November 17, 2025 • 43 mins
This week, Granger and AntMan continue their discussion following the reaction to last week's episode on the "Islamic invasion," sparked partly by the election of a Muslim mayor in New York City. Granger shares the intense negative feedback he received, which accused him of being "weak, passive, compromising, and soft" for his stance. He emphasizes the need for constant correction and accountability through Scripture, questioning the call for Christians to "mount up arms and fight against this as they did in the Crusades".
The conversation delves into the concept of meekness, which is often misunderstood as weakness in America. Granger explains its ancient Near East context as "power under control" , comparing it to a fiercely strong, tamed mustang that trusts its warrior master enough to charge fearlessly into enemy lines. This idea of controlled strength is contrasted with simply "bucking" or instinctively fighting. AntMan contributes to this by linking it to self-control and the strength required to filter reactions through God's Word rather than reacting instantly in the flesh.
A significant portion of the episode focuses on the core Christian command to love your neighbor and love your enemy. Granger argues that this command has no stipulations, even if the enemy "wants you dead". He challenges listeners to see the presence of foreign cultures, like a Muslim family moving down the street, not as an invasion but as a mission field. They discuss how the fear-based reaction often stems from protecting "suburban life" and comfort, which can become an idol. Granger draws a historical parallel between modern "feel-good Christians" and 19th-century slaveholders who practiced a cheap form of Christianity while maintaining a cruel and comfortable lifestyle.
Finally, they tackle the notion of "fighting evil". AntMan stresses that the true fight is a spiritual one, using the "sword of the Bible" and prayer for God's will to open the hearts of non-believers. Granger dismisses the common call to be like Nehemiah, building with a tool in one hand and a sword (or "Glock") in the other, arguing this misapplies Old Testament Israel's context to modern-day America. They conclude by urging listeners to embrace the uncomfortable and ask the ultimate question: "What happens if I love them?".
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
So we have a Muslim as a mayor of New
York City.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Now do yeah call to prayer? A lot of people
from New York City?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Now, Oh, is it really?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I would assume isn't that right? He's the mayor of
New York City than we are. Didn't we start getting
the call to prayer?
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Interesting? I do know that. Let me say a couple
of things, And I know that this is a third
podcast about Islam, and I'm not going to make a
fourth when I promise you, I promise not listeners, not
in a row. We'll have many other trials probably, but
not in a row. I promise you. We're gonna switch
directions next week. But but I think one more video
(00:56):
on this, because now we do have a Muslim mayor,
and I've just been hearing a lot of chatter about this.
I have a group of I was in E two
in the core of Cadets at Texas A and M
to the class of two thousand and two, and we
have a signal group. In fact, we have a listener
to this podcast. Andres Gomez listens to this podc Yeah, Oh,
(01:18):
I love Andres, And I don't know if he's listening
right now, but for years. I know he's at least
checked in and out occasionally.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
And saying I heard the latest or yes.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And the guys, you know, the guys were freaking out
about this, about this Islamic invasion, which is the title
of last week's podcast, and Andre's actually comes in there
and posted like just a link to this podcast, like hey,
gout it. Granger addresses this quite a bit, but it
doesn't really matter whether I address it or not. People
(01:51):
are only going to hear what they're going to hear.
And the scary thing is that social media is really
dictating so much of how we think these days. I
don't remember you and I talked about this. I believe it.
It's been maybe a couple of years, but I remember
(02:13):
specifically speaking to a man from Africa. I don't I
can't off the top of the head, I don't remember
who it was, but it was a man in Africa,
and he was telling me that because of the algorithm
for Facebook, they the the all social media algorithms, what
(02:34):
they want I'm speaking of they in terms of AI algorithm.
What it wants is people to engage. It has no
other bias, it has, it doesn't care if it doesn't
care if it's good or bad. It doesn't care if
what political ideology, religion, doesn't care. Its goal is get
people to engage, get people to bring the app back up.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
I would almost say that it actually encourage you, encourages
you to disagree, because when you disagree, then other people
have opinions. Sure, when people agree, they tend to just go, oh,
you agree with that, and move on and don't actually
write it.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Sure, so this has happened in Africa and I'm sure
other places that I'm not aware of, but wars have
broken out because of disputes about tribes in Africa that
have been elevated because of a disproportionate popularity of a
(03:33):
post on a Facebook no account.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Wigh.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
You know, like, because algorithms will rev something up so
much that's not a big deal, but they'll rev it
way up to be a big deal, and then it
revs up the other side to be a big deal.
And for somebody that's focused on one thing, that algorithm
is going to sneak in the exact opposite of what
you think, so that you turn that direction and engage.
(03:58):
Once again. It's not it's it's morally neutral. It doesn't care.
It's not right or wrong, or good or bad. It
just wants you to look because that's what it's programmed
to do. It's so if you get really sensitized by something,
really offended by something, really into something, you're going to
see the opposite on your algorithm. Point being, when this
(04:21):
whole mayor thing came up in New York, everyone that's
like super against that started getting started seeing the people
that are super for that. And what we noticed on
our little chat group on Signal was there was a
fake AI videos of like Islamic riots in New York City.
(04:46):
Oh wow, And so guys were posting on there like
it's already begun here. It is our worst fear. It's
already begun. A few minutes go by, and one of
my other buddies was like, that was a video from
seven years ago in another city with Times Square put
in the back. Look that Times Square, that's that's not
(05:11):
the gap doesn't is not there anymore or whatever whatever
it was, And all of us are like, oh but
still we're like people are still like, but I'm still mad.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
But I'm still mad. Yeah, it didn't make mad that way. Yeah, man,
all that to say, they didn't even readirect the mad,
did it?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
It didn't.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, it didn't. You didn't all of a sudden become
mad that it was AI. You're still mad about what
the AI actually showed you. Yeah, unreal, dude.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
All that to say, Uh, judging by these last few
podcasts we've done, people are mad at me. People are
mad at me because I believe, and and I told
you this before we recorded. I've given out a lot
of opinions about this type thing. Sure, and and as
(06:00):
a believer, I must constantly be in check back with
a word and back in a group of accountability that
could speak into my life and say, brother, I think
you're off on this. I think you're wrong on this,
and let's go back to scripture. And here's why, you
(06:21):
know so, I need to always be in that available
to be corrected. I must have a heart that's constantly
willing and available to listen and be corrected. That's all
of us. That's not just me.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That should be all of us.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
And as far as Islam, I have yet to hear
an argument yet that says you're wrong, granger. We should
actually mount up arms and fight against this as as
they did in the Crusades. I can't find a biblical
argument that says Dad, that's right. I'm sorry I'm talking
(07:02):
too much a man, but no, no, I guess I'm
kind of setting this up and this idea that I've
been accused much over these last few weeks of being
weak and passive and compromising and soft. I mean, that's
(07:22):
what I've been accused of, and accusations just don't don't
mean anything unless you're in my circle. But I'm trying.
I'm hesitating because I don't want to say this in
a way that puff that sounds like I'm puffing myself up.
But I think it requires more courage, more boldness. I
(07:49):
think it requires a stronger man. Once again, I'm not
talking about me. I'm just in general. A stronger man says,
hold way, trust, don't react, don't attack, don't defend, don't
pick up arms. A stronger man says, I trust, I
(08:10):
trust my Lord, I trust my God. Often I think
about the meek horses in ancient Israel that Jesus was
referring to meek. Have I told you about this before
we talked about us? That word meek? Blessed are the meek?
Yep is often thought of, especially in America, as weak,
(08:32):
but the context of that word is incredible, an ancient
and an ancient near East. If you wanted, if you
wanted a mustang for battle, you would go get a
wild one. But you'd go to the mountains, and you'd
go up through the valley, past all the horses, and
(08:54):
you'd go high into the mountaintops looking for that one
wild mustang that was so strong and so strong willed,
and so so resilient and rebellious, that that one that
took days and days and days to track and finally capture.
