Unsexy Church

Season 3 Episode 7: Measuring A Thriving Life In Christ

• First Baptist Tampa • Season 3 • Episode 7

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The Unsexy Church Podcast

New episodes drop every Wednesday Morning

ABOUT THE PODCAST

The Unsexy Church is a weekly podcast exploring the real, everyday life within our church family. Each week, join Pastor Bob (Senior Pastor) and Darren (Worship & Discipleship Pastor) as they sit down to discuss a wide variety of subjects—from deep theological questions to the practical, often "unsexy" work of following Jesus and building a healthy local church.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO THRIVE?

We want to help every person make a genuine commitment to follow Jesus and then follow through with that commitment in Connecting People to a Thriving Life in Christ. These Thriving disciples should Dig In to the Bible, Grow Up in Christ, and Branch Outinto the community.

Our Mission: To Connect People to a Thriving Life in Christ. What is a thriving life in Christ? Scripture says that Jesus Christ came “that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Our mission in the city of Tampa is to make disciples who follow the pattern of the believer in Psalm 1 and desire God’s glory above all things.

NEXT STEPS

Are you looking to get connected or learn more about First Baptist Tampa? We would love to help you find your place in our community.

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Wherever you are in life, you have a purpose. First Baptist Tampa wants to help you find your next step.

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Cold Florida, Groundhog Day, Small Talk

SPEAKER_01

Hey gang. Welcome back to the Unsexy Church podcast. Good to see you guys this morning. We've got Pastor Bob in the room. Hey, Darren. Hey everybody. We've got uh Jordan, Mr. Producer Jordan over here.

SPEAKER_03

Hello, hello.

SPEAKER_01

Producer extraordinaire. Oh. He has a flannel shirt on that looks a little more fleecy than flannely, even. Technically, that's a jacket, right? That's like a jacket. It's a shacklet. A shacket? Is that what it's called? That's way too sexy.

SPEAKER_00

No idea. I got gifted it and I I like it because it keeps me warm.

SPEAKER_01

I don't think he's taken it off his body since he's gotten it, actually. And he has a hoodie on. It's cold in Florida. I used to tell people that it doesn't get cold in Florida. It gets cold here. It does get it does get cold.

SPEAKER_03

It does. Yeah, it's it's a different cold, too. It's it's cold. Yeah. And and if if you don't know Jordan, if you've never seen Jordan, Jordan's six, what, six three, six, two, six, three, somewhere in there. Yeah. And there's not an ounce of fat on this man's body. Not at all. So he is constantly cold. Perpetually. He's from a warmer climate. So right? Yeah. Is that fair? Yeah. So he's always cold, no matter where he is. This could be 90 degrees and he's got a jacket on. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Hey, it is uh groundhog day today.

SPEAKER_03

Punxitawney film.

SPEAKER_01

February 2nd, Groundhog Day. Fun fact of the day. The very first Groundhog Day was celebrated in 1887. First Groundhog Day observed at Gobbler's Knob at Punxitawney, Pennsylvania. Did he see his shadow on that particular day? I didn't, I don't know. I have no idea. I shouldn't have looked. I should have looked. I can tell you what I was doing though. 27 years ago, uh it was Super Bowl Sunday night, and my wife and I were expecting our first child, and we went into the hospital Super Bowl Sunday night, and uh we we uh waited. We waited. That was a Sunday night, and Wednesday morning at 3 a.m. came our little groundhog, our firstborn son. Very nice. February 3rd, the next day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So another fun fact. Groundhog day, the movie. Not a fan. Really? Never been a fan of that movie. I kind of like it. I can tolerate it, but I've it's not like I'm one I'm gonna go back and watch again.

SPEAKER_01

It's not like on my list of top favorites of all time. Like you know, Christmas, you have movies you're gonna watch every exact year. Uh when Groundhog Day comes around, you know, you see all the ads for it. I don't, I might watch it, I might not.

SPEAKER_03

If I'm scrolling and trying to find something to watch and it pops up, I'm not stopping. I'm I keep going.

SPEAKER_01

It to me is like a rainy day, fall asleep, late afternoon movie. I could start it and I'll fall asleep, probably. Sure, sure, sure. That's that's the kind of movie it is to me. Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day, Jordan? Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

SPEAKER_03

Bill Murray. Yep. Typical Bill Murray movie. For sure. But it was it's okay.

Outdoor NHL Game And The Goalie Fight

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. I like the concept. I I just think it's I don't for whatever reason, I love the alarm flipping at 7 a.m. with uh Sonny and Cher coming on coming on the radio. Over and over and over. I like that for whatever reason. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it. Nice. I mean, just for that part.

