WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:06.639 Man, I think um for the longest time I've I've struggled with an arrival mindset. 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:08.000 Here's what I mean. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:17.120 If I'm not careful, it's very easy for me to have a mindset that once I get to this spot, like whatever this is, then I've made it. 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:18.480 Like I've arrived. 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:23.199 I mean, I started off when it was me just trying to earn a starting spot on one other team. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:27.600 And then it got to the point where, okay, I'll arrive if I get into this college that I want to go to. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:35.759 And then if I get my degree, and then if I finally can get a date with Kelly, and then when I finally lock it down with a ring, which I did, I'm winning. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:37.679 Like it just kept going and going. 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:38.960 But then it moved even more. 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:43.840 So, okay, now once I have gotten my first real job, then I've arrived. 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.840 Or once I get married and have a kid, then I've arrived. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:52.000 Or once I get to this income level, then I've arrived. 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:59.920 Or once I get to this level, this arbitrary level of leadership and influence, I've arrived. 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:03.520 But the goalpost just kept moving over and over and over again. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:11.599 It's very easy to make whatever arbitrary milestone in your mind the finish line, and once you get there and cross it, it's like, man, I made it. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:13.359 And we all want to feel that way. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:18.799 Because it gives the sense of validation and completion, maybe even a little bit of security to it. 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:21.040 So, what is it that's in your mind right now? 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:22.000 What are you thinking? 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:26.000 That, man, if I get to this point, then I've arrived. 00:01:26.560 --> 00:01:30.239 Man, there's two problems I have found with that mindset. 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:37.200 Number one, there's a small crisis of identity and purpose whenever I feel like I've arrived. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:43.200 Man, I've built this up in my mind for so long that once I cross this finish line, then things are gonna be different. 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:47.840 But I realize that, hey, this milestone hasn't changed the person that I was yesterday. 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:54.159 My whole purpose and focus was getting to this spot, and now that I have, now what? 00:01:54.879 --> 00:02:01.120 I mean, I was so locked in on arriving that now I don't know who I really am anymore and what my purpose is. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.159 That's a problem. 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:08.639 The second problem is not realizing that arrival is a myth. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:13.919 You're never going to arrive at whatever milestone you have made up in your mind. 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:16.479 It's never gonna get you what you think it will. 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:21.680 Now the truth is, you never arrive somewhere or to something. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:23.599 You always arrive as someone. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:28.719 Every single day you are arriving as someone because your life is dynamic. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.120 You as an individual, you are dynamic. 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:33.919 You are always being shaped into someone. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:39.280 You are always being shaped and transformed into something because you're always being discipled. 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:43.199 So the question is, what are you being shaped and transformed into? 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:47.280 What is it that's shaping you, and are you good with it? 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:49.520 Man, let me ask you a question. 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:53.360 Do you think that our culture is becoming one of depth? 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:57.120 Or is our culture becoming more surface level and shallow? 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:00.319 You can speak up with confidence. 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:02.560 Yeah, we're shallow, right? 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:03.520 We we would all agree. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:07.759 No, I know that's a that's a really subjective question, so let me try to put some handles around this. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:13.039 Let's say that depth is determined by values, and are values consistent or not? 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:14.719 Or how about sacrifice? 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:17.599 Sacrifice can can give an indication of depth. 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:21.120 Are people willing to sacrifice for what's good and what's right? 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:23.360 Are they willing to sacrifice for others? 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:25.120 Or how about principles? 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:28.240 Do principles take precedent over pleasure? 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:30.080 Or personal comfort? 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:31.599 Like what's valued more? 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:35.280 Personal comfort or the courage to stand up for what's right? 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:36.879 How about fear? 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:44.960 Are people more afraid to violate truth and principles, or are people more afraid to offend someone? 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:55.919 Man, I would say that a culture is shallow if you can reduce it down to what is bought, consumed, posted, and monetized. 00:03:56.879 --> 00:04:00.159 Is that a fair description of American culture in 2026? 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:03.039 It sure seems like it, right? 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:10.879 And the same things that give you an indication of whether or not a culture has depth, it's also true to see if an individual has depth. 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:13.840 Man, I want to be a person of depth. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:15.840 And I'm assuming that you do too. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:19.120 Like nobody says, I haven't heard somebody say, you know what? 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:21.360 I would really like to be a shallow person. 