(09:15):
If you got it, and you put your will onto
that horse, then that horse would trust you through anything, fearless, bold,
That horse you could take on as a warrior. If
you tamed that one wild mustang that no one else
could tame, if you could get it, if you could
capture it, and then you could run that horse right
(09:38):
into the enemy lines without stopping until you command it
to stop. Any other horse would be weak and fall
out and stop, But that one horse would run straight
towards the enemy lines, trusting not itself but in the
one who tamed it, the one who rules over it.
The idea is power under control, that's the meek horse.
(10:03):
Plus that are the meek power under control of a
greater power, the sovereign one, the almighty one over us.
Yeah that's good, And so now I've been accused of
so many things, But who who would be stronger? The
horse that just box and goes and tries to go fight, fight, fight,
(10:25):
but gets on into the enemy lines and folds are
the one, the one that says, I trust you who
tamed me.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
It isn't take any self control and any strength of
any kind to spout off and say the first thing
that comes to your mind. In fact, the Bible talks
a lot about your tongue and about how your tongue
is not tameable. But you know, the same thing that
comes out of the same mouths are blessing and cursings. Yeah.
And the difference between the two is the time, the thoughtfulness,
(10:56):
the listening to all all side and taking your time
and waiting to hear from the Lord on something before
you spout off something a reply or a response to
a video or or to someone in a moment. You know,
I'd much whether you listen to everything I have to
say and have nothing to say, than to just immediately
go on the defense. Yeah, because that is that's easy
(11:19):
to do. Your flesh gets instantly offended, and gets offended
very easily. It takes restraint and control to go. That's
not how I'm going to respond right now. Let me
run this through the filter of God's word before I
before I actually throw down a response to this.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. I only I only have this, Yeah,
I only have this book. Where else would I go?
What else? What else would I stand on? But the
word of God that testifies of itself in tewod Timothy
three sixteen, that all scripture, all sixty six books, all
(12:00):
scripture is breathed out by God, improfitable for teaching, for
a proof for correction, and for training and righteousness, that
the Man of God may be complete, equipped for every
good work. Where else would I go?
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Than that? And that tells me that it must obey
his commandments. And his commandments are this love. Your neighbor
is yourself, That's right. Who's your neighbor? Well, Jesus his
disciples ask him that, and Jesus describes who your neighbor is,
and he gives it through a parable the one that
(12:33):
we've all heard. The good Samaritan, a man that's a
Samaritan that's not on the same page as the Jews,
that is not a friend of the Jews in the
term of friendship.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
That we would think, Then what's a Samaritan in twenty
twenty five? To a believer, it's a good question.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Maybe a Muslim? Interesting, I mean, Jesus, it couldn't be
more clear. Who's your neighbor? A neighbor is like this
to you, a Samaritan? What a Samaritan. I wouldn't I
wouldn't eat, I wouldn't walk in the house of his
I wouldn't go through a village. I wouldn't make eye
(13:13):
contact with the Samaritan. Jesus says, that's your neighbor. Love him.
And if he couldn't be enough clear in that, he says, later,
love your enemies, right, love your enemies, and do good
to those who persecute.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
You, which just undated the Bible. Yeah, if you if
Samaritan dates the Bible and says, oh, this is only
applicable to this time, enemy instantly enemy, absolutely, So who's
your enemy applicable to any time?
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Somehow? When we think about these things, and we're we're
also we also hear those things, and we think that
it has no benefit to us. We're just like monkeys
like sheep that just do do do the will of
another entity and has no benefit to us at all.
(14:07):
And that would challenge anyone to test that.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Try it.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Wait till a guy cuts you off on the street
on and he's road raging. Try two options. One road
raid with him, Go try to you know you guys,
go battle it out on the interstate. See how you
feel that night.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yep, number two, been there.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Number two, I'm so sorry, my friend, I I cut
you off.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
You were right.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
How will you sleep at night? One of those two options,
love your neighbor, love your enemy, do good to those
who persecute you. So that brings us to this debate
because then everyone says, yeah, granger, but that doesn't mean
it doesn't mean lay down and let the Muslim invasion
come and take over our neighborhood. Oh yeah, that had
(15:02):
never said that. I never said that. Don't go to
the voting polls or you know, like.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
What he did say was exactly what the word says,
do not fear. Yeah, that's what you have said, and
those are God's words. Do not fear because you have
said that on the podcast, like people are feared and
scared of this. I tell you what Jesus tells us this,
do not fear.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yeah, in this world you have trouble, but take heart,
I've overcome the world. Look at this first. John four,
you you made me think of exactly verse eighteen. John
says there is no fear in love, but perfect love
(15:49):
cast out fear, for fear has to do with punishment.
Whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love
because He first loved us. If anyone says I love
God and hate his brother, he's a liar. For he
who does not love his brother whom he cannot see,
or whom he does see, cannot love God whom he
(16:09):
cannot see. In this commandment we get from him, whoever
loves God must also love his brother. This is this
is clear. And yet and yet we want to put
constraints on this idea and say, unless it unless it
takes away my comfort, unless it it unless I have
(16:33):
to see people that don't look like me all the time,
unless they're worshiping Allah, because that's bad. They're my enemy now,
or this is the most common, Unless they don't love
me back Romans five. Romans five says, and if we're
to imitate Christ, Romans five says, while we while we
(16:59):
were still week at the right time, Christ died for
the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person,
though perhaps for a good person one would even dare
to die. But God shows his love for us, and
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(17:20):
Roman's five is incredible, since therefore we've been justified by
his blood. Much more will we be saved by him
from the wrath of God. For if we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son.
Much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be
saved by his life. And more than that, we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
(17:41):
we now have received reconciliation. We were once enemies of God.
God said, love your enemies, and He did that to
us by sending his son, and who died for us
while we were still enemies, while we were still sinners,
not when we were good, when not when we be
decided to died first while we were going on the
(18:03):
the other direction. You want to play this video real quick.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Yes that this is a clip from last week.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
It's a clip from last week's podcast.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
And the vitriol that has happened yeah on social media
since this.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Yeah, but I knew this was good. I knew it
was coming. But here's let me put.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Read what you wrote. Read the caption for the video. Okay.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
The caption says, I feel pretty alone in this view.
If I wanted a million likes, I would say the
exact opposite. I would say, let's fight Islam. Let's protect
our children from the invasion, Let's take our guns and resist.
I would get so much applause from that. But what
if we saw foreign cultures moving into our neighborhoods as
an opportunity for evangelism. What if the mission field has
(18:54):
come to us? Would we fight for comfort and complacency
or would we fight for souls for the living God?
And what about our children? Do we desire comfort and
ease that breeds cultural Christians or opportunities to heighten the
urgency for a closeness to the Lord. What does loving
our neighbor really look like? Would I desire windless days
(19:18):
if my trees are full of dead branches? These are
questions I wrestle with.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
So the video says this thing, I recognize when I
hear I called a prayer in a mosque, I can
aloud speaker. I recognize my need, my proximity to evil,
my proximity to the Prince of the power of the air.
Here Satan, who's the king of the world right now,
(19:51):
I feel my proximity to that, therefore my closeness to
the Lord. And I'll pray every time those called it. Like,
for instance, I was asleep one time and this was
I think in Dubai, woke up. They would do the
call to prayer about four thirty in the morning, okay,
And I just made it a habit that every time
(20:11):
it woke me up. Because you're sleeping with the windows
open and stuff, and it's just very loud. You can't
avoid it. So I would just make it, make it
a thing when that woke me up, which I looked
at it as a demonic voice, then I would start
praying to the Lord. That's cool, and and I just
feel I have I have a desire, maybe a strange one,
(20:36):
that my kids would feel that kind of urgency and
not be lulled to sleep, which is much more of
a demonic tactic on us that you could just be
load to sleep by just nice little suburban lives with
no pressure. Just you want to go to church, go
if not, if you're not, if you have a headache,
(20:57):
don't go to church. You're you read your Bible, but
don't be a Bible thumper. You know, it's more about
loving people to the truth. And you know we're living
a Christian nation that you just slow yourself to sleep,
the demonic battle that's waging around you just becomes less clear,
a little blurry, and we don't Maybe I should say me,
(21:21):
I don't. I don't feel it. I don't feel the battle.