SPEAKER_03

So totally unrelated. Did you guys happen to watch the hockey game last night? The outdoor series? I did not. You didn't see it. I did not Jordan didn't? No. No. So the the Lightning hosted the 45th outdoor hockey game from the National Hockey League at Raymond James Stadium. It was pretty cool. 64,000 people watching this game.

SPEAKER_01

I saw some pregame stuff. It looked pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, it's a cool concept. And they got great weather for it, you know, surprisingly.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Um worry about keeping the ice frozen.

SPEAKER_03

It didn't start. Well, it started out great. We scored 11 seconds into the game, but then the Bruins, Boston, who we were playing, went up five to one. They were just taking it to us, just killing us. And we were like, oh, I don't want to watch this anymore. Then the two goalies got in a fight. Oh yeah. Yeah. So that just sparked everything. Lightning came back and won in overtime when the shooting won six to five. So it was uh ultimately it was really kind of cool to watch. Yeah, it was unique. It was fun. Not that I'm promoting violence.

SPEAKER_01

I don't know that I've ever I don't think I've ever seen two goalies get into a fight.

SPEAKER_03

It's rare. It's really rare, but there's like an unwritten rule that the that the regular skaters don't really touch the goalkeepers. Right. So if the goalkeepers start something, the other goalkeeper comes from the other e has to come and stick up for his for his teammates. So uh Massey did that last night, and then they were all laughing about it. They were just having fun. It was it was hilarious.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I mean, if you're gonna get in a fight and you're playing hockey, I mean, to be the goalies, what you got the you got all the padding, you got the face masks, you got the big gloves, you know. I mean, I don't know, man. It's yeah, it's probably the best.

SPEAKER_03

Disclaimer, we are not promoting violence. We don't fight. We don't like to fight.

SPEAKER_01

No, no, that's not that get along with your brothers. That's right, man. Hey, we are here today um talking about um our our measures at FBC Tampa. You know, for many uh of you, you you know my former profession. Some of you all might not know my former profession, but before I was in full-time vocational ministry, I was a professional pickle packer.

SPEAKER_03

That's impressive.

Why Measures Matter In Church Life

SPEAKER_01

You know, I'm telling you. And there are two phrases that I learned at the pickle plant. I learned a lot of things at the pickle plant. I imagine you did. Some of them are way too sexy to share on this podcast.

SPEAKER_03

Maybe too uh inappropriate, I imagine, as well.

SPEAKER_01

But two phrases that I did that I that I learned and and have kind of taken with me is is what what gets measured is what gets done. And and then inspect what you expect. Expect. Right. Those are like two phrases that I'm there's again, there's other phrases that I'm not gonna say here, but uh those are those are two that have have stuck with me.

SPEAKER_03

But those are good, and they're and that don't just apply to packing pickles, right? Right. It's it's quality control. It is it is a measurement of how do you measure success, right? So exactly. And and you're going to um do what you expect, right? So so inspect what you expect. Right. Um, and then what you measure is what actually gets done. So yeah, those are good, those are good phrases that really stick.

SPEAKER_01

And so I'm just kind of thinking through that. Why, why as a church would we decide to um have a set of measures? You know, that that we are, I mean, we we publicize them, they're on our website, they're scrolling over our weekly announcements all all the time, they're part of our D groups. Why, why would we want to have a set of measures at First Baptist Church, Tampa?

SPEAKER_03

Well, I think it goes to uh we want to do our very best for the Lord. We want to accomplish the mission that he sets out for us. And so every now and then you got to stop and ask, am I doing what God's called us to do? And so our our mission as a church, our stated mission as a church is to connect people to a thriving life in Christ. Right. Get that from John 10, 10, from Psalm chapter one. Um, and so every now and then we have to go, are we actually connecting people to a thriving life in Christ? Are the people who are a part of our church growing in their walk with God? Are they uh more like Christ now than they were before? And so how do we measure that? That that's the big question is how do you you can you can measure whether you've packed a pickle properly? For sure. Right. There are I'm sure there were metrics that you guys mean, yeah, quantitative and qualitative measures. Um and we can do that uh in many ways, but how do you measure the the faithfulness, the health, the success of a church?

unknown

Wow.

SPEAKER_03

That's the question.

