Kingdom At Hand

We trace Mark 1:14–28 with fresh eyes, moving from Jesus’ first proclamation to the calling of ordinary disciples and a showdown with an unclean spirit. Along the way, we talk immediate obedience, recognized authority, and how purpose shows up right where we live and work.

• the kingdom at hand as already and not yet
• ordinary people called and given purpose
• immediate obedience versus delay
• nets we struggle to drop today
• recognized authority over asserted power
• Jesus’ teaching and the demon’s submission
• transformation spreading the news, not hype
• Hope Center ministry overview and impact
• donation needs and volunteer pathways
• a redemption story from addiction to new life

Transcript

Meet Bree And The Icebreakers

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Welcome to the Jeff Fuel Podcast, a series of Concord conversations. In each episode, our lead pastor and a guest will sit down and dive a little deeper into what we learned as a church that week. These are honest, practical conversations to fuel your faith and help you live it out with purpose and consistency. Or, in other words, this is JetFuel for your soul.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

All right, here we are again with Jet Fuel Concord's podcast, where we fuel faith for real life. There we go. And so we are here. We've got an extra guest with us today, Aaron. We have got Bree Simmons. Bree, you have been at Concord for a while. What are you doing now currently? Because we just brought you on staff a year or two ago.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Let's see.

SPEAKER_05 0:48

I am officially the main job, not all the other things that you also do.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

The missions associate. So basically, me and Aaron do all of our missions opportunities.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

So y'all do a fantastic job of it too. Our church is on Mission Concord. We are so proud of y'all from serve days that you put together to local and foreign mission trips and supporting our mission partners and local ministries, which you guys are getting to see uh on our podcasts, which are really, really cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

And so if you don't know, for the podcast, I am usually the one supplying the questions that we have at the beginning. They are a little icebreaker.

SPEAKER_05 1:26

Oh, they get to know your questions in. Yeah. So what's our question today?

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Our question today is what's something people are usually surprised to learn about you?

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Surprised to learn about us. We're we're pretty open books, though, Aaron, aren't we?

SPEAKER_05 1:40

I'm a pretty open book. Oh.

SPEAKER_03 1:43

I feel like I'm an open book. Maybe, maybe.

SPEAKER_05 1:46

I'm thinking of something that you should say, and I want to know, I'm gonna see if you say it.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

Okay. Well, this is something that I don't even feel like is random that people would be surprised uh of work since I was a little kid. But one of the things that is uh probably the most obscure about my past is I had a job at Coldstone Creamery. And so I was when Lauren and I lived in Branson, Missouri, this is like in the first year of our marriage, you know, graduated college degree, getting ministry training. I'm working at an ice cream shop making and folding the ice cream. But here's what you need to know I had to sing for extra tips. And so I wore an apron made ice cream, sang while I made your ice cream, and that's something I try to keep uh buried, and yet the team is there if we can

Surprise Jobs And Quitting Stories

SPEAKER_03 2:40

ever find footage, there's not at all.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

I was gonna say, follow-up. What was your go-to song?

SPEAKER_03 2:45

Oh, gosh, that was so long ago. I can't remember. We had, I think we had songs that take a second. Not at all. But I think that's something people would be surprised to know that uh the singing ice cream maker is their pastor. So yeah, that's a big deal. What about you, Aaron?

SPEAKER_05 3:02

Oh, I don't know. Something people would be surprised to know about me. Um I don't know. Oh, so well, everybody knows that I worked at Starbucks um before, like as I was starting ministry. What they may not know is the job before that, I worked in retail at American Eagle.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

Like the brand from the 90s.

SPEAKER_05 3:30

Yes, yeah. So when I quit, I hated hate. I know hate is a really strong word. Can you like fold the shirts like all perfect and everything? You should.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Oh, oh, I get corrected every time we put merch out. Aaron comes behind me and leaves like try and ask, you can ask Liz.

SPEAKER_05 3:45

She, oh, it drives her insane because I'm like, that's not how you fold.

SPEAKER_02 3:48

Um, but that's why you do the the laundry for a bunch of things. That is true. I do the laundry.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

Yes, we wow, that was just such a subtle flex here in front of the entire I do all of our laundry.

SPEAKER_05 3:59

The laundry ferry. Um so uh but uh the story about American Eagle, I could not stand my manager. She was the worst person on the planet. And when I was gonna quit, I was gonna try, you know, to do the honorable thing and work out my two-week notice and like all that. Well, I was two days into my two weeks notice. And keep in mind, this is very, very soon after I got saved. It was I was still, there was still some remnants of the.

SPEAKER_03 4:33

I'm literally sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for what's about to happen.

SPEAKER_05 4:37

When two two days into my notice, I'd had it. I was like, okay, you know what? I'm not even gonna work my two weeks. And so I walked over, and old school American Eagle, all the cash registers were in the center of the store. Okay. And so when my manager stand there and she had just made me mad so many times, so I took my lanyard off. I went over to her, I handed her the lanyard and I said, I'm quitting. She goes, I know. I was like, no, as of right now, I'm walking out. And so you just bounced mid-shift. Oh, that's the story's not over. And so as I was walking out, I just put both my hands out like this. Note for the audio, they're just straight out. And didn't hold them, like didn't move them, and just walked out of the store, and anything that I hit got knocked over. Oh my gosh, Aaron, that is so terrible. And so, and then I'll then I got to the door and waved at her and left.

SPEAKER_03 5:29

So Okay, for all of our young employed listeners out there, that is not how you quit a job. Do that at all. That is not how you do that.

SPEAKER_05 5:38

That was just fun. There's a terrible uh that yes, that's true. That hasn't gone away.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

All right, what about you, Brie?

SPEAKER_02 5:45

Well, I'm torn between two. If we're going the job route, I worked at a jewelry store.

SPEAKER_03 5:50

A jewelry store? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:52

Uh after like COVID times. Well, I worked at the Chamber of Commerce before that. Random.

SPEAKER_05 5:58

In White County? Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

Beth True Love, you know, worked with her. She's one of our loved members. But uh worked at the Chamber of Commerce and then worked at a jewelry store.

