Navigate - A Tower Life Center Podcast
Navigate is a discussion-based podcast designed to help us live our lives as followers of Jesus in a fallen and ever-changing world. In this discussion based format, we are diving into topics that will help to shape and form the framework of how we live our lives. Our goal is to help all of us navigate our lives by becoming more like Jesus.
Navigate - A Tower Life Center Podcast
Holy Hands Week 4 Discussion - What does it mean to live with "ready hands"?
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In this episode we discussed what it means to live with Ready Hands asking God to use us. While God doesn't NEED us, He does WANT us and He invites us into partnership with him. So, we talk about what it means to carry the Kingdom and advance the mission he left us with.
Welcome to Navigate, a podcast discussion from Tower Life Center, where we talk about how to navigate life, living as a follower of Jesus in a fallen and ever-changing world. Let's join the discussion. Hello, how are we doing? Welcome to Wow, we're on week four.
SPEAKER_03That's right.
SPEAKER_06We're wrapping up the series. This last weekend was our our last part of the video.
SPEAKER_00Past tense, yeah, we wrapped up past tense. Open hands closing them up. That's right. No, we are not closing them up.
SPEAKER_06Well, we've walked through this whole series um of holy hands. So why don't you why don't you tell us how we've got here, Kyle?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Uh Brad, we miss you, number one. Yes. Uh we we had a a nice debate on who is gonna be the person who who opened it up. And uh Zach and Amanda had to wrestle for it. Amanda won, so she gets to open it up.
SPEAKER_06We can't wait for you to come back, Brad. That's right.
SPEAKER_04We need your energy. Yeah. Uh so yeah, we are uh just wrapped up, uh holy hands, and uh week one we talked about the concept of you know God's hands and how we were all formed uh initially in the womb, how sin deformed us, and now how God desires to reform us. That was all week one, and then weeks two, three, and four were this idea that said, you know, because of his formation, uh how what do our hands do in response to that formation, right? Like his holy hands formed us, but yet now, as followers of Jesus who are being formed by him, we have this uh challenge uh or this this way of living that would require our hands to uh maintain certain postures. And so we just looked at scripture and said, hey, I think here's three things we can find. We we we find that we should live with lifted hands, which was this this conversation on dependence, worship, and prayer, right? Lifting our hands towards God. Uh we had open hands, uh, and then this week was ready hands, and um the way that that I kind of outlined it for the church yesterday was was in week one with God's hands. God's hands uh say, I love you, child, right? Like he's telling us that he loves us. Then lifted hands say, God, I need you. That's us saying, telling God that man, like I'm dependent on you, man, I need you. And that we do that through worship and prayer. Open hands say, God, I trust you. So it goes from our head to our heart. And then ready hands this week was God, now use me. And really, we spent a lot of time talking about like, hey, if God's going to use us, like I wanted to be very clear that God doesn't have to use us. Yeah. In fact, like he created the whole world in six days without us. Right. We're the ones who ruined it by choosing sin in our free will. Right. And he still does although he doesn't need us, he chooses to invite us into uh using us for his kingdom.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, we get to be used. It's an honor.
SPEAKER_04That's right. And so we uh we had that discussion and I I wanted to make sure yesterday, and I probably um was very, very overly like, hey, he doesn't need you. Like I even felt it as I was saying it, but I want us to be clear that like he invites us into it. He wants us. He wants us.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and I think that like helps position all of our hearts into a posture of humility, which you know, we we have to have that in order for the Lord to uh be invited into our hearts so that he can use us.
SPEAKER_04For sure. And I I I do love the idea of humility. Uh I mean I don't know if you have the notes in front of you, but do you see First Corinthians chapter three on your notes? Will you read that for us?
SPEAKER_05Second Corinthians?
SPEAKER_04No, first Corinthians three, five through seven. See, this is why we need Brad so we can be having a conversation while Brad talks.
SPEAKER_06Alright, so after all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God's servants through whom you believed the good news. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it. But it was God who made it grow. It's not important who does the planting or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow.
SPEAKER_04And I love that set of scripture, those verses for the conversation we had yesterday and we're having today, because um it highlights like God is doing the most difficult part. He's making a seed grow. Right? Like he does that. But he does invite us to plant and to water. If he can make the seed grow, could he not just plant it and water it?
SPEAKER_05Right. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04He doesn't even need the water to make it grow.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_04But yet that's the that's the partnership he's inviting us into. And so out of humility, it's like wants our help. A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Uh I think often like, well, one, he wants it because of the relationship that he wants with us. Like he doesn't want our help as much as he wants our heart and our relationship. Yeah. Uh, and it's like I think about whenever I have Oakwin, our daughter, help me with things. It's not like I need her. It's like I'm looking for someone who's not very strong, who doesn't move very fast, who doesn't understand all the details, who dilly dally's. No, it's like, but I want to do it with her because then I get to spend time with her and we get to have fun and all those things.
SPEAKER_06Well, and her heart's formed along the way, and God knows that. He's forming our hearts as as we help.
SPEAKER_04For sure.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04For sure. And so I think that like that's the concept I want us to understand. Like, he doesn't need us, but he invites us to Zach's point because he wants us. Um, and I don't know about you guys, and maybe you guys can speak to this a little bit. But I think it can be hard for it's easier for us to just be like, well, God needs me than to say God wants me. Um but I think we need to be able to get there as followers to say, like, he doesn't need me. So ego in check, pride in check. Yeah. But he does want me, which is like hard to imagine, right?