Beyond Nickels And Noses: Defining Health

SPEAKER_01

So so my first year here, we came, we went on a staff retreat, and um we we this we came up with these my first year here. Uh I wasn't I don't think I was even here a year yet when we you know we met together as a staff, got it got away uh through a time of just prayer and in in the word, just kind of thought through what what are the things that we want to see developed in our in our folks um that would help us to measure the faithfulness and the health of our church. And this is these are what we can't came up with, right? Um like you said, sometimes there are there are a lot of different types of of measurements, and you're uh what's I'm kind of excited about this that you kind of do a you do a series within a series uh each year, it's last few years in your sermon series. We're going through the book of Mark, but the first Sunday of every month, we're taking a break, and then you're just uh explaining and expounding on uh our measures, why we've chosen these measures, what they mean. And so last yesterday, last Sunday, um you talked to us about our first measure uh in in a sermon. And we've done matter of fact, we've I think we you and I have done a podcast about this first measure. Um we spent a whole podcast. We could probably spend a whole podcast on each and every each and every m measurement, but we just want to take today, kind of go kind of give you a bird's eye eye view, how they came about, why we think these are important, and maybe some of the scripture background to to some of them.

SPEAKER_03

So yeah, that discussion you're referring back to uh at that staff retreat was you know, over years we've just been trying to evaluate how how do you measure the success of a church and what metric do you use? And you know, there's there's different metrics that you can use that could give you an indication, um, whether that's the number of people that are attending, number of baptisms, nickels and noses. Nickels and noses. There's other ways to say that. Say that on an un podcast. So, you know, uh you can measure bodies, you can measure baptisms, you can measure buildings, you can measure budgets, you can measure births. You can look at those things, and they may give you an indication of some of the health of your church, but they could also give you false indications. Right. You know, because you you can draw a crowd and not be healthy. You can draw a crowd and not be fulfilling your mission. So while those are are metrics, and we keep track of all those metrics, it's not like we ignore those things. Uh, but we said, what what's a what's a more accurate way to measure whether our people are thriving in Christ? And so we came up with this list of eight questions that we just asked our folks to just do self-examination. You know, the series, the sermon series you're referring to is we're just calling it heart check. Yeah, do a heart check. And uh and you can answer this question better than I can answer this question for yourself, right? For any church member. I can look at the fruits of your life and kind of evaluate, but at the end of the day, you know whether you've grown or not. You know whether you have done these things. And so just eight questions that we just ask our church to uh do a self-eval evaluation with. And so that's where all that came from.

SPEAKER_01

Gotcha. All right. First measurement. Let's just and this list is not exhaustive. No, no. Um, but it I think it does cover a you know a pretty good swath of Christian life. And so we if you're doing well in these, if you can pray through these, think through through these, and see see fruit in these areas, I think you could probably say, I'm fair, I'm fairly healthy, right? Right.

SPEAKER_03

So the the goal of the Christian life is to grow. We're to grow up into Him who is Christ. We are to mature, we are to become more.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_03

And so all of these are just measurements to say, have I grown in my walk? Am I stagnant or am I growing?

SPEAKER_01

Right. And you know, for some, I I think sometimes we just I just have to think of it this way, because it can be very daunting for me. Um, am I am I am I further along than I was yesterday? You know, in my in my walk with Christ. So first measurement. You covered it very well yesterday, but and we've like I said, we've had a whole podcast on it. But the first one is Is my character a reflection of Christ? And we go to Romans chapter 12 for for that. Uh your sermon yesterday was spot on, um, verses one and two, um talking about offering ourselves as a living sacrifice and then being transformed by the renewing of our mind versus being conformed by the pattern of the world. But then the whole the whole rest of chapter 12 are these characteristics, right? Of uh of what a Christian should should look like. So go ahead.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, no, the the the the basic thought behind the question, is my character a reflection of Christ? Do people see Christ in me? Right, is my character being shaped by the image of Christ, by the word of God? Um and then we looked at Romans 12, which is Paul's just encouragement, his plea with those who have accepted the grace of God to say what's the reasonable response to that? Yeah, what's the reasonable response to some to Christ saving your life, to saving your soul and giving you hope and peace? Well, he says the only reasonable response to that is to offer our lives as a living sacrifice.

SPEAKER_01

I really like how you talked about just you used the word gratitude several times yesterday. And just our our worship is not an active duty, although we do have a duty to worship, but it's out of a heart of sincere gratitude for all that the Lord has done for us through his son, uh Jesus on the cross and through the resurrection and the new birth and the new life that we have in him.

Measure 1: Character Reflecting Christ (Romans 12)

