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A Fresh Wind Midweek
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A Fresh Wind Midweek
By Grace Through Faith
We recap a powerful women’s conference marked by prayer, participation, and connection, then move into Reformation Roots with a practical look at grace alone, faith alone, and Christ alone. We share how grace frees us from performance and fuels a life of purpose and good works.
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Welcome and thanks for joining us on this episode of the Midweek Podcast, brought to you by Fresh Wind Church. Each week, our team brings you new content to help you take steps towards Jesus and discover more in Christ. Today's episode is hosted by Pastor Ryan.
SPEAKER_05:Well, hey everyone, welcome back to the Midweek Podcast. Pastor Ryan joined as always with Pastor Tim. And uh this week it's a pretty special episode because Tim, today we're joined by our wives. We got Joy and Teresa in the room with us today. And so, uh, ladies, excited to have you on the podcast with us. Girl Power. Girl Power. Um so last, not this past weekend, but the weekend before, uh, we had the opportunity to host here at the church the Go and Beyond Women's Conference. And uh that was the first time we've done something like that in quite a while. Um just super excited to see uh how the church showed up and engaged in that. And so would love to kind of hear from you guys. Um, you know, what what stood out to you from that event and kind of if you could give us a little bit of a recap. Silence.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Well, are you gonna I guess I'll go first. A recap. It was great. A little recap, yeah. It was a great we um had I think about 80, 80 women uh came, and we had uh we had a lot of children uh that uh came also, and we're so thankful for we had a church that had a lot of uh teenagers and men took over watching them, but the ladies had a great time. Um we had some great teaching, great music, we had some awesome prayer times together, and uh we also had lunch together, and um it was just it was I thought it was an awesome day. Had a lot of great feedback from a lot of the ladies that were there, so it was a great, great time.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I was I had the opportunity, I guess, to to be in the room running the media. Jared, you know, he kept trying to offer to trade spots with me. Of course, he was with the kids. He's like, Well, you want to trade out, and I'm like, I'm doing God's work back here, Jared.
SPEAKER_02:From the moment I asked him if he would help for the kids, he was like, How about I do the media?
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, yeah. He wanted the he wanted to get in that media booth real bad.
SPEAKER_02:But I told him I would try to get him in the media booth and then it didn't work.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, no, no, your husband had to be in there. But um, you know, I was so I was in the room. I was one of the only guys who got to be in the room that day. Um, and I tried to give the the ladies who showed up their privacy. I wasn't trying to like hang out and observe everything going on. You know, it was a women's event and wanted to give them their space. But um, one of the things that Priscilla did in the conference is she kind of forced people, even though it was a simulcast, so it was you know done virtually, she forced the the ladies there to engage in prayer. And she had, you know, times where ladies she was asking them to stand up and and then other people to go around the room and pray. And after that, just watching how our church responded to that, I guess, a little bit. I walked out and uh Tim's like, How's it going in there? And I tried to tell him, I was like, Man, it's it's going good. And then I just started crying. I had to walk away.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. So who was there? Was it older ladies, younger ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies?
SPEAKER_02:I think we had a good mix of older women and younger women. Um there's one point where they had anyone who was 25 or under stand up, and there was several people. Yeah. So that was cool.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it was kind of cool because that was part of what we were talking about was how our testimonies and how what we have been through, how it that when we testify about what God has done, how that is such a a living proof to you know, others that God can do for me as well. And you know, we had people that would stand and it's like, yes, God has led me through that, and uh I'll pray for you as you are seeking those similar types of answers from God. That was really cool. And one of them was you know, the the young ladies, you know, and just encouraging them to stand up and and just you know to remain faithful to the Lord. We live in such weird times, such uh difficult times. And um just encouraging those. I mean, I think it like I said, it was great because both young and older, we had a few ladies that I think just a few, but we had a few that were up there, and uh that was really, really exciting.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, what would you s you guys say um your kind of biggest takeaway from the event? What stood out to you, or you know, what what did you write down in your notebook that you you know really meant a lot to you?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think for me, the most powerful thing or the part that stood out the most was we kind of already hit on it, but the prayer. Um, you know, or just praying about it, going into it. Obviously, it was it was a live event, but like we weren't live with Priscilla Shire and with the worship team. So I was a little bit nervous that our ladies here at Fresh Wind would feel that, like it would be a little awkward, but they really participated and sought the Lord and prayed for each other. And I just thought it was a really powerful moment. Um, and I would say, other than that, just learning, not learning, because obviously we already know that we have to continually go back to our first love, but how she broke it down and encouraged us to do that. I thought that was good.
SPEAKER_05:I love it. Teresa, what about you?