SPEAKER_06It's really special. It's a sweet, intimate relationship that he he wants to be with us.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04I don't know. It's just like it's I I I think that and I said it yesterday somewhere along the line of like some of us just need to understand that and hear that.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and I think it's hard when we have this earthly view of relationships, whether it's a father, a grandfather, men in our lives. Um it's really hard to see that sometimes that they they want relationship with us. And this is a relationship like we've never we'll never be able to fully understand.
SPEAKER_00Especially if you have a broken relationship.
SPEAKER_06Right, right. Yes. And so I think it's putting that trust and reliance in the Lord and understanding like you want something that I've maybe never experienced. And how cool is that? Like I get to be invited into a loving, unconditional relationship with the Lord. And it's not going to be like anything I've ever experienced here on this earth.
SPEAKER_04Which I find I you probably saw me thinking while you were and I'm like thinking and like laughing inside of like you say, How cool is that? Because some people view it as, wow, that's really cool. Some people are like, oh my goodness, that's really intimidating, or that's really scary, that's hard to like I can't even imagine it.
SPEAKER_06It can be uncomfortable for people too. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And it's like unimaginable. Because my only experience to you guys at this point is like, well, my relationship with that male authority figure in my life is broken. Yeah. So I don't even know how to wrap my mind around that.
SPEAKER_06And I think it's just helping people understand, like, hey, God is different from whatever male authority figure you have in your life, whether it's good or bad. Um, but let him be completely set apart and separate and just realize that he wants to have a good, unconditional, everlasting relationship with you. And lean into that. Embrace it.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, for sure. I mean when we understand the gospel and the scriptures and we understand how brokenness came to be and sin and how God exists outside of sin and that Jesus was sinless and obviously God is sinless and God is holy, right? To your point, Amanda, of like he's set apart. We have to give him the space to for us to acknowledge, yeah, like God is holy, he's set apart, he's not sinful, like like my earthly father or grandfather or uncle or that male authority figure, whoever, right? Like they're broken, sinful people because we live in a sinful world. And we have to understand that so that then we can see God is separate.
SPEAKER_06So we can have a right view of who God is.
SPEAKER_04Correct.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Only it's hard to have a right view of God if we have a wrong view of sin in the earth.
SPEAKER_05Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_04Right? If we don't understand that, then it's hard to have a right view of God.
SPEAKER_05Right, right.
SPEAKER_04But if we have a right view of God and a right view of sin and the way that sin has permeated the world that we live in, then we can begin to have um I I think then we can begin to have a a real discussion on how do I now see that as exciting that God wants that relationship with me. Right. As opposed to, man, that's intimidating, scary, unimaginable, unbelievable.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, I think you talked touched on a little bit with you know, how Oakland help you with things. Like it is I guess you can kind of see how that relationship is there. Yeah. I mean, if you do have a good relationship, like that is probably what it what it's like. Like it is fun when I invite the girls, like, hey, do you want to go to the hardware store with me or you want to go do this with me? And they say yes. Like, are they the best helper? Probably not. Are they learning? Absolutely, they're learning. Yeah, but it's a lot different than when they just say no.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It's like gay. You're gay. All right.
SPEAKER_06And it like it makes your heart happy, it creates a bond, it creates intimacy.
SPEAKER_04I think that's a good point of like how that that you just pointed out of like from what Zach said, it's like when they say no, it's like, oh, like I didn't realize how that was gonna make me feel. Yeah. Right. As as the father, right? But to your point, like it does when they say yes, when we say yes to God, it's like there is a level of um excitement or joy that he would have because we said yes.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, very sweet.
SPEAKER_04Um, what a detour. That was a fun detour. Yeah. Um, so then what we really said then yesterday was if I'm gonna have ready hands that say God use me, because I'm willing to partner with him or I'm willing to step into the invitation, right? Then we said there's three different things that if we have ready hands, we will do. Uh and the first one was uh ready hands answer the call. Um and this whole discussion about ready hands answering the call, what I was hoping to convey, you guys can tell me if I did or not, was the fact that that to have ready hands that go and do something, we first have to have a ready heart that is willing to commit to the yes. Um the the thing I kind of uh I said that that was a little bit of like eye-opening to me is the hardest part of of yes isn't saying yes.
SPEAKER_00It's meaning it. Yeah. Will you help me with this? Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Will you show up to help me with this? Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Oh.
SPEAKER_06And will you show up with a joyful heart?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. I mean to to that point, it's yeah. It's we had a we had a friend text us um a quote this week, maybe it was last week, who said, You can you can pretend to care, but you can't pretend to show up. And it's and it's the kind of it's it's that same concept, right? I I can pretend to say yes and partner with God. Yeah. But until like at some point I'm gonna have to commit to that. I'm gonna have to mean that.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, like I can have good intentions, but good intentions aren't enough. Like I have to show up, I have to be faithful, I have to be joy-filled.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_06And um just really embracing that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yep. And so then we we kind of use the the story of of Isaiah as he had the vision um to where he really was called to to be the prophet that we know him to be today, uh, to speak to God's people. But that wasn't really where it started, right? It didn't start with like, hey, Isaiah, you know, as we talked about yesterday, it's like, hey Isaiah, do you want to have a book in the Bible?
SPEAKER_06Right. But God didn't make it abundantly clear right off the bat.
SPEAKER_04No, the Lord asked him, Who should I send as a messenger to my people? And uh he said, Who will go for us? And Isaiah said, Here I am. Yeah, send me.
SPEAKER_06Which is so cool because I think about us today, and if God were to say, Okay, whom shall I send as a messenger to the people? Uh we would be like, Okay, but where am I going? How many people am I talking to? How am I gonna be talking to people? Am I writing? Am I speaking? Am I like we're gonna have a million and one questions.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, like God, give me your business plan.