SPEAKER_03

I mean that that's essentially the the question is how am I showing my gratitude to God? Yeah. Um and what's the reason what's the reasonable act of worship to do that? Um is that giving some of my time or part of my money? Is that attending every now and then in church? No, no, the only reasonable response to what Christ has done for us is to say, here I am, Lord, use my life. Yeah. So that that's that's that takes discipline, right? To not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That takes surrender the spirit and takes discipline.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, just I think you hit this well yesterday. The the how is our mind renewed? You know, we've got to be saturated in the word of God. I mean, the word of God has to be louder than the word of everything else in this world that's screaming at us, right? Um, some of the characteristics, like what does a what does a transformed life look like? Um, just looking at Romans chap chapter 12, we see this love, uh having brotherly affection, genuine love for for each for for each other. Um it says uh you know we should um outdo that love ought to lead us to like outdo and showing honor to one another. And can you imagine how many um conflicts would be resolved if we would just have that mindset on the on at the outset, right? Not that we have a ton of conflicts here, but just or just even in your own personal life, if you just if my goal was just to outdo you and showing honor to you, man. Right. Yeah, man. What what would the result, what would that look like? What would a church look like that had a body full of people outdoing one another and showing honor? Man, yeah. You know, not to be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit. Um, it says, you know, serve the the Lord with that kind of a spirit, with that that that kind of zeal. Um rejoice in the hope we have, be patient through tribulation. I mean, we could just go on and on. These are marks of a Christian or or traits of a transformed life, generous, contributing to the needs of your brothers and sisters, showing hospitality, blessing our enemies, those who persecute us. I mean, we could go on and on. I we don't have to expound uh all these all these traits, but these are just some this is what the outward what the outward show of an inward transformation looks like in in our life. Yeah. Oh any other thoughts about the the just is my character a refresh reflection of Christ?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, it to me it the tangible part of it, the practical part of it is when I talk, do people hear me or do they hear something of Christ? When I react, do they see something of me or do they say something of Christ? Um and that that's that's a cold splash of water sometimes, you know, to think, oh well, what I just said did not reflect Christ very well. What I just thought didn't reflect him very well, how I just treated my wife certainly did not. So uh just a reminder, I'm I'm here to reflect the image of Christ and how am I doing in that?

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Ross Powell, you know, I just kind of think too, just to kind of wrap this one up a little bit. Um I can only do these things through the power of the Spirit. Right. And and I can I can only exhibit these characteristics if I've been born again, made made a new creation, and the Holy Spirit's living in me, and I've been freed from slavery to sin, you know. And so I I just I think instead of looking at it as a list of things to to do, it's more like who God is making me, right, you know, and transforming me through the power of his word and power of his spirit.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, the appeal Paul makes is to the brethren, to brothers and sisters in Christ. You cannot offer your life as a living sacrifice if you haven't offered your soul to Christ, right? So we cannot do it on our own.

SPEAKER_01

Right. And just kind of feeding off of that measurement goes into number two. Um, am I am I living a life in obedience to God's word? Ouch. Some days. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Well, Jesus says, You are my followers if you keep my commandments. You are my friends if you keep my commandments. James tells us not to be hearers of the word only, but to be doers of the word who don't deceive themselves into thinking you're something you're not.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, those are the two scriptures that we kind of went to as we we thought about with John 14, 21. If you love me, you will obey my commands. Right. Jesus telling his disciples that and James, you know, encouraging us not just to be hearers of the word. It's easy to come to church every Sunday and Wednesday and go to Bible study and go to D group and just hear the word and accumulate knowledge. The hard part is is doing it, right?

SPEAKER_03

Letting it shape our character and then letting it shape our actions.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. What causes us to not be doers of the word, right? Is it two questions? Is it a lack of love for Christ? Um, or is it um are are we are we believing the words of the world over the words of of of God Himself?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I I think it could be a lack of love, I think it could be a lack of gratitude, I think it could be pride, um, it could be loving the things of the world and the word of the world more than Christ and finding our identity there more than in him. So there's many factors that could go into it.

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Powell Yeah, and I think that's why for me it's so important that I just preach the gospel to myself every every day. Because it it that helps my love, it helps keep my love for Christ from gro from growing cold, reminding myself of what he's what he's done, you know, and just and being being a a doer of the word out of out of thanksgiving, out of gratitude and thankfulness. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And that has to be the heart of it. It it is coming from a position of gratitude. Uh I was blessed to have a godly father growing up, um, who I never wanted to disappoint. Right. And I didn't go against his word. Uh not because I was fearful of retribution or punishment. I I just loved him so much and I was thankful for him. I didn't want to ever hurt him. Don't want to let him down. Didn't want to let him down. Yeah. Exactly. And I and I I equate that in my own walk with Christ to the to the same thing. I just I I love him so much and appreciate what he's done. I don't want to let him down.

Measure 2: Obedience To God’s Word

SPEAKER_01

And love makes obedience easier. It just when you love someone, you want to please them, right? And so yeah, when you love Jesus, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Um So So if you're struggling to obey, then learn to love more. Yeah. Fall in love with Jesus more. How do you do that? Get in his words and get around his people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. Exactly. All right. Number three. Number three. Do I love others unconditionally and sacrificially? That one hurts. Yeah. That's even they just kind of get tougher. None of these are easy. Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah. Um, some days it's really easy to love others sacrificially and unconditionally. And and for some people, like I can think of, you know, obviously your your family. You know, I think of my my kids, my my wife. I will gladly sacrifice for for them, and I will love them no matter what.