I don't feel the urgency. And so when dearborn Michigan
is freaking out social media because a mosque is now there, sure,
I just think what an opportunity for those people to witness,
to reach out, to have them over for dinner, a
(21:43):
Muslim family, and on top of all that, to feel
the urgency in the air around them. Okay, could I
rack just a few things with that video?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah? Please do.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So once again, and the last time we'll get into this.
But people went wild against me on this on all
the different social media platforms, and Hamber had to tell me, like,
stop looking.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
At that because of the responses.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah, She's like, stop looking at those comments. And usually
I make a habit to not look at comments, but
for the sake of us recording today, I was like, yeah,
you're right, I'm not going to look at anymore. But
but so many personal attacks against me and some people
from Dearborn, you know, reaching out said you have no idea,
(22:38):
you shouldn't speak about things you don't know about, or
you know, you you need to be educated more on Islam,
or you need to read the Koran, which we have
copyrighting here. You know, we've read. You have no idea
the hatred that they're bringing, or what they're trying to do,
(22:59):
or the the mission that they're they're coming to convert.
You know, all these things we've taken into account. All
we've taken account all of these things. You know, you
and I have have been in the Near East with
around plenty of mosque and plenty of call to prayers,
just just you and I and not considering all the
other travel. So I do believe I don't think we're
(23:24):
missing something here. But here's here's an example. Well, this
one just came in, by the way, while we're talking.
While we're talking, this one just came in. I see
your point that there is the fact that they want
us dead written in their text. They want us dead.
(23:46):
Once again, that's not that's not that's not a stipulation.
Love your neighbor, unless your neighbor wants you dead. Yeah,
love your enemies, do good of those who persecute you,
unless they want you dead. It doesn't say that.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
How many times in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John have
you seen looking for an opportunity to arrest or kill Jesus? Yeah,
that was that's in there, multip I just I just
read through all four gospels again, Yeah, like detailed how
many I should counted those?
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Or Paul or Peter?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Of course?
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, I said just those four now or did you
just just said at the beginning? Now, there are times
when they let Peter down in a back I excuse me,
Paul down in a basket outside so he could escape.
There were times when Jesus disappeared into the crowd so
they wouldn't get him. And there are other times when
they willingly offered themselves to be taken. And so there's
(24:44):
there's that. But but it's it was never a resisting never,
it was never a fighting. It was never a mount up.
Let's let's fight evil. You know, because I get so
many comments say, grangeur, we're commanded to fight evil, resist evil.
I guess I say, I've asked you before, how and
you always go on my knees and I go, I
don't think that's what people think.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, it's just a mindset that I have. That that's
where I instantly go. But I mean, and and sometimes
we have a bias of thinking what we think is
what a lot of other people think. Yeah, look, just
because the language isn't Yeah, it doesn't mean that that
it means to go fight, but some do. We've seen
that language in detail on some of these comments as well.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
I'm I'm starting to forget what I talked to you
about before we started recording. What recording. But but I
also want to say that I am a weak man,
I am a flawed sinner, and I constantly need to
be evaluating what I say. When I say things like
(25:43):
if a mosque moves in down the road, we need
to be do we see that as an opportunity or
as as a as a battle? And I need to go.
What do you think, Ranger? You know, what would you think?
Because people in Dear Dearborn Mission or Michigan are calling
me on this, and I think it comes down to
(26:03):
two looking at looking Do we look at them as
souls potential souls to be one to the Living God.
Or do we look at them collectively as like a
that they're too far gone and they're already they want
to kill us in their enemies. Or do we look
at that, look at them as almost like being trapped
(26:24):
in a a a ideology that the Gospel could break
them out of. And as we've said many times on
this podcast, a person that could face we could face
in heaven that goes it was you against all odd
It was you. I heard the gospel. If you're trying
(26:45):
to get a gift for someone that you think has everything,
how about a special video message from me. It's easy
to do. Go to cameo dot com slash Granger Smith
and you put in the prompt what you want me
to say. I get that message on my phone. I'll
say happy birthday, happy anniversary, What what ever personalized message
you want me to say to whoever you want me
to say it to I send it to you, and
you give it to them. It's pretty cool. Go to
(27:07):
cameo dot com slash granger Smith.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Well, you and I I've shared this with you a
couple of times. Is that some of my I've really
tried to change my morning routine a little bit, like
little things that the Lord reveals to me I try
to then incorporate to become part of my routine every morning.
One of those is repentance. Stop looking at the word
repentance as a negative and it being this thing of oh,
(27:36):
you send now you need to repent and turn back
to the Lord. Yeah, what if before you ever did anything,
you turn back to the Lord?
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (27:45):
What if before you ever started living in this world
each morning and letting the world influence your thoughts and
attitudes and actions, you turn from it. That's repentance, turn
to the Lord before that ever happens. And the kind
of reclaiming that word is being something joyful. But the
other aspect here is what I think that this can
(28:05):
help do is change a mindset of stop living in
this algorithm of fear and everyone is out to get you.
Everyone is out to take what is yours. Everyone, all
these people are out to take the freedom that you
your forefathers fought for and go What if this is
(28:26):
an opportunity instead of it being fear? Yes, of course.
If there's a vote on whether something should be built,
a moss should be built down the road, and you
have the opportunity to vote, of course, go vote, go vote.
You say no, I don't want that here, I don't
want that in my community. But not what if it happens,
(28:47):
something happens. What if the mayor gets elected that's a
Muslim mayor? Do you look at it as an opportunity
to go? Man, what if while he's a mayor he
gets saved? Did you ever think about that? Now? What
he would? Then you have a believer as a mayor
in New York who was what we view as complete opposite.
(29:13):
What are the opportunities that a true? Maybe that says
more about what you think about God.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
It does, It does, and you said earlier, it's also
it's also recognizing that that if a Muslim gets elected
as mayor, it's somehow slipped past God. It was on us,
y'all screwed up, Like he's looking at a Yeah, didn't
didn't didn't know, didn't know or.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
It didn't a point. See the Bible says that he
points those people to their positions. Your leaderships are it
ran through his decision making, his his will for them
to be in a seat that they are in. That's yes,
you get an opportunity to vote, but you think you
have the final decision. Absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
It also comes out of the this idea that we
protect and covet our comfort and our ease.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
That's easy, guilty of day.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
It sure feels nice to be comfortable.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Do you know why? I have another can of ice
cold waterloo. I like it. It's comfortable.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Sure is nice in this room right now. That's air conditioned.
You know, it's like weather resistant. If it rains, we're
gonna be sure is nice, you know. But but we
But in the long run, the more we try to
protect that and cultivate it becomes an idol for us.
And I use the analogy in my caption here because
(30:37):
it's actually a section I wrote in the book I'm
writing right now on cultural Christianity because comfort breeds cultural Christianity.
Culture cultural Christianity exist when when Christianity is easy and
acceptable to society and it doesn't cost you anything, it's cheap,
it doesn't cost anything. True Christianity, true grace is costly.
(31:04):
It will cost you everything, but it's worth everything, and
the benefit is everything. But unless we realize it's going
to cost me that we live in a country now
where it's just cheap. It's cheap, and we want to
keep the cheap. Don't mess with me. My life is
(31:25):
comfortable right now, so don't mess with me. And that
was part of my argument in this video is that
I don't want my kids to just be in a
bubble of comfort. So we want to introduce difficulties for
them like we do with anything, Like when you're working out,
you introduce difficulties to your muscles so that they break.
And so I don't want a life of utopia for
(31:47):
my kids. They're not going to be good from that.
All of this that have grown, we've grown through struggles,
and so that's part of the argument is like what
are you fighting for comfort? It sounds like here's another
here's a comment right here that's that speaks to this,
says Granger. They're not coming here to love thy neighbor.