SPEAKER_00:There was a phenomenal drummer. Uh, you know, I enjoyed I enjoyed that part of it a lot. Uh, you know, I love music, so you know, that's the kinds of things I I just my my mind goes right to it. Um so that part was really enjoyable. I I also liked the her content and how she really related to people um with her children and some experiences and some of the things she had talked about teaching her trying to teach her children when they were growing up. That was really impactful for a lot of women here. And I knew that would be because when I had listened to that previously, I had heard that and I thought, what a great opportunity for people who have young children, you know, minor grown. But you know, and and it's funny because in the feedback I had from a few ladies, they all said, Oh my gosh, I wrote that down. I wrote that down. So I thought it was great. Just you know, she reminded us that you know John uh in in writing in Revelation was in a in a you know, he had been exiled to uh at an area at the island of Patmas that was a rock quarry, that you know, everything in his life was hard and miserable, and that you know, he got sentenced to this place. But the idea is that no matter how hard and how difficult the places that you are in, God was getting ready to reveal perhaps the greatest revelation or unfolding or uh uh revealing of who Christ really was and those messages that would be for his church. And I you know, I just I I love that because it you know, for for what doing ministry it just seems like so many times there's like so many hard places. And and I'm not saying that that's any different in life, but um just you know always looking for God to to have an outpouring of of revealing some things to people. I I mean that's the thing that brings me greatest joy when when people get a glimpse of who God really is, and you know, and so I think that was very encouraging. I really stuck with me that uh just that message to keep going. And then also that God had actually revealed to him uh here, come up here and look into the heavens and and and reveal that what's going on at the same time that we're living here with our feet on the ground, living in this messed up world, the Lord is on the throne and not he has not given that up. He has not because you know the world has gone crazy, he has not changed, he has not, his plans have not been thwarted. Just that great reminder for all those that were there, and just a great reminder for all of us. So I think it was a it really was well. It was done well. I had a lot of women said that it was great, had a lot of women that were loved or teaching, you know. So it was a great time.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I was it was exciting to see. Um and just how the I I felt like the church responded. And I the worship part, Joy and I is we were coming up to that, was the one thing that I was really worried about. I'm like, I don't know, maybe we should bring in a band. Like that part felt like watching a worship team on screen, that's gonna be weird. But man, I I cranked it up. You know, I had that sound when I was dialed in it up. Um they were singing, but man, I could hear the ladies in the room singing. I was like, they're they're all in on this thing. So it was just really cool to see um see how the church responded to it. I'm I'm just praying that you know the Lord will continue to use that event and the things that um the ladies got to learn that day, uh you know, in the coming months to really make an impact in those those ladies' lives.
SPEAKER_03:Um Joey, what kind of challenges did she leave for the ladies before they all left?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, she encouraged them to um be in their Bible, she encouraged them to be engaged in prayer. She encouraged them to look that prayer, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:I you gave me a big box of uh prayer cards coming out, and I'm like, where did these all come from?
SPEAKER_02:Well, okay, so we collected their prayer cards. We had a couple of sessions where we engaged in prayer, and then one of them we were collecting prayer requests on cards, and we had them turn them in. And at the end, we were supposed to have everyone take one. I might have forgot to give it to you at the door, and so I was like, here, take this, even though some women have already left. Um, but yeah, she encouraged us to take one, two, three prayer cards and be praying for it over the next week.
SPEAKER_03:That was cool.
SPEAKER_02:It was pretty cool.
SPEAKER_05:And she, like I said, that was one of the things for being a virtual thing, she really kind of brought out engagement of the of the people in the room, and I thought that was a neat way to make a virtual event feel a whole lot more intimate um than it could have been otherwise, I guess. So um, so that was an exciting event, but we're not done with exciting events here at the church. We got uh couple really other some big things coming up. Uh, one, we just had our business meeting, which I know nobody gets real excited about business meetings, but we're excited it's over. Uh man, I I love that opportunity to look back and as I'm preparing for it, and I look back over the year and it's like, man, look at all the things that that we did this year as a church, the things that we got to be a part of, the lives that were impacted. Um I I think I shared at the business meeting since June, our average weekly attendance has gone up, you know, almost 73 people. Our kids' ministry has grown by almost 40 kids a week. Um, and so it's man, God has been so faithful in in what he's doing here at A Fresh Win. It was a great time to celebrate that. The budget did get passed, so that was also a highlight of the day, and it's something to celebrate.