SPEAKER_06Right. And Isaiah's like, I don't have any questions. Here I am, send me. I'm willing. I I do like what if we approached everything like that?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. I didn't I didn't preach on this yesterday because I it just hit me today, right now as I was reading it. But I think the two the two little mini sentences that he said are two different things that we should probably number one is here I am, I'm available.
SPEAKER_06I'm willing, yeah.
SPEAKER_04But how many of us are like, here I am? Right now I'm gonna slowly retreat back into the crowd. Right?
SPEAKER_00Like it's that meme Simpson like shrinking into the bushes. Right. Oh no, I'm not. Wait a minute. Right. Exactly. Oh, you want me to do what?
SPEAKER_06You want me to do that? Never mind.
SPEAKER_04But he says he says he identifies himself, hey, I'm available.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Now send me.
SPEAKER_06Like use me. Yeah. Let me be a vessel.
SPEAKER_00For sure.
SPEAKER_06Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00Uh well, and I thought about when you were saying, Do you want to be in this book? Like, even if you look at it in like today's world, like there's authors, there's athletes, there's entertainers, all these people like that are in the spotlight. But and there's all the people that are helping that person that's not. Yes. Like maybe you're not gonna be the person in the spotlight, but maybe your testimony saves one person. Yeah. That's one more person. Yeah. Yeah. That would not have been saved otherwise.
SPEAKER_06So 100%. That's so good.
SPEAKER_04I love that. And so we we we really wanted, or I say we. What do I have? A mouse in my pocket? I really wanted to like I'm like, who's we? I'm like, who is we in this comment?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Uh I we uh I wanted to really articulate that to have ready hands, you have to begin with a ready heart. Because before before Isaiah ever did all the amazing things that he did for God as a messenger for his people, he just said, Hey, I'm available. Yeah. Send me. And so ready hands uh answer the call. And the the other thing I I would uh want us to kind of talk about a little bit is the the concept that the kingdom of God advances through ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Because the reality is we can look at that and we can say, Well, Isaiah, of course, he had a book in the Bible. Of course, he said, Here I am, send me. But as we talked about yesterday, man, if you look at everybody who did anything for God, they're all a bunch of sinful people just like you and me.
SPEAKER_06I loved when you were talking about Moses and you know, he ended up drunk and had to be covered up by his Noah. Or Noah, sorry.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Here we go. Um, had to be covered up by his kids. And you're like, I bet you haven't heard that part of the story, you know?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06And it is just interesting as you read through and you're like, wow, like we are all on level playing ground, we're all sinners, we all have our thing, but God can still use us.
SPEAKER_04A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And like all the extraordinary things, building an ark, like that's extraordinary. Like killing Goliath, extraordinary. Yeah. Yeah. Being the father of many nations, extraordinary.
SPEAKER_00I think the hesitancy is you don't want to talk about that part of the story because then it's almost like you're saying, well, it's okay that you sin.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_00Because you can still do great things. Yeah. That's not what they're saying. They're saying like this is a person who's not perfect. None of us are perfect. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00We all are gonna fall short, right? Yes, yeah. But that doesn't mean that you can't still do great things. Yes. For sure. Go and sin no more. Yeah. And do great things.
SPEAKER_04A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_06A sin doesn't get a hold you back.
SPEAKER_04So I want you, the listener, and I wanted you yesterday, however, like what I want us to see is that all of the little things that you have in your head that you're disqualifying yourself from saying, Here I am, send me. Like, it can be real and valid that like for me, it can be it's a true statement that my worst two grades in school were in speech in high school and speech in college. That's a true statement. Very closely followed by calculus. Um that's a true statement, but that doesn't disqualify me.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_04Why are you laughing? Because it's just funny.
SPEAKER_06It's so funny. Well, what do you get to do?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm gonna be a preacher. Yeah, I'm gonna talk for a living.
SPEAKER_06I'm gonna speak in front of people.
SPEAKER_04Uh which funny little tangent here. We have a little bit of time because Brad's not here. Uh so we have to three of us now have to fill four people's time. Yeah. Uh and so two tangents. Number one, I thought you might be laughing because like you're like, no, I get it. Zach's the first one to catch all of my misspeaking on stage. Followed right beside me by my wife who's gonna send stuff. And so I'll walk off stage and I see all the In the worship team, I'm not the only one coming. Well, you send it to them and Zach.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Between you and Zach, I'm like, man, if I miss a word. Um it's coming later. But what's really funny is part of the reason I that I got such a I didn't fail speech in high school, uh, but I did fail a speech, and I got a low grade in the whole class. And the reason I failed the speech, I think I've told this from stage one time, was because you had to reach a certain amount of time on your speech. Like that's part of it of like time management. And I knew I wasn't gonna have enough time. And part of my thing was I had a little video that I was showing. I it was a persuasive speech. I was trying to persuade about that. I was trying to persuade that Kobe was better than LeBron. And um I showed a highlight reel of Kobe, and it was to I forget what the song is. Um we don't need to remember the name by Fort Minor.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And uh apparently there's an F word in that song that was cut out of the video that I didn't know about for the time that I was using it. But then I extended the video like 12 like it ended up being like 12 seconds longer, and right before the video was over, it dropped the F-word. And I that was the beginning of my speech. So then I have to come, I have to come back.