(32:10):
They're coming here to take away your suburban life. The
commenter says, they will make you worship Allah. That is
not God. Have you been asleep all this time? You're
starting to sound like a feel good Christian. Just love
each other. There is nothing wrong with mission trips, but
when they try to come here and take away our
(32:32):
way of life, that's not right. You see, you hear that.
You hear what's happening in there.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
You're you're stealing our way of life.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
The suburban life is the idol is your God. You know,
during one of the the worst atrocities in human history,
Western American slavery, you know what they were doing. They
were going on mission trips around the world and coming
back home and beating their slaves waves because they're idol
(33:04):
of comfort and wealth and and and indulgence was fed
and grown by their slaves. So they would go to Africa, India,
the Amazon and evangelize the local tribes, come back and
beat their slaves that didn't even have scraps at their
(33:26):
own table. This is this is this is the same mentality.
Islam's coming to make you worship all. Well, they're not
gonna make me worship Aula. Make you worship Aula?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Is that all it takes? Yeah, they told me I
need to worship alla.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Now, and you're starting to sound like a good Christian
that says, just love, isn't that what? Who's that guy
in here starts with a j if somebody said.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
That Joseph Jacob started with it was Jesus.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
But here's that line. There's nothing wrong with mission trips,
but when they try to come here and take your
life away, that's it. Exactly what the slaveholders thought they
went to church on Sundays and worshiped. You know, the
stairway right here coming up to this room has Frederick
Douglass right here, and he would he has an excellent
(34:16):
memoir about about his life as a slave, as a
runaway slave, and he would hear these people going to
church and worshiping and coming home and beating their beaten
their slaves. Well, it's the same mentality right here that goes,
I don't want these Muslims. They look different. They there,
(34:38):
you know their book. Granger says, they want to kill
you their evil. I don't think you've ever talked to
a Muslim, grangeer a lot of these comments, I don't
think you've ever talked to a Muslim docked at few
docked a few few anyway, Sorry, I've cut you off
like three.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Times, not at all. I just it just reminds me
that that the the road to hell, the gatetail is
wide and it's comfortable. It's easy, and narrow is the
way to life that is uncomfortable. But the we had
we had an illustration at church the other day. There
(35:12):
were cones. They were so to get in was really
easy on one end is really wide and open, and
it led to destruction at the end of it. But
the but but the other way around is getting low
and small, and then when it opens up, it's to
everything that you ever dreamed of.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Wow, this guy says, We're no, it's Darlene. It's a woman.
We're supposed to love our enemies and pray for them.
Are we up for that challenge? Somebody commented, wake up.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
To her? Wake up?
Speaker 1 (35:54):
Yeah, okay, and she says, I am wide awake, and
I guess praying for you. Good for her, he says.
He says, I haven't. I'm just reading this out loud.
I haven't read it yet, so I'm reading and processing
at the same time, the guy said, but not wide
awake about demonic Islam. I was born in a Muslim
country to missionary parent parents. We were kicked out just
(36:16):
for telling people about Jesus.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Good, kind of Lord, kind of joy. Absolutely, yeah, you
didn't live through it, man Granger.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Yeah, anyway, it's just negative comment after negative comment.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Amberg just text me and said, you need to stop reading.
Oh yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Somebody said, I remember the darkness I felt the first
time I heard her call the prayer in the Middle East.
I am horrified this is happening in America. It's interesting. Yeah,
final thoughts about this before we close this chapter for
a bit, pray, how do you fight evil? A man?
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Pray?
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
What with your sword? Your sword, not the physical sword,
the sword of the Bible. Go read the armor of God.
That's how you can.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
I say, I want to return to that. I don't
want to say the slight little thing because I remember
that a lot of people commented about Neemyah. He was
in the Bible. Neamyle was rebuilding the wall outside of Jerusalem,
and he had as he was building with his tools
in one end he had a sword and the other
ready to fight the enemy.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
And a lot of all the guys did yeah, And a.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Lot of people are like, yeah, that that that's what
we need to be. Like literally, a guy said, one
hand on the Bible, one hand on your glock. Stop putting,
he said, Granger, stop putting both hands on the Bible,
and put one hand on your Bible and one hand
on the block, just like Namiyah. Way out of context.
The Lord told Namiyah to go to Jerusalem, to leave
(38:08):
Babylon and go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. The
Lord commanded him to do this. The Lord's not commanding
us to keep our suburban cities. How many times have
we put America in the context of Israel in a
wrong way. We are not Israel, We are not the
old the Israel. The purpose of Israel, the purpose of
(38:32):
the Lord blessing that country monetarily and spiritually, and raising
up kings and judges and prophets. All of that was
pointing towards the Messiahs that would bless the nations, all
the nations, including the purpose of that the purpose of
the promise to Abraham that your offspring will be like
(38:56):
sands on the seashore, and one day, through your offspring,
all the nations of the world will be blessed. And
the process of preparing for the Messiah all all of
that was to bless the nation. So we can't take
that out of context and go see that was happening
to Israel. We should do it here anyway. Let's go
back to how you would pray?
Speaker 2 (39:16):
Yeah, how would you? How I would fight?
Speaker 1 (39:18):
How would you would fight?
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (39:19):
And you said I would pray. What are you praying?
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Well, one for Lord's will and to open up the
hearts and the minds of those that you are come
in contact with, Like if they're encountering you, are they
encountering God or they encountering your flesh. That's just me,
that's not I mean, if if that's God wants you
to look at it, then then awesome. But that's I
look at me first, Like, man, if I can't sit
(39:45):
here and live one way and tell you something else,
So that's what I would pray. Like you know, I
have you know, Jovah's witness to come knock on the door,
and I have you know, the missionaries. I haven't invited
them in to eat yet. You have U from you're
talking about like Mormons, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Mormons. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
There are people my my friends in the Church of
Jesus Christ and Latter day saints we have. It's been
years now that the missionaries here come over and they
and we'll spend hours together. But there they tell me
stories of being yelled at, cussed at gas stations, people
(40:26):
telling them to get out, people slamming doors in their faces.
The same thing with Jehovah's witnesses, the same thing with Muslims.
Where is the Lord? Where's the love of God in that?
I know that's what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying. And you're gonna and listen.
They don't proselytize the same way those two do, being Muslims.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
Yeah, it's hard to compare.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Yeah, it's weird.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
The Karan and the Book of Mormon cannot be compared.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
But are you not talking to them because they moved
in next door? Or are you side eyeing them? Or
you calling h O A on them? Are you calling you? What?
Are you?
Speaker 1 (40:59):
Know?
Speaker 2 (41:00):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (41:01):
We have to get a little uncomfortable. We have to
get uncomfortable, and and sometimes being uncomfortable means I don't
know a lot about this topic. I don't know a
lot about the Quran, I don't know a lot about
your religion. But that doesn't equal. I fear you, but
I think sometimes fear comes from the unknown of I think, Well, just.
Speaker 2 (41:23):
Like they're going to make you worship Allah.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
Yeah, they're gonna make you worship.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Is it that easy to make you worship all? Are?
Speaker 1 (41:31):
They're coming in here with a bomb strapped to their chest.
You know, like you see you see a Muslim family
move down the street. This is happening everywhere. It's happening
here in Georgetown. Seem moved down the street. You know,
a husband and wife and three little kids. Are we
to think, like, I better better have my glock in
my hand. This family moved down here. I'm gonna have
(41:54):
my glock ready because they're coming. Man, They're coming to
take my comfort and my life. You know, they're coming
to influence my kids. They're making me start worshiping their God.