SPEAKER_00:And it is cool to, you know, as things uh keep increasing, whether numbers or whatever, you know, just in other provisions, you know, I often I look back on it, I remember when Tim and I um were starting our church here. We felt that call, we we knew God was in it. We and we were like, okay, how are we gonna do this? And we found a place to to to gather, and we're like, we need chairs. Oh, we can't just sit on the floor. Um and and and and I remember I remember telling Tim, here's some chairs. We saw found some chairs uh somewhere. And uh and we're like, oh, how are we gonna buy those? And then we had just a a friend of ours, and he's like, Hey, you need he he just volunteered. He's like, Oh, I heard you're starting this, I believe this is a god thing. And he's like, I'll give you the money for that. And it was the amount of money was so small, and and it's just awesome. And but just that provision of that very beginning, just that provision to all the way to to today, all these years later, just the provisions. And then of course we were always doing these things in faith, you know, trusting God's gonna take care of all this. We don't know how it's all gonna you know work out, but God's gonna provide. Tim always reminds me of that. You know, God's providing. So it it should be something that is really exciting and encouraging, you know, to to each of us that have been there from that from that start, especially, you know, watching God do something there.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. And if you're not a partner, you're you're invited to these business meetings. And I honestly I know business, but we should probably just name it something different, you know. I I name it, I name everything what it is, you know, but maybe if I came up with a better name, people would show up. Um But it's it's an exciting time to look and see what God has done and and get to be a part of that. And um, I remember talking with Kathy, who's our finance director here at the church, and we were working on putting the budget together and everything, and she's like, Man, do you know how to work miracles? I was like, Nope, but I know someone who does. And uh and the church, uh, our partners uh showed up and and like I said, the budget's approved, so we're looking forward to another year of ministry of what God's gonna do. And then this weekend we have the fall fest, and so uh this is a huge community event that we throw on. And so if you're listening today, would encourage you to come on out on Saturday from 10 to 2. Um, volunteer if if you'd like to be a part of that. There's still uh spaces where you can do that. The 25th, yeah. I guess if listening to this after October 25th, 2025. Don't show up on Saturday. Um, but uh if you do, we'd love to have you there. Uh whether just to come and enjoy it or to volunteer and be a part of it. Um and then I think November 2nd, we have a baptism uh scheduled.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, we're at 27, I think you said in the business meeting so far this year. So far this year.
SPEAKER_05:It's been great. Um I think we've got another uh man, I want to say another five or six, seven people already signed up for the baptism in November. Um so it's not too late. We'd love for you to head to our website, get signed up if you want to be a part of that. God is doing some some great things. We want to celebrate that step of obedience.
SPEAKER_03:We don't celebrate the number, we celebrate celebrate the person behind the number. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_05:All right, that's our event uh highlights. Now we're gonna jump into your originally scheduled programming, the midweek podcast, where we are walking through our October series, Reformation Roots, and uh we're we're diving into to this uh this Protestant reformation that that came about after Martin Luther uh 500 years ago showed up uh to the church in Wittenberg, Germany, and he nailed his 95 thesis uh to the church doors there. And out of those came what they they've coined uh the five solas, um, scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. And so we are walking through each of those uh throughout this sermon series. And um Tim, two weeks ago you talked about faith alone. Uh, and then this past Sunday, I talked about grace alone. And what's gonna be really cool about this podcast, I guess, is those two things go together like hand in glove. You can't, you don't experience one without the other, you know, and so this intersection where grace meets faith, and then what God does in that moment is is life-changing. It's been changing the world for thousands of years.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, Christ alone comes into that too. Um because we can't have faith in faith. I've met a lot of people who have faith in their faith, yeah, and they don't have faith in Jesus. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:When we say Sunday, so make sure you show up for that week, too.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, all right. Um it's very important that when we say uh faith alone, that your faith is in Jesus alone. Absolutely. And uh some guy's got a good denomination or some good church or some good doctrine, and you place your faith in that, you're missing the mark. You've got to place your faith in Jesus. And I think I I think sometimes we get we put our faith in the scripture and uh and you know what what my favorite preacher says and we we can't miss the fact that salvation redemption comes through faith in Jesus. Yeah. And I'll preach it again. I got my notes right here.
SPEAKER_05:And that that that is it's so important, and we're gonna dive into to what that looks like, especially this this Christ alone aspect on on Sunday. Um because it is in our world, it's put your faith in whatever you want, you know. Um and it there's so much confusion in the world of of where we find purpose, meaning, salvation, even. Um and and Jesus is clear, scripture is clear, it's Christ alone.
SPEAKER_03:Um it was a crazy Sunday that Sunday. We were doing everything. It was pastor appreciation.
SPEAKER_02:Um children's director announcement. Yeah, you had like five minutes to preach, but yeah, you used more than five minutes.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, I did. So how do you think it went over?
SPEAKER_02:It was good. I liked it. Actually, we um had mothsful men in our life group um last week who said it really impacted them.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Um Grama Carroll, she came up after uh at the church. She said it was a good service, but boy, it was hit long. She sat down in a chair by the door. Uh she's I think we just exhausted her.
SPEAKER_02:Not your husband, the other pastor.
SPEAKER_05:It's me. Um, but yeah, we got to Life Group on whatever night that was, and a couple of the guys in the group were just talking about how impactful that sermon on faith alone was, and how God has all week has been bringing it up to them and reminding them of that. If it's faith alone.