SPEAKER_03

Right. But doing that for the less lovable.

SPEAKER_01

And even like, yeah, yeah, even like um those who are uh part of the body of Christ. Do I love them like family? Right? Do I love them? I mean, my family, I'm gonna look No matter what. And uh do I love the family of God that way? Do I love them sacrificially? What what would it what does it mean to love someone sacrificially?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, putting them before yourself. Yeah. Um sacrifice costs something, uh, but uh sacrifice also states the value of something. Yeah, we talked about this yesterday. Um when God asks us to sacrifice our lives as living sacrifices, um, it's not just the cost of the sacrifice, it's what the sacrifice says. This the sacrifice this is what you're worth to me. So sacrifice means I'm giving something up because you're worthy of it. Yeah. Um, and that's that's where we have the rub because I see my wife as worthy of it, I see my kids as worthy of it. I don't always see other people as worthy of it. And yet Christ does. And that's where the the growth comes.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um Philippians, uh Paul's admonishing that or encouraging that church to have the mind of Christ with it, with you know, in them. And and before that, he's even saying each one should not look after his own interests, but after the interests of of others. You know, um, and if we're gonna have this mind of Christ, you know, our we has to has to be r renewed, right? It has to be transformed. Um and the I I you know go back to even Romans 12, outdo one another and showing honor. That that's sacrificing, right? That's putting yourself um below someone else's stature or needs or position. And that's hard to do. It is when uh when you want to be number one sometimes. Yeah. So unconditionally um kind of goes hand in hand with with that, no matter no matter what they do. Sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And and and love here we're using as a term of not just an emotion. You know, love is an act of the will. It's a decision. It's a decision you make. So I may not like somebody necessarily, but that doesn't mean I've not been commanded to love them. And that's that's it's it's easy to love somebody that I like. It's it's harder to love somebody that I disagree with or has done me wrong or I don't know as well.

unknown

Yeah.

Measure 3: Loving Others Sacrificially

SPEAKER_03

Um but yet we're commanded to make an act of the will where we demonstrate the love of Christ to them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

In Ephesians, we're told to be kind to one another, to love one another. I think back again to Romans 12. Yeah, I mean, kind of the maybe the ultimate um direction in this might be bless those who persecute you. You know, to you know, to love them unconditionally. That's what that it takes that kind of love to bless someone who persecutes you. And then we see that a man on the cross. We just see that demonstrated through this is how we know love, right? Right through Christ who demonstrates his love for us that while we were sinners, enemies of his, he dies for us. He takes our place on the cross. And if he can do that, and he is living in us, he gives us the power to do that as well.

SPEAKER_03

Most love people experience in this world is a conditional love. Yeah. We'll love you if. Yeah. We'll love you as long as. Um and uh to experience unconditional love is to be able to express that to someone else.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and we could probably even do a whole podcast about what love is, what it means to love, um, you know, and what the world's definition of love is. And Valentine's Day is coming up soon.

SPEAKER_02

Coming up soon, it might be a topic, maybe never know.

SPEAKER_01

That number four. That could be dangerous. It could be on the Unsexy Church podcast. Number four, am I leading my family and friends to love and serve the Lord? So we've talked about loving others, but let's talk about are we leading, are we pointing people to love and serve Jesus? Yeah, and we used uh Deuteronomy six, uh one through nine. So why would we choose that passage, maybe the the Shema, right? Hero, hero Israel, the Lord is one. What what was that all about?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that was that was clear instruction from the Lord to parents to be the primary disciplers of their children, to introduce them that the Lord is one, that he is God, he God is uh, and that we should love him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Uh, and then we should teach these things when we lie down, when we stand up, when we're on the way, when we're at home. So it's it's it's just God's command to generational discipleship. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And just the pattern of daily living and discipling, right? Every, you know, the you as we rise up, as we lie down, as we walk along the path, as we go, we're always teaching, always pointing people to Jesus. And like you said, a j in a generational way. We're handing that that baton off of faith to the next to the next generation, being faithful with the gospel there.

SPEAKER_03

Um I I think we should always look in our lives, and it's been said that we should all have a Paul in our life and we should all have a Timothy in our life. Right. What do you what does that mean? So we should all have a spiritual somebody that's in our life that is further down the road, uh, been a believer longer, uh, is faithful in their walk, that we can look at and emulate and learn from their life. But we should also have somebody in our life that isn't as far along the journey as we are, that maybe we can help them avoid some of the potholes along the way, and we can give them wisdom and help. So it's it's almost like a link in a chain where I'm reaching forward and somebody is pulling me along, and then I'm reaching behind and grabbing somebody by the hand and pulling them along as well.

