Podcasts about that's john

Off topic, but on target as John begins to move The Game closer to being understood through phenomenological reduction. That's John speak for the power of The Game can be quantified in science. Merrilee's book is intellectually rigorous and defensible in qualitative analysis. Today's chat points to the value of Merrilee as she manages to marry philosophy and science in a remarkable agreeable package. John sees her lines of force - her trajectory converging in the dualism of space and time. John has accurately identified Merrilee as “The Biggest Idea in the Universe.” --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-lacasse/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/john-lacasse/support

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” That's John ten, verse eleven, and this is Something Good with Dr. Ron Jones. Well, what did Jesus mean when He said He is the Good Shepherd?  And what is it that makes Him good? Answers come your way next, as Ron continues his teaching series, ““Psalm 23 and Me: Living the Good Life With The Good Shepherd.”  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/something-good-radio/support

What Is Woke?             Today:  It's when someone is in a permanent state of virtue signaling.  A way of showing others you're better because you care so much more.  That's John's definition and you're free to use it.  Then, Evita Duffy-Alfonso with The Federalist says the Stanford speech debacle is one more reason universities need to fire 99.9% of their administrators.  Later, Emery McClendon of Project 21 says African Americans don't need reparations, but rather responsibility.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Relationship stories from our past have a way of shaping us years after they occurred. I have two of them that happened decades ago during this month of September. It wasn't until many years had passed that I understood the impact these two events had on my life. It's what I'm going to talk about in today's episode because I bet you have stories like this, too. Welcome to You Were Made for This Welcome to You Were Made for This. If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you've come to the right place. Here you'll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for. I'm John Certalic, author and relationship coach, here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. If you're new to the podcast, the easiest way to access all past and future episodes is to go to JohnCertalic.com and click on the follow or subscribe button. That's John with an “H” and Certalic with a C-e-r-t-a-l-i-c, dot com. You'll then get a brief email each week with a link to the latest episode, together with a description of what it's about. Every September Both of the stories from my past that greatly affected me happened in September. The first has to do with my grandma, my dad's mother. Every Labor Day I saw her crying over the death of her daughter Helen in a car crash on Labor Day that happened many years ago in the late 1920s or early 30s. It was the only time I ever saw her cry. I felt so bad for her. My dad was pretty young at the time, not even a teenager yet. He was in the car with his sisters Helen and Josephine, and Grandma when it happened. Aunt Jo, as we called her, was driving the car. Everyone survived except Helen. During the time I was doing genealogy work in an effort to locate my birth father, I also found the death certificate of my dad's sister Helen in the Register of Deeds office. I took notes about it, but I can't find them. Maybe I'll go down there to look again if I can get in. I remember the name of the road where the crash took place, and where it happened. I've driven through this location. And when I do I always think of the heartache my Grandma experienced on that Labor Day so long ago, and how it stayed with her the rest of her life. Pain that doesn't go away This is one of the stories from my past that helped shape me. It was the first time, I saw an adult cry over pain in their life. A piece of my Grandmother's heart was ripped out of her decades ago and there was nothing anyone could do to fix it now. There was no way to make the pain of this traumatic loss go away. Yet in spite of this hole in her heart she was able to love me, and the rest of our family, along with her network of Slovenian immigrant friends. I wish I had asked questions about the crash. Questions of my dad or grandmother. Questions like: how did this affect everyone? What caused the accident? Was Aunt Jo responsible for the accident, or was someone else who crashed into them? Did she feel guilty? How did she and Grandma relate after the accident? What was Helen like? What kind of person was she? Where is she buried? What was my dad's relationship with Helen before she was killed? Anyone who could answer these questions are long gone. I had opportunities to ask my dad and grandma these questions, but like all of us, I was more concerned with issues facing me in the present. So I didn't ask them, and I'm at a loss for it. I didn't appreciate how this tragic event from the past affected my father and grandmother. Had I known more of what they went through back then it could have shed some light on how they both related to me in the present. The past often illuminates the present. I regret not learning this important relationship lesson earlier in life. I hope you learn it. Sooner rather than later. Another September tragedy Of all the relationship stories from my past, the most impactful one happened when I was 15 years old and my friend Mark, who lived across the street, was killed on September 10, 1964. I wrote about this in my book THEM - The Richer Life Found in Caring for Others. Here's a brief excerpt: “Of all the memories of my dad, however, the one that sticks out the most is the day Bozo died. I cringe now even using his name, but that is what we all affectionately called Mark, a neighbor boy who lived across the street. To refer to him now as Mark seems disrespectful. We all loved Bozo. Our neighborhood had lots of kids who hung around together, and we all got along well with each other. He was an integral part of our community, a community torn apart the evening Bozo was killed. “It was a few days after school started in September and my brother and I had just gone downstairs to do our homework in our basement bedroom—our boy cave. Suddenly, we heard unexpected footsteps coming down the stairs. It was our mother. Visibly shaken, she sat on one of our beds. “‘I have some very bad news to tell you.' “There was a long pause as she started to choke up, and then composed herself. “‘Bozo was riding his bike home from a park late this afternoon and was hit by a car. And he died.' “He died? Bozo is dead? How can that be? We just saw him yesterday. How could he be dead? I wondered. That just can't be. My family reacts to the tragic news “Quietly sobbing, my mother went back upstairs. Shortly thereafter, my brother Joe and I followed upstairs. I remember all of us wandering around in disbelief, like disoriented ants, not knowing what to think and feeling quite shocked. With dusk setting in, I looked out a window and saw something I will never forget. “There was Bozo's father, walking down the middle of the street of our quiet sleepy neighborhood, with my dad beside him, arm over his shoulder. My dad was no grief counselor. He had no training in this area, but he was a good neighbor and he cared for his friend. When I hear the expression 'walking with someone through difficult times,' I think of this image of my dad, who did this literally and figuratively for a neighbor whose son had just been killed. “I can't help but admire a man like that. For though he didn't treat me as well as he should have, he did the best he could. Relating to adults was easier for him; he was just unskilled in relating to his oldest son, who biologically was not his own. Yeah, I can have compassion for a dad like that, who had compassion for a grieving friend. I can forgive someone like him. Sure. I can do that. I should do that. Since I want to do that, I will. I will forgive. And I did.” THEM, Chapter 13, “Forgiveness”, pages 170-171 This story from my past grew me This story from my past grew me in several ways. It was my first realization that people close to me will one day die. I knew this in my mind, of course, but Bozo's death embedded this reality in my heart. When I was working on the book I wrote, I wasn't sure of the exact date and year of Bozo's death. So I went to the cemetery next to the church his family and mine attended. It took a while, but I found his gravestone. I took a photo of it and you can see in the show notes. He would be 71 today had he lived, instead of dying at age 13. I loved the inscription on his gravestone, “In God's Care.” I hope his parents and siblings believed this, and that it brought them comfort. It was important for me to go to his grave because it confirmed for me that what I thought happened many years ago actually did occur at the time I remembered. Do you ever think like this, where you second guess yourself about events from long ago? Did this really happen? Understanding may not come for many years And as I mentioned in the reading from the book, this experience grew me by seeing a side of my father that made it easier to forgive him for how he parented