SPEAKER_03:Um and so and I think once you grasp a hold of it, it'll set you free. Teresa was talking about um as far as grace goes, um, while I was studying for that faith alone sermon, that uh God sits on a throne of grace. It's made of grace, you know, and it's not a flippant thing. The Bible never says anything flippantly. And it's it's important for us to understand that um when you place your faith in Jesus, then suddenly you have all that grace. I think it was Tony Evans, Teresa, is that right, Tony Evans, who said um the definition of grace is God's um never-ending goodness, something like that. And I always thought about that you know, every time you need grace, every time you need money, you go to the ATM and one day it'll be empty. Or it limits how much you can get. But when you go to God's throne for grace, there's no limits. Is how he said it.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, it's and I think that's how I I talked about it on Sunday. It's it's inexhaustible. Scripture says his mercy is new every morning. Um, there is a fresh supply of mercy to get you through every single day. Um, and so you you can't get to the bottom of I think I compared it to the French fries at Red Robin, and I think I heard Teresa be like, Really, what is wrong with you? Who compares the grace of God to French fries? Me.
SPEAKER_02:French fries at Caleb and Emily's.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, Caleb and Emily's housekeeping party.
SPEAKER_03:Those were, I think, Fry and Friday. Yeah, beef tunnel. The ladies were rubbing them on their face. A little moisturizer.
SPEAKER_00:But I'm lost.
SPEAKER_05:Right in the intersection of grace and faith, we're lost. Okay. Um, but here's here's the thing about grace is it shocks us because it runs against everything we've been taught. Everything we've experienced in in life. Even, you know, in our we try to extend grace to our kids, you know, when they get it wrong, but man, there's so many times I I can look back and I can be like, man, I wasn't very graceful in that moment. Um, you know, I I had Kevin's birthday was last month, and um I had asked him to do the dishes, and it was the day before his birthday, and he hates doing the dishes. Everyone in my house hates doing the dishes. Everyone in my house hates cleaning, but he he particularly hates doing the dishes. I said, Gavin, can you can you get these dishes done for me? And I had gone, I mean, like we're on our third or fourth go-around of me trying to get him to do the dishes. He finally walks over to the sink, and as I'm walking by, I just hear him go, You could do the dishes. And yeah, I I about lost it. Um and and now looking back as you know, talking about grace, I'm like, that's that wasn't very graceful, their their pastor Ryan. Um, and it's the thing that we all want. I want grace. I want grace from from Joy. I want grace from my kids when I screw up and get it wrong. I I want grace from our church. If I, you know, offend somebody or I wasn't there when they they wanted me to be there and needed me. Um I want grace. But as soon as you hurt me, grace is the last thing that we want to give, you know? And we have learned that, man, if I if I'm gonna get someone's approval, if I'm gonna get someone's forgiveness, I've got to work for it. Right. There's things that I've got to do. And then you come to scripture, and we've realized, man, that's not how God defines grace at all. No, it is because of his great love for us. That's why we get grace. Not not because we earned it, not because I I did something that God was was real excited about. He did it because he loves me, and that's it. And and man, it I think it's it's easy. We we've talked about this before. It's it's easy to comprehend. It he does it because he loves me, but man, is it hard to live out?
SPEAKER_03:I think it's the inner turmoil that we have with our pride and well, Lord, I don't need your grace today. I got this one, you know, take a day off. And the Lord saying, No, you need me every day, every breath. And I think that's why uh this faith alone is so important because it frees you from having to come up with the right words or being in the right spot at the right time and and all those things that we're like, man, if I would have been there, or uh if I should have said this instead of that. Um and we we beat ourselves up because we're embarrassed. You know, we think, Man, I should I've been a Christian for how long? I should have been ready for that. Um but the Lord is not only gracious, but he's like, I got that. I got that. Wherever you mess up, I've already taken care of that. Let's go. Keep following. So I I I'd man, this this has been more I thought we were gonna get ready to do a good solid five dry sermons of doctrine. And um but these this this part of doctrine has been uh really good, I think for the church and uh for me to get back in there and wrestle with these things and say, you know what, I I don't have to be perfect because he's been perfect for me.