Measure 4: Leading Family And Friends Spiritually

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, this this ought to be it, just this Deuteronomy 6 passage just kind of helps me think that this should be a part uh this is gonna be obvious, but of our daily lives. In other words, like this is this is everyday conversation for for us. I mean, it's not strange for my family to have spiritual conversations. It's not strange that I have spiritual conversations with with anyone, really, because it's such a part of our of our life, such a pattern of our life. Um, and so we're we're teaching and leading, always discipling. We're always discipling and always teaching something. Exactly. Right. And so we want to make sure that that is Jesus.

SPEAKER_03

There's intentionality here. I am intentionally doing this because as you just said, we're we're leading one way or another. Yeah, right. We may not leave be leading the right direction, and we may not think anybody's following, but people are all people are following, people are looking.

SPEAKER_01

Young parents out there, young parents with young kids, man, they are always watching. And listening. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_03

And listening. So be intentional about what direction you're leading your family and your friends.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, exactly. Yep. What's that saying? More is caught than taught. I mean, sure. Uh you need the teaching, but understand what you're doing is teaching. The example you're setting is is teaching. Right. Number five, am I sharing my faith with others regularly? We went to uh 2 Corinthians 5, 20, 21. We're ambassadors for for Christ. Making a plea on his behalf.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So we've been given this great gift to share it. We've been given the gospel, not to keep it to ourselves. Israel's great mistake was God had called them to be a light to the world where they wanted to keep the light to themselves and didn't want to share it. Uh he's been given, he's given us and called us to be the light of the world and share it. So again, uh we're we're not to be cul-de-sacs, we're to be conduits. We're not to to be a dead-end street, we're to be something that flows through.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I love the I love the concept of the of conduit in evangelism. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

What what it what's a conduit? Something that conducts, something that moves something from one location to another. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. All that's all we are, right? We we get we we we're not the message. The gospel is the message. We're just the vehicle. The vehicle. Yeah. The the tra the one that transfers it.

SPEAKER_03

Matthew 28. Jesus commands us to go into all the world and share the gospel, to teach people.

SPEAKER_01

What do what does it mean to to do that? You know, we're saying part of our measurement here is to do this regularly. So what what do we do I have to go out on the street and share the gospel with if I haven't done it yet today, I gotta go find someone, chase them down? Is that what I'm talking about here?

SPEAKER_03

Again, I think it goes back to intentionality, that that I recognize that I am not in my job just to earn a living. I'm not at the school just to earn a degree. Wherever I am, I'm there to represent Christ. And I need to be looking for the opportunities that God presents to me to share the gospel, to share a good word about Christ. So yeah, I think it's intentional. And maybe you should set a goal to say, who I'm gonna talk to somebody today about my faith. I'm gonna talk to somebody. And um, but I I don't know that it has to be jump out of bed and go chase somebody down in the street.

SPEAKER_01

But check, get it done.

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All right.

SPEAKER_03

But there does need to be a sense where am I is this faith so important to me? Has it radicalized my life, changed my life, transformed my life in such a way that I would want somebody else to have it?

SPEAKER_01

You know, it you said the word earlier, and I think it's so important here in evangelism identity, right? Um, it if if if we are Christ and Christ is in us, yes, we can't help but tell. I mean, you know, you walk around here, you know someone is a Gator fan or a Seminole fan, I mean, or what, whatever. You know what kind of music they like because they they're proud of that, they outwardly show that and will gladly tell you about it, you know, and Christ should be such a part of our life that we just ought to, he just ought to flow from us as as as conduits, right? Um and and I don't start with our family, you know. We're going back to the Deuteronomy 6 thing. We start with our family and then anywhere God has us, right? Being intentional, looking for those opportunities. I think that's all that we're asking, and being faithful to to take advantage of those opportunities.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, and and you don't have to know, you don't have to be a Bible scholar to share your faith. Yeah, I get this question all the time, Pastor. I'm I'm afraid to start sharing because what if they ask me questions I don't know? Don't be afraid to say, I don't know the answer to that. Let's find it out together. Let's figure it out. Let's figure it out. You don't have to, I don't know everything about scripture. No, I God's not asked us to know everything about it. He's asked us to share what he's done for us, he's asked us to share the basis of the gospel.

SPEAKER_01

So when the Pharisees and the rulers asked the the blind man, you know, how how did you gain your gain your sight? He did not know everything. He said, All I know is I once was blind, now I see. And that guy over there. Yep. Praise God. Yep, exactly. Point people to Jesus. Exactly. Number six, um, am I seeking the Lord daily through his word and through prayer? And we went to Matthew 6, 5 through 15. Uh, you know, Jesus going away, um, thinking about his example, go going away and spending time with the Father. Uh Jeremiah 29, 13. I think you you'll you'll find me, you'll find me when you seek me with your whole heart, right? So why why is this why do we include this part in one of our in one of our measures?