They're not They're not a religion of peace. That's what
every everyone's been saying. Forget about forget about what the
Koran says. Forget about the religion. Let's look at the souls. Well,
(42:15):
what if I could love them? What happens if I
love them? Not not contingent on if they love me back,
not contingent on what they do. But what if I
love them, what happens? What happens to me and what
happens to them? That's a question we all need to
wrestle with, including me.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
I agree. All right, it's good stuff.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
Moving on, Yeah, I love you guys. We'll see you
on the video reactions and the Q and a coming
up right.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Good one coming up on Wednesday Reactions Friday even Friday
Q and a YEP with a jingle.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Cool y'all, y, thank you so much for hanging out
with me on this episode of the Grangersmith Podcast. I
appreciate you being here. If you're listing right now, go
ahead and rate today's podcast. It helps more folks find
the show. And if you're tuning in on the iHeartRadio app,
you could actually set this podcast as one of your presets,
which is cool that way. I'm just one tap away.
If you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to hit like
(43:11):
and subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes. And
if you've got a question you want answered right here
on the show, just email me podcast at grangersmith dot com.
I'd love to hear from you. Thanks again for being here.
We'll see you next time. Ye
So we have a Muslim as a mayor of New
York City.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Now do yeah call to prayer? A lot of people
from New York City?
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Now, Oh, is it really?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I would assume isn't that right? He's the mayor of
New York City than we are. Didn't we start getting
the call to prayer?
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Interesting? I do know that. Let me say a couple
of things, And I know that this is a third
podcast about Islam, and I'm not going to make a
fourth when I promise you, I promise not listeners, not
in a row. We'll have many other trials probably, but
not in a row. I promise you. We're gonna switch
directions next week. But but I think one more video
(00:56):
on this, because now we do have a Muslim mayor,
and I've just been hearing a lot of chatter about this.
I have a group of I was in E two
in the core of Cadets at Texas A and M
to the class of two thousand and two, and we
have a signal group. In fact, we have a listener
to this podcast. Andres Gomez listens to this podc Yeah, Oh,
(01:18):
I love Andres, And I don't know if he's listening
right now, but for years. I know he's at least
checked in and out occasionally.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
And saying I heard the latest or yes.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And the guys, you know, the guys were freaking out
about this, about this Islamic invasion, which is the title
of last week's podcast, and Andre's actually comes in there
and posted like just a link to this podcast, like hey,
gout it. Granger addresses this quite a bit, but it
doesn't really matter whether I address it or not. People
(01:51):
are only going to hear what they're going to hear.
And the scary thing is that social media is really
dictating so much of how we think these days. I
don't remember you and I talked about this. I believe it.
It's been maybe a couple of years, but I remember
(02:13):
specifically speaking to a man from Africa. I don't I
can't off the top of the head, I don't remember
who it was, but it was a man in Africa,
and he was telling me that because of the algorithm
for Facebook, they the the all social media algorithms, what
(02:34):
they want I'm speaking of they in terms of AI algorithm.
What it wants is people to engage. It has no
other bias, it has, it doesn't care if it doesn't
care if it's good or bad. It doesn't care if
what political ideology, religion, doesn't care. Its goal is get
people to engage, get people to bring the app back up.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
I would almost say that it actually encourage you, encourages
you to disagree, because when you disagree, then other people
have opinions. Sure, when people agree, they tend to just go, oh,
you agree with that, and move on and don't actually
write it.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Sure, so this has happened in Africa and I'm sure
other places that I'm not aware of, but wars have
broken out because of disputes about tribes in Africa that
have been elevated because of a disproportionate popularity of a
(03:33):
post on a Facebook no account.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Wigh.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
You know, like, because algorithms will rev something up so
much that's not a big deal, but they'll rev it
way up to be a big deal, and then it
revs up the other side to be a big deal.
And for somebody that's focused on one thing, that algorithm
is going to sneak in the exact opposite of what
you think, so that you turn that direction and engage.
(03:58):
Once again. It's not it's it's morally neutral. It doesn't care.
It's not right or wrong, or good or bad. It
just wants you to look because that's what it's programmed
to do. It's so if you get really sensitized by something,
really offended by something, really into something, you're going to
see the opposite on your algorithm. Point being, when this
(04:21):
whole mayor thing came up in New York, everyone that's
like super against that started getting started seeing the people
that are super for that. And what we noticed on
our little chat group on Signal was there was a
fake AI videos of like Islamic riots in New York City.
(04:46):
Oh wow, And so guys were posting on there like
it's already begun here. It is our worst fear. It's
already begun. A few minutes go by, and one of
my other buddies was like, that was a video from
seven years ago in another city with Times Square put
in the back. Look that Times Square, that's that's not
(05:11):
the gap doesn't is not there anymore or whatever whatever
it was, And all of us are like, oh but
still we're like people are still like, but I'm still mad.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
But I'm still mad. Yeah, it didn't make mad that way. Yeah, man,
all that to say, they didn't even readirect the mad,
did it?
Speaker 1 (05:28):
It didn't.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, it didn't. You didn't all of a sudden become
mad that it was AI. You're still mad about what
the AI actually showed you. Yeah, unreal, dude.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
All that to say, Uh, judging by these last few
podcasts we've done, people are mad at me. People are
mad at me because I believe, and and I told
you this before we recorded. I've given out a lot
of opinions about this type thing. Sure, and and as
(06:00):
a believer, I must constantly be in check back with
a word and back in a group of accountability that
could speak into my life and say, brother, I think
you're off on this. I think you're wrong on this,
and let's go back to scripture. And here's why, you
(06:21):
know so, I need to always be in that available
to be corrected. I must have a heart that's constantly
willing and available to listen and be corrected. That's all
of us. That's not just me.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
That should be all of us.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
And as far as Islam, I have yet to hear
an argument yet that says you're wrong, granger. We should
actually mount up arms and fight against this as as
they did in the Crusades. I can't find a biblical
argument that says Dad, that's right. I'm sorry I'm talking
(07:02):
too much a man, but no, no, I guess I'm
kind of setting this up and this idea that I've
been accused much over these last few weeks of being
weak and passive and compromising and soft. I mean, that's
(07:22):
what I've been accused of, and accusations just don't don't
mean anything unless you're in my circle. But I'm trying.
I'm hesitating because I don't want to say this in
a way that puff that sounds like I'm puffing myself up.
But I think it requires more courage, more boldness. I
(07:49):
think it requires a stronger man. Once again, I'm not
talking about me. I'm just in general. A stronger man says,
hold way, trust, don't react, don't attack, don't defend, don't
pick up arms. A stronger man says, I trust, I
(08:10):
trust my Lord, I trust my God. Often I think
about the meek horses in ancient Israel that Jesus was
referring to meek. Have I told you about this before
we talked about us? That word meek? Blessed are the meek?
Yep is often thought of, especially in America, as weak,
(08:32):
but the context of that word is incredible, an ancient
and an ancient near East. If you wanted, if you
wanted a mustang for battle, you would go get a
wild one. But you'd go to the mountains, and you'd
go up through the valley, past all the horses, and
(08:54):
you'd go high into the mountaintops looking for that one
wild mustang that was so strong and so strong willed,
and so so resilient and rebellious, that that one that
took days and days and days to track and finally capture.
(09:15):
If you got it, and you put your will onto
that horse, then that horse would trust you through anything, fearless, bold,
That horse you could take on as a warrior. If
you tamed that one wild mustang that no one else
could tame, if you could get it, if you could
capture it, and then you could run that horse right
(09:38):
into the enemy lines without stopping until you command it
to stop. Any other horse would be weak and fall
out and stop, But that one horse would run straight
towards the enemy lines, trusting not itself but in the
one who tamed it, the one who rules over it.
The idea is power under control, that's the meek horse.
(10:03):
Plus that are the meek power under control of a
greater power, the sovereign one, the almighty one over us.
Yeah that's good, And so now I've been accused of
so many things, But who who would be stronger? The
horse that just box and goes and tries to go fight, fight, fight,
(10:25):
but gets on into the enemy lines and folds are
the one, the one that says, I trust you who
tamed me.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
It isn't take any self control and any strength of
any kind to spout off and say the first thing
that comes to your mind. In fact, the Bible talks
a lot about your tongue and about how your tongue
is not tameable. But you know, the same thing that
comes out of the same mouths are blessing and cursings. Yeah.