SPEAKER_00:I I think growing up I grew up in a little bit of a different type of uh faith system and I didn't hear a lot about grace other than maybe singing amazing grace. Um there was a lot of uh your behavior has a lot to do with your faith system, and I struggled so deeply with that. So um and when I when I when I trusted when I finally came to Christ, and I mean I had grown up in church and I heard the word all the time, but I I didn't uh trust it to put my faith in him actively until I was 21. And one of the things that I wanted to grow in and learn was okay, so Lord, what is really up? Did you save me or do I have to do something here? And the idea of grace and grace alone is is is such a freeing thing that some people will tell you that and there are people that take advantage or try to take advantage of God's grace. They do. And in fact, I had brought you guys a scripture back in the book of Jude, he actually gives warning and and he actually says there are people that are going to come into your bodies, into your assemblies, and they're going to take advantage of the grace of God. And says that these people will come in and they will uh try to, you know, they're gonna try to teach you things that are not true, and they're gonna kind of under the with the idea of, oh, we're covered by grace, we can do what we want. God did not give us grace so that we can just run amok and do whatever it is that we want to do. God gave us grace so that we have the power to actually live out what God has called us to do. And you know, like I said, until you really start to understand that, it's so important to understand that and this this this beautiful gift of who God is and and that like you talked about, that his throne is built on grace. This is who he is. When you start to truly understand that, and it's not how I've worked responded and and and uh you know whether I've been a good girl or a bad girl, just that's so silly. But just that that I am absolutely his whole salvation comes by his grace alone to me. What a beautiful thing. It's so freeing, it's so dil, it's so um it is so uh I mean it gives you something to to build your life on. And anyhow, to me, it's such a powerful thing. I I I think is one of the greatest things you can learn is that you're truly covered in the grace of God. And and like I said, not so that you can run amok and do whatever you want and think, oh I'm I'm I'm I'm covered in God's grace, I can do what I want. But so that you know I'm covered in God's grace. Thank God I'm covered in God's grace.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. I grew up probably a very similar sort of idea, um, thinking that my performance was really, you know, God's grace was definitely dependent on how I performed throughout the week. Um, and man, I I was worried, like, God, don't let me get hit by a truck on Tuesday because I gotta get back to church. I gotta, I gotta confess some stuff. I've screwed up this week. Um and and you you live in this cycle of constantly trying to to be good enough.
SPEAKER_03:Um and we live in a prove it your prove yourself culture. You know, we're always uh some of us are hesitant to go back to our high school reunion, you know. Uh so what are you doing now? Um same thing I was doing in high school, you know. So we had a we ha we have this pride issue that is weird because if you talk to us intellectually like if I asked Joy, and have you been good enough for your salvation? She would say, Absolutely not. I need Jesus, you know. But we react to things like um our failures uh in a very I should have, I you know, I could have and we we get this guilt when God already knew that this was gonna happen and He's He's saved you anyways. Um I got a quote from not Tim the tool man, man, my memory is going. But he used to say, um failure is not a person, it's an event. And we gotta we gotta learn that. When we're in when we're in Jesus uh and we fail, his grace covers it right away. You don't have to go back, you don't have to um beat yourself up, you don't have to get back to church and confess it. Um that that's already been paid for.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. And so as you kind of look where these these things begin to intersect. I mean, I think Luther said that that this idea of faith alone is the doctrine on which the church stands or false, because it determines whether our hope is in Christ. And so I here's where, and man, I was tempted in my sermon on Sunday to dive in because there's huge debates on this doctrine. Um, and you can go, you know, complete reformed theology, you know, the debate between Calvinist and Arminianist. Um, but there's this idea that to even express that I I need to believe or trust in God, you know, there's people who say, Well, well, no, now you've worked for your salvation because you've had to confess it. Um And you know, they got all their verses to to prove it. And you can't argue with their verses, but I'm like, yeah, but what about this one? Whosoever will, you know. And so I think it's not so much either or sometimes it's and both. Um, and God's gonna work all that out. But if you, you know, if faith is just trust, it's simply trust. I trust in what God has done. And so then grace, if you look at it this way, grace is the thing that provides the gift and faith unwraps it. I mean, I haven't worked for it. I'm just trusting in the gift that's already been given to me. Um, and so you you talk about it that way a lot. What can you do with the gift? You can receive it or you can reject it. And and faith is that so grace is the gift. Here, here is my grace for you, my my complete forgiveness for you because of the love that I have for you. Here it is. And you can choose to accept that gift or you can choose to reject it. So faith doesn't earn our salvation, it simply accepts it. And it's that trust that says, God, what you have done on the cross was enough. It was enough for me.