me. But I didn't really see it until many years later. What I witnessed that evening was an observation, but I was too immature to reflect on what I observed. It wasn't until many years later, with the Spirit of God working in my heart, that I could reflect on the meaning of that poignant scene of my dad walking down the middle of the street, his arm over the shoulder of a neighbor whose son had just been killed. So what does all this mean for YOU? What are the stories from your past that would be helpful to reflect upon now? Maybe now is the time to ask God to help you find a larger meaning to something that impacted you years ago. Maybe there's something you missed then that could help you grow now. Here's the main takeaway I hope you remember from today's episode Stories from our past can continue to grow us. Reflecting on them through the lens of God's spirit within us will often yield deeper insights years later into what happened back then. Closing I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about today's episode. In closing, I hope your thinking was stimulated by today's show, enough to put into practice what you've just heard about reflecting upon stories from your past. For when you do, it will help you experience the joy of relationships God wants for you. Because after all, You Were Made for This. Well, that's it for today. If there's someone in your life you think might like to hear what you just heard, please forward this episode on to them. The link is JohnCertalic.com/175. And don't forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I'll see you again next time. Goodbye for now. Related episodes you may want to listen to, along with the book mentioned: 139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast? 021: The Most Important Relationship of All THEM - The Richer Life Found in Caring for Others Our website where you can access all past and future episodes JohnCertalic.com Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

Today's guest, best-selling author, wife, mom, and Mompreneur Candice Daniel shares her story about "The Ripple Effect."    We all need to believe God's good plans for our future. Ephesians1:9-10 The Ripple Effect includes YOU!   *****   Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives with Purpose. And I'm your host, Kimberly Hubbs. I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. And we are so happy that you've decided to join in with us today. And I would love to welcome our guest today, Candice Daniel. Candice, welcome. Candice Daniel   Hi, Kimberly, such an honor to be here. Kimberly Hobbs   We are so happy to have you. And she is coming to us from Sanford, Florida up near Orlando Disneyland. So ladies, it is a treat when we have these wonderful women of God on this podcast. And Candice is one of our leaders and women are a leader. So this is really a treat for me to get to interview her and talk to her about the Lord. She is just precious to us at women, we're a leaders. Our hope today is that we can encourage you and strengthen and inspire you to walk with Jesus closer to talk with him have a daily relationship with Him. And God says that we are His masterpiece created a new in Christ Jesus to do the very good things that he planned for us long ago. And we believe that each of you are here because he has a purpose and a plan for you. And there is, again, I feel no coincidence that you are listening to this podcast today. And God is just going to pour into you some encouragement that you need. So as we get to share a little bit today, Candace, I want to share a little bit with our audience about you. So Candice is a wife and she's a mom of four. And she also has an angel baby. And she is mompreneur part owner of three successful companies and a district leader for her own financial services company. And she is educating others and on how to control their finances and equips them with tools that they need to be successful. Candice his passion is encouraging and inspiring women to use their God given talents to courageously walk out their purpose. Her heart's desire is to know Christ deeper and share His love with the world. Candace, you are amazing at that. God is still writing her story through the challenges and trials and she knows that with Christ, all things are possible. As I said, she's a leader within women, world leaders. We all love Candace so much. She's a best selling author and some of the books I'll share with you later. She's a volunteer in her church. She's a huge advocate for human trafficking. And she enjoys spending time with her family and friends and connecting with others. And today ladies, we are going to be talking about the ripple effect. And that leads me into a personal experience with Candice. I call Candace the connector. This woman of God is amazing how she brings people together. And she has brought so many fascinating women into this ministry with such amazing gifts and talents that possibly if you're involved in women, world leaders, you have seen some of the women that Candice has connected us with because they read right in voice of Truth magazine. They head up our prayer teams they are they are just powerful women for the Lord. They're working with the our next gen team. I mean, the connections you have made Candace are just just God divine connections. Thank you, honey. So when I began discussing with Candace about being a guest today, on the podcast interview, believe it or not, we weren't quite sure where God was gonna take us and what it was going to be about. But as we started talking together, God revealed it to both of us that we were going to title this the ripple effect. And I'd love it when God speaks and we get it right. So Jesus says, I am giving you a new commandment, love each other. Just as I have loved you. You should love each other. You love for one another. Your love for one another will provide to the world that you are my disciples. That's John 1334 to 35 One of the things here Canvas as we open up I love how you love on people you just see right inside to that heart. And in our conversations. You had said to me Can I read you something Kimberly that I wrote and I set up course you know, like, of course, Candace, I'm going to tell you no. So you started reading this to me. And I just knew I just knew right there that God says, This is what we're going to do this podcast about. So Candice, can you please read, Ready Yourself and about Pieces of the Heart? Candice Daniel   Yes. So I'm going to read you straight from a journal that I journal in. And this was given to me by God, middle of the night, actually, as I was praying over being on the podcast. So this is straight from my journal. This morning, with ready yourself stuck in my head. I was spoken over several times this week, and I'm told that I'm a light, and I shine bright for others to see the love of Jesus Christ. Kimberly asked me to do a podcast yet again. And I truly know that it is something that God's calling me to do. I have no idea exactly what I'm going to share with the world. But I know that I need to ready myself to be the light for all to see. Those are the words that God has given me, I truly know that everyone has a story. And I feel that that story is actually God's love letter to us. And as sometimes we have the honor and privilege of having the opportunity to read our love letter while we're still here, and know what kind of impact it has on the world. And sometimes, it's not found until we're no longer seeking it or looking for it. Like a memoir that you come across in a loved one's personal things and belongings when they've passed on and gone to view with God. Love Letters are representations of that person's thoughts. They are a collection of their most treasured memories, their hopes, their dreams, their trials that were overcome with victory. There are tears that were shed in silence, trials that were overcome with victory. That their tears that were shed and silenced in their private most sacred conversations with their Heavenly Father, their innermost feelings, their the pieces of their hearts spelled out black and white. And when they are written and read, we begin to truly understand that individual and who they were, who they truly are, and begin to realize who's they are. I have the honor of being blessed enough to have others read their and share their love letters with me. This is such an incredible gift. There are no words to describe it. It's something I hold so very dear and sacred, it's something that I have maybe even taken a bit for granted through the years. I am so incredibly humbled, God has given me a gift of being that love letter reader, the acceptor deliver, if you will, or American Mail Carrier of love letters, I have a heart that opens up and is vulnerable enough to listen to be obedient enough to encourage to inspire them to share their love letter with the world. Every single person has the right to be loved. And to know that they are loved. They have the God given right to open and receive their own personal love letter from God to write their love letter, and to share it with the world. Kimberly Hobbs   I just thought that was so beautiful. And when Candace was reading that, to me, just God spoke into my heart, you know just about every person's love letter, you know, and just, they're all just so amazing and so beautiful. And