Measure 6: Daily Word And Prayer

SPEAKER_03

Well, if we're going to conform to his or excuse me, be transformed into his image, we need to renew our minds. We renew our minds through his word. That's how he reveals himself to us through his word, through prayer. Uh I I'm reminded of the disciples in the New Testament when they are proclaiming the gospel boldly, and people look at them and go, These are common fishermen, but they've been with Jesus. Wow. They recognize that they've been with Jesus. These people have been with Jesus. So all these other things, if they're intimidating to us, which they are on our own, they happen as we take on the characteristics of Christ. Well, how do I take on the characteristics of Christ? I spend time with him. Yeah. I read his word. I I listen to him, I pray and talk to him.

SPEAKER_01

So you know, you see, you see that in people. With the more you hang out with someone, the more you kind of adopt some of their mannerisms and and customs, even and language. Exactly. Absolutely. Yeah. And so you the more we quote unquote hang out with Christ, spend time with Christ in his word and gaze at him in his word and spend time with him in prayer, the more and more we're going to be like him. He's going to change our hearts to his heart. Have this mind among you, the mind of Christ, right? There you go. Um, I you know, I think that's a super important um part of the measurements, just because uh I just I think back to my my marriage. I I use this analogy all the time when I'm talking to people. How how do you I've been married for 37 years. Mandy almost saints. She is a saint walking on the has a special crown with special jewels and a special plate. She needs to work on her neck to get that neck exercises going. Yeah. And I just I think what would it be like if I just left the house without talking to her? If I uh went to work all day and never thought about her, acknowledged her, um, and then came back home and just expected her to have supper ready and or whatever, you know, and and not and not speak to her at all, and not have any kind of meaningful conversation with her, I I probably would not have been married for 37 years. Yeah, it probably wouldn't wouldn't last that long.

SPEAKER_03

But it's a great illustration. It's a great analogy because that's what we we tend to do with God is we just tend to ignore him, and then when we need him or something or expect him to be there, yeah, yeah. It's a it's a good analogy.

SPEAKER_01

We say we're grateful, we say we're thankful, we say we love him with all of our heart, right? But yet struggle to spend time, time with him. Yeah, that's a good, I think it's a good, a good measure.

SPEAKER_03

And this one does take discipline. It does take discipline to get into his word, it does take discipline to to pray, but it's um discipline's a good thing, not a bad thing.

SPEAKER_01

No, for sure. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Just got a couple more. Um number seven, am I leveraging my God-given resources and spiritual gifts for the kingdom of God? Um talk, you know, talk about how God loves a cheerful giver in 2 Corinthians 9, 7, um, how God has given gifts to the church to be used uh for the propagation of the gospel and the edification of the church. Um just kind of talk about this measurement. What does this mean to leverage my resources and God-given spiritual gifts? What or my God-given resources and God-given spiritual gifts.

Measure 7: Stewarding Gifts And Resources

SPEAKER_03

I think in in one word to summarize it, the word is stewardship. Right. So we're stewards, we don't own what we have. It's it's God's. Steward is a manager. A manager, just I'm managing somebody else's stuff, right? So my life is God's, my family is God's, my my career is job God's, my car is recognizing everything that I have is a gift from him, including the gifts that he gives me through the Holy Spirit. Right. They're not for me, they're for the church, the edification of the church. So a good steward takes what God has given him or her and invests them, leverages them for the kingdom, not for their own self. So am I using the blessings that God's given me for my own selfishness, for my own kingdom, or for his? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. I mean, pretty simple. And it's just the you know, Paul says to the Corinthian church, what what did you have, what do you have that you did not receive? Right. And just understanding that that we are we are nothing, we have nothing without God's grace in in our life. Every every talent, every gift, every physical blessing is is from him. Yeah, it's from him. And so we ought to act accordingly. Right.

SPEAKER_03

The first step is acknowledging that. Yeah. I'm not a self-made man. Right. Um God made me and gave me everything I have. And then the second step is okay, if it's his, am I stewarding it well? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Last one for today. Uh actually it's it's the last one on our list. Um, am I meeting with other believers on a regular basis for worship? Hebrews 10, 24, do not neglect. As some are in the habit of gathering together with other believers.

