September 20, 2024 • 30 mins
Have you ever found yourself caught between your personal ambitions and a higher calling? Mark and I tackle this profound dilemma in our latest episode of Foxhole Symphony. We share our candid experiences of navigating societal pressures to achieve and accumulate, while striving to honor our God-given calling and spiritual identities. Mark opens up about his own transformation from centering his life around personal goals to embracing a balanced existence that prioritizes service to God's kingdom. This thought-provoking discussion is designed to make you rethink your life’s pursuits and evaluate their true purpose.
Join us as we peel back the layers of identity and the relentless quest for validation that so many of us face. Are you constantly seeking affirmation and material success, only to feel unfulfilled? We dive into the roots of these desires and how they often misalign with divine intentions for our lives. Emphasizing the importance of grounding our identity in God, we offer practical steps to realign your daily mission with spiritual growth, freeing you from the heavy burden of societal and self-imposed expectations. Feel the power of redemption and humility, and learn how embracing Jesus Christ’s easy yoke can fill your life with unprecedented love and purpose. Through heartfelt prayers and actionable advice, we inspire you to prepare for spiritual movement and stay true to your divine calling.
We have BIG plans at Foxhole Symphony and sure could use your financial support. Would you prayerfully consider a small monthly contribution to support us in our mission to catalyze transformation in the hearts of men? Support Our Mission
Find us at:
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuvcXdDpE79S_D_hInblcDw
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Foxhole Symphony, a podcast about the
transformational value of men inauthentic community.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
In our foxhole.
Men are equipped to buildrelationships that foster
belonging, accountability andgrowth.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Stop believing the lie that you can thrive in
isolation and instead join us onthe journey from broken to
whole.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hello everyone.
They call me the Maestro and weare back in the foxhole where
we actively pursue belonging,accountability and growth
through authentic relationships.
No masks, no agendas, just ironsharpening iron.
Steve and Mark are in thefoxhole and today they're asking
about whose kingdom is beingbuilt.
It's time to dig in deep.
(00:49):
Let's open our hearts, ourminds and our favorite notes app
.
Let's get started.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Hey, welcome back to Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
I'm Sarge here with my goodfriend Mark.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Hey brother, checking in from just cool and
comfortable New Jersey, at a 52degrees and sunny.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Wow, amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Right, so we're.
We're recording here at the endof August and it's in the low
fifties every morning for thepast five days.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Unbelievable, unbelievable Early fall.
It won't last, no, it won'tlast, no, but you know what?
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Everybody here is smiling and really there's a, I
think, a general joy, because aweek ago we were 90, 90.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Right yeah, Just that sticky, thick icky.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Yes, well, and and people might be wondering, hey,
sarge sounds a little different,he sounds a little further away
and that's because Sarge hasmoved.
Sarge is in Florida.
Not sure exactly why I'mspeaking in the third person,
but maybe because I'm a bigGeorge fan.
George is getting upset.
So yeah, man, it is not in the50s, it's not in the 60s, it's a
(02:02):
whole lot warmer, it is steamyand teeming rain.
But hey, I'll take it, I do.
I, you know.
I'm looking at you and lookingin the background and seeing
seeing the sunshine and I canfeel the cool, crisp air that
you're talking about, and that'sit.
That's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
It is.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Excited to be back with you here in the foxhole and
you know I would say not soexcited about our topic.
Why am I not excited?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Because it's not like it's a challenge.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Listen, it's a challenge.
It's deeply challenging.
It's deeply convicting aboutwhose kingdom we're building,
whose kingdom you're building,whose kingdom I'm building, and
you know for years, whether itbe in business or just in
personal lives.
(02:54):
This is an area that I'vereally paid close attention to,
and it's something that I see alot of people struggle with, or
at least manage the tension, ortry to manage the tension
between building their ownkingdom and building God's
(03:15):
kingdom, and what I'd like to dois just talk about what we mean
by that.
So you know, what does it looklike to build our own kingdom?
Well, go ahead, what comes tomind?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Oh, I'm an expert.
Many topics.
I wonder what the heck I'mgoing to talk about here.
And I get on my knees and say,lord, give me some words that
make a little sense.
This one's easy for me, right?
You know?
In the scale of zero to 100,whose kingdom I'm building 47
years, 47 years of 100% Mark.
(03:49):
That's the truth, that's theGod's honest truth.
I hate to say it that way, butit's the truth.
And that means 18 years oftrying desperately to find some
balance in my identity as afollower of Christ, as a
believer.
As you know, it's for me, man,you know I am sold out.
(04:12):
It is one true God, the creatorof everything.
That's my identity today, but Idon't live it out every day.
So, from a hundred percent markfor 47 years and 18 years of 50
, 50, 70, 30, you know, I havesome good days, I have some
great moments, you know, where Ifeel totally, totally immersed
(04:35):
in my identity in Christ.
But, bro, it is a pick.
Your metaphor it's a seesaw,it's a roller coaster.
It's embarrassing some days howun-Christ-like I am.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
That's how I think.
And you're not alone.
Yeah, and you're not alone, andone of the words I want to
really hone in on that you saidwas balance, because I think
that is the mindset of many,many, many people.
Right Is I've got to balancethis.
I've got to balance building mykingdom, because that's what
I'm supposed to do, it's whatI'm trained to do, it's what I'm
(05:10):
brought up to do to, to, to, toget after it right, to do well
in school, to to, to get thatfirst job and to make as much
money as possible and to get thefirst home and to care you know
care for my family financiallyand to, you know all of these
things right.
That just we're, we're, we'rebrought up to, to, to go after,
to get after it, to build yourkingdom.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
That is the world's message.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
To build your bank account, build your kingdom.