SPEAKER_04 6:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Super random. Didn't really fit the vibe, you know. I you have to dress up to work at a jewelry store. If you ever see me, I'm usually in a sweatshirt, jeans, jogger, something like that. Um, but I'm torn between that and then when I was in college, I went on an archaeological dig in Israel for two weeks.

unknown 6:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:28

No way. That's very cool. I did not know that.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Over Easter weekend. So I was in Jerusalem on Easter weekend.

SPEAKER_03 6:35

But then the two weeks that in between so when you say archaeological dig, like I'm I automatically think like digging for dinosaurs, right? Like you know, T Rex ribs or something.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

But the first week, well, so we were working with like archaeologists in Israel. So the first week we were in a uh like desert area, but in like a big wadi like canyon. Yeah, yeah. And we like climbed down, you know, one of our professors almost died because he like slipped and like slid down to the next, like, because you're winding back on itself.

SPEAKER_05 7:08

And so yeah, we we completely understand what you're saying.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

And then we dig we dug into a cave. Wow.

SPEAKER_05 7:17

We were Did you find anything cool?

SPEAKER_02 7:19

Uh we found like once we're gonna be.

SPEAKER_03 7:22

She says a dinosaur bone at this point, we're gonna lose scrolls.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

Well, because that's what it was actually near the Dead Sea Scroll cave. Okay, I was there. So I was looking for the book of Esther because that has yet to be found, and I was hoping I would get free tuition for the rest of my time. Okay, it did not happen, but we found a fireplace and a you know, common dwelling uh where people like lived. And then the second week we were in like the Judean lowlands and we were digging down into like what used to be a castle's not the right word. What's the right word for back then?

SPEAKER_05 7:57

Temple.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Temple. Um Bible scholar. Listen, we were just about to talk about how she writes so much of our crazy. Um, anyway, so we're digging down to that in a military training base that they can only dig in when they were like off duty and stuff. So I did that for two weeks.

SPEAKER_03 8:16

And so Well, I do think this question has probably been our most revealing of all so far of things that people wouldn't know about us. My wife is probably she's probably gonna be very embarrassed that I told that story. Well, you know, I'm I'm embarrassed for you. So um well, here we are. Uh we can get back to it. Thanks for hanging with us, everybody who's been with us this morning. Uh we are in uh the second week

Mark’s Fast Start And Big Claim

SPEAKER_03 8:40

of Mark. We're gonna look at Mark 1, 14 through 28. And uh what I'm loving about this Mark study is how quick it just goes. Just one thing to the next to the next to the next. And Mark's really kind of hitting his stride here. Um, and you know, in these next 15 verses, we're gonna cover a lot of things, right?

SPEAKER_05 8:58

Yeah, like he really starts to hit, because I know last week you and Michael had talked about like right from the beginning, Mark holds like there's no intro, really. It's just jumps in, Jesus is getting baptized. Like, here we go. And now as we start getting into like chapter one, the rest of it, he really starts to like hit this stride of like, okay, I'm gonna start telling you the story of what Jesus is doing, why he's here, some of the things that are happening. And I just yeah, it just it starts getting very exciting at this point. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Yeah. One thing's pretty clear too is when Jesus comes onto the scene wherever he is, everything kind of gets flipped on its head. Yeah, and we see that right here in this first chapter.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I there's this song I love that was written by um some folks uh at a church in in Oklahoma, and it just says Jesus changes everything. And uh man, I just I just love that because nothing does stay the same. And if you think about this book kind of contextually, and you look at the marks between, you know, Mark 1 through a third or half the way through chapter 8 is all this Galilean ministry that happens, and then eight and nine are kind of their move to Jerusalem, and then you get um 11 through 16, and you get kind of the Passion Week, everything that's happening in Jerusalem. Mark spends so much time there, but there's these key moments. You get the transfiguration, you get um some confession, but in Mark 1:14, I mean, right after Jesus uh comes back, you get this um really marky statement where it says, now after John was arrested, uh Jesus came to Galilee and proclaiming the gospel of God, verse 15 and saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Then watch this, underline it in your Bible. Repent and believe in the gospel. What Jesus says when this ministry starts from baptism to wilderness, he says, the time is fulfilled, the time is now, the Messiah has come, I am the Son of God. The kingdom of God is at hand. And then I love this

The Kingdom: Already And Not Yet

SPEAKER_03 11:00

repent and believe in the gospel. And so, I mean, it's just such a a big declaration that happens right here at the beginning of our passage.

SPEAKER_05 11:10

That's a big statement. Just the fact that when he says, hey, the kingdom of God is at hand, like that that in itself is a big deal.

SPEAKER_02 11:19

Yeah, when he's not saying it's gonna come someday, because if you think about the Old Testament, everything that comes to is it's coming, it's coming, it's coming. And then he says, it's fulfilled. The time is now.

SPEAKER_05 11:30

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

It's it's here, it's right now, the kingdom is at hand.

SPEAKER_05 11:34

Well, and I keep thinking, I mean, because obviously we go through the gospel and we see so many people not get it, like they don't understand what's happening. And even in this moment, he is saying, hey, just like you like Old Testament stuff, like it is fulfilled. Like it is starting, it is here, and they it is just over their head.

SPEAKER_03 11:53

Like, well, and I think, Aaron, I think that's something that even translates to church today, and maybe even at Concord to a degree of going, you know, we we we kind of complicate this thing of going, is it clear? Is what we're saying clear? Is it clouded? Uh, you know, we we talk about um, you know, clarity is kindness, you know, even within relationships, if I speak clearly to you, that's the kindest thing I can do. I don't do all the vamp and the pomp and the circumstance, but I just get to the truth. Yeah. And here, Jesus really gets really clear of going, it sets up the entirety of the book of going, hey, this is the account of Jesus. Yeah. And he is saying, the kingdom's here. Yeah. I mean, repent and believe in the gospel that the kingdom isn't a place, but it's it's God's rule and reign, um, isn't just a place, but it's God's rule and reign breaking into our everyday uh life.

SPEAKER_05 12:46

So let me ask um just a quick question, just right here from the beginning. So, Bree, I kind of want to ask you when you hear that statement, like when you hear the kingdom of God is at hand, and you that whole idea, do you think, I know we've said that he's saying like it's fulfilled it's now, but would when Jesus is speaking here, do you think it is more like present focused, or do you think it is more kind of like, okay, now that this is gonna have like future focus? What would you say?