SPEAKER_06Just derailed you.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I'm like, I mean, you can't see my face right now, but I was like, How are you gonna come back from that? Yeah, so I I'm so sorry. I didn't even acknowledge it. Yeah. I mean, with like saying I'm sorry, I just stumbled through the next four or five minutes or whatever. Instantly the teacher's like, come out, can I see you in the hall?
SPEAKER_05Oh no.
SPEAKER_04Like, I feel like that's a good plan. Yeah. Get me out of here.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So, anyways, uh terrorists. Why do you prep?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yes. That's true. That is true.
SPEAKER_06So, anyways.
SPEAKER_04Anyways.
SPEAKER_06And I think ordinary people, right? Yes, I think that that's a really good point because just as I'm in relationship with people, and even myself and my story, I think about the women that are listening to this. Um, and maybe guys too. I feel like you guys can just speak better to the guys and I can speak to the women because of who we are. Um, but a lot of the women, there is that doubt, there is that insecurity, there is that, well, I don't know the full plan, so I'm just not gonna take a step. And maybe that's a lot of us. I know, definitely me. Um, God, you haven't given me the full plan yet, so I'm not even gonna take a step. And I think in this next season, we have to walk into that um invitation of trust with the Lord and just say, like, okay, I know you're trying to do something here. I have no idea what it is. You're always trying to do something, so I'm just gonna keep taking little small steps of obedience. Um, and I think understanding too that as we take those little small steps of obedience, that will continue to build our relationship with the Lord, it will continue to strengthen his voice in our lives. A lot of people will tell me, like, I don't hear from God. How do you hear from God? And it's like, well, I hear from him as I take little small steps that I feel like he's leading me to. Um, and his voice just is strengthened in my heart because I'm constantly listening for that next step. Um so I say all that to encourage you. If God's laid something on your heart, it doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to be a production, it doesn't have to be the this massive big thing. Just take the next small step in whatever that that looks like.
SPEAKER_04Here I am.
SPEAKER_06Here I am, send me.
SPEAKER_04Send me. Alright, and then so ready hands answer the call. We have a heart that's ready to say, Here I am, send me. Then we said ready hands carry the kingdom. Yeah. And this discussion was one that that we had to take a a long walk to get our drink of water to understand what how do I carry a kingdom if I don't know what the kingdom is. And so we had to get to a place where we looked at scripture, and we're not gonna read all the scripture, but uh, I will give you the references for those who are note takers um or want to go back. Uh it's Luke. Chapter 17, verse 20 and 21. And then John chapter 18, verse 36, Matthew 6, 10, Romans 14, 17, and 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 20. Okay, and all of those scriptures, Jesus talking about the kingdom, and Paul talking about the kingdom, lead us to an understanding that the kingdom of God is not a physical kingdom with geographic locations and borders and boundaries. It's not even an earthly kingdom, it's a heavenly kingdom, which is not like we're waiting on this kingdom that does have boundaries to come down. But it's a kingdom that is a way of living. And the way of living is is the characteristics of Jesus. Yeah, by God's power. The way of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through God's power, right? God's God's Spirit inside us gives us the power to live as God's Son instructed us. Yeah. And that's the the idea of the kingdom and carrying it is saying, hey, I'm going to live the way that Jesus has asked me to live through his scripture, through his commands, through the promptings of the Spirit on the inside of me, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so when we looked at it that way, then kind of the little principle that we came out of just explaining it was the kingdom isn't something we talk about, it's something that we embody. Right. And I think it's important that we understand that distinction, that it's not just something that's like, well, we talk about being kind. No, we are kind. Right?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, we talk about the rest of the week.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we talk about being loving.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_06What does it actually look like to be loving?
SPEAKER_04Like we are loving.
SPEAKER_06Yes.
SPEAKER_04It's not something that we talk about or we even um do. Do. Yes. Yes.
SPEAKER_06I loved the example that you gave of uh talking to your insurance agent, especially with everybody who's probably been on the phone with their insurance agents with their roofs lately. Um and just how frustrating that can be. And I understand it, you know, the earthly circumstances are not ideal. Um but how that frustration can lead, or even we've all had conversations about like our mornings in the coffee line at the coffee shop, or you know, whatever it is. But just always going in with that that character of Christ with everything you do, even through your frustration.
SPEAKER_04For sure.
SPEAKER_06And giving grace, giving compassion, giving love. Um so yeah, I really liked that example because that I think that hit home for a lot of people.
SPEAKER_04Well, it's funny, it was a real example. Somebody I talked to this week. Yeah. Um, and he's on vacation, so well, if he listens online, then he'll know it's about him or not. Yeah, he's a good friend and he wouldn't care. Yeah. Um but it was just funny because he was like, I I I totally had to apologize to the to the to the insurance like receptionist.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Like it's not her fault. She didn't send the wind.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04She didn't peel off my and she's not the one who was giving me all the challenges that were really frustrating. And he's like, I just had to go back in.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I think about it too. Um like when you're trying to, I don't know if anybody else struggles with this, but trying to cancel a subscription this day and age is like mind-numbing. Oh my goodness. So hard to cancel any sort of subscription that you have gotten into. You know how easy it is to get the subscription? It's so easy to get it. It's a couple clicks.
SPEAKER_00Let me transfer you to our financial analyst. Financial analyst.
SPEAKER_06And then I need you to explain the situation about ten times. And I just that's a pet peeve of my own.
SPEAKER_00Oh, let me transfer you to our customer service representative that deals with uh extending. Yes, yeah, I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_06Uh-huh. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Let us check on the special programs. Maybe you'll be interested in something. Yes, I'm not interested.