That is the world's message.
To build your bank account,build your 401k.
You know all the way toretirement and you know we talk
about Chris Bruno all the timein this book, sage, and he talks
about it in Sage the sort ofstages of life we go through and
you get to a certain point inyour life where you begin to
look back and you question itall Right, you say what was I
(05:54):
doing?
What was I doing?
Working, overworking.
You know 12-hour days, six daysa week, seven days a week,
weekends, evenings.
You know missing out on thekids' activities, or you know
the needs of my wife or whateverit is, so that I could build my
business, I could serve mybusiness, I could serve my
(06:16):
employer and listen.
These are noble things to builda business, these are noble
things to serve your employer.
God's designed us for work,right, so I'm not suggesting we
shouldn't be working and workinghard, but that idea of balance,
life balance, life balance isimportant Kingdom balance.
(06:40):
We've got to address, we've gotto tear that down Because there
is, you know, again, it comesback to perspective, it comes
back to the lens through whichwe see these things and we see
the world and we see work.
Even You're right.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
We see business.
If you're an entrepreneur, ifyou're a business owner, I would
ask you whose business is it?
Is it yours or is it God's?
Who's the CEO?
And what do your actions daily?
How do your daily actionsinform others about whose
(07:16):
business it is?
And when I say others, I meancustomers, vendors of retirement
, of our 401k, of our dailyneeds being met, of our business
(07:40):
, ownership of our whatever itis, whatever situation you're in
, build my kingdom while alsotrying to build gods and
balancing this, and some daysI'll pay more attention over
(08:01):
here and other days I'll paymore attention over there and
I'll invest over here and I'llinvest over there.
Listen, that is an exhaustinglifelong exercise.
Get off the treadmill, give itall to God, see it all as God's,
accept the fact that it's allhis, because it is anyway and he
could take it all away in aninstant.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Preach, Preach brother.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
I am fired up about this because it is such a
challenge and I see so manypeople, especially men in
bondage, over this theme Inbondage and it ruins their
marriage.
They get to a certain point intheir life, they look back and
their marriages are barelyhanging on.
Their kids resent them.
(08:48):
They have deep resentmentthemselves.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I was just going to say the look in the mirror is
not good.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Why did I do that?
Why did I choose that?
Just to make a little bit more?
Or because I felt like I had tomodel the hard work ethic for
my employees?
Come on, come on, I don't know.
I hope this is speaking tosomebody that needs to hear it.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah Well, let's, let's get one thing out of the
way.
I'll throw out the bumpersticker, all right.
The bumper sticker says that onyour deathbed nobody ever
looked up and said, oh, if I hadonly worked just a little bit
more, okay.
So let's, let's throw the easyone out.
You've hit on so many things,right.
You touched on, you know, inyour job, serving well right.
(09:42):
The Bible calls us serve yourmasters well right.
And there's so many biblicalthings I think four that you
just threw out so quickly Ican't catch up to them.
But this has to resonate withmen today, bro, I know it's
resonating with you.
The reason you're fired upabout this is because there's
parts of your life that have youin an exhausted stage with your
job where you're grinding right.
(10:03):
But at the same time, I have tobe clear.
When I started this by sayingin a world of zero to a hundred
percent that's Mark'smeasurement Our God is 100%, god
, period.
There's no balance 100%.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
And that is the other word I wanted to touch on that
you mentioned, and that isidentity.
Okay, because this issue is notjust a cultural issue, it's not
something that's done to us.
Certainly there arecontributing factors, right,
there's bad managers, there'sbad bosses, there's, you know,
all these other things right.
(10:40):
But we have a choice, we have achoice to make, and that choice
comes down to living our lives,beloved sons and daughters of
the creator, god, and and that.
You know our identity, ourneeds, right, our woundedness
(11:04):
that come into play.
My need for affirmation, whichmight be insatiable.
My need for acknowledgement,which might be insatiable.
My need for, for more thingsright, for material possessions
to just have it.
My need to be seen in a certainlight by others, right, all of
(11:24):
these needs which come from aplace of woundedness.
This is not of God, right.
And so, as soon as we seeourselves the way that God sees
us and we, our identity isrooted in him and only him.
Let me say that again, ouridentity is rooted in him and
only him, not in what we have,not in the, the, the, the, how
(11:50):
others view us or see us, right,but only how he sees us and and
our sees us and our mission,our daily reason for the breath
that we breathe, is solely andradically rooted in the work
that he would have us do, atwork, at home, wherever it is we
(12:13):
are.
Now we're talking, now we'relaser focused, now we are
mission.
And that doesn't mean that Godwon't bless us financially or we
won't receive some fruit fromthat labor, but it's the why.
It's the why.
It's what are we after?
What are we building?
What is our mission?
What are we getting after?
(12:35):
Right, every day, day in andday out.
And this merry-go-round or thisbalancing act, this tight,
tight rope walk, you know, highwire act that we go through life
with, is exhausting and sorelease it, give it up.
Give it up, release it, leaveit at the foot of the cross.
(12:56):
Let's go to the Heavenly Father, get clear about our mission
and get after that.
It doesn't mean that there evenneeds to be a change in our
work lives.
But you know, are there needsof our families?
Do our wives or significantothers, our parents, our
(13:17):
children, our friends, our lovedones?
What would they say about whoour master is?
What would they say about themaster we're serving?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Well, that's what I'm thinking about right now.
Two things come to mind.
First of all is I tend to putGod in the corner, and if you
were sitting next to me, youknow there's a bar stool right
there and it's my Jesus barstool, and I put them right
there and I tell them to justchill, just take a break, relax,
I'll be back when I need you.