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:26.800 If you are saying that, find me in the lobby afterwards, I'll give you a hug. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:28.480 We got some stuff to talk about. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:34.079 Like nobody wants to be shallow, and you don't, you probably don't have very much patience for shallow either. 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:38.319 Like you and I both, we we want to be around people that have depth. 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:39.519 People like Drew. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.639 Man, every time I'm with Drew, he makes me think at such a different level. 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:50.160 He asks such insightful questions that are coming from an honest curiosity. 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:52.560 The dude is brilliant. 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:59.839 He has an incredible intellect, he's very accomplished, but but Drew doesn't want to learn, you don't, he doesn't want you to learn from him. 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:01.360 He's like, No, no, I want to learn from you. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:03.839 Like, dude, I don't know if you're gonna learn anything from me. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:04.800 I want to learn from you. 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:09.199 But he's got this humility that's even greater than his intellect and his accomplishments. 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:10.560 Or Patty. 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:16.319 Man, Patty has an incredible story, almost of movie proportions. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:20.399 But Patty doesn't want to talk about her story, she wants to hear about yours. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:30.240 Patty has this constant smile that has a joy that cannot be faked, and it's clear that the source of her joy comes from beyond her circumstances. 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:38.399 I mean, if you spend three minutes with Patty, that's all it's gonna take, and you are gonna learn something profound, and you're gonna walk away encouraged. 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:39.680 Or Ron. 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.399 Ron is an absolute sage. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:46.639 And Ron has experienced a type of suffering. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:52.160 I think it's fair to say most people couldn't imagine the suffering that he's been through. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:57.040 And the suffering that he has been through, I think would turn most people bitter. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:05:59.680 Not Ron, it was actually the opposite. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:05.839 It actually created a strength and a gentleness in him that makes his presence feel very safe. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:11.040 He's maybe the most compassionate and others-focused person that I know. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:16.720 He's a soft-spoken guy, but when he speaks, dripping with wisdom. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:19.680 Proverbs says that wisdom is more valuable than gold. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:21.040 That's wrong. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:23.199 People of depth. 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:27.759 What we need right now is not more talented people. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:32.399 We don't need more talented or gifted or intellectual or strategic people. 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:35.279 That stuff is great, but that's not what we need right now. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.759 I would argue that we need people of depth. 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:38.959 We need deep people. 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:44.639 I would also argue this deep people are dependent people. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:52.079 Independence can lead to surface level and shallow very easily because independence can make you self-focused. 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:55.360 And a self-focused person is a shallow person. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:04.000 Now, I would say that Jesus was probably the person of more depth than anyone else in human history. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:06.720 It's not a stretch at all to say that. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:09.199 What he said, what he taught, what he did. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:13.199 Historic Western values are all based on Christianity. 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.920 Now everyone is dependent on someone or something. 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:17.519 You are, I am also. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:19.040 It might only be yourself. 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:21.680 True independence is a complete myth. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:26.720 What Jesus modeled for us is for us to be dependent on the Father, just like he was. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:28.879 He was completely dependent on the Father. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:30.800 This is basic Christianity. 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:33.439 Dependence on Jesus is basic Christianity. 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:35.279 That's where spiritual growth comes from. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:37.040 That's where you bear spiritual fruit. 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:39.279 That's how God's power starts to rest on you. 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:42.399 And dependency on Jesus is what actually shapes you. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:51.199 So let me say it this way: your depth as a person is directly tied to your dependency and your discipleship. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.079 You are being discipled by someone or something. 00:07:56.560 --> 00:08:00.319 Every single one of us is, whether you are a Christian or not. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:05.920 Discipleship is not an exclusive concept to Christianity, it's actually a universal truth. 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:12.800 But the problem is, most people don't know what they're being discipled by, and they don't know what they're being discipled into. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:17.680 Now, towards the very beginning of Jesus' ministry, Matthew 4 says this. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.079 Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother. 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:28.959 They're casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:33.039 And he said to them, Follow me, I will make you fishers of men. 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:35.440 So immediately they left their nets and they followed him. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:40.399 And going on from there, they saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:45.440 They were in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them immediately. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.879 They left the boat and their father, and they followed him. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:55.759 And we need to back up for some quick context, because this isn't that big of a deal to us, but it very much would have been back then. 00:08:56.080 --> 00:09:06.399 For a young Jewish man in the first century to be asked by a rabbi to follow him, that was maybe one of the highest honors that he could have received at that point in his life. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:12.879 Now they didn't know who Jesus really was yet, but they did see him as a rabbi. 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:17.679 That's why they called Jesus rabbi over and over and over again in the Gospels. 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:20.320 And they also knew what following meant. 00:09:20.639 --> 00:09:24.799 To follow a rabbi meant that you were with him everywhere. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:26.799 You did everything that he did. 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:35.200 The whole point was for you to be with your rabbi, to become like your rabbi, and to do what your rabbi is doing. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:36.399 That was the whole point. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:38.559 It was an apprenticeship. 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:44.159 You observed your rabbi, you followed him, you listened to him, you learned from him, you imitated him. 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:47.200 Man, it was hands-on training, it was an apprenticeship. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:48.399 Hands-on training. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.919 You you dove deep into the teaching when you were alone with your rabbi. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:59.200 You observed him, you learned, you imitated, you had delegated authority and responsibility, you continued the work that your rabbi did. 00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:00.799 It was an apprenticeship. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:06.720 And apprenticeship is another way, I think it's a better way of actually saying discipleship. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:16.720 But for way too for way too long in the American church, we have reduced discipleship simply down to information. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:21.519 How much information can you retain and regurgitate? 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:26.639 And the more information you can retain and regurgitate, well, that means you're just farther along. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:27.679 You're actually growing. 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:29.519 That's not what it is at all. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:32.639 Knowledge is important, it's incredibly important. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:36.720 In fact, I know I know some people that know all kinds of scriptures. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.200 They can quote scripture just at the drop of the hat. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:44.480 They know scripture left and right, and yet they're mean and they're arrogant. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:47.600 I don't check out. 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:53.120 Because discipleship's not just about knowledge, discipleship is becoming. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:56.080 Are you becoming like Jesus? 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:00.799 I got an email from a college student who said that she started coming to our church. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:06.960 She said that she's never been to church before in her life, but she started coming to Life Bridge and she's got all kinds of questions. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:11.759 And she said, Her first question is this what is the Christian life? 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.600 And I thought, that's such an awesome question. 00:11:15.840 --> 00:11:18.159 That's the best question that you could ask. 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:28.240 And then I thought, all right, how can I how can I answer this as simply as I possibly can, especially for someone who has no church or biblical background at all? 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:40.960 So I wrote back to her and I said, hey, as simply as I can say it, the Christian life is this: know Jesus, love Jesus, obey Jesus. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:42.320 That's it. 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:45.200 Everything will fall into those three buckets. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:47.120 And it works like a circle. 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:50.480 Like the more you know Jesus, the more you're gonna love him. 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:52.960 And the more you love him, the more you're gonna obey him. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:12:00.639 And the more you obey him, the more he's gonna reveal even more of himself to you, which means you're gonna know him even more, which means you love him even more, which means you obey him even more. 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:04.399 It just keeps going round and round and round, deeper and deeper. 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:06.320 Like we think progression is linear. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.879 Like if I'm progressing, I'm I'm walking this timeline. 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:11.679 If I'm growing, I started here and then I'm at this point. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:14.159 But that's not what an apprenticeship with Jesus is like. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:15.600 That's not the Christian life. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:21.279 No growth looks like a circle, it just goes around and around, but deeper and deeper and deeper. 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:23.039 That's what discipleship means. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:26.080 Get deeper and deeper and deeper, becoming like Jesus. 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:29.919 Know Jesus, love Jesus, obey Jesus. 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:38.080 And part of knowing Jesus, it's following him in this apprenticeship. 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:41.279 But this is where a lot of people get stuck. 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:43.200 This is a fork in the road. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:48.480 And I would even say this: there are a lot of people that call themselves Christians, but they get stuck right here. 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:50.879 And it can I be honest with you for a second? 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:52.399 I'm going to be. 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:56.639 I'm just asking for your permission to be polite so you can speak back. 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:02.000 This is one of the biggest burdens I feel as your pastor. 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:11.360 There is a difference between someone who believes in Jesus and someone who follows Jesus. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.000 There's a big difference in that. 