SPEAKER_03:Sometimes we get trapped arguing what color brown the mud is, you know. And uh it salvation is a mystery. Uh Paul describes it as a mystery, and there's gonna be some things that we just can't work out down here on it. And if you got it all worked out, I'll be careful. That's why the five solas was so uh great, because it just laid it down. This is what we know scripturally, it's by faith alone, in grace alone, based on the scripture alone, in Christ alone for his glory and not you. And that those five things uh I think really brought the church alive again. Uh because we were basically uh at that point we were just doing what we were told. No, you gotta do this, okay, I'll do that. Well, now you gotta do this, okay. I'll do that. And uh it was based on what we're doing. And that little whisper of the Holy Spirit, if you'll read Luther's biography, was the just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. The just live by faith. And that will kick you in the teeth every time you don't know if you're gonna pay your bills, every time you know someone's sick and you don't know what's going on, or um you took a test and you just don't know. And the Lord's saying, Hey, this is how you're gonna live. And it it's uh it's a difficult concept to get a hold of, but once you do um it's freedom. It's freedom. Um Galatians is a great place to uh find all that, that we're just we're free. Why are we free for freedom? I love that. And um I don't know, when I when I think about this um whole idea of uh faith and then grace that they marry together um what we believe about Jesus and justification in a in a way that's perfectly Jesus and none of us.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. What I I told the church on on this past Sunday was and we we need to to quit striving and to just start trusting in what what Christ has done, that his work was enough and God saves you because he loves you. And and if you we would just receive that man the f the freedom that you're talking about that we could begin to live with. I wonder how how our lives would be different. And you know, Teresa talked about a little bit ago, but the there's a the human propensity, you know, we're always looking to to make this work to our advantage. Um yeah, and so oh well God's God loves me and He's given me grace and forgiveness, and so well, how can I how can I take advantage of that? Um and man, I've seen it in my own life, I've seen it in my children's lives, you know.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, we see it a lot in our kids, don't we? Don't we? When we look we look how they're trying to earn our our praise or our satisfaction. Um even in my little grandson, Will, he uh he first started now he says look, Papa, look. And but it started out look at me, you know, when he was first started talking, he was like, Look at me, Papa. And then he would go do something, you know. And um and we gotta be careful how we train our kids that um that they realize there's a different way you don't have to earn God's look. He's looking at you, he's zeroed in on you, and uh we gotta we gotta teach them that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, and and then here's the the deal with grace, and so grace it doesn't just save, but it also trains us then to live godly lives. And so that's you know, Paul he he talks about, well, should we go on sinning that the grace of God may abound? He says, Absolutely not. How can you continue in something that you've already died to? Right, you you have been buried with Christ, you have died with him so that you can walk in the newness of life. And so I love how Paul in Ephesians he he pairs this, you know, because we want to say it's not by works, we're not by works, not by works, and it's not by works, except Paul says you've been saved by grace through faith. This is not of yourselves. God did this so that no one can boast about it, for God has created you for good works. And he puts them, I mean, I think it's within three verses. He lists all of it. Right. And if we would just keep reading, and so we find, man, okay, well, because of the grace that God has given me, it then empowers me then to go and live a godly life. And so I'm not supposed to be banking on the grace of God. I'm not supposed to be trying to see how how much on the edge of this grace can I live and still get to heaven. Um, you know, how how much can I tow the line and God not just pummel me? You know, like that's what we're trying to do. And and that's why I think so many Christians we don't live in joy. We we don't have peace. We're we're just as anxious as the world is, is because we spend so much of our Christian life trying to live on the outskirts and saying, I want to go to heaven. I I want to I want to be saved. I want to, I want all the God things and I want the blessings of God. I just also want to go live my life this way. It's all a video from this one senator. I can't even remember who it said. And he says, I wake up every morning and I tell myself, today I you know I'm gonna be a Christian. And by 10 a.m., I still want to be a Christian, but I want to smack somebody too. Like that's man, that's what where we're at, isn't it? Like we're I I want to be a Christian, but I I want to go and do these things too. And we're trying to bank on the mercy of God. And and this is what I sound like is God's grace available to you today, right now? Yes.
SPEAKER_03:His grace is available for you to say no to what you want to do and yes to what he's calling you to.
SPEAKER_00:And uh we want to use that grace uh for other purposes, like Theresa saying the the people that come in and they try to teach you, oh, since we're covered in grace, we can do uh you know, we can do whatever it is that pleases us, as it says, whatever, you know, sensual pleasure. So whatever our senses say, hey, this looks fun. I want to see this, I want to touch this, I want to listen to this. I think going to the to what we're gonna be discussing in the next week or so, this for the glory of God alone is something that brings all these together, to be honest. Because none of this makes a lot of sense. Why does God do this? What and it it's all about for his glory and his purposes. I've been saved to bring glory to God. And therefore, every decision, choice, all my life, every decision, everything that I do is this reflect that? Is that what this is is about? That God has poured this grace on me so that I might live a life that brings the glory. Is that on me? I can't do that. That's craziness. But when I completely put my faith in him, I completely say this is Lord, I I don't know how I even believe this. I believe you even gave me the faith to believe you. And I'm just trusting what you say about me. And I and I live in that freedom. And it's for his glory. I think that connects all these things, you know, how how how we walk this way. I I just I I think it's it's it's it's so powerful when you learn these truths about who God is and and this is for him where that will change everything.
SPEAKER_03:It's part of our culture though. You know, joy drives really fast. Our culture says, you know, the speed limit's 35. But uh I'm gonna drive 42. And I'm betting on the grace of that highway patrolman that he's gonna say, I'm gonna let that seven miles an hour go.