Right, that's one part of itfor me.
(13:48):
That's how I act in my day.
The other is to achieve whatyou're talking about.
There's a few things.
This is not done in a vacuum.
You actually have to turn offsome voices that are valuable
and that you like your wifetelling you you're a good man
and your boss telling you you'rea good worker and there are
voices coming at you thatmisdirect you.
(14:10):
They also are distracting andkeep you on the merry-go-round.
Oh, absolutely, I think theworld culture, social, etc.
Throws some negative stuff atyou.
But this is also this problemof identity is compounded by
positive voices from people thatwe might love, but their
(14:34):
identity is not correct.
You need people aroundno-transcript.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
You just took that to a whole new depth, absolutely.
So now, those closest to us,maybe their identity is not
rooted in God, right, they'renot seeing us.
In fact, they love the factthat we chase after or are
building our own kingdom becausethey get the benefit.
Right, they reap the benefitsof that, whether it's our boss
(15:03):
or our wives or our kids orwhoever.
And so now, oh, that justcompounds the pressure, right,
it just raises the bar on thatburden.
To get it done, atta boy, Mark,do it again.
Go get after it.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Oh, you know, yes, right, like oh get my tail
wagging and off I go and I don'teven look back.
Right I'm.
I'll give you a practicalexample of this in my life.
I'm just picturing myself, evenin the moments where I know the
Lord has blessed me withsomething.
It could be a financial gain,it could be just a loving word
(15:41):
from my wife, it could be aclosing a deal.
Right?
As a sales guy closing a deal,I get there are good things
coming my way and then I giveGod thanks.
After the fact, my equation hasGod in the wrong place, on the
wrong side of the equal sign.
Does that make sense, right,yeah?
Speaker 4 (16:03):
yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
I'm going to do this on my own and my own strength
and then I'll give God somethanks and glory later.
Right and so ignorant I'mlaughing because I'm laughing at
myself but awareness of thisfor me has been key in my life,
in the evolution of my faith.
Walk in the journey, as ourbrother Richard talks about so
(16:29):
often.
Shout out to brother, slaughterthat journey.
The awareness for me was soeye-opening and I felt good
about realizing okay, all right,I know what sold out looks like
.
I believe today I have a prettygood picture of what Mark's
(16:50):
identity is and who it should bein.
I am not exercising it.
I'm not executing well all thetime, but I'm certainly
executing better than I was 20years ago or 18 years ago.
And each day each day a littlebit more, a little longer.
It, as usual, begins for me inthe word.
(17:11):
I need to have his word, hisspirit washing over me.
I need to be reminded.
I love to see what you guyswrite in the daily devotional.
It's always food for me andreminding me who I.
My identity is that that I amloved, I am chosen, I am
(17:32):
redeemed, and I try to livethose three things.
Those are the.
I mean, I know there's a lot ofother words you could use to
describe it, but love, chosenand redeemed.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I'll add to that gifted and called.
Gifted and you're called, andso because that's where you are,
all those things, that is youridentity.
And then you've been gifted andyou've been called, and it's
about mission, right?
So now it's like, yes, becauseyou are all those things, you
are redeemed, you are loved, youare chosen, you are, you know,
(18:03):
all of those things forgiven,right, that deals with the, with
the, the woundedness, right,right, and and provides the
healing and the foundation thatyou know then gives you the
ability to acknowledge your giftthings, your unique gift things
and your unique calling in thislife and how god wants to use
you to build his kingdom.
(18:25):
And so that's exactly.
I mean, it's just, it'sbeautiful, that is the tapestry,
this is his design for ourlives.
It's not to juggle and balanceand walk the high wire right,
and so this requires enormouscourage.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Oh, absolutely yes, Dude.
I just listened to a podcast inthe last week and it talked
about-.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
That wasn't the Foxhole Symphony podcast.
You listened to a differentpodcast Cheating on me.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
I did, I did.
I think it was.
Oh, my, Brett Snodgrass.
Okay, Iron Deep, Iron Deep.
Brett Snodgrass.
Okay, Iron Deep, Iron Deep.
Sorry, Thank you, Wow, Braincramp.
It might've been that becauseit's popping up on my podcast
list all of a sudden, at the topwhich there are too many Long
story short.
It talked about exactly whatyou just said the spot on need
(19:22):
for courage to actually not wowI'm shouting out to too many
people that have been on herebefore, but Brother Michael
talked about ceaseless striving.
Yes, Actually, turn down thevolume on the noise.
Decide how you're going to livewith an identity in Christ,
throw the balance beam out thewindow and trust that God will
(19:47):
provide for you that having thatretirement fund funded and the
401k in the right place and thestock and so on and so forth.
Just not saying thoseinvestments aren't good and
smart, but it's not what it'sabout that.
We actually have to have thetype of faith that requires us
(20:08):
to trust God.
Surrender that to God and knowthat when it comes time for you
to stop the work part, I'm goingto stick with work, to stop
being somebody else's employeeand paying taxes or big taxes,
et cetera, depending on whatstate you're in, that you and I,
I would have the courage to sayyes, Lord, like I'm going to
(20:32):
stop and I'm going to trust thatin my later years you will
provide for me.
And I have to tell you, when Iheard him say it, I got cramped,
I got like a visceral reactionto whoa, because I'm nervous
about that right now that you'veheard, that is one of my
greatest fears.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
That I just haven't prepared for a long life.
I'm presuming God wants mearound.
It just helps me sleep, youknow.
But whether I have a day or10,000 days left, I want it to
be as fruitful as possible.