SPEAKER_06It literally took you three seconds to enter into the subscription and then it takes you 30 minutes to exit out of said subscription. So I just was thinking about that and I'm like, man, I have gotten so short with people. I'm like, just get me out of it. Yes.
SPEAKER_04I don't even want to talk to a human. Let me hit out handsel.
SPEAKER_06It is so good to like handsel. Yeah. Like hearing what your friend said. I'm not sure which one that was, but um hearing what he said about having to apologize to the person on the phone. It's like we have to remember those are real people on the phone.
SPEAKER_04100%.
SPEAKER_06And it's not their fault. They aren't, you know, they're they're there to help us, honestly.
SPEAKER_04Yes. And to the point of the conversation we're having. I would have never thought Brad was the one who kept us on track. No, I did it too. I was telling a story about saying an F-word in high school. I didn't say the F word.
SPEAKER_06These things are relatable and it helps with life application.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I'm not saying yeah, 100%. I started the tangents.
SPEAKER_06Yes. Um We don't need to talk about the F-word anymore. Moving on.
SPEAKER_04You don't even know what F-word I'm talking about. All right, we're done. Okay.
SPEAKER_06Follower, follower.
SPEAKER_04It said Kobe's a follower. Yeah. Anyways, so to to the get us back on that it is important that we apologize to the customer service rep. Not because not just because they're a person, although that's kind. But because that would be the way of Jesus being lived out by us. Yeah. Right. That's that's the thing.
SPEAKER_06And asking for forgiveness from that person, modeling that Christ-like behavior.
SPEAKER_04Correct. And so if we embody the kingdom, then how do we carry it? The the way that that we said yesterday was carrying the kingdom of God means that the life, the character, and the ways of Jesus are carried into the ordinary spaces of our life through us, the followers of Jesus. Right? So now we take our ordinary selves trying to follow the ways of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit into all the little ordinary spaces. So into our conversation with the customer service rep, with our spouse, with those people at work, with the people in the drive-thru line, with our friends at school.
SPEAKER_05With our families.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, with our families, with the teachers, with the school board, with the coach.
SPEAKER_06Administration.
SPEAKER_00It's like the bracelets we used to wear, stickers.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_00W W J D.
SPEAKER_06We need to bring them back.
SPEAKER_00Look at that. What would Jesus do in this situation? Yeah. What would Jesus do in this situation? In every situation.
SPEAKER_04I love the have convicting. I don't know who I don't know who it was who came up with this, so I can't give credit to it. Uh but it's W W J D I H W M. What would Jesus do if he were me? And it's like, well, what would Jesus do? Is the question the heart behind what would Jesus do is what would Jesus do if he were me? Right? Because well the what would Jesus do as a first century rabbi who didn't have a job, who had a bunch of people following him. Yeah. Yeah, who was sinless. Right. That's it's like, well, what would he do is different than what he would do if he were me today in the situation I'm in.
SPEAKER_06It makes it way more relatable. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And I remember somebody telling me that being, and I was like, oh. Now WWJD makes like. So I want us to understand that if we're gonna carry the kingdom, we're taking all of the principles of Jesus, the ways of Jesus, the life and character of him, and we're just gonna go into all the little ordinary spaces of our life. Because we said carrying the kingdom is about two things it's about presence and representation. Um the idea that as followers of Jesus, we represent the king. We represent the kingdom.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, wow.
SPEAKER_04Like think about that. Like let that sink in for a second, then man, everywhere I go, if I say I'm a Christian, which just means little Christ, right? Like that we were called Christians or little Christ, which is like, well, that's a lot of weight.
SPEAKER_06So it reminds me when we were in college, I went to IU, Greek life was very um uh what's the word? Prevalent? Pre yes?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that that is a word that wouldn't make that would fit.
SPEAKER_06Okay, so um there I had a lot of like Greek friends that were in sororities, and if we ever went somewhere that we shouldn't have been, they were not allowed to wear their letters. Like if they were going into a certain bar during the day or something like that, which yes, I had a part of of sin in my life.
SPEAKER_04These are just things you've heard about, not things you did. Oh, sure.
SPEAKER_06Yes, yes, no, I am a simple human being. I have walked a walk. Yes. So, anyways, um they weren't actually allowed to wear their letters if they were going to certain places or going to be out doing certain things. Um it was just like a code. They weren't supposed to do it. And I think about that, even just as Christians, like we wear the hats, we wear the shirts, we wear the things that say follower, we wear the things that say I'm a disciple of Christ. And how often, even as we're wearing those shirts and those hats, like how often are we wow, like just doing the things we shouldn't be doing, saying the things we shouldn't be saying, treating people the way we shouldn't be treating them, not being Christ-like, not being loving, not being compassionate, not being filled filled with joy or mercy or yeah, it's just it's wild to think about that.
SPEAKER_04I mean, yeah, a hundred percent the the responsibility to represent the kingdom. If we think we're representing a church or if we're representing a belief system, we we're missing the mark, and but it does get watered down to like, oh, who cares if I said that, did that, thought that went there, whatever.
SPEAKER_06It's like, oh I can't wear my church hoodie because I'm going out and getting a few drinks tonight. Yeah, which it's like And it's like, oh, well, how do we how do we navigate that, guys?
SPEAKER_04Well, but the problem is for many of us is well, I can't wear the church hoodie because then people will know that you know, my church and whatever. And it's like, no, who who cares? Yeah, if they get a bad taste about Jesus because of the things that we do, right? That's the problem. Right.
SPEAKER_05Yep.