Candice has this gift when she meets somebody up just pulling out that love letter. And so I just find it interesting, Candace that you have brought so many women to this ministry because you reach into their life and you just kind of have that gift of pulling out of them. What is that love letter? You know, what is that beautiful, beautiful writing that they have that the world needs to hear about? Right? And just as you do that with others, somebody did that with you. And you came to women were leaders. Can you talk about that for a minute? Candice Daniel   Yes. So I was introduced to you Kimberly, by my RVP Monica through primerica and she mentioned women were leaders to me when I accepted the opportunity for the business. And and she said you should really meet Kimberly says she mentioned women were leaders to me, but it wasn't until actually I went to a women's leadership conference over a weekend. And it wasn't until months later when I went to this conference that I actually God spoke to me at this conference. And I came back and I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to reach out to you Kimberly to find out just what women world leaders was and what it was all about in God really spoke to me and just wanted me to meet you. And so I had that phone call. I've reached out, I got that phone call with you. And I knew immediately when I talked to you and that conversation we cried. We laughed. Yes. We just shared in like an hour's time. And I also know, I remember you telling me, Wow, because I we've actually been praying for a leader to rise up in the Orlando area. So I know this is a, an answer to prayer. And I knew right away, it was an answer to prayer for me. So, honestly, for years, I had several people tell me that I was going to be a writer one day, and all these things. And it just all came together in that conversation that I knew that this was somewhere where I could really serve and use my gifts and talents in a way like I had never dreamed before. And so that definitely was something I could have never imagined would have taken place. But it's come around and come into full circle fruition. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen, amen. And I remember I remember that conversation when I first met you, and God has kept telling me pour life into her speak life into her, you know, give her that encouragement and empowerment. And that's what we do here at women were leaders with each other is just empower and encourage. And from that conversation, God just exploded inside of Canvas, because she had that a belief that yes, she could do it. And yes, she could use her God given gifts and talents here. And you went right to work. God allowed you to use those here and you started writing with us remember you, you just you've always wanted to be a writer. So God gave you these amazing abilities to do within this ministry. And you start you just went right to work and started doing it. You're like, Yes, Lord, here I am, son me. And he did. He just hand selected you. And so maybe now you can share a little bit about you being in women were leaders in the other lives that it is impacted, like your family, and some of the people that women were leaders has touched because of you being in this ministry. Candice Daniel   Oh, yes, wow. I have been so humbled and blessed to be given the opportunity to be able to meet some of the most incredible, amazing women, with this ministry and in through this ministry and being in this, this arena, this platform, and using this ministry as a vessel to do that. There are so many love letters, if you will, testimonies and stories that I could share. But the one that really stands out the most for me, is about one of our leaders, or she's now one of our leaders, a long time ago, is a friend that I knew from a really long time ago, and I worked with her many, many years ago. And I remember when I stepped out in faith, and I wrote in courageous steps of faith. And she kind of reconnected with me on social media. And she saw when I posted about that book being launched, and she shared with me that she too, had always had a god dream, to write her testimony and her story. And because I was willing to step out with courageous steps of faith, and do just that and share my story and my testimony, it inspired and encouraged her to do the same. And so I had no idea that that friendship from that long ago. And the friendship that God created that long ago, would literally come back around full circle and allow the opportunity for her to do just that. And so now coming around full circle, she's now a part of the ministry. She's one of our leaders, she's helping us with the next gen project that we're working on. And she's so fired up and excited about that. And honestly, that's just been just such a blessing to my heart, such a gift. So humbled by that to be able to see that and even now her daughter is now stepping up and stepping into her God given purposes and using her gifts and talents and sharing her testimony with the world. And so it's just been an incredible gift. And that just is one of the main the the big ones that I'm thinking of, on my personal note, my children, what this has done for my children. And what they've seen through this ministry is huge. My nine year old is now an aspiring author. He is aspiring to be an author because mommy stepped out and wrote for the very first time ever, my footsteps, my 13 year old wants to be a praise and worship leader and travel the world and share the love of Christ through music, and all of these things because they've watched them done this ministry. So just a few just a few things that I needed to share with you and how much this has grown their faith and their testimony again, that ripple effect and how it's happening through my family through the families of others and next generations to come.  Kimberly Hobbs   Prais God, I love it. I love it. I love it. So Candace, let's go back now you were Believe it or not, you were an introverted child. And none of us and women world leaders would have ever guessed that. But, but you were. And we all need to believe that God has plans for our future because the Bible tells us that so even as you were this introverted child, God says, show me the right path. Oh, Lord, point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me for you are the God who saves me all day long. I put my hope in you that Psalm 25, four to five. So Candace, God began leading you and you journaled as a kid. And now the ripple effect through that journaling. God was doing something in your writing in between you and him in those moments with him. Ladies, listening, journaling is so incredible. It is so important. And Candace is going to show up our share about the ripple effect right now and how it kept you hanging on. So can you share a little bit about that? Candice Daniel   Absolutely. So I as a child, I know you would never believe it, I was very introverted, I actually had a lot of difficulties with socially, because I, I actually went through a lot of trauma as a child, and had a lot of turmoil and just miscommunication and relational type things in my household that I lit that I lived with on a daily basis. And so I had a best friend who lived across the street from me and the neighborhood we lived in, there was this beautiful lake, in the middle of our neighborhood. And I remember, I would journal that was my quiet time with God. And I truly felt like that is what grounded me and became my anchor for my fate was when I was able to sit alone and just be with God in the moment and just listen to him and what he had for me and his heart for me. So I would walk across the street, and sometimes they were home. Sometimes they weren't. But I would walk out to the end of the dock, and I would put my feet in the water. And that was just my quiet time. It's just me and God. And I would cry out to Him, you just cry out to Him. And I remember, the tears would fall down. And I remember specifically one day I was looking down, I was in deep thought and just sharing things with God from my heart. And he's speaking back to me through the tears falling down, every single one of them would make a ripple effect. You know, when you drop water? Yes, when you drop water, it makes a ripple effect. And I just knew in that moment that every single one of my tears had a purpose. There was a purpose behind the pain, there was a purpose behind what I was feeling. Because God was telling me through what he was speaking to me in those moments that I have you and there's a purpose for what you're going through. And so as the ripple effects just grew, it was a confirmation and affirmation to me, it became it became my love letters to me from God. His his love letters to me. And I was speaking out my love letters to him through journaling and through those quiet times. And so as the ripples would form, I just gotten to deep thought of there is purpose. There's purpose there. All of this hurt all of these things I'm going through, I've just always have this unshakable faith. And I also want to share, I went through a family of divorce, and I actually took myself to church. And so that has been probably one of the biggest things in my life, just knowing that God has always been seeking after me. He's always had, he's always been right there. And he's always been seeking