But am I I'm asking myself, broin the mirror?
Am I willing to just let Godlive according to the plan I
(21:17):
know he has for my life and lethim take care of me?
And that's scary as heck for me.
It it is.
That's desperate courage for meit is how about you?
Speaker 4 (21:30):
oh, I share that, I share that and I and I can only
imagine that there are, you know, some younger folks listening
saying easy for you old guys tosay you already built your
kingdom right.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
And to some extent yes, to some extent we have.
I got a lot of years left andI've made some really hard
decisions that have deeplyimpacted my future financial
position in retirement, and manyreasons for that is to live
(22:14):
life to the fullest the way thatGod would have me live it serve
my family well, not just mywife and my children, but to
honor my parents and those thatyou know need some care and are
going to need care.
And I'm sure this resonateswith a lot of people, and maybe
(22:37):
not just younger folks, butolder folks too, and some that
may even have regret that theymade those hard decisions.
And so you know God is JehovahJireh, his provider, right.
And you know I would encouragepeople to jump into Matthew 6
(22:57):
and read about and soak in thepromises of God and the
challenges from him.
Right, you know, these arethings like listen, some of
those fears are very real risks.
There's very real risksinvolved in some of this.
(23:20):
He is faithful and true to hispromises and so you know,
prayerfully discerning what Godwould have us do.
And again, I'm not suggestingeverybody just go jump off the
(23:40):
high dive.
What I am suggesting andchallenging people to do is to
you know, just like when you goto the eye doctor and he starts
shifting the lenses, you knowbetter, worse, same Better,
worse, same Left.
Shift the lens, shift the lens.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
That's wisdom.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
That's wisdom right there, you know, just just begin
there.
Start there.
When you, when your feet hitthe floor in the morning and you
take that, that first consciousbreath and you go about your
day, what are you feeling?
What are you thinking?
What are you thinking about?
What are you focused on whenyour head hits the pillow at
night?
What are you thinking about?
What are you focused on as yougo about your day?
(24:26):
What are you thinking about?
What are you focused on?
Where's your heart?
What is your heart?
Posture right?
What are you running after?
What are you prioritizing?
And priorities are what we do,not what we talk about.
Priorities are what we do, notwhat we talk about.
So, what are you doing?
What are you doing?
(24:47):
And because everybody aroundyou those closest to you are
watching and God is watching.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
You know, by the way, bro, you hit two things I've
got to grab on Matthew 621,right, treasures here on earth
versus in heaven, that's.
You saw my response to you thismorning.
That's the first thing thatcame to my mind is you're right,
get in Matthew 6 and talk aboutyou know where rust and and uh,
rodents destroy, right, yep, sothat's one and the other is
(25:33):
Jehovah Jireh.
Well, the preaching uh at atSouthridge this Sunday tomorrow,
uh happens to be.
That's the topic, and brotherPete Gatto, the only two
time-time Foxhole Symphonypodcast guest, is preaching
tomorrow.
So shout out to Brother PeteGatto.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
That's awesome, yeah, and that's it, it's Jyra.
Well, brother, listen, it's ajourney, as Brother Richard says
, the journey continues and, youknow, we just get an inch
closer and an inch stronger.
We sharpen each other and Ineed you and my other brothers
in my life to remind me, youknow, of my priorities and to
(26:18):
ask me the hard questions and tohelp me ensure that I'm living
my life through the lens of myidentity in him and choosing the
right things Choosing him,choosing my wife, choosing my
kids, you know, rather thanchoosing work, choosing
possessions, choosingaffirmation and acknowledgement
(26:41):
and all these dry wells thatnever get filled up.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Right, and I want to just be sure, I just want to
spend a moment each on loved,chosen, redeemed, and just tell,
I want to look you in the eyeand I want to tell anybody who's
listening how important it isthat your identity is tied, that
realizing how loved you are bythe one true God.
(27:04):
It's.
It's a love that I mean it,agape love, right, it's it's.
It's different.
There's an unconditional natureto that that the world can your
, your, the greatest love ofyour life, your wife or whoever
that is in your, is nothing likethe love that our Father in
heaven has for you.
(27:25):
You're chosen.
He chose me, he chose you,sarge, and he chooses each of us
.
That choice is because he madeyou, especially you, right.
This isn't like a chromosomalmistake.
You are a child of God.
He chose you and you'reredeemed.
It means you're made new.
(27:46):
The old is gone and the new ishere and you can choose that
today.
Today can be your day to beredeemed and turn, repent from
my sins, your sins, and act likea redeemed, chosen, loved,
child of God.
Please.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Amen, invite him into your life today, if he's not,
and if he is, may he restore toyou the joy of your salvation
and the peace that only comesfrom him, and may we be living
on mission for him, with him, tobuild his kingdom, not ours.
Amen.
So good to be with you againthis morning, brother, and I
build his kingdom, not ours,amen.
So good to be with you againthis morning, brother, and I
(28:25):
look forward to the next time.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Peace.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
Peace.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Brick by brick, we build our kingdom.
Year by year, we establish ourplace in the eyes and minds of
the people around us.
You know those broken peoplejust like me and you, and we
become slaves to the grind.
I don't know about you, but forme it's exhausting.
Praise God that he doesn'tleave us in that dry desert land
(28:55):
.
We are blessed with the Lordand Savior, our Redeemer, jesus
Christ, and His yoke is easy.
He strengthens us, heencourages us, he corrects us
and he humbles us.
In fact, he provides all thatwe need.
He simply asks us to follow Him, to humble ourselves long
(29:19):
enough to see the depth andbreadth of His gifts.
His love Less of me.
The depth and breadth of hisgifts.