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:21.759 Now, unfortunately, for a long time, our culture has reduced Christianity down to just belief. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:24.960 Do you believe in Jesus? 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:26.240 And that's it. 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:28.320 Now, belief is incredibly important. 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:31.519 It's incredibly important, but it's the starting line. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.080 Man, scripture even says, it says this. 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:35.840 Hey, okay, you believe that God is one? 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:36.960 Cool, good for you. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.039 Even the demons believe this. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:45.279 Do you know who the first were to acknowledge and recognize Jesus as the Son of God in the Gospels? 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:46.799 Wasn't the twelve. 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:48.639 Wasn't the Samaritan woman. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:53.919 The very first to recognize Jesus as the Son of God were demons. 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:58.720 The demons are the first people that recognize Jesus as God and believe in him. 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:00.000 The demons believe. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:04.960 So here's my question: if we stop at belief, how are we different from the demons? 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:10.960 Let that sit, alright? 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:12.240 We need to let that sit. 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:13.039 We can. 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:18.720 I believe that the Denver Broncos are our local NFL team. 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:21.039 But that does not make me a Bronco. 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:24.320 Some of you think you are. 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:32.799 Man, I believe that an Iron Man is an incredibly difficult race, but that doesn't make me an Iron Man. 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:37.279 I believe that Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia. 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:39.360 That doesn't make me a Russian. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:45.039 Something else has to happen for me to become a Bronco or an Iron Man or a Russian. 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:50.720 Something else has to happen for me to become a disciple, an apprentice of Jesus to get deeper and deeper with him. 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:53.679 Man, these fishermen, they believed Jesus was a rabbi. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:58.080 They believed his invitation was a little legit, so they followed him. 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:03.519 The question is, are you following Jesus or just believing? 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:08.559 Man, I would just tell you straight up, don't be a believer. 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:11.200 Don't be a follower. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:13.360 Now listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 4. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:15.919 He says, follow me, not something else, not yourself. 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:17.840 Follow me, and I will make you. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.120 I'm gonna turn you into this, I will make you fishers of men. 00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:23.279 Hebrews 12 says it this way. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:26.879 Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:33.759 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, that's following him, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:36.399 You are following someone or something. 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:38.080 You are, so am I. 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:41.200 You are being shaped by someone or something. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:42.879 Do you know what it is? 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:53.120 Man, I think the world has done a much better job making disciples than the church has over the last 30 years. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:00.799 And if we really are a surface level and shallow culture, that's an indictment on the church. 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:04.399 I mean, let me just give you a snapshot of where we're at right now. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:08.639 Depending on what study you read, right now the divorce rate still hovers around 50%. 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:12.399 There's rampant pornography use. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:20.480 2026 data says that 74% of men, and get this, 44% of women say they use pornography. 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:32.320 There's insane consumer debt, an epidemic of mental illness, isolation, social isolation, a fatherless crisis, political tribalism. 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:34.000 We could keep going, couldn't we? 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:37.840 This is what happens when we're discipled by the world. 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.480 And specifically, do you know what the most effective discipler is today? 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:44.480 Your phone. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:55.519 YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Hollywood, Fox, CNN, just what your friends text you. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:59.519 I mean, here's some screen time stats for 2026. 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:05.920 Right now, the average person in the United States spends seven hours and two minutes a day on a screen. 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:11.759 That comes out to be 49 hours and 14 minutes a week on a screen. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:13.839 That's a full-time job. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:17.519 The average person spends two hours and 21 minutes a day on social media. 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:19.119 Again, that's average. 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:22.559 41% of teenagers spend an average of eight hours a day. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.079 Gen Z has topped it. 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:33.119 Gen Z now averages nine hours a day on a screen, and the average American picks up their phone 96 different times a day. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:35.759 50 hours a week. 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:42.720 So is it fair to say that what we listen to and what we see on a screen is influencing us? 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:44.000 Is that fair? 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:46.880 I think influencing isn't even the right word. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:49.279 We even have people called influencers. 