after and looking after me and coming after me. And so those ripples, and that so then a few a month ago, a good dear friend of mine, I was having coffee with her. And she again calls me Kansas, the connector. I think everybody's kind of labeled me that name. Yes, I knew that was a gift and talent. And so being and women, world leaders and all of the confirmations and affirmations that I've had with that, that name that, that calling of that name, and she said, Candace, I want to I want to show you something, and she pulled out a napkin as she began to draw out this diagram and she said, Candace, this is how I see your spiritual walk. This is how I see your life. You are Candice the connector and she put my name in the middle of the napkin. And from the middle of the of my name, she started drawing these ripples these connections out from my name and she said Candice the connector. It actually says Candice, the connector. it like ripples in the water. Let go and let God Wow. And she had no idea. The story behind that. And I had no idea that all the things in that specific moment in my life as a young girl, how that would come around full circle, and that somebody would confirm and affirm in me exactly what God was telling me back then. That's right. And it's I'm taking this with me wherever I go, ever since she drew it out. This napkin is right here. It goes with me to all of my appointments. And every time I meet someone, I shared a story with them. Because it's powerful. And it's so meaningful. And it's so meaningful to me. And she didn't even know that but God knew. God knew how he would speak to me once again, years later, as an adult, and how that all comes around full circle. So it's got the date on it exactly where we were the diagram and you can't see it on this podcast, but it literally is here is here. Wow. Yes. And so I just that kind of brought everything together as to even what this podcast would be called the ripple effect. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. Amen. And ladies that are listening. Don't you doubt for a second, that God has a plan for you, your life. And what has happened within that life can have a ripple effect to others, if you would just step out in faith, and share, share what God's doing in your life, encourage others. It's not all about us and our stories. But those stories are there for a purpose and a plan. Like Candace said, that there are ripple effects happening by God's power, and he's going to reach others by His power. And using you just like Candice, she just became this amazing connector. And God was able to use her to reach others, to bring them in to use the talents that He's poured out on them to do mighty things in the world. And he's going to use you to be that connector, that ripple effect. God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan. He says this in his word. Listen to the Scripture, ladies, God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. God wants to use you ladies to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan. At the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in Heaven and Earth Ephesians, one nine to 10. In Kansas honey, you should be just smiling from ear to ear and glowing because all of those tears that dropped in that lake and you saw the rippling going out and out and out. They were for a purpose, honey, and God is now used your life to pour hope and joy, and you can do it into others which you aren't doing. That's exactly what we do here. At women, we're leaders and ladies, this includes you to that ripple effect of those he loves allows others to reach out with encouragement and hope, right? Are you one of those people that God can use? We believe you are, we believe you are, he has given you a place here to serve. Ladies, please reach out to us at women, world leaders, we want you to be part of it. In fact, we are now I am so excited about this. Every third Monday in women, world leaders ladies, something powerful is happening. We have a leadership meeting, you want to learn how to be a leader, where you are, wherever you are in the world. We're inviting you to connect in with us at women world leaders and be part of this team of women that are going out into the world wherever they are. So you can join us I'm gonna put a link on and then we just need your email and we'll send you the Zoom link. Because we all are coming together the third Monday of every month at 7pm Eastern time. So wherever you are in the world at that time 7pm Eastern time you can join in. If you just let us know what your email is and that you want to be part of it. We'll send you a link and invite you in and you can join us now and let us grow this community of women who we are raising up leaders ladies and you can be one of them. So Candace as we close out here, and we are just so grateful again, for what you do within this ministry, how you give your gifts and talents for the Lord Jesus Christ here is just beautiful, beautiful. Can you give our listener that one inspirational word that will just inspire her where she is? Candice Daniel   Wow, the biggest thing that comes to mind is there's purpose in your pain. So every single tear that you have ever shed, God sees them. He sees them, he collects them, he knows them. Yes, he knows you. And he has a purpose for every single pain that you have ever been through every single trauma, every single thing that you've ever been through in your life. Don't ever doubt that. And really just hold on to that truth. And I just encourage you to take all of that, and use it to make weights, make waves in the world, make those ripples, create those ripple effects, and reach out and touch the hearts of people because that's what God called us to do cause to love others, love others. And his love letter to you is through your testimony and how your testimony is going to absolutely reach others, and inspire them to listen to their love letters that God has for them. Not only listen to their love letters that God has for them, but to share their love letters with the rest of the world. Kimberly Hobbs    Amen. Amen. And ladies, as I was saying earlier, we believe in you we we know that God has a plan and you're listening right now and to sitting on the edge of your seat knowing that God, you can use me. Yes, he can ladies. And just as he brought Candace forward and she again that she just had to have that life breathed into her that yes, she can. And she became part of, as I said, the books that we do through women, we're a leaders that are amazing tools. And ladies, they are available to you on our website. And to the ones that have gone to best seller with Candice in it was courageous steps of faith and embrace the journey your path to spiritual growth. And ladies, right now, we still have some openings for the books that we're going to be doing in 2023 are pretty filled for our books that are going to be finalized for this year. But we have openings now that you can share your story here. We want to hear your story The world needs to hear your story. So come on and just come on board with us and reach out to us at women world leaders.com. All through our website. There are ways you can reach out to us. And just tell us you want to be part and maybe you have a story. And you can be a chapter in one of these books coming up. We need to hear from you. God wants to use you believe that and we will help you through it. You don't have to be a seasoned writer. You can become a bustling writer just by walking this journey with us. And we'll hold your hand through it all. It is amazing what God does when you surrender and give him your Yes. So Candace, thank you for that word. Honey, thank you so much for being our guest today. Ladies, we are so excited again, just what's going on and women world leaders and we want to invite you to be a part of it. We also have our voice of truth magazines that ladies, we have all of our editions all the way back to 2021. When we first came out, they are available to you digitally online for free. And you can read those. Also the new ones coming out ladies, if you choose to be a monthly donor to this ministry, we have a growing ministry there are needs in the ministry. If you believe and can support this ministry by being a monthly donor, we will send you the printed copies every addition to you in your mailbox. They are amazing. They become amazing tools to minister to hurting and broken women to. So please think about that. Please become a donor to women, world leaders and reach out to us. And even if you send in a one time gift, we will send you a copy of the current voice of truth. So we are so grateful to you and for you listening to our podcasts. We have them every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And we invite you to listen in and join in with have us for the new ones that are coming up as well. Lots going on in this ministry. And we need you to jump in and say Yes, Lord, here I am. Send me and be part of this ministry as we are going out into the world for Jesus Christ. So ladies, all content is copyrighted by women were leaders and cannot be used without expressed written consent. We thank you for joining us today. Once again, thank you, Candice Daniel for being here and being part of this amazing one ministry. Amen. God bless you all have a beautiful and blessed day. Bye ladies.  

