnabas’ first stop once arriving to Cyprus? Did they take a nap? Did they seek out worldly pleasures? Did they go to the beach? No, they immediately started preaching the gospel. They were intentional in their walk. They were intentional in their mission—share the gospel with the lost.

Notice Paul and Barnabas' first stop was the synagogues. Do you think the gospel was welcomed there? Paul and Barnabas stepped out of their comfort zone and risked everything to preach truth. Their comfort zone was found in the gospel. They cared enough to go. They cared enough to see that the spread of the gospel was more important than their life, their success, their money, or their career.

I am inspired by the fact that they did not stop at the synagogues. They made their way through the entire island of Cyprus. They were focused on reaching every corner of that area. They knew that they were called to go, and go they went. Do we share this heart? Do we share this desire? Are we concerned about the gospel reaching every corner of the earth? Are we even concerned about every corner of our city being reached? We must honestly ask ourselves these questions.

These questions scare me. These questions convict me. What are we doing? Why are there still people who have not heard the gospel? We must learn from Paul and Barnabas and continue to carry the torch. Once we do this we will stop being content on the sidelines. Have you ever found yourself making excuses or arguing that God just hasn’t given you the opportunities to go? The opportunities are there, we just have to take them. You will never answer the call if you don’t completely submit your heart and mind to God and trust Him.

This has been weighing on my mind quite a bit lately, especially after seeing this recent poll, http://www.gallup.com/poll/153479/Mississippi-Religious-State.aspx. Take some time to study this data. Gallup asked folks if they considered themselves to be religious. They defined religion this way; “is it an important part of your daily life and do you attend religious services every week or almost every week.” The New England states top the charts as the least religious states in the country while many of the southern states are considered to be the most religious. Regardless of whom tops the chart none of these numbers should bring comfort. There continues to be a number of folks right here in our backyard who have not heard the gospel.

Does this bother you? Do you ever spend time thinking about or praying about the lost around you? We are called to every corner of this world. This should not scare us. We have the greatest news ever given. This truth saves. This truth forgives. This truth loves. This truth frees. This truth will provide you with all the confidence and boldness you need. This truth does not need our additions or subtractions. This Christ-centered truth stands on its own. I praise God for these opportunities and I cherish the time I have to share this truth with others.

Please understand that Paul and Barnabas prayed to and were called by the same God we worship. He was there for them and He is there for us. We should be motivated to go. We should be anxious to go. We should want to go. Oh how precious is a life devoted to the spread of the gospel. Please don’t forget the truth found in Romans 10:15,

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

This is a calling we all have received. Some of you will stay here witnessing to those around you—neighbors, coworkers, friends, family. Some of you will be sent around the world. Some of you will be sent to another state. Regardless of where you are called we all share the same mission—spreading the good news of Christ. We must be intentional about this. The gospel has to be a fixture in our lives.

Are you ready? Are you excited? Are you anxious to see what God has planned? I pray that you are. I pray that we would pick up the torch and shine God’s light around this dark world. I pray that every corner of our lives and of this world would be saturated with this Christ-centered gospel. I pray we would meditate on Matthew 9:37-38.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Brothers and sisters the harvest is there what are we going to do about it?!

You Can't Do It

You remember that line from Waterboy?  You know the one, “You can do it.” People love using this quote. We see this in politicians, actors, athletes, and business leaders. We find this idea in self-help books and DVD’s. They are all emphasizing the same thing, “You can do it.” You can have your best life now. The world is at your fingertips.

   

This is a damning philosophy, which is why I want to focus on the opposite yet truthful statement, “You can’t do it.” I understand that this may be difficult to comprehend but trust me it is a freeing statement and unlike the damning philosophy of “You can do it”, this is a life changing life giving philosophy.

We can’t do it. We can spend our entire life trying to obtain the unobtainable—ultimate satisfaction—but it will all be for naught. In our natural “Adamic” state we constantly are searching. We are searching for happiness. We are searching for that next high. We believe this satisfaction is found in money, spouse, career, or even a hobby. The question I want to tackle is can this satisfaction possibly be found apart from Christ and His work?

When thinking about this question I am reminded of Simon, James and John in Luke 5. The crowds following Jesus were growing and Jesus needed to find a place that would allow Him to speak to the entire group. So Jesus boarded Simon’s boat and asked him to pull out from land. Once Jesus was done speaking He told Simon to cast his nets for a catch. Simon, after working all night and coming up empty, reluctantly threw the nets in the water. They hauled in enough fish to fill two boats. The boats were literally sinking because of the weight of the haul. This brings us to the reaction of the fisherman in verses 8-11.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:8-11

Notice Simon’s obedience and his immediate praise to Jesus. Simon wasn’t focused on his haul. Simon wasn’t focused on the amount of money he was going to make. Simon wasn’t focused on the fish fry he was going to have. Simon was focused on the One who made it all happen. He was focused on the one who provided him with the fish and that haul. Simon realized that he deserved no credit for the catch. As a matter fact Simon realized that he was not worthy to even be in the presence of Christ. Simon understood the weight of his sin. He also understood that he must repent. Simon was screaming out, “I can’t do it!” He knew that he needed a savior and apart from that Savior he was hopeless.

I love verse 11. They brought their boat to land and “they left everything and followed him.” They left EVERYTHING. They just landed the biggest catch of the season—maybe of all time—and they left it all. This catch could have been their big break. This catch could have landed them that coveted reality show on Discovery. Well, maybe not but you see how big of a deal this was.

Why would they leave it all? Why walk away from that business? Why step off that boat into uncertainty? Why walk away from family and friends? They did this because they understood the concept behind, “You can’t do it.” They were dropping everything to follow the King—the One who could do it.

Think about your life and the things you are wrapped up in. What is your passion? What are you searching for? Are you waiting for that big catch, that big client, that big sale? Is your happiness and joy found in the things of this world? If this is the case than I am pleading with you to fall on your knees and scream to our God, our Savior, “I can’t do it.”

Notice here the focus of these verses is not that Jesus provided them with the biggest haul ever. They are not following Him as if He is some kind of genie. They are following Him because they want their identity to be intertwined with Jesus. They want to worship the Savior of the world. To them it wasn’t about the next catch, client or sale. They realized that they had all they needed in Jesus. He was enough—more than enough. Did they know what was ahead of them? Did they completely understand the calling of their lives? Of course not, but they trusted and they knew that regardless of what the future would bring they wanted to spend that time with their eyes fixed on Jesus.

I realize that this is a radical idea. I realize that this type of devotion may be perceived by some to be crazy, but I am encouraging you to follow Him wholeheartedly. This may mean you leave your business and move overseas. This could cause you to restructure your business allowing more of your profits to assist the spread of God’s word. This mindset will also have you focused on the Kingdom Dream being spread instead of the "American Dream."

This type of devotion could cause you to lose friends and even family members. Are you prepared to follow Him? Are you prepared to leave everything? In order for these changes to happen you must embrace the idea that “You can’t do it.” We know and trust in this statement because we know and trust in the One who screams, “You can’t do it, but I—Jesus—can and have!”