His love, less of me, lord, andmore of you.
Lord, please continue to usethis podcast to impact the lives
of all who listen.
I ask that you would bring hopeand healing to each and every
one of them.
Meet them right where they areand reveal yourself to them like
(29:40):
only you can do.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
In Jesus' name.
Amen, as it'll help us getfound by others who could
benefit.
Find, follow and like us onyour go-to social media networks
by searching Foxhole Symphonyor visit foxholesymphonycom to
make it super easy to find us.
Drop us a line with feedback,questions, topic requests.
Who knows, maybe you'll be aguest on a future episode.
In the meantime, prepare tomove, embrace discomfort and
(30:18):
just be you.
Welcome to Foxhole Symphony, a podcast about the
transformational value of men inauthentic community.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
In our foxhole.
Men are equipped to buildrelationships that foster
belonging, accountability andgrowth.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Stop believing the lie that you can thrive in
isolation and instead join us onthe journey from broken to
whole.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Hello everyone.
They call me the Maestro and weare back in the foxhole where
we actively pursue belonging,accountability and growth
through authentic relationships.
No masks, no agendas, just ironsharpening iron.
Steve and Mark are in thefoxhole and today they're asking
about whose kingdom is beingbuilt.
It's time to dig in deep.
(00:49):
Let's open our hearts, ourminds and our favorite notes app
.
Let's get started.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Hey, welcome back to Foxhole Symphony Podcast.
I'm Sarge here with my goodfriend Mark.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Hey brother, checking in from just cool and
comfortable New Jersey, at a 52degrees and sunny.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Wow, amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Right, so we're.
We're recording here at the endof August and it's in the low
fifties every morning for thepast five days.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Unbelievable, unbelievable Early fall.
It won't last, no, it won'tlast, no, but you know what?
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Everybody here is smiling and really there's a, I
think, a general joy, because aweek ago we were 90, 90.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Right yeah, Just that sticky, thick icky.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Yes, well, and and people might be wondering, hey,
sarge sounds a little different,he sounds a little further away
and that's because Sarge hasmoved.
Sarge is in Florida.
Not sure exactly why I'mspeaking in the third person,
but maybe because I'm a bigGeorge fan.
George is getting upset.
So yeah, man, it is not in the50s, it's not in the 60s, it's a
(02:02):
whole lot warmer, it is steamyand teeming rain.
But hey, I'll take it, I do.
I, you know.
I'm looking at you and lookingin the background and seeing
seeing the sunshine and I canfeel the cool, crisp air that
you're talking about, and that'sit.
That's a beautiful thing.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
It is.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Excited to be back with you here in the foxhole and
you know I would say not soexcited about our topic.
Why am I not excited?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Because it's not like it's a challenge.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Listen, it's a challenge.
It's deeply challenging.
It's deeply convicting aboutwhose kingdom we're building,
whose kingdom you're building,whose kingdom I'm building, and
you know for years, whether itbe in business or just in
personal lives.
(02:54):
This is an area that I'vereally paid close attention to,
and it's something that I see alot of people struggle with, or
at least manage the tension, ortry to manage the tension
between building their ownkingdom and building God's
(03:15):
kingdom, and what I'd like to dois just talk about what we mean
by that.
So you know, what does it looklike to build our own kingdom?
Well, go ahead, what comes tomind?
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Oh, I'm an expert.
Many topics.
I wonder what the heck I'mgoing to talk about here.
And I get on my knees and say,lord, give me some words that
make a little sense.
This one's easy for me, right?
You know?
In the scale of zero to 100,whose kingdom I'm building 47
years, 47 years of 100% Mark.
(03:49):
That's the truth, that's theGod's honest truth.
I hate to say it that way, butit's the truth.
And that means 18 years oftrying desperately to find some
balance in my identity as afollower of Christ, as a
believer.
As you know, it's for me, man,you know I am sold out.
(04:12):
It is one true God, the creatorof everything.
That's my identity today, but Idon't live it out every day.
So, from a hundred percent markfor 47 years and 18 years of 50
, 50, 70, 30, you know, I havesome good days, I have some
great moments, you know, where Ifeel totally, totally immersed
(04:35):
in my identity in Christ.
But, bro, it is a pick.
Your metaphor it's a seesaw,it's a roller coaster.
It's embarrassing some days howun-Christ-like I am.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
That's how I think.
And you're not alone.
Yeah, and you're not alone, andone of the words I want to
really hone in on that you saidwas balance, because I think
that is the mindset of many,many, many people.
Right Is I've got to balancethis.
I've got to balance building mykingdom, because that's what
I'm supposed to do, it's whatI'm trained to do, it's what I'm
(05:10):
brought up to do to, to, to, toget after it right, to do well
in school, to to, to get thatfirst job and to make as much
money as possible and to get thefirst home and to care you know
care for my family financiallyand to, you know all of these
things right.
That just we're, we're, we'rebrought up to, to, to go after,
to get after it, to build yourkingdom.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
That is the world's message.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
To build your bank account, build your kingdom.
That is the world's message.
To build your bank account,build your 401k.
You know all the way toretirement and you know we talk
about Chris Bruno all the timein this book, sage, and he talks
about it in Sage the sort ofstages of life we go through and
you get to a certain point inyour life where you begin to
look back and you question itall Right, you say what was I
(05:54):
doing?
What was I doing?
Working, overworking.
You know 12-hour days, six daysa week, seven days a week,
weekends, evenings.
You know missing out on thekids' activities, or you know
the needs of my wife or whateverit is, so that I could build my
business, I could serve mybusiness, I could serve my
(06:16):
employer and listen.