Here in the United States where I live we just finished celebrating Labor Day two days ago. It comes around every year on the first Monday in September. For many of us, it's the most melancholy of all our national holidays. Yet, Labor Day week is also a great time to reflect. Reflect upon what, you ask? Keep listening, for I answer this question in today's show. Welcome to You Were Made for This If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you've come to the right place. Here you'll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for. I'm your host, John Certalic, author and relationship coach, here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. If you're new to the podcast, the easiest way to access upcoming episodes is to go to JohnCertalic.com and click on the follow or subscribe button. That's John with an “H” and Certalic with a “C” at the beginning and the end, dot com. You'll then get a brief email each week with a link to the latest episode, together with a description of what it's about. The blandest of holidays - Labor Day Labor Day, as I mentioned, is the most melancholy of all US holidays. It marks the unofficial end of summer and the beginning of fall. It's the middle child of our national holidays. Labor Day doesn't honor any particular person or event in our nation's history. It's pretty nondescript; an afterthought among the rest of our holidays. Airports are not jammed with Labor Day holiday travelers. Labor Day became a national holiday in America in 1894 to honor working men and women. It grew out of labor unrest due to horrible working conditions in the later part of the 19th century. Other nations in the world have a similar holiday, often celebrating it on May 1st. For me, Labor Day week is a time to reflect on the nearly 25 years I spent in the executive recruiting business, helping companies fill their staffing needs and coaching people on how to find jobs. It makes me reflect on the things I learned about people and how a job fits into the rest of our life. I hope you know by now that this podcast is all about finding joy in the relationships God designed for us. One of those relationships is the job God provided for you. If you've ever earned a paycheck it was because of a relationship you had with the employer who paid you. So in keeping with this Labor Day holiday week, I thought it would help to take time to reflect on several important principles related to our relationship with our work. Principles of relationships at work Everyone is hired to solve a problemTake time to reflect on what problems you're helping to solve at work. What are you doing to bring in income to the organization, cut costs, or further your employer's mission in the world? Know the difference between a job and a career and act accordingly A job is a means to an end. It's a small part of our identity. A career is a larger part of who we are. It doesn't define us, but it's a big part. A stay-at-home-mom is a career, not a job. It too solves a problem. Take time to reflect on what you don't want to do for a career. Story of grandson Grant what he learned about himself in his internship To get ahead at work, think like an employer, not an employee Employees are driven by what's in it for them. An employer mindset thinks about furthering the purposes of the organization Reflect on this question, Do I have 10 years of experience in my job, or do I have 1 year of experience repeated 10 times? There's value in every work experience God doesn't waste any of our experiences. Don't you either. Take time to reflect on what you've learned from each one. Story of grandson Grant's camp counselor job getting him an internship with a research study Changing jobs for the sole reason of earning more money is a terrible idea. No employer cares what you're passionate about. They only care about results. It's the theme of Cal Newport's book, So Good They Can't Ignore You. Some people fail at jobs because they're a square peg in a round hole. If that's you, look for a square hole and you'll thrive. The church who sent one of their missionaries to us to answer the question, “Is he cut out to be a missionary?” Airplane mechanic running a missionary guest house in Africa Jobs/Careers are about working with things - people - or data. Change jobs/companies is always an option The greatest job satisfaction comes from using the abilities and talents God equipped you with. The greatest dissatisfaction comes when you don't. Parable of the servant and talents in Matthew 25:14-30 So what does all this mean for YOU? This Labor Day week, as we transition from summer to fall, is a great time to reflect on our jobs, careers, and the meaning they have in our lives. Ask God to help you in the process. The extent to which we apply the principles I mentioned, the more joy we'll experience in our job or career. Read Cal Newport's book, So Good They Can't Ignore You. Listen to Episode 025, "The Toughest Job in America" The main point of the episode is: How we relate to our job is often a reflection of how we relate to God. The episode contains several stories on how we view our jobs and careers. If you're a parent, pass these principles on to your kids. Share examples of them from your own experience at work. If you are no longer working, take time to reflect on how God led and sustained you during your working life. Thank him for those years and what you learned during that time. Here's the main takeaway I hope you remember from today's episode Labor Day week is a great time to reflect on how to be all that God created us to be. It's an opportune time to think about the abilities and talents God hard-wired into us and to thank him for it. Closing In closing, I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about today's episode. I hope your thinking was stimulated by today's show, enough to put into practice what you've just heard about taking time to reflect on your work. To consider how the work you do can make best use of the skills and talents God created you with. For when you do, it will help you experience the joy of relationships God designed for you. Because You Were Made for This. Well, that's it for today. If there's someone in your life you think might like to hear what you just heard, please forward this episode on to them. The link to today's episode is simply JohnCertalic.com/174. And don't forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I'll see you again next time. Related episodes you may want to listen to 040: A Square Peg in a Round Hole 025: The Toughest Job in America 139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast? 021: The Most Important Relationship of All Our website where all past and future episodes live JohnCertalic.com Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

As the summer winds down here on the last day of August, many of us are going through a relationship transition of one kind or another. Kids going off to school for the first time. Sons and daughters heading off to college. And those of us left behind to face an unfamiliar future where those we love are no longer around as they once were. Relationship transitions are unique opportunities to bring out the best in us. It's what today's episode is all about. Welcome to You Were Made for This If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you've come to the right place. Here you'll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for. I'm your host, John Certalic, author and relationship coach, here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. If you're new to the podcast, the easiest way to access upcoming episodes is to go to JohnCertalic.com and click on the follow or subscribe button. That's John with an “H” and Certalic with a “C” at the beginning and the end, dot com. Now about those relationship transitions I mentioned earlier “Transition” is a common buzzword you hear in missionary circles these days. They talk about it often because missionaries experience so many of them. Transitions from one culture to another. Countless goodbyes to people we know and love one day, and hellos to complete strangers in another culture the next. Here's another thing about transitions. Did you know that in August we have National Single Working Women's Day, Dog Appreciation Day, and Middle Child Day? And August 31st, the day this episode first airs, we have National Relationship Transitions Day. I think about it every year at this time when I recall how a long time ago we sent our kids went off to kindergarten for the very first time. And then years later when they left home for college. Those were days filled with both sadness and joy, mixed all together - like a ham and cheese omelet stuffed with broccoli. Other examples of relationship transitions More recently I saw joy and sadness at a high school graduation party this summer for a friend's son. She talked about the joy of her son completing high school on such a high note. But then her eyes teared up at the mention of him leaving home for college in a few weeks. “I don't even want to think about it,” she whispered. Then there are those nostalgic Facebook posts popping up of moms and dads commenting on sending their kids off to kindergarten for the first time, and how it seems like just two months ago when they brought them home from the hospital as infants. I recently heard another example of relationship transitions on a podcast, when out of left field the host reflected on how melancholy she was feeling thinking about sending her twin daughters off to college for the first time. Relationship transitions like these are happening all around us. Children go through relationship transitions themselves I had an interesting conversation with our twin grandsons recently. They're both 20 now and in college. When I asked them what was the most difficult transition they faced in advancing through their educational career, they surprised me. I thought they would have said from high school to college. They actually said that was the easiest. The hardest for them was going from elementary school to middle school. That's been the most challenging transition they've faced thus far. So how do you celebrate National Relationship Transitions Day? How can we use it to bring out the best in us? If you're going through a relationship transition yourself Remind yourself of the joy during an earlier time in your relationship. Savor memories of past joy. At the same time, develop a “holy anticipation” of the potential joy that could await you in the future. Here's an example of a future joy I would never have anticipated. It happened yesterday: The story of my grandson Grant whipping out his credit card to buy me a cup of Starbucks coffee at the mall. It was a complete role reversal for a moment. More moments like this will come. Be