SPEAKER_03

So gather together, right? So we you you can't claim to love Jesus and hate his bride. Right. You can't claim to love Jesus and hate his people. Um, God commands us to gather together and worship.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

We should worship him individually all week long, but then there are times when we are to gather corporately and unite our hearts in worship, um, encourage one another, equip one another, challenge one another. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Um it's the way we make his kingdom, his body visible on on earth, right? That's right. Um I think um just kind of thinking through uh all the opportunities that that we have, you know, at FBC Tampa to do that. You know, Sunday mornings, core groups, Sunday morning worship, uh, Wednesday night activities, midweek ministries, and then missions. We I mean there's so many things that we do where we can gather together. And going back to um what you said earlier, no one you said, I don't know everything about the Bible, you know, and no one we need each other, right? God has designed us. And I don't have every spiritual gift I lack in some areas, and I need other people with those gifts to help to help me. Right. We need each other to accomplish God's mission. We need each other to walk in faith. There's no such thing, I know people have heard this before, but there's no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. That's right. You know, yeah.

Measure 8: Commit To Gather With The Church

SPEAKER_03

Salvation is a personal issue, sanctification is a corporate issue. Yeah, so God has not called us to live the Christian life on our own, He's called us individually as Christ followers to trust in Him. No one can make that decision for me. I have to make it on my own. But the picture of Christ in the New Testament is of a building being brick by bick brick put together or a body, and each part has its role to play. And we are part of a corporate thing called the church that impacts one another, and and God has he loves the church, he died for the church, he um is coming back for the church, yeah, and the church is the greatest, most powerful force on earth, yeah, and we get to be a part of it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And just thinking through that, now God is sovereign and omnipotent, and he will accomplish his will and his mission. But think about how if we are a body, um, which we are, right? Uh how is your body hindered when something on it does not work? Right. Or it's not is yeah, if it's dismembered, you know. I mean, without have you ever tried to put together a puzzle with no thumbs? Uh we had to do that one time, but we had to tape our thumbs down. I can't remember if it's in a class or something. We had to tape our thumbs up. Is that a pickle pellet? No, no. This is when I was a kid. We had to tape our thumbs down and try to put a puzzle together. Really? It was it was not a not a puzzle, but a like a model. Okay. And man, that's hard. You know what I mean? It's hard to accomplish what God wants us to do without every without every myth. All the parts doing their part. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

My mind goes to Ephesians 3 20 through about 4.16. Um, of course, that's the passage that says to him who's done exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church in Christ Jesus. And then it lays out how he does that. He does that through the power that is at work within us as we unite together in the body and as we go from there. So, yeah, great passage.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So just to kind of maybe wrap this up a little bit, what we do need to ask each other, or we we do need to ask ourselves, I should say, you know, this these are great questions for self-examination. Um, sometimes though I find in my own life, I can deceive myself. Right. I can pat myself on the back pretty well. Um, if I really want to know the truth about myself in some areas, I'm probably going to Mandy, my wife, and and I'm gonna ask her, well, how am I doing over here? And I may not want to hear it, but she's going to tell me the truth about it. And that that's part of what we should be doing as a as a church. These can you imagine if these were the questions that we asked each other when we met each other on Sunday, instead of instead of, you know, hey, how's how's the weather back in Missouri or how whatever? I mean, I'm not saying those are bad and not interesting. But man, what if this was the bulk of our conversations?

SPEAKER_03

These are designed to be self-evaluation questions where we examine our own hearts, but I need help sometimes from a doctor or from a friend to examine, right? There's I've got blind spots, I've got things I can't see. And so these questions, while they're self-examined examination questions, should be used in an accountability setting as well. I mean, I don't need to walk and ask anybody on the in the church, hey, what do you think I'm doing? They don't know me well enough, but there should be somebody in my life that I've given permission to speak into my life and give accountable accountability. And what great questions you could use to do this, at least to start that process.

Accountability, Blind Spots, And Self-Examination

SPEAKER_01

Fantastic. Maybe, maybe um during the morning worship time when you're watching those things scroll across the screen. Maybe just take a few minutes and just pray through those as they scroll across and ask God to reveal, reveal some stuff to you. Yep. Man, it's been good to be here. Couple things real fast. Don't forget our Serve Expo this Sunday. I don't know when you're listening, but Sunday, February 8th, Serve Expo and send us your questions. We want to hear from you. If you've got a question that you want Pastor Bob to answer, or Darren, or Jordan. We'd love to answer them. We'd love to attempt to answer them. So make sure that you send us your questions. Where do they where do they do that, Jordan? I forgot. In the DMs. In the DMs. DM us. DM us on Instagram. I don't even know what that means. Yeah. Direct message. Yeah. Yeah. Direct message. Direct message. Yep. All right. Start the start the outro music again. All right. Very good. Thanks for joining us today. And as always, stay unsexy.

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Bob Block

Host
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Darren Selvidge

Host