And the difference between the two is the time, the thoughtfulness,
(10:56):
the listening to all all side and taking your time
and waiting to hear from the Lord on something before
you spout off something a reply or a response to
a video or or to someone in a moment. You know,
I'd much whether you listen to everything I have to
say and have nothing to say, than to just immediately
go on the defense. Yeah, because that is that's easy
(11:19):
to do. Your flesh gets instantly offended, and gets offended
very easily. It takes restraint and control to go. That's
not how I'm going to respond right now. Let me
run this through the filter of God's word before I
before I actually throw down a response to this.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, yeah, for sure. I only I only have this, Yeah,
I only have this book. Where else would I go?
What else? What else would I stand on? But the
word of God that testifies of itself in tewod Timothy
three sixteen, that all scripture, all sixty six books, all
(12:00):
scripture is breathed out by God, improfitable for teaching, for
a proof for correction, and for training and righteousness, that
the Man of God may be complete, equipped for every
good work. Where else would I go?
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Than that? And that tells me that it must obey
his commandments. And his commandments are this love. Your neighbor
is yourself, That's right. Who's your neighbor? Well, Jesus his
disciples ask him that, and Jesus describes who your neighbor is,
and he gives it through a parable the one that
(12:33):
we've all heard. The good Samaritan, a man that's a
Samaritan that's not on the same page as the Jews,
that is not a friend of the Jews in the
term of friendship.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
That we would think, Then what's a Samaritan in twenty
twenty five? To a believer, it's a good question.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Maybe a Muslim? Interesting, I mean, Jesus, it couldn't be
more clear. Who's your neighbor? A neighbor is like this
to you, a Samaritan? What a Samaritan. I wouldn't I
wouldn't eat, I wouldn't walk in the house of his
I wouldn't go through a village. I wouldn't make eye
(13:13):
contact with the Samaritan. Jesus says, that's your neighbor. Love him.
And if he couldn't be enough clear in that, he says, later,
love your enemies, right, love your enemies, and do good
to those who persecute.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
You, which just undated the Bible. Yeah, if you if
Samaritan dates the Bible and says, oh, this is only
applicable to this time, enemy instantly enemy, absolutely, So who's
your enemy applicable to any time?
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Somehow? When we think about these things, and we're we're
also we also hear those things, and we think that
it has no benefit to us. We're just like monkeys
like sheep that just do do do the will of
another entity and has no benefit to us at all.
(14:07):
And that would challenge anyone to test that.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Try it.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Wait till a guy cuts you off on the street
on and he's road raging. Try two options. One road
raid with him, Go try to you know you guys,
go battle it out on the interstate. See how you
feel that night.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yep, number two, been there.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Number two, I'm so sorry, my friend, I I cut
you off.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
You were right.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
How will you sleep at night? One of those two options,
love your neighbor, love your enemy, do good to those
who persecute you. So that brings us to this debate
because then everyone says, yeah, granger, but that doesn't mean
it doesn't mean lay down and let the Muslim invasion
come and take over our neighborhood. Oh yeah, that had
(15:02):
never said that. I never said that. Don't go to
the voting polls or you know, like.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
What he did say was exactly what the word says,
do not fear. Yeah, that's what you have said, and
those are God's words. Do not fear because you have
said that on the podcast, like people are feared and
scared of this. I tell you what Jesus tells us this,
do not fear.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Yeah, in this world you have trouble, but take heart,
I've overcome the world. Look at this first. John four,
you you made me think of exactly verse eighteen. John
says there is no fear in love, but perfect love
(15:49):
cast out fear, for fear has to do with punishment.
Whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love
because He first loved us. If anyone says I love
God and hate his brother, he's a liar. For he
who does not love his brother whom he cannot see,
or whom he does see, cannot love God whom he
(16:09):
cannot see. In this commandment we get from him, whoever
loves God must also love his brother. This is this
is clear. And yet and yet we want to put
constraints on this idea and say, unless it unless it
takes away my comfort, unless it it unless I have
(16:33):
to see people that don't look like me all the time,
unless they're worshiping Allah, because that's bad. They're my enemy now,
or this is the most common, Unless they don't love
me back Romans five. Romans five says, and if we're
to imitate Christ, Romans five says, while we while we
(16:59):
were still week at the right time, Christ died for
the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person,
though perhaps for a good person one would even dare
to die. But God shows his love for us, and
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(17:20):
Roman's five is incredible, since therefore we've been justified by
his blood. Much more will we be saved by him
from the wrath of God. For if we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son.
Much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be
saved by his life. And more than that, we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
(17:41):
we now have received reconciliation. We were once enemies of God.
God said, love your enemies, and He did that to
us by sending his son, and who died for us
while we were still enemies, while we were still sinners,
not when we were good, when not when we be
decided to died first while we were going on the
(18:03):
the other direction. You want to play this video real quick.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Yes that this is a clip from last week.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
It's a clip from last week's podcast.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
And the vitriol that has happened yeah on social media
since this.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
Yeah, but I knew this was good. I knew it
was coming. But here's let me put.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Read what you wrote. Read the caption for the video. Okay.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
The caption says, I feel pretty alone in this view.
If I wanted a million likes, I would say the
exact opposite. I would say, let's fight Islam. Let's protect
our children from the invasion, Let's take our guns and resist.
I would get so much applause from that. But what
if we saw foreign cultures moving into our neighborhoods as
an opportunity for evangelism. What if the mission field has
(18:54):
come to us? Would we fight for comfort and complacency
or would we fight for souls for the living God?
And what about our children? Do we desire comfort and
ease that breeds cultural Christians or opportunities to heighten the
urgency for a closeness to the Lord. What does loving
our neighbor really look like? Would I desire windless days
(19:18):
if my trees are full of dead branches? These are
questions I wrestle with.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
So the video says this thing, I recognize when I
hear I called a prayer in a mosque, I can
aloud speaker. I recognize my need, my proximity to evil,
my proximity to the Prince of the power of the air.
Here Satan, who's the king of the world right now,
(19:51):
I feel my proximity to that, therefore my closeness to
the Lord. And I'll pray every time those called it. Like,
for instance, I was asleep one time and this was
I think in Dubai, woke up. They would do the
call to prayer about four thirty in the morning, okay,
And I just made it a habit that every time
(20:11):
it woke me up. Because you're sleeping with the windows
open and stuff, and it's just very loud. You can't
avoid it. So I would just make it, make it
a thing when that woke me up, which I looked
at it as a demonic voice, then I would start
praying to the Lord. That's cool, and and I just
feel I have I have a desire, maybe a strange one,
(20:36):
that my kids would feel that kind of urgency and
not be lulled to sleep, which is much more of
a demonic tactic on us that you could just be
load to sleep by just nice little suburban lives with
no pressure. Just you want to go to church, go
if not, if you're not, if you have a headache,
(20:57):
don't go to church. You're you read your Bible, but
don't be a Bible thumper. You know, it's more about
loving people to the truth. And you know we're living
a Christian nation that you just slow yourself to sleep,
the demonic battle that's waging around you just becomes less clear,
a little blurry, and we don't Maybe I should say me,
(21:21):
I don't. I don't feel it. I don't feel the battle.
I don't feel the urgency. And so when dearborn Michigan
is freaking out social media because a mosque is now there, sure,
I just think what an opportunity for those people to witness,
to reach out, to have them over for dinner, a
(21:43):
Muslim family, and on top of all that, to feel
the urgency in the air around them. Okay, could I
rack just a few things with that video?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Yeah? Please do.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So once again, and the last time we'll get into this.
But people went wild against me on this on all
the different social media platforms, and Hamber had to tell me, like,
stop looking.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
At that because of the responses.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah, She's like, stop looking at those comments. And usually
I make a habit to not look at comments, but
for the sake of us recording today, I was like, yeah,
you're right, I'm not going to look at anymore. But
but so many personal attacks against me and some people
from Dearborn, you know, reaching out said you have no idea,
(22:38):
you shouldn't speak about things you don't know about, or
you know, you you need to be educated more on Islam,
or you need to read the Koran, which we have
copyrighting here. You know, we've read. You have no idea
the hatred that they're bringing, or what they're trying to do,
(22:59):
or the the mission that they're they're coming to convert.
