on . One of them is free , and the other is full of chains . The one that is full of chains is the one that is isolated , full of comparison , depressed , anxieity , etc . The one that is free , I think the root of the answer is found really in , funny enough , actually believing the things that we sing by the power of the Holy Spirit .
For example , I have a t-shirt that I ’ m wearing right now ( most of every single day for the last six , seven years ) that says , “ I shall not want ,” and I wear it every day because I ’ m too scared to get a tattoo and I need to remember something when I wake up . And that ’ s what I want to remember .
If I can wake up and remember that because I know the shepherd , because this is not a game for me , because I know him , I ’ m his kid , and I ’ m a son of God , an heir of God , a co-heir with Christ , and everything in Him is mine .
Because of that , I don ’ t have to want anymore . And if I truly believe that there ’ s no next level for a child of God , I mean , it ’ s like , what do you need ? A few more thousand bucks for a new McPherson guitar ? I have four daughters . “ Come on , just give me a boy .” ( laughing ) People , when you ’ re comparing all the world has to offer with knowing Christ Jesus , my Lord , it ’ s nothing . It ’ s all nothing . Paul said it rightly . It ’ s all rubbish compared to knowing him . And so I think there is freedom in going , “ I can lay my life down with no expectation of return , because I have my return .”
I know God ; He ’ s my shepherd , and I don ’ t have to want anymore . And so , I think that ’ s the root of it . But then the spokes of it come out through just the basics of man . Just staying by God ’ s Word and getting an authentic , honest community around you . Spending time with believers who know you . They know the hard and the real and the raw and the sin , and that pathway is real freedom because it ’ s not dependent on anything or any particular circumstance .
We do retreats . I mean , there ’ s just a lot of discouragement . And man , I love it when we get to come together on retreats ; we get these mini versions of authentic community where it ’ s like , “ Gosh , here ’ s the pain points , and here comes the confession ,” and here comes just the , “ Oh , just let me just vomit what ’ s really going on without having to dress it up for my lead pastor or without having to dress it up for my congregation . Here ’ s really what ’ s going on in me .” And when we have two or three days to just get before Jesus and ask him to do what he does , which is satisfy our hearts in the morning with his steadfast love , we take enough time to stare at him until we start believing that he indeed is who he is and that he indeed is our treasure , our everything , and our shepherd . And we don ’ t have to be afraid , and we don ’ t have to look for some big next thing , but we could be content because we know him . That ’ s a lot . I know this is a mouthful , but you can see a tangible physical difference between somebody who ’ s walking in freedom and somebody who ’ s just walking in bondage . And funny enough , the answer is Jesus . Maybe I should have just said that . ( laughing )
[ WM ] That ’ s a great answer . In fact , that ’ s a whole interview in itself . Thank you .
My only fear is that you never actually washed that shirt you ’ ve worn for six or seven years in a row .
[ Shane B ] Yeah , it ’ s a little stinky .
[ Shane E ] Yeah , the funny thing is Bruce , he has a closet full of those shirts . It used to be a Shane & Shane shirt . Well , it still is . We sell it , but we just took our names off of it , so he didn ’ t feel weird walking around with a Shane and Shane shirt on all the time . ( laughing )
[ WM ] ( laughing ) You two are a riot . Thank you so much for lending yourselves to us for this interview .
[ Shane and Shane ] You ’ re welcome !
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16 January 2024 Subscribe for Free ...