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0:20 Alright, guys, let's wrap up the week. 0:22 All week this week on the Daily Blade, we've been using Cormac McCarthy's The Road, which is a 2006 novel and 2009 film, to serve as the lens through which we can examine its striking biblical themes and parallels. 0:33 So yesterday we talked about the emotional climax of the narrative. 0:36 This is where the father passes away, but just before he does, he gives this one final message to his son. 0:42 You have my whole heart. 0:44 You always did. 0:46 Now, in the film, the boy spends some time mourning near the body of his now deceased father, but he knows he can't stay there forever. 0:54 He has to keep moving, he has to try and survive. 0:56 So eventually he gets up the courage to pull the father's blanket up over his face and to say goodbye. 1:02 So the boy begins walking along the barren beach, and then a figure appears in the distance. 1:08 It's a man walking towards him. 1:10 Now, this is a very tense moment because the boy no longer has his father to protect him. 1:14 He has to protect himself. 1:16 So he gets out the revolver, which again just has one remaining round in it, and he points it at the man, and the man just continues to walk towards him. 1:23 So the man is calm and seemingly in control of the situation, and he begins talking to the boy to try to ease the tension of what's going on, and the boy eventually puts his guard down a little bit, and the situation calms down, and the man eventually offers for the boy to come with him. 1:37 He tells the boy that he has a wife and two children, a boy and a girl. 1:41 The boy is about his age. 1:43 And this young man is now at a crossroads. 1:46 All of his father's training and all the lessons he's learned come down to this one moment. 1:51 And the boy asks this stranger one question Are you carrying the fire? 1:58 So he's ultimately giving a litmus test to this man. 2:02 He wants to know if this man is one of the good guys or one of the bad guys. 2:05 And honestly, it's the perfect question, isn't it? 2:09 I mean, it takes us back to where we started out this week. 2:11 After the boy's father dies, the boy doesn't ask this new man if he has food or weapons or a place to stay. 2:18 He asks him if he's carrying the fire. 2:22 So it takes the man a second to realize what the boy is asking, but he answers in the affirmative. 2:28 He shows himself to be one of the good guys and not one of the bad guys. 2:32 And so the boy, somewhat reluctantly, he follows this man, and this man introduces him to his wife and their two children. 2:39 I mean, honestly, guys, it is the perfect ending following the emotional climax of this film and this novel. 2:45 So let's go to the Heavenly Father parallel here. 2:48 This is the boy doing exactly what his father disciplined him to do. 2:52 So evaluating others by their spiritual and moral identity, not just their utility. 2:57 So Jesus' Sermon on the Mount begins in Matthew chapter 5, but I want to pick up the narrative in Matthew 7. 3:03 So up to this point, Jesus has given the Beatitudes. 3:05 He's introduced the concept of salt and light. 3:08 He addressed anger, lust, divorce, retaliation. 3:10 He says that we should love our enemies. 3:12 He teaches us the Lord's prayer. 3:14 He tells us that we should lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. 3:17 He says that we should not be anxious, and he introduces the golden rule. 3:20 But I want to pick up the narrative in Matthew 7, starting in verse 15. 3:24 Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 3:29 You will recognize them by their fruits. 3:31 Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 3:35 So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 3:39 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 3:44 Every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 3:48 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 3:52 So the boy from the road is testing for the fire. 3:55 He's discerning, right? 3:57 He was trained for this. 3:59 He's showing that the lessons his father taught him while he was still alive have taken root. 4:05 Now let's talk about the earthly father parallel one more time this week. 4:09 This is the ultimate payoff of faithful fatherhood. 4:13 So the father's dead, but his question lives on in his son. 4:19 It lives in there. 4:21 The son asks the question the father always asked. 4:25 Like that's discipleship. 4:27 That is true legacy. 4:30 Against Proverbs 22, 6, train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it. 4:36 So this is that proverb fulfilled. 4:39 The boy did not depart from the way he was trained. 4:42 He couldn't. 4:43 His father had made it part of him. 4:46 And men, let's be honest, your sons will not ask that question to someone else if you do not teach them that value. 4:54 It is impossible to teach that value if you yourselves are not carrying the fire. 4:59 So this is a very important moment for some of you. 5:01 For some of you, you're realizing for the first time that belief in God is not enough. 5:06 You're realizing that you've been playing church for years without reckoning with what it means even to be a follower of Christ. 5:13 And for some of you, you're recognizing that you have been acting as if Jesus is your savior, but not your Lord. 5:18 And if that's you today, I compel you to give your life to Christ. 5:23 Accept Him not only as Savior, but also as Lord. 5:26 Transfer your faith from your own works and circumstances into the finished work of Jesus on the cross at Golgotha. 5:32 And then I implore you to turn your attention towards your sons. 5:36 You cannot raise them up in the way that they should go if you are not following Christ and if they are not following Christ. 5:44 Do everything you can to make sure you are pointing them back to their Heavenly Father. 5:50 Like they can't carry the fire if it has never been lit. 5:53 And the same applies to you. 5:55 So let me ask you: are you carrying the fire? 6:00 Alright, guys, thank you for your attention this week. 6:02 Stay sharp.