SPEAKER_04Because it's not about a church, it's not about a belief system. So much bigger. It's not about a a title. When I say a title, like, well, I'm a Christian. Well, that's not about any of that. It's about saying, man, what reputation does Jesus get? Yeah. Does Jesus' reputation get a black eye because we're doing some dumb sinful things? Yeah. You know, and so we have to understand we're representing the kingdom, uh, which is why we said as we carry the kingdom, the kingdom doesn't just exist in church buildings, but it shows up wherever the people of the king go. And we need to start thinking about the fact of us as people of the king.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. I I like what you just said about um giving what'd you say, giving the kingdom a black eye?
SPEAKER_04Giving Jesus' reputation a black eye.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, Jesus' reputation, a black eye, the kingdom. Um, and if we just carry that with us everywhere that we went, every time we spoke to somebody, every time we responded to something, is this offending the bride of Christ? Is this giving Jesus another black eye? Is this nailing him to the cross again? Like if we had that thought process and that awareness with everything that we were doing, how different would life look? You know?
SPEAKER_02Very.
SPEAKER_06I think we need bracelets that say Am I giving Jesus a black eye right now? Right.
SPEAKER_04A I G J A B E R N.
SPEAKER_06What are you doing?
SPEAKER_04That would be what the bracelet says. People are gonna be like, what does that mean? Am I giving Jesus a black eye right now? They're gonna be like, well, what does that mean? And then we're gonna have to really represent the kingdom.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Come on, we're getting those bracelets right now.
SPEAKER_06Talk about evangelism right there.
SPEAKER_04That's funny.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04All right. We've got to keep moving. Uh so ready hands answer the call. Then ready hands carry the kingdom, which means we're gonna embody, right, we're gonna live out the beliefs that we say we have, we're gonna live out the commands that Jesus has given us. Uh and then ready hands, thirdly, is ready hands advance the mission. Um because we we aren't just, and we said it yesterday, like he didn't just form us to put us in the human museum and be like, well, that was a really great creation. No, he said, I need you, not I need you, I want you, I invite you to advance the mission through the Great Commission, Matthew twenty-eight, nineteen through twenty. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. And then this is the part that I think oftentimes We forget. We forget, or we don't do, or it's too much work, or um it's not as exciting. Right. Uh verse twenty says, Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I've given you. Right. So go make disciples, baptize them, and then teach them to obey all the commands, which means scripture and I think why that part is so hard is because we ourselves don't want to do that.
SPEAKER_06Don't want to do that.
SPEAKER_04A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_06Because in order to teach, I'm learning this as a parent, in order to teach, I have to model.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06And so if I'm teaching others to obey all the commands, I better be working on my own self too. I mean, it will sanctify me. As I'm teaching others, it's gonna sanctify me, it's gonna soak into my heart.
SPEAKER_04It is like Oakland, take another bite. Yeah. She's like, I'm still chewing. I'm like, speak kindly.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And then she's like, Well, you're not.
SPEAKER_06You're right.
SPEAKER_04Yes, I am. I'm speaking firmly. I'm the parent. Fact. Yeah. Fact.
SPEAKER_06You're the firmest one of them all.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's funny. You're the firmest.
SPEAKER_06Um that was an inside joke with a friend. That was funny.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Did I say that or did you say that?
SPEAKER_06I just said you were yes.
SPEAKER_00Sounded like a nursery rhyme, and you were the firmest of them all. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_06One of our friends' kids said that.
SPEAKER_00Which is funny.
SPEAKER_04All right, so that's a great commission, which we have to understand what that is in order for us to be able to advance it. Right?
SPEAKER_06So what is it?
SPEAKER_04What's what? The Great Commission? What we just said. But if you're saying what's the gospel, like how do I do that? How do I go out and make disciples?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Then I that's that's what we said yesterday. Like, we have to be able to witness on behalf of the gospel of Jesus, which is God created the earth in six days, he rested on day seven. He put two humans in the earth. It was created to be sinless, perfect union and harmony with him. But he gave us free will. Yeah. And in our free will, we chose to sin. So Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree they weren't supposed to eat from. There's one tree they couldn't eat from, they chose to eat from in any ways. And because of that, sin and all the consequences of sin entered the world. And so sin requires the price of death. Now, in the Old Testament, you would see all sorts of sacrifices that cover death, but God didn't want that. God wanted us to be made right with him, not just have our sins paid for. And so he sent Jesus to be the price of our sins once and for all. And through the death of Jesus, we are cleansed of our sin. If we confess and believe that Jesus Christ died and resurrected, right? Through the death of Jesus, we're cleansed, but through the life and the resurrection of Jesus, we can be made right. So now we get to walk in righteousness because Jesus was resurrected, because he defeated death, hell, and the grave. And so then the gospel is we get to have our sins paid for by Jesus. And if we are willing to say, I'm going to follow Jesus, I believe and confess he died on the cross, right? Then the rest of my life is a pursuit of Jesus and His ways. Which is why Jesus says, if anybody wants to follow me, he should give up his life, deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.
SPEAKER_02Right?
SPEAKER_04That doesn't sound super appealing. Every one of us wants the fire insurance, which is yes, I believe in Jesus because I don't want to go burn in hell.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_04And that the Bible's clear that if I just confess and believe, I don't have to go to hell. But Jesus says, if you want to follow me, you have to give up your ways, deny yourself, carry your cross daily, and follow me. And so it's like, man, there's a it's a constant work. That and that's what spiritual formation is, that constant work of following him.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um But if we say, hey, I'm gonna I think it's easy. It's easy to say, you know, as a new Christ, well, yeah, I accepted Jesus into my heart. Right. So I'm good. Or I accept Jesus in my heart and I'm getting baptized. So once that's done, then hey, I'm finish line. It's all smooth sailing from there. I get extra credit for baptism. It's all smooth sailing from there. Yeah. It's like, no, you have to work at it. You know, but not to be saved. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Right. But that's like where it truly begins.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Getting a follower is is not an easy path, but through partnership with the Holy Spirit, which is much more rewarding. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yes. 100%.