SPEAKER_02 13:17

I'm gonna say both. Okay, okay, yeah, attack it. So something that I like to and terminology that we might have even mentioned um just in our teaching and stuff about the kingdom of God is this terminology of the already and the not yet.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

Oh yeah, I like that. That's a great descriptor.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

Yeah, and so in thinking about the kingdom of God for us now and even looking back to when Jesus was doing his earthly ministry, it's already in the fact that as we're gonna see, as he's calling his disciples, um the rule of like God's rule, Jesus' rule in the hearts of his people is right now.

SPEAKER_04 13:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

So the aspect of God's kingdom where not where he's dwelling on earth, like that's future. That's the not yet. The already part of God's kingdom is him ruling and reigning in the hearts of his people as we carry out his mission that he's given us.

SPEAKER_03 14:13

Yeah. Well, and it almost just ties back into the what we studied last week, maybe not on the podcast, but you know, um, from the pulpit of of going, he will baptize baptize with a baptism uh of the Holy Spirit, you know, of going that that we will be indwelt, we will be sealed. God is is is in us. And so I think that's a that's a big thing too, of going rule and reign now as believers, um, having the Spirit of God in us, but then one day the kingdom of God. So yeah, I like that already, not yet. That's that's good stuff.

SPEAKER_05 14:47

When it's uh when he says like it's at hand, like that whole idea going like off of what you were saying, Bree, it doesn't that doesn't it means that we don't have to wait to do things. Like we have been given, we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, and we don't have to wait on future things to do ministry. Like we we have been given the power by him. Hey, no, it is it's happening now. Like, let's do some work.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

And so and that's what we're commanded to do. We're not like Paul says repeatedly in his writings, hey, you're not supposed to wait. You're supposed to do everything looking forward to what's coming, but not waiting for it to happen.

SPEAKER_03 15:24

Well, you know, after this incredible just, I mean, if you want to model your preaching after Jesus, what he says is repent and believe in the gospel. And I think churches would be way better off if we went back to something very similar of going, hey, turn from your ways and turn to the Lord. Believe in the good news of Jesus Christ that he saves, that he died and rose again. I think that's powerful. But uh, you know, moving with this immediacy, we see that Jesus begins to call his first disciples, which is kind of a a really, really cool thing. We see uh a handful of guys here, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, uh basically nobody's right. I mean, I'm not trying to downplay who they are. Jesus chose them, and so uh there was something he was going to do through them, but uh, I mean, these are ordinary guys, ordinary working guys, fishermen, and uh just, you know, why why is that a big deal? What kind of hope, Aaron, would that offer to somebody listening, somebody in our church that goes, man, I'm not talented like them, I'm not in a position of authority like them, I'm just uh X, I'm just a Y, I'm

Ordinary Disciples, Extraordinary Purpose

SPEAKER_03 16:30

just a Z. Yeah. Like, what kind of hope does that give us that that Jesus effectively changed the world with 12 nobodies, right?

SPEAKER_05 16:38

No, it's hopeful. I mean, it's hopeful for me, plus anybody that's listening, because for me and so many people that I talk to, we can get stuck in this rut of like, okay, yeah, I have these giftings, but I don't really think those can be used for the kingdom. And that's not true. Like, you would not have been given those gifts by the Lord if they weren't meant to be used for the kingdom. And the idea that he chooses these men who like, and I won't get into like what a fisherman, like what they were looked at in society and like all that. We won't dive into that, but just the fact that they were in these positions and he just kind of is like, nope, you're it. Right. And that's a big deal. Like, and like we're gonna get into a meet like in a minute, like how what their response is, but that it is so hopeful and encouraging to me when I see the types of men that Jesus is calling to know that that means it it can apply to anyone.

SPEAKER_03 17:37

Well, and that's anybody that's listening or watching right now, this is what I want you to hear. I want you to hear me uh as your pastor say this, or a pastor, if you're not a part of Concord, is going, don't devalue what God can do with your life. I mean, he changed the world with 12 ordinary men. Um and I I want you to understand that the power of God working in and through his children is a powerful thing. And and as you're listening, you're going, well, I just I don't know what I have to bring to the table. Well, we don't have anything to bring to the table. The gifts that we have, God gave us, the the time that we have to develop the skills, uh, those are all important, but it's literally God working through his people. And so I just want you to hear this morning: Jesus chose twelve ordinary men to carry forth the gospel. And even with Mark, I mean, he was not one of the twelve disciples. I mean, that's something that we need to understand. Yeah. But he spent a lot of time with Paul and his cousin Barnabas, uh, but a lot of time with Peter, who was a part of the inner circle of Jesus'. Yeah. I mean, he's one of the first called disciples. Yeah, Peter, James, and John's. And so Mark gets a lot of his eyewitness accounts from that. We also have some reason to believe that uh I think it's in Acts 12 that Mark's home, his mom, uh, was one of the ones that held the early church of in Jerusalem, that they would have meetings there. And so he's seeing some of these things. And uh I just think it's powerful for you to know and for you to hear me say um, God can use you. Um God can use you for his purpose and his glory. It's it's one of those things where we surrender to him. And so I just think there's so much hope before we even get into some of the details of how they were called, of going, don't lose hope that God could use you and use you in our church, use you in your family, college students, high school students in your friend group. Yeah. Uh there's there's a lot that can happen with some ordinary people. But the with an extraordinary God.

SPEAKER_05 19:40

Well, yeah, and what I love is their response because like we've had this conversation. I've had this conversation with people of like, no, the disciples were awesome. Like they did this and this, and they experienced this. I'm like, okay, let's go back to where they started. Right. They were fishermen called by Christ, and what made them I guess move from ordinary to extraordinary, if that's how we want to put it, is was their answer to his question.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Yeah, they didn't uh you know finish fishing. So like he comes to Simon and Andrew, they're literally in the middle of casting their net fishing, but immediately they dropped everything and followed him. Yeah, they didn't let us take our boat back home and you know, get our fish all settled and everything. They immediately is a word that keeps popping up in this passage.