SPEAKER_02:No, I speed and I don't even think about the grace of the police officer, which I think is what a lot of us do. We go through life not thinking about grace, not paying attention, not living our life. I think, like really all of you I know, Teresa, and a couple of you have mentioned it's freeing. So I think that when we live in that grace, not taking advantage of that grace, it changes everything about how we live. I think as we grow closer to the Lord, I think that changes who we are and it changes truly every aspect of the way that we live our life. We're not trying to take advantage of it, but we're also not like being overcome by everything going on around us. Like we're being intentional about who we are in Christ and being rooted in him.
SPEAKER_03:In every circumstance. Yeah, that makes sense. And you gotta grow, you gotta grow into that. Um work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Uh, what was the other verse we were studying there in um Philippians? Uh, live a life worthy of the gospel. Yep. And uh, and then we're studying in First Peter with the forge, and it's like grow up into your salvation, you know, and that that's what we're that's what we're trying to do. I spent most of my life serving the Lord with how far can I, how much, how fast can I go before I get a spanking? You know, because you know, Hebrew Hebrews chapter 12 says, I knew I was Jesus, Jesus' son. I had received him and he had justified me and saved me forever, but he really loves me, and he's not gonna get let me get too far off the path without a uh wake up call. And uh I know a lot of people think that God's gonna punish you with um oh, you're gonna get cancer or you're gonna get uh in a car crash, and that's how God's spanking you. No, no, he's going to say, I'll hold your joy till you're ready to obey. Live live your life when I was gonna hire you and uh I said, I don't know if I should hire him. And the Lord said, Well then I'm I'm out. You wanna start a church? You can do it by yourself. And and that's what he does. He says, Okay, I'm your joy, I'm your everything. Um do we do we want to have a a relationship problem? It's I'm I'm still his son. Um but when he stops talking to me, then I'm like, Where's where's my freedom? Where's my grace? Where's my and I've got to turn around and go back to the throne to get to grace. And help in time and need mercy, help in time and need. Right. Right when you think, you know, God's punishing you for something, and you're like, God, why are you punishing me? And he's like, No, bud, that's all you.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I I think often the punishment that God gives is He just gives us what we want. Right. You want that thing more than me? Yeah, have it. And you get all the consequences that come with it. Yep. And you know, I was thinking as Joy was talking there, um she's talking about we need to get closer to God, and as we do, we we begin to to understand the freedom that's in it. And I was thinking, man, how could we carry the weight of all this guilt and the shame and the regret if not for God? If He didn't, I mean, in your sermon a couple weeks ago, you you were carrying around this backpack and you you walked it up and you dropped it at the the foot of the cross. And I'm like, man, how many how many of us were are still carrying that thing around? You know, um, we just pick it up and and walk around with it. I mean, it's the whole pilgrim's progress sort of idea. You know, we just walk around this- But no, that's my idea. Oh sorry, Tim's idea. This this giant burden ever growing on our back. Um, and on Sunday, I was like, man, so I'm using you know Ephesians chapter two here, and Paul's like, you're dead. Yeah, you are dead. There's no easy way to say it. You're dead. Not a life support, you're dead. And I was like, if this is your first time in church, I'm sorry. If you're finally deciding to give this a try, I hate to tell you because this isn't probably what you want to hear. But Paul says, you're dead. You're a zombie, you're a dead man walking. That is who you are. But grace has come because God loves you and He can make you alive in Christ. He can take what was dead in your life, he can make it brand new. Well, how do I experience that? I experience it through faith. It is through faith. And when I put my faith and trust in what God has done, then all the old things in my life pass away, and behold, everything becomes brand new. And from that moment on, I now, as a child of God, have responsibility to the king. Right. To my dad. You know, if my kids, I tell them all the time, hey, you got my last name. There's some responsibilities that go along with that. How you live and how you behave when we send you to other people's house, how you do your schoolwork, all that stuff matters. Um, Joy, she makes sure that that he knows. You know, uh, one of the greatest things ever is our school sends report cards every Sunday, and Joy looks at them every Sunday.
SPEAKER_03:Um you get to church. That's a joke, Joy.
SPEAKER_02:Don't look at me like that. But there's Gavin always is like, well, so and so can do that. I'm like, I don't care. I'm not so-and-so's mom.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, yeah. And we want we want some other family's rules, and God says, You're mine. You're mine. And what does scripture tell us? God disciplines those he loves. You know, you're you're talking about that. And so there's responsibility. And so now I there, and and I tried to say it on Sunday, man. Imagine all the things that have not happened in the world because God's people said no. You know, if God prepared good works in advance that we are supposed to do, that means there are some good works out in the world that God wants done, and it is assigned to me. You know, we use Monday.com here for our church software so that we can assign tasks to people. In Monday.com, God assigned that good work to you. And now you have a responsibility to go and and do and walk in that good work. I was like, man, I wonder how many hospitals haven't been built, how many kids are still don't have a home or are still you know going to bed hungry or cold? How many wells haven't been built? How many businesses hasn't haven't been started? How many books haven't been written?