SPEAKER_04It it is to your point, like through so through partnership with the Holy Spirit, I have to work. The Bible says, now work out your salvation. That doesn't mean work for it. Right.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_04But now work out your salvation.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_04And so once we believe it's Romans 10 9, I think. Those who believe and confess, right? John 3 16 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Right. Right. And so we're what we're not talking about is earning your way to heaven or being good enough. We're saying because we get heaven through Jesus, because he paid a price that's so heavy and so high. Now he said, if you want to follow me, which is the decision to say, Hey, I believe, now deny yourself. Give up your own way. Right? All of those things. And so Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Which giving up your own way, I feel like in this season I have really had God highlighting my selfish preferences. And it is constant. Like I just read through The Biblio Diet, which is a book that helps us understand.
SPEAKER_03But they could be.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Right. Um, but it's it's a book that talks about the healing secrets that are within the Bible, and it talks about these ten main foods that we can rely on um daily to help heal our bodies. Like God designed them to nourish us, to heal us, all those things. And eating clean, eating healthy is not always my first preference. It's hard. It's really, really hard work, but I just constantly, every time I crave something else, it's like a constant reminder of ooh, there's another preference. Like I gotta die to that.
SPEAKER_04Is one of those 10 food groups Ment Oreo Blizzards?
SPEAKER_06Okay, why are you calling me up?
SPEAKER_04I didn't know. I've not read the book.
SPEAKER_06No, it's definitely not. And I do love those.
SPEAKER_00Like I have not read the books.
SPEAKER_06And I have to lay those down. Like I don't have to.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to marriage counseling. Zach, what do you think about this?
SPEAKER_06Yeah. I get them because Oakland likes them, okay?
SPEAKER_04Yeah. She loves the 10% of the buzzard she gets.
SPEAKER_06But yes, it's so many of those types of things where I just am constantly having it brought to the forefront of my mind every day. And I'm just like, oh, there's another preference. There's another preference. I have to die to that. There's another preference. I have to die to that. Oh man, why are you making me realize this one? I don't want to give that up, you know?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_06And it's just a constant work. And I I was telling a friend this week, I'm like, I don't think I realize I haven't in the past realized one, how selfish I am, and two, how preferential I am.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_06And like my preferences aren't necessarily God's preferences. And I want to be in alignment with his preferences. So that's a whole work. And I don't know, I hope that helps somebody that's listening.
SPEAKER_04Well, and I think that that is helpful, but I think that that is, in my opinion, that's that's carrying the kingdom. Right? Like that's this concept of saying, all right, I'm gonna be like Jesus, not be like Amanda. Yeah. Or I'm not I'm gonna be like Jesus for me. For me, it's I'm gonna be like Jesus, not be like Kyle.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um but then we're called to, in the process of that, advance the mission, which is laying out the gospel and understanding and believing. I think we have to get to a place where we as Christians believe that heaven and hell are real. And God has invited us into a partnership that says, hey, people need to know about him, people need to be made disciples, people need to be baptized, and people need to teach or be taught the commands. That doesn't mean we follow them all the time, to your point. That doesn't mean we want to follow them all the time, but that means that if we're dying to ourself, we can go on this journey together of learning to be obedient to Christ.
SPEAKER_06I feel like the more that we die to self, the more that we have eyes to see for others. We have eyes to see the people that God is calling us to, because I think when we have all these preferences in our heart, it it's a distraction. It is something that pulls us away from advancing the mission. Where it's like, okay, I just need to like cleanse all of these preferences so that I truly can have eyes to see who it is that God has me impacting in this next season.
SPEAKER_04You can't see other people if your eyes are focused on you.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And I just looking at self all the time. Yeah. How does this pertain to me?
SPEAKER_06How does this make me- I feel like that is a step of maturity. I think as we all grow and we're spiritually formed, that is a step of maturity where it's like, okay, I gotta get eyes off of self. For sure. It's it ain't all about me.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_06It's all about him. And how do I really live that?
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And so if we're gonna advance the mission and we're gonna carry the kingdom, and they're kind of sound the same, but they're kind of not the same, yeah. How do we differentiate between the two of them? Uh, two things I think I would tell us. Number one, the kingdom is something we're called to embody, but the mission is something we're called to expand. So the kingdom is who we are, the mission is a little bit of what we do, right? Why which is the way we said it yesterday was advance the mission is what we are called to do. Carrying the kingdom is how we are called to live while we do what we are called to do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So while I advance the mission, I need to be carrying the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_04Because carrying the kingdom is about how I act, how I talk, how I think, right? How I treat people, how I do all of those things. That's carrying the kingdom.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04But the purpose of doing that is not um I don't remember. Yeah. The purpose was not just that people experience kindness from Christians, but that people come into the kingdom of God through Jesus. Right? Like the most important thing we can do is not be kind. The most important thing we can do is tell people about Jesus and salvation through Him and Him alone, and tell people that there's a better way than living according to the broken ways of the world. Now, when we tell people that, it is of the utmost importance that we are kind and loving and compassionate and filled with joy and all of the things the Bible would tell us. But the kindest thing I can do for somebody who is not living in accordance with Jesus or who hasn't given their lives to him and chosen to follow him, the kindest thing I can do is say, hey, listen, heaven and hell are real. Eternity is a really long freaking time. Let me tell you why you want Jesus to pay the price of your sins and you want to follow him.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04That's the kindest thing I can do.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, and that will be fruit of you living out your life because you're going to see God moving in your life constantly every day. And it is so transformationally life-changing that you can't even keep it in. You want to share it with these people.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_06And what is it? Revelation 1211. Yes. Um, but we are able to overcome evil by the power of the word and the blood of the by the word of our testimony. The word of the testimony and blood of the lamb.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_06Yes.