These are noble things to builda business, these are noble
things to serve your employer.
God's designed us for work,right, so I'm not suggesting we
shouldn't be working and workinghard, but that idea of balance,
life balance, life balance isimportant Kingdom balance.
(06:40):
We've got to address, we've gotto tear that down Because there
is, you know, again, it comesback to perspective, it comes
back to the lens through whichwe see these things and we see
the world and we see work.
Even You're right.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
We see business.
If you're an entrepreneur, ifyou're a business owner, I would
ask you whose business is it?
Is it yours or is it God's?
Who's the CEO?
And what do your actions daily?
How do your daily actionsinform others about whose
(07:16):
business it is?
And when I say others, I meancustomers, vendors of retirement
, of our 401k, of our dailyneeds being met, of our business
(07:40):
, ownership of our whatever itis, whatever situation you're in
, build my kingdom while alsotrying to build gods and
balancing this, and some daysI'll pay more attention over
(08:01):
here and other days I'll paymore attention over there and
I'll invest over here and I'llinvest over there.
Listen, that is an exhaustinglifelong exercise.
Get off the treadmill, give itall to God, see it all as God's,
accept the fact that it's allhis, because it is anyway and he
could take it all away in aninstant.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
Preach, Preach brother.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
I am fired up about this because it is such a
challenge and I see so manypeople, especially men in
bondage, over this theme Inbondage and it ruins their
marriage.
They get to a certain point intheir life, they look back and
their marriages are barelyhanging on.
Their kids resent them.
(08:48):
They have deep resentmentthemselves.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I was just going to say the look in the mirror is
not good.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Why did I do that?
Why did I choose that?
Just to make a little bit more?
Or because I felt like I had tomodel the hard work ethic for
my employees?
Come on, come on, I don't know.
I hope this is speaking tosomebody that needs to hear it.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah Well, let's, let's get one thing out of the
way.
I'll throw out the bumpersticker, all right.
The bumper sticker says that onyour deathbed nobody ever
looked up and said, oh, if I hadonly worked just a little bit
more, okay.
So let's, let's throw the easyone out.
You've hit on so many things,right.
You touched on, you know, inyour job, serving well right.
(09:42):
The Bible calls us serve yourmasters well right.
And there's so many biblicalthings I think four that you
just threw out so quickly Ican't catch up to them.
But this has to resonate withmen today, bro, I know it's
resonating with you.
The reason you're fired upabout this is because there's
parts of your life that have youin an exhausted stage with your
job where you're grinding right.
(10:03):
But at the same time, I have tobe clear.
When I started this by sayingin a world of zero to a hundred
percent that's Mark'smeasurement Our God is 100%, god
, period.
There's no balance 100%.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
And that is the other word I wanted to touch on that
you mentioned, and that isidentity.
Okay, because this issue is notjust a cultural issue, it's not
something that's done to us.
Certainly there arecontributing factors, right,
there's bad managers, there'sbad bosses, there's, you know,
all these other things right.
(10:40):
But we have a choice, we have achoice to make, and that choice
comes down to living our lives,beloved sons and daughters of
the creator, god, and and that.
You know our identity, ourneeds, right, our woundedness
(11:04):
that come into play.
My need for affirmation, whichmight be insatiable.
My need for acknowledgement,which might be insatiable.
My need for, for more thingsright, for material possessions
to just have it.
My need to be seen in a certainlight by others, right, all of
(11:24):
these needs which come from aplace of woundedness.
This is not of God, right.
And so, as soon as we seeourselves the way that God sees
us and we, our identity isrooted in him and only him.
Let me say that again, ouridentity is rooted in him and
only him, not in what we have,not in the, the, the, the, how
(11:50):
others view us or see us, right,but only how he sees us and and
our sees us and our mission,our daily reason for the breath
that we breathe, is solely andradically rooted in the work
that he would have us do, atwork, at home, wherever it is we
(12:13):
are.
Now we're talking, now we'relaser focused, now we are
mission.
And that doesn't mean that Godwon't bless us financially or we
won't receive some fruit fromthat labor, but it's the why.
It's the why.
It's what are we after?
What are we building?
What is our mission?
What are we getting after?
(12:35):
Right, every day, day in andday out.
And this merry-go-round or thisbalancing act, this tight,
tight rope walk, you know, highwire act that we go through life
with, is exhausting and sorelease it, give it up.
Give it up, release it, leaveit at the foot of the cross.
(12:56):
Let's go to the Heavenly Father, get clear about our mission
and get after that.
It doesn't mean that there evenneeds to be a change in our
work lives.
But you know, are there needsof our families?
Do our wives or significantothers, our parents, our
(13:17):
children, our friends, our lovedones?
What would they say about whoour master is?
What would they say about themaster we're serving?
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Well, that's what I'm thinking about right now.
Two things come to mind.
First of all is I tend to putGod in the corner, and if you
were sitting next to me, youknow there's a bar stool right
there and it's my Jesus barstool, and I put them right
there and I tell them to justchill, just take a break, relax,
I'll be back when I need you.
Right, that's one part of itfor me.
(13:48):
That's how I act in my day.
The other is to achieve whatyou're talking about.
There's a few things.
This is not done in a vacuum.
You actually have to turn offsome voices that are valuable
and that you like your wifetelling you you're a good man
and your boss telling you you'rea good worker and there are
voices coming at you thatmisdirect you.
(14:10):
They also are distracting andkeep you on the merry-go-round.
Oh, absolutely, I think theworld culture, social, etc.
Throws some negative stuff atyou.
But this is also this problemof identity is compounded by
positive voices from people thatwe might love, but their
(14:34):
identity is not correct.