SPEAKER_03 20:31

Well, because it says in verse 17 and 18, and Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And immediately they left their nets and they followed him. And just as much as I just encouraged you, let me um, you know, give you a little admonition as well. I think that's something we hear all the time, though, is we go, hey, follow Christ. And people are like, hold on. Yep. Let me just let me get some stuff straight. Let me check my schedule before I commit, let me, you know, figure out what that can look like. And um, what we see is the response to a clear call. Yeah. Follow me. Jesus is not saying, hey, follow this religious sect. He's saying, follow me, the Messiah, the anointed one. And then he gives them purpose. I'm gonna make you fishers of men. Like your life, I'm gonna use your skill and your background, but I'm gonna give your life purpose. And their response was, let's do this. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't.

SPEAKER_05 21:26

Well, and I wonder too, like because it we don't know, like as Jesus entered into Jerusalem, like I know that's not recorded in Mark, but if you go back in the Gospels and like I wonder if when Jesus is coming onto the scene and like the baptism happens and all this, I don't we don't know if any of these men saw it. We don't know if any of these men were around, we don't know if any of these men knew who John the Baptist was at this point. Like, none of that is in the text. And so I wonder when Jesus speaks the power of his word to these men and the authority that.

Immediate Obedience And Dropped Nets

SPEAKER_05 22:00

That they just knew, like, yes. Like, I don't know who this man is, but he is telling me that he is about to give me a new purpose and a new job. And yes.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

Well, and you have to think how radical this is. I mean, imagine somebody just knocking on your door. They walk up and go, Hey, come with me. I'm gonna change the course of your life. And you're like, uh, get off my front porch.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

Well, that's what I was thinking about. Like, if someone just showed up at your workplace who's like, hey, let's go. I'm gonna give you a new job. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:28

I mean, but I think that is something to consider. I mean, if we contextualize it, I mean, one of the themes throughout Mark that that I think maybe is unique to his gospel um, you know, perspective, because you got the three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, uh, and Luke. You know, John's kind of its own thing, but Matthew, Mark, and Luke, synoptic means they're from one viewpoint. They kind of take the same stance, although they record different pieces of it. Um, but Mark, in and of itself, one of the major themes is authentic and radical discipleship. That it's about this relationship with Jesus. It's it's this walking with and doing life with and learning from and submitting to that. This idea of radical discipleship really has a radical beginning of going, follow me, and they're like, okay, let's do this.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

Honestly, like, because Mark, throughout, I think what we're gonna see as we study Mark over the next, what'd you say, nine months, like all year?

SPEAKER_03 23:30

Forever. Um 37 weeks, it's gonna be great, you're gonna love it.

SPEAKER_02 23:34

Like it's it's very fast-paced. It's like immediately is like a complicated.

SPEAKER_05 23:37

Yeah, he moves very quickly to the next thing.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

But then also, in as we're thinking about like people's response to Jesus, what comes to mind is you I've heard you say in regards to parenting, like first-time obedience.

SPEAKER_05 23:49

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:49

And it's not that they're perfect, but you see, like the Yeah, I need first-time obedience, yeah. And they follow him. Like he says follow me, and they drop their nets and they're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 23:59

Well, I do think there's an element of authority, but I do like the idea of going, you know, purpose is a big deal because he says, follow me, but I will give you Fisher's men. Bree, let me just ask you this. You know, uh, I know for you and Philip, it's been a journey over the last several years of your marriage and now uh with your son. Purpose is a big deal. You want to make an impact. And so what do you think as far as our people at Concord here? Uh are they searching for purpose and place, or do we live in the hamster wheel of just get to the next day? Don't we all kind of want purpose in our life?

SPEAKER_02 24:33

I think we can fall into the trap of like a hamster wheel where we're just kind of going to the next thing, staying in the routine. But I think a lot of that often comes from not really focusing on what our purpose is. Right.

SPEAKER_03 24:47

So, like We give our time to stuff that is not worthy.

SPEAKER_02 24:50

Yeah, absolutely. And so I think, and I fall into a routine all the time, uh, especially now, like the newborn days.

SPEAKER_03 24:57

It's like those days are so far behind me. Yeah, it's so hard for me to continue to have empathy because it was so long ago.

SPEAKER_05 25:04

Genuinely please continue to have empathy with us with three other who have infants.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

It's just like you fall into a routine of almost like for me, two-hour increments, you know, are three every two to three hours. So it's like, you know, crazy.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

That's the schedule I want to be on.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Feed him.

SPEAKER_03 25:20

I think sad also eats every two to three.

SPEAKER_02 25:24

It's like you feed him and then he's awake for like 30 minutes to an hour, especially newborn, and then they take a nap and then they wake up and you feed him again. And it's just like a constant thing. And then integrating work back into that, it was, you know, okay, drop him off of this place, do work for this many hours, and then pick him up and then go home and do all the things.

SPEAKER_03 25:43

And everything can get very task-oriented unless passion and purpose-oriented like these guys were. Well, let me ask you this, Aaron. Um, what nets are the hardest for people to drop today? Like if it says immediately, like they they left their nets and followed him. I mean, they just right then, yeah. What are some of the things that you have observed in some of your your friendships within the church, some of your community groups? I know you lead a couple and um, you know, or just seeing our church as a pastor, what are some of the nets that people really struggle to lay down for Jesus? Or to leave behind, rather.

SPEAKER_05 26:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:21

I can't use specific examples. Go general generalization.

SPEAKER_05 26:25

Names and I think okay, I'll start general and then kind of get to more specifics. I think the broad answer is anything that someone has worked really, really hard to achieve. Meaning whether that's whether that's a job that they have worked really hard and moved up the ladder and gotten to a point that's really comfortable for them and their family, and they know they've worked out. Or they can find some kind of purpose to have found a purpose in like working with their hands or and creating or whatever that looks like. Or they have like they're parenting and they have kids and that's their purpose, and they are discipling their kids and staying home with their kids and pouring into their like whatever that looks like. I think the broad answer is anything that you have worked really, really hard to achieve is hard to say, especially, especially, because this is when I see it become really difficult. Especially when Jesus comes in and says, Hey, there's nothing wrong with that purpose that you have. Oh, come on, give some more, but I'm gonna change it. Yeah. Right. And I have seen that play out in my life, my parents' life, like walk being in walk seeing my parents walk through something where my dad has worked the same job, same type of job forever. And right now, he's not working that type of job. And I've had conversations, especially in the last month, with him of like him trying to figure out, okay, like what I don't even know, like what is my purpose here? And seeing him and so many other people that get to that point, seeing him come back to, oh no, my purpose is to glorify Christ and whatever I'm doing. Yeah. And so, but it's really hard when you have worked for a goal or you've gotten to somewhere or you're you're so devoted, and it's not those are not bad things, but so many times, just like this, Jesus comes in, tells these men, like, hey, I'm completely changing your direction.