You know, all these things we've taken into account. All
we've taken account all of these things. You know, you
and I have have been in the Near East with
around plenty of mosque and plenty of call to prayers,
just just you and I and not considering all the
other travel. So I do believe I don't think we're
(23:24):
missing something here. But here's here's an example. Well, this
one just came in, by the way, while we're talking.
While we're talking, this one just came in. I see
your point that there is the fact that they want
us dead written in their text. They want us dead.
(23:46):
Once again, that's not that's not that's not a stipulation.
Love your neighbor, unless your neighbor wants you dead. Yeah,
love your enemies, do good of those who persecute you,
unless they want you dead. It doesn't say that.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
How many times in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John have
you seen looking for an opportunity to arrest or kill Jesus? Yeah,
that was that's in there, multip I just I just
read through all four gospels again, Yeah, like detailed how
many I should counted those?
Speaker 1 (24:18):
Or Paul or Peter?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Of course?
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, I said just those four now or did you
just just said at the beginning? Now, there are times
when they let Peter down in a back I excuse me,
Paul down in a basket outside so he could escape.
There were times when Jesus disappeared into the crowd so
they wouldn't get him. And there are other times when
they willingly offered themselves to be taken. And so there's
(24:44):
there's that. But but it's it was never a resisting never,
it was never a fighting. It was never a mount up.
Let's let's fight evil. You know, because I get so
many comments say, grangeur, we're commanded to fight evil, resist evil.
I guess I say, I've asked you before, how and
you always go on my knees and I go, I
don't think that's what people think.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, it's just a mindset that I have. That that's
where I instantly go. But I mean, and and sometimes
we have a bias of thinking what we think is
what a lot of other people think. Yeah, look, just
because the language isn't Yeah, it doesn't mean that that
it means to go fight, but some do. We've seen
that language in detail on some of these comments as well.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
I'm I'm starting to forget what I talked to you
about before we started recording. What recording. But but I
also want to say that I am a weak man,
I am a flawed sinner, and I constantly need to
be evaluating what I say. When I say things like
(25:43):
if a mosque moves in down the road, we need
to be do we see that as an opportunity or
as as a as a battle? And I need to go.
What do you think, Ranger? You know, what would you think?
Because people in Dear Dearborn Mission or Michigan are calling
me on this, and I think it comes down to
(26:03):
two looking at looking Do we look at them as
souls potential souls to be one to the Living God.
Or do we look at them collectively as like a
that they're too far gone and they're already they want
to kill us in their enemies. Or do we look
at that, look at them as almost like being trapped
(26:24):
in a a a ideology that the Gospel could break
them out of. And as we've said many times on
this podcast, a person that could face we could face
in heaven that goes it was you against all odd
It was you. I heard the gospel. If you're trying
(26:45):
to get a gift for someone that you think has everything,
how about a special video message from me. It's easy
to do. Go to cameo dot com slash Granger Smith
and you put in the prompt what you want me
to say. I get that message on my phone. I'll
say happy birthday, happy anniversary, What what ever personalized message
you want me to say to whoever you want me
to say it to I send it to you, and
you give it to them. It's pretty cool. Go to
(27:07):
cameo dot com slash granger Smith.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Well, you and I I've shared this with you a
couple of times. Is that some of my I've really
tried to change my morning routine a little bit, like
little things that the Lord reveals to me I try
to then incorporate to become part of my routine every morning.
One of those is repentance. Stop looking at the word
repentance as a negative and it being this thing of oh,
(27:36):
you send now you need to repent and turn back
to the Lord. Yeah, what if before you ever did anything,
you turn back to the Lord?
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (27:45):
What if before you ever started living in this world
each morning and letting the world influence your thoughts and
attitudes and actions, you turn from it. That's repentance, turn
to the Lord before that ever happens. And the kind
of reclaiming that word is being something joyful. But the
other aspect here is what I think that this can
(28:05):
help do is change a mindset of stop living in
this algorithm of fear and everyone is out to get you.
Everyone is out to take what is yours. Everyone, all
these people are out to take the freedom that you
your forefathers fought for and go What if this is
(28:26):
an opportunity instead of it being fear? Yes, of course.
If there's a vote on whether something should be built,
a moss should be built down the road, and you
have the opportunity to vote, of course, go vote, go vote.
You say no, I don't want that here, I don't
want that in my community. But not what if it happens,
(28:47):
something happens. What if the mayor gets elected that's a
Muslim mayor? Do you look at it as an opportunity
to go? Man, what if while he's a mayor he
gets saved? Did you ever think about that? Now? What
he would? Then you have a believer as a mayor
in New York who was what we view as complete opposite.
(29:13):
What are the opportunities that a true? Maybe that says
more about what you think about God.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
It does, It does, and you said earlier, it's also
it's also recognizing that that if a Muslim gets elected
as mayor, it's somehow slipped past God. It was on us,
y'all screwed up, Like he's looking at a Yeah, didn't
didn't didn't know, didn't know or.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
It didn't a point. See the Bible says that he
points those people to their positions. Your leaderships are it
ran through his decision making, his his will for them
to be in a seat that they are in. That's yes,
you get an opportunity to vote, but you think you
have the final decision. Absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
It also comes out of the this idea that we
protect and covet our comfort and our ease.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
That's easy, guilty of day.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
It sure feels nice to be comfortable.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Do you know why? I have another can of ice
cold waterloo. I like it. It's comfortable.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
Sure is nice in this room right now. That's air conditioned.
You know, it's like weather resistant. If it rains, we're
gonna be sure is nice, you know. But but we
But in the long run, the more we try to
protect that and cultivate it becomes an idol for us.
And I use the analogy in my caption here because
(30:37):
it's actually a section I wrote in the book I'm
writing right now on cultural Christianity because comfort breeds cultural Christianity.
Culture cultural Christianity exist when when Christianity is easy and
acceptable to society and it doesn't cost you anything, it's cheap,
it doesn't cost anything. True Christianity, true grace is costly.
(31:04):
It will cost you everything, but it's worth everything, and
the benefit is everything. But unless we realize it's going
to cost me that we live in a country now
where it's just cheap. It's cheap, and we want to
keep the cheap. Don't mess with me. My life is
(31:25):
comfortable right now, so don't mess with me. And that
was part of my argument in this video is that
I don't want my kids to just be in a
bubble of comfort. So we want to introduce difficulties for
them like we do with anything, Like when you're working out,
you introduce difficulties to your muscles so that they break.
And so I don't want a life of utopia for
(31:47):
my kids. They're not going to be good from that.
All of this that have grown, we've grown through struggles,
and so that's part of the argument is like what
are you fighting for comfort? It sounds like here's another
here's a comment right here that's that speaks to this,
says Granger. They're not coming here to love thy neighbor.
(32:10):
They're coming here to take away your suburban life. The
commenter says, they will make you worship Allah. That is
not God. Have you been asleep all this time? You're
starting to sound like a feel good Christian. Just love
each other. There is nothing wrong with mission trips, but
when they try to come here and take away our
(32:32):
way of life, that's not right. You see, you hear that.
You hear what's happening in there.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
You're you're stealing our way of life.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
The suburban life is the idol is your God. You know,
during one of the the worst atrocities in human history,
Western American slavery, you know what they were doing. They
were going on mission trips around the world and coming
back home and beating their slaves waves because they're idol
(33:04):
of comfort and wealth and and and indulgence was fed
and grown by their slaves. So they would go to Africa, India,
the Amazon and evangelize the local tribes, come back and
beat their slaves that didn't even have scraps at their
(33:26):
own table. This is this is this is the same mentality.