SPEAKER_04Right. So you have a testimony, I have a testimony. We all have that, and we're called to share that. Yeah. Because our testimony is what God has done in and through us. Right? Now, you can't have a testimony without the blood of the Lamb, which is Jesus Christ shedding his blood on the cross for you and I. Yes. So how in the world did did the shed blood of Jesus give me a testimony in between those two things now we're going to go overcome evil. And evil isn't just bad, big, big, bad, scary things. Evil is Satan.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Right?
SPEAKER_04We're going to overcome the accuser. We're going to overcome the the devil who's a a lion prowling around looking to devour and destroy us. Right? That's that's the evil we are talking about.
SPEAKER_06So in saying that, I just uh to wrap it up, when we're in conversation with people, we should be talking about what God's done in us through us in our lives. Um, rather than sitting there and complaining and talking about how hard life is and how frustrating and how all these things. Let's let's flip the script a little bit in this next season. Let's quit focusing on all the negative. Let's actually start focusing on what God is doing and what he has done, and let's start sharing that with each other and watch how our lives change.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and I love the the language of in and through us, and this is where we can lay in the plane for today. It's spiritual formation is not just what God does in us. It starts in us for sure, but it's not just what he does in us, it's also what God wants to do through us. Yeah. And so where where where we left it off yesterday was I told people, I'm like, y'all are probably expecting me to ask you to do something. And I'm like, I'm the only thing I'm asking you to do is pray and ask God, hey, use me. Here's my ready hands. Yeah. How would you how would you invite me into partnership with you? Like, I'm not asking you to serve in kids' ministry, I'm not asking you to greet, I'm not asking you to make coffee, I'm not asking you for a check, I'm not asking you for anything besides praying and asking God, how would He use your ready hands?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, God gave us all different gifts. Like we're not all gonna preach.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_00We're not all gonna serve in kids' men. Yeah, we're not all gonna serve. We're not all gonna play an instrument. We're not but it doesn't mean that you can't help advance the kingdom in what you have been gifted to do. For sure.
SPEAKER_06A hundred percent.
SPEAKER_04And I would I would just say like to that point, a million percent agree, we all have different gifts. Now your gift is far more versatile than you think it is. Right.
SPEAKER_01Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_04So you can use your gift of having, you know, um loving people and being so outgoing. You can use that in kids' ministry, you can use that a as a greeter, you can use that making coffee, you can use that in a small group. You like you can use it in a bunch of different ways. It's not just like, oh, you're an Enneagram seven.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Then you you're a greeter. Yeah. That's the only place you can use that gift.
SPEAKER_05Right, right.
SPEAKER_00Also, don't be surprised if you end up doing something that is not what you're for today is well you right now. Maybe you're a terrible speaker.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_00Well, you are gonna be a pastor.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for yeah, for sure, me.
SPEAKER_04But you like you would even say right now, I don't want to talk in a microphone. No.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04You just if you're gonna have a microphone strapped to your face, you want to be singing. Right. Right. But not even really that. Yeah, that's true. But you prefer singing over talking. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04So just understand that, like, if if you're willing to say, man, God, thank you for loving me through forming me so beautifully and intentionally and wonderfully. God, I need you through my lifted hands, through prayer and worship. God, it's moving from my head to my heart, and I trust you with open hands. Now, if my hands are open, he placed something really important in our hands. He placed the message of the gospel in our hands. And now he's called us to carry that and to embody that and to advance that for his cause and his kingdom. Yeah. And so now, God, with with my hands filled with your power, my hands filled with your message for your people. Here I am. Send me. God, what does that look like for me? That's where we left off yesterday, and where we kind of brought the full circle of the series. Yeah. Okay. Love it. And love it, love it. Great. Let's pray. And um we will uh see y'all not next week. We'll see y'all the week after Easter talking about white hot hearts that burn for the message of the gospel. Let's pray. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for this discussion. God, we thank you for um each of these people here. We thank you for Brad, who's uh getting some rest and some uh just time with you, Father, and uh his family soaking up the sun. Lord, we thank you for the listener. We thank you for uh those of all of us who are trying to be more like you, who you are transforming us more and more into your image. Father, thank you for the fact that you love us and that you desire us and that you desire to partner with us, and you invite us into work for your kingdom with you. So, Father, open our eyes to ways that you can use us. Open our eyes to opportunities we have. Father, we pray that you help us to release the grips we have on our time, on our schedule, on our gifts, on our talents, on our resources, Father, uh, on our treasures, so that we can use them the way that you ask us to for your kingdom. God, we pray that you give us a sense of the reality of heaven and hell and the length of time that eternity is, knowing that all of us are going to spend eternity in one of those two places. So, God, create a sense of urgency in us for your kingdom, to advance it, to carry it. We pray for a group of believers and a group of followers who say, Here I am, send me. We thank you, Father. We love you. In Jesus' name. Everyone said.
SPEAKER_06Amen. Amen.
SPEAKER_04We love y'all. Have a great couple weeks. We'll see you after Easter. See you later.