SPEAKER_03 28:22

No, we just stepped on each other. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 28:25

I was just gonna say, well, that like what you're sharing about your dad makes me think about even me and Philip's

Purpose, Fear, And Calling Where You Are

SPEAKER_02 28:30

story of graduating college, undergrad, and then we both go into a master's degree together with the purpose of going overseas and doing vocational missions. Yeah. And so we like gra like I think genuinely the Lord has given us that burden and like longing to do that, and it's just a not yet.

SPEAKER_05 28:51

Well, and y'all it's like you were in the process, like we were you were in the process.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

We were almost done with our application process, but we had almost lost like our purpose in that and just getting the task done. Like a vocational missionary application and like process is a lot, like just a lot of minute task and all of these things. And so it was almost like we had kind of first understood, like, okay, the Lord is calling us to do this and asking us to do this, but then we got lost in like the task every day and got stuck in a routine to where we forgot, oh, the whole purpose of this is not just getting from point A to point B and getting overseas. Yeah, it's following God in what He's asked us to do. And in every season that is proclaimed the kingdom, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:40

And Aaron and I are very grateful for y'all's season right now for what you're doing.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

Well, and it's but it's really hard. Like if you think about Simon and Andrew and these disciples, it would have been hard for them to leave their.

SPEAKER_03 29:52

And I think therein lies where some of our people feel fear, yeah, is they go, if I leave them this behind, then what? Yeah, because did God not allow me to build this for a reason? And what you see is they're still fishermen, just fishermen of another type. Well, and there are times that they come back to fishing.

SPEAKER_05 30:09

Yeah, and that's what I was gonna say. I made that statement. Jesus is not always gonna say, hey, leave everything that you have become.

SPEAKER_03 30:16

Which is everybody's biggest guess. If I give my life to Christ, yeah, everything goes away.

SPEAKER_05 30:20

Because I think I'll just like Liz, my wife, for example, like she knows, like she is a professor, she worked really hard to get there, get that degree, get a job, like teaching at a university. She knows that's what she is called to do. But the whole idea for her is realizing okay, what is Jesus calling me to do in that? Like, yeah, you need to teach and like do well and like instruct students, how do I glorify Christ in this? That is her purpose. And so she wasn't called to leave everything that she had worked for. She is called being called to do something for the kingdom within that. Yeah. And so, but like you said, the fear is that Jesus is automatically gonna say, no, leave everything that you've done behind.

SPEAKER_03 31:04

Well, and I think I I'm thinking of just very specific people within our church. I know we have lots of um physical therapists and doctors and nurses and EMTs and and folks who um, you know, basically, you know, use their hands and their skills to help heal and bring people back to that. And they go, Well, am I just supposed to give all this up? Well, God may use that, but I think it is the willingness to say, God, it's all yours. Use it, leave it, whatever it is. I just love the disciples' response when God called, it wasn't, wait, let me figure it out, let me get a schedule, can you give me a timeline? Can you make sure my 401k is fine? Can you do all these things? It's just like, yes, Jesus. And I think if we had more people within the church who were willing to say, yes, Jesus, Concord, North Georgia, this world would never look the same if we had people who were willing to say yes and leave their nets behind, whatever that might be.

SPEAKER_05 32:04

And you're not gonna be alone in that either. Like I think that's another fear is if I do this, I'm gonna have to do it by myself.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

Now, we have gotten this conversation up and all and we need to keep moving through the passage and and we get to a place where we see Jesus in the synagogue, right? Yeah, which I love because Jesus went to church.

SPEAKER_04 32:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:22

All right. And I I mean, I just think everybody needs to hear me say that that you see Jesus a lot in church. It was his custom to go and hear uh we see him teaching, but then something kind of out of the ordinary happens.

SPEAKER_02 32:34

Yeah, yeah. They're the as Jesus begins to teach, the people that are around that are hearing him are very kind of taken aback at the authority that he presents.

SPEAKER_03 32:44

Because he's just a carpenter somewhere.

SPEAKER_05 32:46

Well, and it's not really uh, I don't even think it's about what he's saying, because it's not if you really think about what he was saying, it's not like earth-shattering things. Yeah, it's more about how he is saying that as one who had authority. I know, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:02

And it's interesting too, because we know, like looking back at Isaiah, you know, I love a good cross-reference. So I'm just okay.

SPEAKER_03 33:08

Just so y'all know, she is on our sermon content team, which means she helps uh do a lot of the research and different things for us. And every time we do our day of presenting, everybody knows that Brie is going to come with about 50 cross-references in the world and makes us go back and study everything that we have in there.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

I love you. She does a really good job. Um, but looking back at Isaiah, it talks about when looking at who Jesus would be, he has no former appearance that he's noticeable. Yeah. But when he opens his mouth to speak, he has authority. And it's not borrowed authority or something that someone had to give to him, it's just who he is. And that also makes me think about Colossians 1 when it talks about the preeminence and authority of Jesus, that he was the image of God, he was the firstborn of all creation,

Recognized Authority Versus Asserted Power

SPEAKER_02 34:00

the creator of all things, and in him all things hold together. Yeah, well, that's just his character, and that is like you can't ignore that when he begins to say.

SPEAKER_05 34:08

Yeah, well, and it's not like looking ahead and like like Paul and all these people that we see teach after Jesus. It's not taking any of that away from them. Like there's power in that. Like there's power when someone stands behind the pulpit and opens the word of God. But this was not commentary on the word of God. Right. Like this was the word of God speaking Timothy 3.16. In the room.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

Like in Colossians 1 says, the fullness of God dwelt in him.