patient. There's no guarantee, but those you cared for so deeply earlier may likely care well for you in the future. If someone you care about is going through a relationship transition Here are a few ideas. Reach out to a parent of a child getting on the school bus for the first time, and ask how they're doing. Call a parent who just got back from taking their kid to college and hauling their boxes of stuff to their first dorm room. “How did it go for you?” In either case, send a card or note in the mail that says something along the lines of “I've been thinking about you, and praying for you as you process (kids name) heading off to school/college for the first time. I imagine it may be difficult to end one chapter of parenting, and then enter this new unknown one.” Something like that. In essence, let people you know going through a relationship transition that you're thinking of them, and maybe even praying for them. There's something comforting in simply knowing someone else knows what you're dealing with. Let them know you know it's hard, and that you're pulling for them. All of these ideas are examples of Romans 12:15, Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn. Here's the main takeaway I hope you remember from today's episode Relationship transitions are opportunities to care for people by letting them know you've been there too, and you know how difficult these transitions can be. Closing In closing, I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about today's episode. I hope your thinking was stimulated by today's show, enough to put into practice what you've just heard. Reach out to someone in a relationship transition to let them know you care. For when you do, it will help you experience the joy of relationships God intends for you. Because after all, You Were Made for This. Well, that's it for today. If there's someone in your life you think might like to hear what you just heard, please forward this episode on to them. The link to this episode is JohnCertalic.com/173. And don't forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I'll see you again next time. Related episodes you may want to listen to 069: When Our Kids Go Off to School for the First Time 139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast? 021: The Most Important Relationship of All Our website where you can access all past and future episodes JohnCertalic.com Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

Developing deeper relationships is the topic of today's show, and is a follow-up to last week's episode, no. 171. It was an encore episode of an interview I did with Charley and Ruth Shirley in late 2018. It came about from Charley's Facebook post with a photo of his wife of 30 some years cleaning the grave marker of Charley's first wife who was killed in a tragic car accident five months into their marriage. I've posted Charley's Facebook photo in the show notes. It was taken by Charley and Ruth's adult daughter, Lucy. It's a beautiful story I hope you go back to listen to if you haven't already heard it. Their story illustrates eight principles that can help each of us develop deeper relationships in our own lives. And that's what I'm going to talk about in today's show. Welcome to You Were Made for This Welcome to You Were Made for This. If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you've come to the right place. Here you'll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for. I am your host, John Certalic, author and relationship coach, here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. If you're new to the podcast, the easiest way to access upcoming episodes is to go to JohnCertalic.com and click on the follow or subscribe button. That's John with an “H” and Certalic with a “C” at the beginning and the end. Dot com. Last week's episode, #171 In last week's episode, #171, Charley tells the story of his wife, Ruth, and their adult daughter Lucy, who were returning from taking their oldest daughter off to graduate school out East. On their way home, they were passing through Youngstown, Ohio where Charley's first wife was buried. Some time ago Charley had mentioned to Lucy that if she were ever near Youngstown he would appreciate it if she would stop by the grave of his first wife, Bev, and pay her respects. Charley started by talking about Lucy calling him at work while she and Ruth were near Youngstown, Ohio to get directions to find the grave, which was a bit of a challenge. Anxious to get home from their thousand-mile road trip, Ruth spoke about initially not wanting to stop. But she knew it would mean a lot to Charley, and also to their youngest daughter Lucy. So she did. Once they found the grave marker, Ruth cleaned it up with the only thing she had - her car keys. While she did, Lucy snapped a picture of Ruth cutting weeds and grass from around the grave marker. Ruth talked about how this moment deeply affected her and Lucy, how they both cried, and how Ruth described it as standing on “holy ground.” Ruth also talked about the profound effect this had on Lucy. Deeper relationships sometimes cast shadows Charley talked about the shadow that Lucy cast while taking a picture of her mother cleaning the grave marker. He saw a connection in this shadow between Lucy and Bev, as they were both the second child of their respective parents. He summed it up best when he said the point of this story for him was about healing. How what his 2nd wife, and 2nd daughter, did to honor his first wife brought closure to a tragedy that happened over 30 years ago. That was the interview in a nutshell of episode #171. I came away from our time together with Charley and Ruth with several important lessons and principles about deeper relationships that would serve all of us well if we practiced them in our relationships. Principles and observations about deeper relationships 1.Healing often takes time. Sometimes a long time. It had been over 33 years since Charley's first wife, Bev, had died. And this graveyard story of a few years ago contributed to Charley's healing. We need to be patient with others and ourselves with the time it takes to heal. For Charley, and for some of us, the healing comes from clarifying what our future holds. 2. It pays to listen well to people, especially the people closest to us. On the way home from Connecticut to Wisconsin, Lucy REMEMBERED what her dad had said, “If you ever are near Youngstown, Ohio…..” Lucy had a holy curiosity about her dad's past. She asked about Bev. She wanted to know, because she realized that this particular relationship is an important part of his life. And her relationship with her dad is an important part of hers. To care well usually takes sacrifice. I felt for Ruth in this story. After moving your daughter into a 3rd-floor apartment on a hot summer day, and then start off on a thousand-mile road trip back home, and then to take a time-consuming detour to look for the grave of someone you never met, well that's sacrifice. Limited resources should not hold us back 4. Sometimes the best care we can provide is when we have limited resources and don't know what to do. Ruth and Lucy had difficulty finding the cemetery, and then the grave. But the difficulty didn't stop them. All they had were car keys. Ah, the car keys. 5. It's okay when our first inclination is to not inconvenience ourselves for the sake of another. That's normal. Ruth was very transparent in saying she felt guilty about her initial reaction. What is beautiful is when we move past our first thoughts because we know we can honor and bless someone if we don't give in to our basic human preference for convenience. Hats off to Ruth! 6. God at times uses symbols within events to let us know he loves us, cares for us, and that he is there for us. The picture of Lucy's shadow over Ruth cleaning Bev's grave marker. Ruth cleaning up what others have ignored. For Charley, it “closed the loop,” as he put it.Lucy's shadow in the picture represented the future he wondered about over 30 years ago. Because he was able to move well through his grief after that tragic event happened, he was able to re-marry. He was able to have children, one of whom cast a shadow over both his current and former wife. Lucy's shadow connected the three of them to bring closure to the tragedy that happened so long ago We're all connected to each other 7. We really are all connected to each other, if for no other reason than we all come from the same source, God himself. Some day in eternity we will see all these connections, some of which we don't quite understand in this life. For those of us with a relationship with Jesus, we will see Bev one day, and I bet she will thank Charley for sharing the story of their 21 months together. She will thank Ruth and Lucy for honoring her the day they cleaned off her grave marker. And all of us will give thanks to the Lord for the relationships he gave us, which if we look carefully enough, we'll see, all point directly back to him. 8. There are things God is doing in our lives that at times we just cannot explain. Why did Charley survive the car accident and Bev didn't. The feeling of “Holy Ground” that Ruth talked about over Bev's grave. Lucy feeling a connection with Bev, her father's first wife. Unrelated to her by blood, but somehow related by spirit in ways we cannot explain. Shadows really do connect us. Here's the main takeaway I hope you remember from today's episode We develop deeper relationships with people when we listen well to each other, inconvenience ourselves for other people at times, and realize we're all connected with each other by virtue of the fact that each of us has been created in the Image of God. So what does all this mean for YOU? How can you use what you've heard today to improve the relationships in YOUR life? I'd encourage you to ask yourself, and God, what deeper relationships could you nurture based on the relationship principles we talked about today? Namely, give people time to heal. Listen well to others. Sacrifice your time and energy. Use your limited resources to bless others. Fight through your natural inclination to be self-centered. Look for ways God is connecting you with someone else. Things like this. Closing In closing, I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about today's episode. I hope your thinking was stimulated by today's show, enough to put into practice what you've just heard about developing deeper relationships with people. For when you do, it will help you experience the joy of relationships God intends for you. Because after all, You Were Made for This. Well, that's it for today. If there's someone in your life you think might like to hear what you just heard, please forward this episode on to them. The link is JohnCertalic.com/172. And of course, if you haven't listened to episode 171 which is the actual interview with Charley and Ruth, please do that. JohnCertalic.com/171. Finally, don't forget to spread a little sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I'll see you next time. Related episodes you may want to listen to 171: We're All Connected with Each Other 139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast? Our website where you can access all past and future episodes JohnCertalic.com Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