You need people aroundno-transcript.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
You just took that to a whole new depth, absolutely.
So now, those closest to us,maybe their identity is not
rooted in God, right, they'renot seeing us.
In fact, they love the factthat we chase after or are
building our own kingdom becausethey get the benefit.
Right, they reap the benefitsof that, whether it's our boss
(15:03):
or our wives or our kids orwhoever.
And so now, oh, that justcompounds the pressure, right,
it just raises the bar on thatburden.
To get it done, atta boy, Mark,do it again.
Go get after it.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Oh, you know, yes, right, like oh get my tail
wagging and off I go and I don'teven look back.
Right I'm.
I'll give you a practicalexample of this in my life.
I'm just picturing myself, evenin the moments where I know the
Lord has blessed me withsomething.
It could be a financial gain,it could be just a loving word
(15:41):
from my wife, it could be aclosing a deal.
Right?
As a sales guy closing a deal,I get there are good things
coming my way and then I giveGod thanks.
After the fact, my equation hasGod in the wrong place, on the
wrong side of the equal sign.
Does that make sense, right,yeah?
Speaker 4 (16:03):
yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
I'm going to do this on my own and my own strength
and then I'll give God somethanks and glory later.
Right and so ignorant I'mlaughing because I'm laughing at
myself but awareness of thisfor me has been key in my life,
in the evolution of my faith.
Walk in the journey, as ourbrother Richard talks about so
(16:29):
often.
Shout out to brother, slaughterthat journey.
The awareness for me was soeye-opening and I felt good
about realizing okay, all right,I know what sold out looks like
.
I believe today I have a prettygood picture of what Mark's
(16:50):
identity is and who it should bein.
I am not exercising it.
I'm not executing well all thetime, but I'm certainly
executing better than I was 20years ago or 18 years ago.
And each day each day a littlebit more, a little longer.
It, as usual, begins for me inthe word.
(17:11):
I need to have his word, hisspirit washing over me.
I need to be reminded.
I love to see what you guyswrite in the daily devotional.
It's always food for me andreminding me who I.
My identity is that that I amloved, I am chosen, I am
(17:32):
redeemed, and I try to livethose three things.
Those are the.
I mean, I know there's a lot ofother words you could use to
describe it, but love, chosenand redeemed.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I'll add to that gifted and called.
Gifted and you're called, andso because that's where you are,
all those things, that is youridentity.
And then you've been gifted andyou've been called, and it's
about mission, right?
So now it's like, yes, becauseyou are all those things, you
are redeemed, you are loved, youare chosen, you are, you know,
(18:03):
all of those things forgiven,right, that deals with the, with
the, the woundedness, right,right, and and provides the
healing and the foundation thatyou know then gives you the
ability to acknowledge your giftthings, your unique gift things
and your unique calling in thislife and how god wants to use
you to build his kingdom.
(18:25):
And so that's exactly.
I mean, it's just, it'sbeautiful, that is the tapestry,
this is his design for ourlives.
It's not to juggle and balanceand walk the high wire right,
and so this requires enormouscourage.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Oh, absolutely yes, Dude.
I just listened to a podcast inthe last week and it talked
about-.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
That wasn't the Foxhole Symphony podcast.
You listened to a differentpodcast Cheating on me.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
I did, I did.
I think it was.
Oh, my, Brett Snodgrass.
Okay, Iron Deep, Iron Deep.
Brett Snodgrass.
Okay, Iron Deep, Iron Deep.
Sorry, Thank you, Wow, Braincramp.
It might've been that becauseit's popping up on my podcast
list all of a sudden, at the topwhich there are too many Long
story short.
It talked about exactly whatyou just said the spot on need
(19:22):
for courage to actually not wowI'm shouting out to too many
people that have been on herebefore, but Brother Michael
talked about ceaseless striving.
Yes, Actually, turn down thevolume on the noise.
Decide how you're going to livewith an identity in Christ,
throw the balance beam out thewindow and trust that God will
(19:47):
provide for you that having thatretirement fund funded and the
401k in the right place and thestock and so on and so forth.
Just not saying thoseinvestments aren't good and
smart, but it's not what it'sabout that.
We actually have to have thetype of faith that requires us
(20:08):
to trust God.
Surrender that to God and knowthat when it comes time for you
to stop the work part, I'm goingto stick with work, to stop
being somebody else's employeeand paying taxes or big taxes,
et cetera, depending on whatstate you're in, that you and I,
I would have the courage to sayyes, Lord, like I'm going to
(20:32):
stop and I'm going to trust thatin my later years you will
provide for me.
And I have to tell you, when Iheard him say it, I got cramped,
I got like a visceral reactionto whoa, because I'm nervous
about that right now that you'veheard, that is one of my
greatest fears.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
That I just haven't prepared for a long life.
I'm presuming God wants mearound.
It just helps me sleep, youknow.
But whether I have a day or10,000 days left, I want it to
be as fruitful as possible.
But am I I'm asking myself, broin the mirror?
Am I willing to just let Godlive according to the plan I
(21:17):
know he has for my life and lethim take care of me?
And that's scary as heck for me.
It it is.
That's desperate courage for meit is how about you?
Speaker 4 (21:30):
oh, I share that, I share that and I and I can only
imagine that there are, you know, some younger folks listening
saying easy for you old guys tosay you already built your
kingdom right.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
And to some extent yes, to some extent we have.
I got a lot of years left andI've made some really hard
decisions that have deeplyimpacted my future financial
position in retirement, and manyreasons for that is to live
(22:14):
life to the fullest the way thatGod would have me live it serve
my family well, not just mywife and my children, but to
honor my parents and those thatyou know need some care and are
going to need care.