SPEAKER_03 34:37

Right. Yeah. And it's the very breath of God. And I think that's something in I remember when I was doing student ministry, there was this whole big thing on, man, let's just go with the red letters, just what Jesus said. And I was like, oh, but but it's all of it. Like all of it is the breath of God. And you know, he was teaching with this uh authority that was uncommon for the teachers of that time. And so I think that's why, you know, here even at Concord, over the last couple of years, you know, just in my growing as a pastor, moving towards this, working through books of the Bible, uh, you know, doing that, it's just for me, uh I know this sounds weird, but it's just easier to teach the word of God. It's easier just to go, here's the chunk we're walking through. You can't scripture speaker. You can't avoid the hard parts because they just come in there. If you pick and choose, you can kind of mold it, but when you're going through it, you have to address the whole thing. You have to let it tie to other pieces of scripture. And so I think sometimes authority comes when you let scripture be the authority.

SPEAKER_05 35:39

Let me ask, Clint, let me ask you a question. All right, brand. What do you think, what do you think is the difference between authority that's asserted and authority that is recognized? Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_03 35:51

Is there a reason you're asking me this?

SPEAKER_05 35:54

It's not specifically to you, but I I just want to hear your thoughts on because I mean, we all of us, all three of us, and most people in the world can recognize someone who has authority and the only reason that they have it is because they took it from someone else.

SPEAKER_03 36:11

Well, if if y'all could see my iPad right now, I literally uh at the end of this question just wrote the word ouch. Yeah. Um because here's here's what I've always been told. If you have to tell somebody you're in charge, you are not in charge. I agree. Uh like if you have to power up, you have to put people down, you have to leverage title or consequences, um, you're you're you're not in charge, right? And I think the beauty about true authority is it's known. Like you know it when you see it. Um, one of the things uh this was years and years ago, um, we were talking about how do you find a leader uh in a crowd. Yeah um and we wrote this little article, I can't even remember what it was for, I probably couldn't even find it anymore. But the idea was, you know, when you we were looking out into the hundreds of those in our student ministry, they're like, How do you identify a leader? And I said, one of the easiest ways is I said, stand on a chair and look and see who people are gathered around. I said that was one of the first indicators we looked for is who who was holding court, you know, of going, who did people want to listen to? Now, you have to get into all kinds of things of character and integrity and and preparedness and stuff like that. But I think uh you notice authority. It's when people uh want to listen. And when they heard Jesus, they were like, this is different. He didn't have to come in with the robes and the tassels and the this and that. He came in and began to speak the word of God. And so I think the difference between asserted authority uh and authority that's recognized comes surely from the content of it. Um, you know, um, he is Jesus, he is the Son of God, he is the Messiah, he is the anointed one, he is God. And so I think, you know, if you're asserting authority, you're probab you may be in charge in the org chart. And listen, y'all have all had bosses like that, right? Where they have to tell you they're the boss, they have to remind you they're in charge, and you're just like, but then someone on a second or third level comes in and you want to follow them. Yeah. Because there's care, there's compassion, there's truth, there's all those things. And so I think there's a real difference between asserted and accepted authority.

SPEAKER_05 38:32

Well, and that's what I think that's what makes Jesus' voice different too when we're listening to Jesus versus listening to someone else, is there there is all of those things at all times. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:43

Right.

SPEAKER_03 38:43

Like, and so well, I want to push pause real quick. I've enjoyed this conversation, but we have got another ministry highlight for you guys, and I think you're really gonna enjoy hearing about this ministry.

SPEAKER_02 38:58

All right. Well, this is our

Ministry Highlight: The Hope Center

SPEAKER_02 39:00

ministry um highlight segment of the podcast. Um the last couple of weeks, we've been highlighting some of our staff, but we also want to take time to highlight some of our local ministries. And today we are here to talk about the Hope Center, which is one of Concord's own ministries that we um run here in Claremont. So um I just want to ask each of you to just tell us, introduce yourself and um what your role is at the Hope Center. So we'll start with you.

SPEAKER_00 39:27

My name is Pamela Goss, and I am a team leader at the Hope Center. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

And I'm Sandy Grimes. I'm also a team leader with the Hope Center.

SPEAKER_02 39:35

Yes, you guys are our ladies. I call you our Hope Center ladies, you know, while we've got a little group chat, and I just uh reach out to y'all whenever we need something. So y'all are some of my favorite ladies that I get to interact with on a regular basis. And so um, how did you guys personally get involved in the Hope Center ministry?

SPEAKER_00 39:58

Well, I had retired and had been praying uh that the Lord would provide something for me to do that would lift him up. And um, I got a phone call from from Sherry Lawson and said, who said that uh the Lord had put my name on her heart and would I be interested? And I said, I certainly would. That was about 10 years ago.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

That's awesome. I feel like it's always whenever we're praying specifically for something, the Lord puts it on somebody's heart to help kind of guide us in the direction we need to go.

SPEAKER_01 40:28

What about you, Miss Sandy? How did you get involved? Well, um, I also retired and moved to this area and had always thought that I would teach children to read, you know, in my spare time, but that never happened. But I had heard about the Hope Center because I was attending Concord at the time. And my husband and I took a donation to the Hope Center. And when I knocked on the back door and they welcomed us in for the donations, uh, all of a sudden the ladies that knew me from church were like, You need to come volunteer, you need to come volunteer. And I and God just spoke to me at that moment and said, This is what you need to do. Yeah, this this is your area, Sandy. So from that day on, they said, We need you on Mondays. So I started volunteering on Mondays in the back room.

SPEAKER_02 41:21

Ten years ago, I think it is. Yes, and you're talking about volunteering. Ms. Pimper someone who's never heard of the Hope Center, or maybe they have because we mention it a lot, but they're not sure what exactly it is. Can you just explain kind of what the Hope Center is and kind of how it operates?

SPEAKER_00 41:36

Well, this is what I tell people that first come into the Hope Center to shop, that we're a ministry of Concord Church, and we are a resource that provides people with um shoes, clothing, food, and prayer. We have a great Bible study that we do there also, and a food pantry. So um that is what we are mainly for, but we're also there for spiritual um hugs and just praying with each other and uh fellowship. Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 42:10

Yeah, like you said, it's not just for people to come and get free clothes and shoes and all that kind of stuff. No, there's a Bible study and prayer time where people can, you know, ask questions, learn about who God is, what the Bible talks about, and even the food pantry, they can come and get food every month for their family. Um, that's awesome. So what Miss Sandy, tell us, you know, what a typical day looks like. When you get to the Hope Center, um what what does that process look like for you? What do y'all do?