Islam's coming to make you worship all. Well, they're not
gonna make me worship Aula. Make you worship Aula?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Is that all it takes? Yeah, they told me I
need to worship alla.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
Now, and you're starting to sound like a good Christian
that says, just love, isn't that what? Who's that guy
in here starts with a j if somebody said.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
That Joseph Jacob started with it was Jesus.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
But here's that line. There's nothing wrong with mission trips,
but when they try to come here and take your
life away, that's it. Exactly what the slaveholders thought they
went to church on Sundays and worshiped. You know, the
stairway right here coming up to this room has Frederick
Douglass right here, and he would he has an excellent
(34:16):
memoir about about his life as a slave, as a
runaway slave, and he would hear these people going to
church and worshiping and coming home and beating their beaten
their slaves. Well, it's the same mentality right here that goes,
I don't want these Muslims. They look different. They there,
(34:38):
you know their book. Granger says, they want to kill
you their evil. I don't think you've ever talked to
a Muslim, grangeer a lot of these comments, I don't
think you've ever talked to a Muslim docked at few
docked a few few anyway, Sorry, I've cut you off
like three.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Times, not at all. I just it just reminds me
that that the the road to hell, the gatetail is
wide and it's comfortable. It's easy, and narrow is the
way to life that is uncomfortable. But the we had
we had an illustration at church the other day. There
(35:12):
were cones. They were so to get in was really
easy on one end is really wide and open, and
it led to destruction at the end of it. But
the but but the other way around is getting low
and small, and then when it opens up, it's to
everything that you ever dreamed of.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Wow, this guy says, We're no, it's Darlene. It's a woman.
We're supposed to love our enemies and pray for them.
Are we up for that challenge? Somebody commented, wake up.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
To her? Wake up?
Speaker 1 (35:54):
Yeah, okay, and she says, I am wide awake, and
I guess praying for you. Good for her, he says.
He says, I haven't. I'm just reading this out loud.
I haven't read it yet, so I'm reading and processing
at the same time, the guy said, but not wide
awake about demonic Islam. I was born in a Muslim
country to missionary parent parents. We were kicked out just
(36:16):
for telling people about Jesus.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
Good, kind of Lord, kind of joy. Absolutely, yeah, you
didn't live through it, man Granger.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Yeah, anyway, it's just negative comment after negative comment.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Amberg just text me and said, you need to stop reading.
Oh yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
Somebody said, I remember the darkness I felt the first
time I heard her call the prayer in the Middle East.
I am horrified this is happening in America. It's interesting. Yeah,
final thoughts about this before we close this chapter for
a bit, pray, how do you fight evil? A man?
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Pray?
Speaker 1 (37:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
What with your sword? Your sword, not the physical sword,
the sword of the Bible. Go read the armor of God.
That's how you can.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
I say, I want to return to that. I don't
want to say the slight little thing because I remember
that a lot of people commented about Neemyah. He was
in the Bible. Neamyle was rebuilding the wall outside of Jerusalem,
and he had as he was building with his tools
in one end he had a sword and the other
ready to fight the enemy.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
And a lot of all the guys did yeah, And a.
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Lot of people are like, yeah, that that that's what
we need to be. Like literally, a guy said, one
hand on the Bible, one hand on your glock. Stop putting,
he said, Granger, stop putting both hands on the Bible,
and put one hand on your Bible and one hand
on the block, just like Namiyah. Way out of context.
The Lord told Namiyah to go to Jerusalem, to leave
(38:08):
Babylon and go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. The
Lord commanded him to do this. The Lord's not commanding
us to keep our suburban cities. How many times have
we put America in the context of Israel in a
wrong way. We are not Israel, We are not the
old the Israel. The purpose of Israel, the purpose of
(38:32):
the Lord blessing that country monetarily and spiritually, and raising
up kings and judges and prophets. All of that was
pointing towards the Messiahs that would bless the nations, all
the nations, including the purpose of that the purpose of
the promise to Abraham that your offspring will be like
(38:56):
sands on the seashore, and one day, through your offspring,
all the nations of the world will be blessed. And
the process of preparing for the Messiah all all of
that was to bless the nation. So we can't take
that out of context and go see that was happening
to Israel. We should do it here anyway. Let's go
back to how you would pray?
Speaker 2 (39:16):
Yeah, how would you? How I would fight?
Speaker 1 (39:18):
How would you would fight?
Speaker 2 (39:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (39:19):
And you said I would pray. What are you praying?
Speaker 2 (39:22):
Well, one for Lord's will and to open up the
hearts and the minds of those that you are come
in contact with, Like if they're encountering you, are they
encountering God or they encountering your flesh. That's just me,
that's not I mean, if if that's God wants you
to look at it, then then awesome. But that's I
look at me first, Like, man, if I can't sit
(39:45):
here and live one way and tell you something else,
So that's what I would pray. Like you know, I
have you know, Jovah's witness to come knock on the door,
and I have you know, the missionaries. I haven't invited
them in to eat yet. You have U from you're
talking about like Mormons, Yeah, yeah, yeah, Mormons. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
There are people my my friends in the Church of
Jesus Christ and Latter day saints we have. It's been
years now that the missionaries here come over and they
and we'll spend hours together. But there they tell me
stories of being yelled at, cussed at gas stations, people
(40:26):
telling them to get out, people slamming doors in their faces.
The same thing with Jehovah's witnesses, the same thing with Muslims.
Where is the Lord? Where's the love of God in that?
I know that's what you're saying.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying. And you're gonna and listen.
They don't proselytize the same way those two do, being Muslims.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
Yeah, it's hard to compare.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Yeah, it's weird.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
The Karan and the Book of Mormon cannot be compared.
Speaker 2 (40:52):
But are you not talking to them because they moved
in next door? Or are you side eyeing them? Or
you calling h O A on them? Are you calling you? What?
Are you?
Speaker 1 (40:59):
Know?
Speaker 2 (41:00):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (41:01):
We have to get a little uncomfortable. We have to
get uncomfortable, and and sometimes being uncomfortable means I don't
know a lot about this topic. I don't know a
lot about the Quran, I don't know a lot about
your religion. But that doesn't equal. I fear you, but
I think sometimes fear comes from the unknown of I think, Well, just.
Speaker 2 (41:23):
Like they're going to make you worship Allah.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
Yeah, they're gonna make you worship.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Is it that easy to make you worship all? Are?
Speaker 1 (41:31):
They're coming in here with a bomb strapped to their chest.
You know, like you see you see a Muslim family
move down the street. This is happening everywhere. It's happening
here in Georgetown. Seem moved down the street. You know,
a husband and wife and three little kids. Are we
to think, like, I better better have my glock in
my hand. This family moved down here. I'm gonna have
(41:54):
my glock ready because they're coming. Man, They're coming to
take my comfort and my life. You know, they're coming
to influence my kids. They're making me start worshiping their God.
They're not They're not a religion of peace. That's what
every everyone's been saying. Forget about forget about what the
Koran says. Forget about the religion. Let's look at the souls. Well,
(42:15):
what if I could love them? What happens if I
love them? Not not contingent on if they love me back,
not contingent on what they do. But what if I
love them, what happens? What happens to me and what
happens to them? That's a question we all need to
wrestle with, including me.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
I agree. All right, it's good stuff.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
Moving on, Yeah, I love you guys. We'll see you
on the video reactions and the Q and a coming
up right.
Speaker 2 (42:44):
Good one coming up on Wednesday Reactions Friday even Friday
Q and a YEP with a jingle.
Speaker 1 (42:50):
Cool y'all, y, thank you so much for hanging out
with me on this episode of the Grangersmith Podcast. I
appreciate you being here. If you're listing right now, go
ahead and rate today's podcast. It helps more folks find
the show. And if you're tuning in on the iHeartRadio app,
you could actually set this podcast as one of your presets,
which is cool that way. I'm just one tap away.
If you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to hit like
(43:11):
and subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes. And
if you've got a question you want answered right here
on the show, just email me podcast at grangersmith dot com.
I'd love to hear from you. Thanks again for being here.
We'll see you next time. Ye
Host
Granger Smith
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