SPEAKER_03:But man, you gotta you gotta pull back from that and and live by faith. Lord, did we need all those things that could have been? And the Lord says, no, I I got all that, guys. It's not up to you. We're letting people off the hook, Tim. I'm just I'm just I think I think we gotta we gotta be mature about this. It's outside our realm of thinking, because even today, the Lord reminds me. Live by faith.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Just a few minutes ago, I was driving in the back, I was putting those screens away, and I looked at all that grass in the back there, and I was like, who's gonna cut that grass? And the Lord said, You're gonna go talk about faith. So let's just let's live by faith.
SPEAKER_05:The truth is, God's got it. And if when we are faithless, scripture says God is faithful. So every good work that you pass by and you didn't even think about, or God put it right in your face and you said no. God has He hasn't lost control of anything. He's still seated on the throne, you know. Um you guys talked about that. I can't remember if it was Joy or Teresa, but you know, while we're feet are on the earth, God is still up in heaven. He's still God. We haven't changed anything. And so God is going to accomplish what he wants to accomplish in the world. I just think we we miss out on being used by him.
SPEAKER_03:And in the world, that's where the grace, the freedom, the glory that he can reflect off of us. It's it's huge. The joy, the peace, the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Um look what God did. And he used me, and he had to drag me there, and he had to put his foot on me to hold me there. But look what happened. Look what he did. And uh sometimes uh we forget all about forget about that part. We're always worried about well, what that's what's gonna is that gonna cost me, you know, what's that gonna look like? But when we get to heaven, we're gonna see that glory.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. And this God's grace is is bigger than you can imagine. Um and when you got all those things wrong, listen, he's covered it. And so this isn't about making you feel guilty, but what I'm challenging you with here is is true joy in the Christian life is found when you begin to step into those good works that God has prepared for you. And are they hard? Sure, they're hard. Are there are you always gonna love it? Not always right away, you know, but you'll find purpose and satisfaction and joy as you say yes to those things. Jesus said, I came that you would have life and that you would have it to the full. Grace and faith are the things that empower us to grab a hold of those things and live out the life that you were created.
SPEAKER_03:And let go of that backpack and that big expectation that you have. You know, you hit the altar up there and you say, God, I'm gonna go, go, go, go. Just tell me where to go. And then you find yourself watching Netflix saying, Oh, I'm just too tired, you know.
SPEAKER_02:Never too late. Never too late to get to the city.
SPEAKER_03:Never too late. And just like you said, it's never too late to get close to him, you know, and and uh find out what it's like to have a real relationship uh with him. That's one of those things that I think all Priscilla, what's her last name? Sreyer? Shire. Shire. Um, she was talking about it at that conference. So boy, we've ran all the way around the circle. You've been trying to not preach your next sermon on this. And uh it's buffing right up because you can't you're right, it all goes together.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, each one of these builds right on top of each other, and it's hard to to talk about them independently of one another. Um, because yeah, I we need all faith alone, we need grace alone, but none makes sense without Christ alone. Um, and so it's yeah, come come to church on Sunday as we we start to to talk about that too. Um, Joy, Tracer, you guys got anything else? Kind of any thoughts on this before we wrap up?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, when we podcast, we we podcast hard. You gotta break in there, ladies.
SPEAKER_02:You just there's never opportunity for us to break in there.
SPEAKER_03:I know, we're just bing-bong and begging for so um well, thank you for coming and listening to us to podcast live.
SPEAKER_05:Got to hear it live.
SPEAKER_03:If Ryan's not talking, I'm over here breathing hard in the mic.
SPEAKER_05:Stop it. People need to go. You pray for us.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, Jesus. Thank you for who you are. Thank you for the opportunity to come on here and just talk openly and freely about you and the grace that you give to us. Lord, I thank you that we can choose to have faith in you and in you alone. And I thank you for the life that we have when we choose to follow you. I thank you for the joy and the peace. Lord, the contentment, just the ability to see more than what's right in front of us and in this world that we live in. So, Jesus, we love you. Pray that you'd have your way. Jesus' name, amen.
unknown:Amen and amen.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks again for joining us for this episode of the Midweek Podcast. We'd love to hear from you. Let us know how God is using this resource in your life or send any podcast questions or topic ideas to podcast at a freshwind.org. If you would like to support this ministry financially and help us continue offering new resources that equip you to discover more in Christ, simply text any amount to the number 84321. We're so grateful for your support. Make sure to tune in next week for a brand new episode of the Midweek Podcast. Be blessed and have a great week.