SPEAKER_01 42:40

Well, the Monday team gathers in the back before time to open. And we they look at me and they call me boss and and they say, Boss, what do you want us to do today? So we decide, you know, we we need to go through the donations, we need to go to the storage building and get things. Um, and then we have a group prayer and we pray for the Lord to be with us that day. Uh and then um we just get started going through the donation bags, hanging clothes, uh, straightening up the front of the store, sweeping the floors. Um and I greet people when they come in the door, and you get to know them, people that come every day. And uh we just go through the donations and we sort and hang and uh decide what we need to put out front. We uh always ask people if they need food today, if they can get it that time. And I ask several times during the morning who who is ready for devotion, who is ready for Bible study. And people will say, I am, I am. Or sometimes people won't wait for me to say that and I'll say, but say we have a Bible study. I said, Yes, let me grab the lady in the back that does it. So yeah, not a typical. We used to average between um I would say 15 to 20 people. Sometimes it's more dependent upon uh the time of the year.

SPEAKER_02 44:11

Yeah, that's awesome. And I know even with our food pantry, we can hardly keep up this year as things are like we're constantly, you know, I'm getting messages from the ladies that help run the food pantry. Hey, we need to do another grocery order because we're just hundreds of bags every week, just constantly going out. And we're not, you're not even open all day, every day. It's Monday, Wednesday, Friday, like nine to twelve. And so that's that's kind of crazy, but I'm sure it's it's kind of cool. I'm sure it's been to see like meeting someone's physical need how it just opens the door for talking about spiritual things and kind of meeting them where they are.

SPEAKER_00 44:49

Yes. And the uh food pantry ladies are there right now putting bags together for uh tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 44:56

Yeah, just because it's so busy and crazy. Umce things, it's not like you've got to do that prep work beforehand before the floodgates open with people coming through. Um so uh you're talking about donations and stuff. We have I know we have a um storage unit that we have taken a lot of time to organize and all set and labeled and everything like that. Um, what kinds of items are most helpful? So if people, if you know, our members or whoever's listening to this think, oh, they I didn't know they take donations. Um, I've got tons of stuff that I could bring. What what kind of things are y'all always looking for?

SPEAKER_01 45:33

Children's shoes is one of the main things that we are very low on at this time. I guess it's because kids wear them out. Yeah. But we are in need of kids' shoes. And uh also I would think men's shoes. Uh uh we get a lot of women's things. Women buy a lot more things, but a lot of women's they'll probably clean out their closets a lot more than that. Exactly. Exactly. But I would think that kids' shoes and household items uh and and blankets and that type thing at this time of the year. Okay. And what do you think?

SPEAKER_00 46:05

I agree. We have the the cold weather that has just come through, we've given out sleeping bags. Okay. We've got people that are sleeping in their cars right now. And uh so we have made up bags for them, uh the homeless that are staying in their cars. We give them a specific kind of bag and it has things in it that they can use in their car. Yeah. And a sleeping bag is one of those things. Yeah. But um, I agree with the shoes. We are we never have enough shoes, especially if they are in good shape.

SPEAKER_01 46:37

Yes. And speaking of the people that I think are the in the greatest need, there's a community of people that live in tents that are homeless, and they come to the Hope Center and and they'll say, look in the food bags, and they'll say, Well, I can't use that. Yeah. So they don't call like an oven and right, right. So we'll we'll swap peanut butter out or something like that that's easy for them to use. For

What The Hope Center Provides

SPEAKER_01 47:00

sure, yeah. But they need a lot of prayer. Yeah. And so the thing that that I do is I try to ask them, can I pray with them? Yeah. Some people aren't always open to that, but that's what God wants us to do is to lift them up and and hopefully they'll have the Lord in their hearts too, because that's the greatest need in our in our world today and in the community is that they know Jesus. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:26

So what I'm hearing is the practical side of sorting the donations and stock in the front and all that kind of stuff is just kind of all the groundwork that you lay for actually just talking to people as they come in and you're meeting their physical need, but your real goal is to have conversations with them, build relationships with them, get to know them, share the gospel with them, um, encourage them, even if they are a believer and kind of their walk with the Lord. Yes. Um, so Pim, can do you have just like a moment or a story, even just from your whole time volunteering there, that you just kind of hold on to where you saw the Lord just really working through um kind of your ministry there, or even just a person that you might know of, where you've just kind of seen their story develop. Um, just how have you seen the Lord working?

SPEAKER_00 48:14

Absolutely do. Uh, we have had a lady that came in pretty regular uh on drugs. And so we knew she was selling because of the items that she would get it. She would just go all over the store. And this went on for a pretty good while. And we prayed for her a lot. Uh, she ended up uh accepting Jesus as her savior, getting completely clean. Wow. She came, she could not wait to come in and let us know that the Lord had changed her, that the Lord had. Uh, and she still comes in just to say hi. She doesn't really get anything, but she comes in to say hi to us. And she is now a member of our church and comes on a regular basis. That's really awesome. She is, we just love her to death. But she is a really uh a story that just our hope center miracle. Um it's she sure is.

SPEAKER_02 49:06

She's like a just uh, you know, exactly what you want to see happen when people come into the hope center.

SPEAKER_00 49:13

It's just to see the Lord change their lives. Absolutely. And very seldom would she go into the prayer room or this, but we would pray for her and we would hug her. We did a lot of hugging with her, yeah, and telling her that we were praying for her. Yeah. So it we planted that the Hope Center ladies planted that seed, I believe. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 49:31

Yes, yeah, that's that's that's amazing. Praise the Lord for that. Yes. Um, and I know she's just one of probably a many that y'all could tell stories about like that. Um, so if someone feels nervous about jumping in, say they hear this and they're like, wow, I would love to be just kind of involved in what they're doing, but they feel a little bit nervous about kind of jumping in. What would you say to encourage them to get involved in what the Hope Center's doing? Come and visit us. Really? Come drop off donations and hang out for a while. Exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 50:04

Come and, you know, come through the front door and and observe us and let us talk to you, meet the people that are working and doing all the heavy lifting in the back is what I call it, the hanging of the clothes and the sorting and that kind of thing. And also visit the Bible study that we're having that might be something that someone is interested in doing is a Bible study. Yeah. Um, but just come visit because um days the Holy Spirit is just overwhelms you in the Hope Center. It really, really does. Uh and it's a wonderful place for you to share what God's done for you with other people. But come visit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:48

We've we promised we won't buy and it's not just retired people that can volunteer. Anyone can volunteer. And we need, you know, our more seasoned members who have all the wisdom and all the things, but we also need some and we need uh volunteers also.