And I'm sure this resonateswith a lot of people, and maybe
(22:37):
not just younger folks, butolder folks too, and some that
may even have regret that theymade those hard decisions.
And so you know God is JehovahJireh, his provider, right.
And you know I would encouragepeople to jump into Matthew 6
(22:57):
and read about and soak in thepromises of God and the
challenges from him.
Right, you know, these arethings like listen, some of
those fears are very real risks.
There's very real risksinvolved in some of this.
(23:20):
He is faithful and true to hispromises and so you know,
prayerfully discerning what Godwould have us do.
And again, I'm not suggestingeverybody just go jump off the
(23:40):
high dive.
What I am suggesting andchallenging people to do is to
you know, just like when you goto the eye doctor and he starts
shifting the lenses, you knowbetter, worse, same Better,
worse, same Left.
Shift the lens, shift the lens.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
That's wisdom.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
That's wisdom right there, you know, just just begin
there.
Start there.
When you, when your feet hitthe floor in the morning and you
take that, that first consciousbreath and you go about your
day, what are you feeling?
What are you thinking?
What are you thinking about?
What are you focused on whenyour head hits the pillow at
night?
What are you thinking about?
What are you focused on as yougo about your day?
(24:26):
What are you thinking about?
What are you focused on?
Where's your heart?
What is your heart?
Posture right?
What are you running after?
What are you prioritizing?
And priorities are what we do,not what we talk about.
Priorities are what we do, notwhat we talk about.
So, what are you doing?
What are you doing?
(24:47):
And because everybody aroundyou those closest to you are
watching and God is watching.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
You know, by the way, bro, you hit two things I've
got to grab on Matthew 621,right, treasures here on earth
versus in heaven, that's.
You saw my response to you thismorning.
That's the first thing thatcame to my mind is you're right,
get in Matthew 6 and talk aboutyou know where rust and and uh,
rodents destroy, right, yep, sothat's one and the other is
(25:33):
Jehovah Jireh.
Well, the preaching uh at atSouthridge this Sunday tomorrow,
uh happens to be.
That's the topic, and brotherPete Gatto, the only two
time-time Foxhole Symphonypodcast guest, is preaching
tomorrow.
So shout out to Brother PeteGatto.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
That's awesome, yeah, and that's it, it's Jyra.
Well, brother, listen, it's ajourney, as Brother Richard says
, the journey continues and, youknow, we just get an inch
closer and an inch stronger.
We sharpen each other and Ineed you and my other brothers
in my life to remind me, youknow, of my priorities and to
(26:18):
ask me the hard questions and tohelp me ensure that I'm living
my life through the lens of myidentity in him and choosing the
right things Choosing him,choosing my wife, choosing my
kids, you know, rather thanchoosing work, choosing
possessions, choosingaffirmation and acknowledgement
(26:41):
and all these dry wells thatnever get filled up.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Right, and I want to just be sure, I just want to
spend a moment each on loved,chosen, redeemed, and just tell,
I want to look you in the eyeand I want to tell anybody who's
listening how important it isthat your identity is tied, that
realizing how loved you are bythe one true God.
(27:04):
It's.
It's a love that I mean it,agape love, right, it's it's.
It's different.
There's an unconditional natureto that that the world can your
, your, the greatest love ofyour life, your wife or whoever
that is in your, is nothing likethe love that our Father in
heaven has for you.
(27:25):
You're chosen.
He chose me, he chose you,sarge, and he chooses each of us
.
That choice is because he madeyou, especially you, right.
This isn't like a chromosomalmistake.
You are a child of God.
He chose you and you'reredeemed.
It means you're made new.
(27:46):
The old is gone and the new ishere and you can choose that
today.
Today can be your day to beredeemed and turn, repent from
my sins, your sins, and act likea redeemed, chosen, loved,
child of God.
Please.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Amen, invite him into your life today, if he's not,
and if he is, may he restore toyou the joy of your salvation
and the peace that only comesfrom him, and may we be living
on mission for him, with him, tobuild his kingdom, not ours.
Amen.
So good to be with you againthis morning, brother, and I
build his kingdom, not ours,amen.
So good to be with you againthis morning, brother, and I
(28:25):
look forward to the next time.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
Peace.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
Peace.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
Brick by brick, we build our kingdom.
Year by year, we establish ourplace in the eyes and minds of
the people around us.
You know those broken peoplejust like me and you, and we
become slaves to the grind.
I don't know about you, but forme it's exhausting.
Praise God that he doesn'tleave us in that dry desert land
(28:55):
.
We are blessed with the Lordand Savior, our Redeemer, jesus
Christ, and His yoke is easy.
He strengthens us, heencourages us, he corrects us
and he humbles us.
In fact, he provides all thatwe need.
He simply asks us to follow Him, to humble ourselves long
(29:19):
enough to see the depth andbreadth of His gifts.
His love Less of me.
The depth and breadth of hisgifts.
His love, less of me, lord, andmore of you.
Lord, please continue to usethis podcast to impact the lives
of all who listen.
I ask that you would bring hopeand healing to each and every
one of them.
Meet them right where they areand reveal yourself to them like
(29:40):
only you can do.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
In Jesus' name.
Amen, as it'll help us getfound by others who could
benefit.
Find, follow and like us onyour go-to social media networks
by searching Foxhole Symphonyor visit foxholesymphonycom to
make it super easy to find us.
Drop us a line with feedback,questions, topic requests.
Who knows, maybe you'll be aguest on a future episode.
In the meantime, prepare tomove, embrace discomfort and
(30:18):
just be you.
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