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:51.200 The right word is discipling. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:58.319 Let me ask you this: if you're a Christian, do you scroll more than you read scripture? 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:03.440 I'm asking myself that, okay? 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:10.960 Are you quick to fill in the silence with noise instead of protecting the silence? 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:19.519 Whatever your daily disciplines are is going to point to who or what really is discipling you. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:21.359 Discipleship is about becoming. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:23.759 You are being shaped into someone every single day. 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:29.200 And whatever you're being discipled by, you're going to have a deepening dependence on that thing or that person. 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:40.079 Here's what I mean: if you're being discipled by social media, you're going to have a deepening need to have more drama, more gossip, more rumors, more lust. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:53.119 If you are being discipled by political tribalism, then you're going to have a need for more accusations against the other side, to win more arguments, and to view people simply as enemies or allies. 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:54.240 That's it. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:19:00.720 Like whatever you have a deepening need for, whatever you're running to, that's probably what you're being discipled by. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:02.319 But be careful. 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:07.440 Be really careful about what you listen to and what you allow to have access to you. 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:12.079 Man, phones, a screen, a phone is not giving you access to the world. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:13.119 That's what we think. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.000 It's the opposite. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:16.640 A phone is giving the world access to you. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:19.519 50 hours a week. 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:21.920 Man, I got 35 minutes. 00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:24.079 I'm in a huge deficit. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:29.200 Be careful of what you're listening to and what you have access to. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:33.920 Because right now, our culture, it is filled with echo chambers. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:39.519 You can find any echo chamber you want that will tell you what you want to hear, affirm, and reinforce what you think. 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:40.480 You can find it anywhere. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:41.359 Easy. 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:45.599 Also, movies, shows, songs, podcasts. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:47.359 I consume all of that. 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:51.200 But none of that is just a show or a podcast or a movie or a song. 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:52.880 All of it is a message. 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.240 Every single thing that you see and hear, it's a message. 00:19:56.319 --> 00:19:58.480 And Satan loves to work inside this stuff. 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:01.039 He's not stupid and he's very sly. 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:06.319 He loves to speak lies to you in condemnation and shame and fear. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:09.599 You also have to be careful when you listen to yourself. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.240 Man, your feelings are real for sure. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:15.920 But I don't know about you, but my feelings lie to me all the time. 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:17.119 I do know about you. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:18.720 Your feelings lie to you too. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:20.960 Like they're real for sure. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:25.759 But sometimes unchecked, man, your feelings will lead you into something that is not good. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:29.279 All of this is an attempt to disciple you. 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:32.000 So be careful and pay attention to what you're listening to. 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:34.480 Pay attention to what has access to you. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:36.559 Man, I don't I don't know your situation at all. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:37.839 Let me say this. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:40.400 I'm not downplaying it. 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:49.200 But if life is really hard right now, like if you just feel discouraged, man, it's just frustration after frustration. 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:51.359 I keep hitting the wall, things aren't going well for me. 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:53.599 Maybe the problem is not your circumstances. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:55.759 Maybe the problem is what's discipling you. 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:01.519 Now, the flip side of this coin, let's get really practical. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:07.759 A spiritual discipline is meant to deepen your dependency not on someone else or something else. 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:10.400 It's meant to deepen your dependency on Jesus. 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:18.240 Spiritual disciplines are not there to create a spiritual experience, they're there to create spiritual growth. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:21.200 This is also not something that we should do as a checklist. 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:23.200 Hey, let me go through my list and check everything off. 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:24.079 No, that's not it. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:26.319 It's also not a formula for production. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:30.960 God cares far more about who you're becoming than what you're producing. 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:36.160 But these are disciplines because they require discipline. 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:41.119 But here's what I've learned about this discipline turns into delight. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:45.599 You stick with it, discipline will turn into delight and into depth. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:47.839 This is true in so many areas of life. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.000 Like, if you have the discipline to go to the gym, it's hard to do that. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:59.759 But if you stick with that discipline over time, it starts to become something that you really enjoy, and you become a deeper person that's you getting stronger. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:02.319 Getting into shape, becoming healthy. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.880 Or if you pick up a new hobby or a sports. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:10.400 Man, practicing is the discipline to get better, and then you start to enjoy the sport even more. 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:11.839 You get better at it. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:14.559 Spiritual disciplines are the exact same way. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:17.680 I'm in the word every single morning. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:21.759 And it's taken me discipline to create those rhythms. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:25.440 But now it does not feel like discipline to me at all. 00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:28.480 Like being in the word in the morning is my favorite part of my day. 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:29.440 Every single day. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:34.000 I got my coffee concoction, I got my mugs because everybody knows that mugs matter. 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:36.880 And if Kelly takes one of my mugs, we got problems. 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:40.559 Merital strife when she takes my master's mug. 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:43.119 Sorry, I'm going on a tangent here. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:44.880 That was me venting to you. 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:49.440 No, I'm sitting on the front porch until it gets too cold, and then I sit in our reading room. 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:50.000 I'm in the word. 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:51.599 It's my favorite part of the day. 00:22:51.680 --> 00:22:54.319 And if I miss it, I feel off for the rest of the day. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:56.319 That's what spiritual disciplines will do. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:59.519 Discipline will turn into delight and into depth. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:04.319 Jesus gave his apprentices different spiritual disciplines to do. 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:15.759 And if Jesus consistently did certain spiritual disciplines, shouldn't that be our core? 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:18.559 Shouldn't that be kind of a starting line? 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:20.720 Part of basic Christianity. 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.319 I was listening to an interview with an F-18 pilot. 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:27.039 Man, growing up, I wanted to be a fighter pilot. 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:32.559 I still want to be a fighter pilot, but I have terrible eyes and I'm horrible at math, so that's kind of out on me. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.200 Top Gun is still my favorite movie to this day. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:37.200 It's just it never that will never change. 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:45.920 Anyway, listening to this interview, and this this interviewer was asking this F-18 pilot, hey, how do you fly these aircraft? 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:48.079 They're so complex and it's dangerous. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:50.480 On top of that, you're flying off carriers. 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:55.920 You're landing at night in bad weather on a moving ship in the middle of the ocean. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:58.160 That's incredibly complex and dangerous. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:23:59.519 How do you do this? 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:02.319 And this pilot said, Here's what we do. 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:05.519 We try to be brilliant in the basics. 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:12.559 Because we know that if we're brilliant in the basics, then we can do the complex, then we can face the dangerous. 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:16.640 If we're not brilliant in the basics, this stuff's all gonna make us fall apart. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:21.680 Dependency on Jesus is basic Christianity. 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:26.880 And part of creating that dependency are spiritual disciplines. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.279 We want to be brilliant in these basics. 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:30.640 Things like prayer. 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:34.880 More than 25 different times in the Gospels, you see Jesus praying. 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:37.920 Jesus modeled this, he made a habit of it. 00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:40.640 This was the starting point for his dependency on the Father. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:42.559 I mean, he talks about this in Matthew 6. 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:50.720 He says to his disciples, his apprentices, when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your father in private. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:52.160 Luke 5, 16. 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:55.680 Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. 00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:58.000 He modeled what he said to do. 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:05.279 Now, prayer does take some practice, but the longer you spend time with the Lord, the more natural prayer becomes for you. 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:09.759 But a question I hear often is, How do I pray? 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:11.759 Like I don't know that I'm doing this right. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:12.720 Like, what am I supposed to do? 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:13.839 How do I actually pray? 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:14.720 Great question. 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:16.720 Everybody asks that question at some point. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:19.359 So if that's the spot you're in right now, you're in a great spot. 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.799 Here's what I would say to start with: just pray scripture. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:24.400 Just pray scripture. 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:26.559 Psalms, it's the biggest book in the Bible. 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:28.480 Right in the middle, it's a giant prayer book. 00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:29.440 Pray the Psalms. 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:31.599 Read one and pray it back to the Lord. 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:37.039 Or when you're reading something in Scripture and if you have a question about it, your prayer then becomes that question. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:38.640 Like that's what you ask the Lord. 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:42.400 Or if you read something in Scripture and you're like, man, I want that to be true of me. 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:43.359 I want that wisdom. 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:44.240 I want that discernment. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:45.039