SPEAKER_01 51:05

I have uh to do some taking out the trash and heavy looking. I mean, we we have uh I have a guy on money that works with me, and uh he's just been a godsend, he really has. Yeah. So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 51:18

Well, um, is there anything specific that y'all would ask people to pray for? You know, for the upset, they say I can't get involved, but I can bring donations and then just you know, praying. Is it just for the people as they come in that y'all would have wisdom to talk to them and different things like that?

SPEAKER_00 51:36

Absolutely. What that's one of the prayers that I say for myself before we get started is that the Lord will give me the words to speak to each individual person as they need it. Yeah. And uh so absolutely it uh pray for each one. We have about 20 volunteers, so we we need prayers for all of us because we um uh not everybody

Donation Needs And Volunteer On-Ramps

SPEAKER_00 52:00

is comfortable to pray with people and that's okay too. Yes, or to hug people, and that's okay, but we definitely need prayer to to uh have discernment over what they each person needs as they come through the door.

SPEAKER_02 52:14

Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you, ladies, so much for just taking a few minutes to share about what the Hope Center is. And if you are watching this and you have piqued interest for volunteering or donating or anything like that, yes, you can find me on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, or if you just see one of these two ladies, you can always pull them aside and they would love to tell you about it. But this is Van Our Ministry Highlight on the Hope Center. Yes, back to the podcast. All right, well, here we are back with Mark One.

SPEAKER_05 52:47

Yes, and it escalates very quickly in this next section.

SPEAKER_03 52:49

Yeah, an unclean spirit uh cries out in the midst of the synagogue. It gets wild.

SPEAKER_02 52:55

Yeah, it's it's crazy because the evil is the evil spirit comes and immediately recognizes his the demon knows his name, he knows his authority, he knows who he is.

SPEAKER_05 53:06

Like right from the beginning, we see that.

SPEAKER_03 53:08

Well, and Jesus doesn't debate the spirit and he he commands and uh the spirit obeys, right? Immediately. It's absolutely wild. Well, the people are amazed again, um, and it's it's a new teaching with authority. And and so talk about this teaching um that that brings transformation, this teaching that that that changes because the unclean spirit obeys him, and then it says his fame begins to spread, and it's going everywhere through this region of Galilee.

SPEAKER_05 53:45

Well, I think it's because again, like going back to we, I mean, we've talked about it already in this episode of like his authority and the power with which he speaks, but it's so much more than the I think the people are starting to realize it's a little bit deeper than they actually thought. Like they've heard him teach a little bit, they've seen him do a few things, they some of them may have seen him get baptized, like they've they're starting to experience some of these things, but then in this in this moment, when a demon just submits well and submits and knows who he is. Yeah, like people are like, okay, like that who is this?

SPEAKER_03 54:23

Well, and something we see in Mark, and you'll see this, church, as it unfolds is we see Mark talk about Jesus Christ, the Lord saves, the Messiah, the Son of God, his deity. You see the Father during his baptism, you are my son, and whom I'm well pleased. And what's wild is it takes the disciples forever to figure out who Jesus is. And you only see that towards the end of the Gospel of Mark, but you see demons know who he is. You see a Roman centurion knows who he is. All of these people get who Christ is, and the disciples take so long. But what I do love about this last verse is that his fame spread everywhere throughout the surrounding region. Um, his fame spread not because of hype, but because of transformation. And one of the things that I want for our church and for every Bible-believing, Jesus-exalting, great commission church out there is that we don't grow because of excellence or hype or some kind of hook. But the growth comes from lives that are being transformed by Jesus Christ. That is a person that says, My life was changed, and like the woman at the well, come with me and meet this man. That's what I would love to see growth happen, but churches have switched their strategy, right? We've tried to go, how do we get people in the building, not how do we get people to Jesus? Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 55:53

Well, and you have to, if someone is only, let's just just take church for example. If someone's only becoming because they love the music, they're only become they're only coming because they love the way that you preach, they're only coming for some other reason, yeah, it's not gonna last. Like that is not gonna stick. Now, if they come and then Jesus radically changes their life and they like receive the Holy Spirit and they start walking in faith, like they're gonna stick around and tell other people also what happened in their life.

SPEAKER_03 56:25

Right. Well, and I think that's something you know, for as much good as we can put out there, eventually it won't be good. It'll rub somebody the wrong way or they'll not like something that we do. But if if everything is rooted in transformation in Christ, you can put up with a lot of things that aren't your preference. Yep. And you can really flower and dig roots where you're planted, and that's a big deal. But I want to land this plane. We've had a great time together. But here's a couple of questions. Uh, am I responding to Jesus with immediacy or delay? Isn't that something, Brie, that people really have to think about? Yep.

SPEAKER_02 56:59

Yep.

Transformation Stories From The Hope Center

SPEAKER_02 57:00

That first time, you know, obedience. Like you like when Jesus clearly commands you to do something, are you gonna do it immediately or are you gonna need to delay?

SPEAKER_03 57:09

Well, I I think that's so big for everybody. Just to consider as you're finishing up this podcast, going, when Jesus speaks, do I have first-time obedience? Do I immediately say yes, Jesus, and worry about the fallout later or trust the Lord with the fallout later, or do I delay? And here's a second question: Do I recognize his authority or just admire his teaching?

SPEAKER_02 57:29

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 57:30

Uh and then uh third and lastly, am I letting the kingdom of God disrupt my everyday life? Aaron, I love that word disrupt.

SPEAKER_04 57:40

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 57:40

Because that's sometimes what the Lord does. He disrupts our best laid plans uh for him. So uh thank you guys today for joining us. Bree, thanks for jumping in here. Uh it's a good one. I hope you guys are continuing to learn and grow as we study through Mark together. Thank you for jumping on this journey with us. And uh, I hope this is jet fuel for your soul. Yep.

SPEAKER_05 58:01

Bye guys.