The first interview I ever did on this podcast was about how we are all connected with each other. It was episode 8 where my wife and I sat in the living room of two friends from church, Charley and Ruth. It's where Charley shared the story of what his wife Ruth and their daughter did to help bring healing and closure to the death of Charley's first wife, some 30 years ago. It's a remarkable story I'm re-telling today because of the relationship lessons it illustrates. Welcome to You Were Made for This If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you've come to the right place. Here you'll discover practical principles to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for. I am your host,  John Certalic,  your award-winning author and relationship coach, here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. If you're new to the podcast, the easiest way to access upcoming episodes is to go to JohnCertalic.com. Scroll down half a page or so to sign up and click on the follow or subscribe button. That's John with an “H” and Certalic with a “C” at the beginning and the end. Dot com. Interview with Charley and Ruth Shirley - an Encore from episode 008 Here we go with my interview with Charley and Ruth Shirley. It's one of my favorites. Sorry, there's no transcript available of the interview. Click here to listen to it. Connected with each other: final thoughts This interview really touched me. In reflecting on it, I came away with eight lessons I learned from my conversation with Charley and Ruth. I spoke with Carol about them and she said if I talked about them now, it would detract from the power of the interview itself, “just get off the air as quickly as you can,” was her advice. So I'm going to do just that. That was good advice from Carol way back in episode 8. What we decided to do back then, and what we're doing this time, is to use next week's episode, to go over the 8 lessons I learned from Charley's story. They are practical relationship principles we can use in our own relationships. We'll have all that for you in episode 172 next week. So what does what you heard in this interview mean for YOU? It raises two questions. The first is like the healing Charley experienced 30 some years after a tragedy in his life; where have you seen God care for you in unusual or mysterious ways? It also makes me wonder if there are opportunities God is placing in front of you to honor someone, to care for another in ways that reflect the image and character of God? Similar to how Charley's wife, Ruth, and his daughter Lucy cared for him. Here's the main takeaway I hope you remember from today's episode We are all connected with each other because we're all created in the image of God. It's what enables us to bring healing and comfort to each other. Closing In closing, I hope today's show stimulated your thinking. To put into practice what you've just heard about how we are connected with each other. For we are all created in the image of God and designed to reflect that image well. Well, that's about it for today. I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about today's program. If you think of someone who could benefit from today's show, please send them a link to today's episode, JohnCertalic.com/171. And also, don't forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I'll see you again next time. Quote of the Week “Often we are attached to people in ways we don't understand.” - Ruth Shirley, and her daughter Lucy Related episodes you may want to listen to 139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast? 021: The Most Important Relationship of All Our website where you can access all past and future episodes JohnCertalic.com Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

Today's Voice of Truth reading is titled: Gospel Grace by Best selling Author Lillian Cucuzza.   Please listen and be inspired to fully surrender your life to the Savior of this world and all mankind; Jesus Christ.   ****** Welcome to Celebrating God's Grace, a Women World Leaders Podcast. I'm Kimberly Hobbs, I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. And it is my honor to bring to you today, a reading from Voice of Truth magazine. God has called Women World Leaders to produce this publication throughout each year. And I'm excited to share that this is our second year of publishing. We work with artists and writers, authors and helpers to showcase God's glory. Please visit womenworldleaders.com where you can read every edition that has come out since day one, we are certain it will encourage you and empower you to a closer walk with Jesus Christ. Please register for a free digital subscription going forward. And if you become a monthly contributor of any size donation, we will make certain you receive a beautiful magazine coffee table quality sent to your mailbox. We are a 501 C three and all donations are tax-deductible. Maybe you'd like to pay it forward and provide the printed copies as gifts to someone who could use the encouragement and the word of God through messages and stories. Whatever way you choose, it is our heart that you will be blessed by hearing and reading Voice of Truth. Today's reading is from our fifth edition, September October of 2021. The article is gospel grace and it was written by Best Selling Author Lillian Cuzuzza. Lillian is a leader in women world leaders and she's the founder of his creations. She is a professional photographer, and some of her spectacular artistry work is found in every edition of voice of truth magazine with a story that goes with her work and it relates from God's Word. Lillian is an encourager, and lover of Jesus and His creations, and she uses her gifts and talents to serve him. Please enjoy today's message nestled in Gospel grace. I spell grace by Lillian Kusa. I grew up in a family that attended church regularly. I did the readings during church services when I was 14 years old. I was raised to believe there was a God and a heaven. But I did not know God personally. Even though I was involved in a church, I worried about dying, because I did not know if I would qualify for heaven. I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders, that all the activities I was doing are just never enough. Secretly, my big question was, how would I know if I had done enough or was good enough to get into heaven? I avoided conversations with others about religion and church. I did not own and had never read the Bible. So I did not have enough information to know whether someone was telling me the truth, or just giving me their opinion. I certainly did not want to come across as ignorant. So I just avoided those conversations as much as possible. Does this sound familiar? One day, I was sent a, an accompany business trip to Minnesota. Since my new brother in law, Tom and his family lived in Minnesota. I decided to go a few days early to get to know them better. He was a Bible teaching pastor. And I knew I would not be able to avoid that dreaded conversation much longer. However, I knew I could trust and learn from him. Tom picked me up at the airport. And it wasn't long before we got into the conversation, the conversation. He asked me two questions. If you were to die tonight, do you know for certain you are going to heaven? Well, my immediate response was No. His second question was, if you did die tonight, and you are standing before God at the gates of heaven, and he were to ask you, why should I let you into heaven? What would you say? And I answered, well, I've tried to be a good person. Do all the right things, go to church, be active in the church, but I don't know if that's good enough. Then Tom gave me a little checklist to find out what I thought was necessary to get into heaven. The list included things like obey God's laws. Try to do your best. Give money to the church, do good deeds. and receive water baptism and Holy Communion. Wow. After I checked off most of the list, he explained that none of these things can help you get to heaven. There is nothing you can do to earn eternal life. The Bible says there's only one way to enter heaven. Jesus answered, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14, six, Tom shared that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That's Romans 323 in the NIV. And the payment for sin is death. Romans 623. feeling queasy? I told Tom, I always thought the death penalty was for the worst of criminal criminals. And I was not a criminal. I never broke the law. He asked me if I had ever lied to anyone. Sure, I answered. But they were just little white lies. He replied that it does not matter how big or small the lie or the sin. God counts it all is sin. He continued to explain that because heaven is a perfect place. Nothing impure or imperfect will ever enter it. Revelation 2127. If we sinned, just once in our life, no matter how small we think that sin is, it corrupts in defiles us making us impure and unable to enter heaven. So far, it sounded quite bad and hopeless. We are all sinners, and we deserve to go to hell. Heaven is a perfect place. And nothing we can do makes us perfect. I was getting depressed. All my life I heard how God is love. Now I was wondering how a loving God can be so cruel, and send us to hell for being a sinner. Then Tom shared the good news. God is love and he loves us. The Bible says For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that who so ever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. That's John 316. God sent His Son Jesus Christ, to shed his blood and die in the cross to pay for all of our sins. And three days later, he rose from the dead. He died for us. By trusting in Jesus Christ as the one who died for our sins, we can have eternal life. That is a loving God. Nothing we do can make us perfect or sinless. No deeds, charity, contribution, contribution to churches, going to church, being baptized, taking Holy Communion, trying to obey God's laws, nor any good work can take away our sins or save us. Heaven is a free gift, we do not deserve it, and we cannot earn it. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast Ephesians two, eight and nine in the NIV He saved us not because of the righteous things we have done. But because of His mercy. Titus three, five NIV mercy means not getting what we deserve death and separation from God for ever, as the penalty for our sins. Grace is getting what we do not deserve total forgiveness for our sins, making us perfect in God's eyes, and allowing us to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Grace is an acronym for God's riches at Christ's expense. Because Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins by shedding His blood and dying on the cross. We get to partake in God's riches for eternity. Wow. That is grace. Tom told me that moment I trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my sins would be forgiven, and I would receive God's righteousness perfection. As it says in Romans 10 Nine, if you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. This righteousness allows me to enter into heaven. I finally had the answer to my big question. How would I know I did enough or was good enough to get into heaven? It was not because of anything I did. It was because of what Jesus did for me. I also learned that you can do nothing more to add to the finished work of Christ. It is not trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior. plus.dot.it is putting your trust only in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. And it is a one time decision in your life. You can never lose it, nor can you forfeit it. God's unconditional promise is that he will never take it away from you. Jesus said, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand, John 1028 NIV. I was so excited to learn this good news. Then I made the decision right there to to trust Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. At that very moment, the burden was totally lifted off my shoulders, and whether I could do enough or be good enough to enter heaven. It was because of Jesus. And I knew that I now have eternal security. Friend, I cannot make you believe in heaven or hell. You may not believe in it because you cannot see it. But you cannot see the air you breathe either. Yet without it, you would die. Heaven and hell are real. If you have not yet trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You can do it right now with a simple prayer, and he will save you from all eternity. The prayer is Dear God, thank you for loving me. I admit that I'm a sinner and in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross as payment for all of my sins and was buried and raised from the dead, and is now in heaven. I understand that the good deeds I do will not help me get to heaven. Right now I confess that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him as my Savior. Thank you, Jesus for saving me so that I can live forever with you. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You, Lord, in Jesus name, amen. If this is your prayer today, welcome to the family of God. Let us know about your decision so that we can encourage you and help you on your journey of faith and to Jesus Christ. You can contact us at voice of truth by reaching out to info at women world leaders.com You can find a list of churches in your area we will reach out to you. There are also many learning opportunities available at www dot women world leaders.com. To help you grow in your faith, knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ. You can have the assurance that your sins are forgiven, past, present and future. God has said it and he cannot lie. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. First John 513 NIV. hallelujah and Amen. One final thought. As we remember the victims of 911 in 2001. I cannot help but think of what their last thoughts words, or even prayers were besides agonizing about their predicament. And if they would ever see their loved ones again. I wonder how many cried and prayed to God to save them in that very moment. I also wonder how many did not have the opportunity to pray. Because the end came with no warning. We cannot change what has happened to them. But we can change what happens to us and where we will spend eternity. If we pray for salvation now. Before we don't get another chance. The choice is spending eternity in heaven with God or in hell separated forever from God. The choice is yours. I say this with nothing but a heart full of love. Please choose widely As we close out today, I will reinstate what Lillian just wrote. The Bible teaches us that heaven and hell are real. If you'd like to pray right now, I can lead you in that same prayer that Lillian wrote. And all you have to do is just say this in your own heart to God. Just follow after what I say, and mean it with all of your being. Let's pray it again together. Dear God, thank you for loving me. I admit that I'm in sinner, and I'm in need of You as my Savior. I believe Jesus, that you are the Son of God, that You died on the cross as a payment for my sin. And I believe that you were buried and raised from the dead. And now you're in heaven, and I want to live in heaven with you. I understand that the good deeds that I do here on earth aren't what's going to get me to heaven. I believe it's you God in the blood that Jesus shed for my sins. So right now, I confess Jesus as Lord, and I receive Him as my own personal Savior. Thank you, Jesus for saving me so that I can live forever with you. Please help me to live a life that is pleasing to You, Lord, in Jesus name, I pray this. Amen. Dear ladies, dear listeners, we would love for you to contact us at women world leaders.com. If you have made a decision to follow Jesus today, we are here to help you with many ways we have daily devotions on the website. And we have many tools that can help you in your walk and coming closer to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Thank you for listening to women world leaders podcast. Please join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. As we explore together God's extravagant love and your courageous purpose. Visit our website at w w w. Dot women world leaders.com And submit a prayer request, read a devotion or make a donation in the name of Jesus. today's podcast is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. Thank you for joining us and have a blessed day.  

In just a few weeks many of us with school-age kids will be sending them off for the next chapter in their educational lives. Others of us who home school will be calling them to the kitchen table for the same purpose.In either case, an unintended relationship lesson kids learn at one point or another in their schooling is that people will disappoint us. Today's episode is about how we can respond to this disappointment in ways that will bring out the best in us. Regardless if we're in kindergarten, or a graduate of the School Hard Knocks, class of 1958 and beyond. But before we get into all this here's Carol Welcome to You Were Made for This. If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you've come to the right place. Here you'll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for. And now, here is your host, John Certalic. Hey thank you, Carol, and yes it's me, John Certalic. I'm your award-winning author and relationship coach, here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. If you're new to the podcast, the easiest way to access upcoming episodes is to go to JohnCertalic.com and click on the follow or subscribe button. That's John with an “H” and Certalic with a “C” at the beginning and the end. Dot com. You'll then get a brief email each week with a link to the latest episode, together with a description of what it's about. For today I have a story that's an encore from way back in episode 53. It involves snow. And lots of it. Which is especially pleasant to think about in light of the heat wave sweeping across the US and Europe here in August of 2022. It's a story about one of my grandkids who saw first-hand how people disappoint us. And then I'll have a few comments from me on how we can respond to this disappointment, regardless of our age or where we are in life. Let's begin. Children lose their innocence when they see how people disappoint us If you have ever spent any significant time around children, do you remember the times your heart ached for them when they discovered that life can be harsh? Where they experienced the sadness of relational pain? When your child's network of friends all get invited to a birthday party, except your kid? When a child's favorite pet dies? When all you teenager's friends have been asked to homecoming, but not yours? These examples raise the question of “Who's going to be there for me when I need them?” When children face the harsh reality that people they thought would be there for them, aren't, we call it a loss of innocence. You see this theme in literature all the time. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic example. Scout, the young girl in the story comes face to face with the racism she sees in the adults her small town in the South. And loss of innocence doesn't stop with childhood. Let me share a story that illustrates this, and then a way we can best deal with this inconvenient relationship reality. Help from our grandson Trip to visit our daughter in SC, when back home we had a 7” snowfall Our son Michael texted, “have you made arrangements for the snow?” He sent George, our 18-year-old grandson, over the next day to shovel. I hadn't shown him how to use our snowblower. I told George just to clear a path to the garage for our car, and I would finish the rest with our snowblower when I got home. George texted me when he was finished and said, “It was some of the heaviest snow I've ever shoveled, but I got it done.” We returned home a few days later and I stopped over to pay him. Grandson George observes how people disappoint us At the end of a conversation about some small talk regarding other things, George brought up his shoveling experience again and said, I was out there a long time shoveling, and after awhile, I wondered why none of your neighbors stopped over to ask if they could help. I mean, when our neighbor Mrs. Fibeena was alive, Grant and I would always shovel her driveway. And our neighbor Don across the street, we shoveled the driveway for him, and now for his wife since he died last year. But none of your neighbors offered to help shovel. At least 24 hours had passed since the snowfall ended, and all the other driveways in the neighborhood were snow-free. But not ours. The tone of George's voice was genuine surprise that no neighbors offered to help out with a need another neighbor had. It was so contrary to his experience, where he lived 3 miles away that he and his brother (and sister) were used to. “We help our neighbors” is a value his parents are raising him with. He wasn't complaining or whining at all. His wistful comments came across to me as a sociological observation and reflection upon human nature, with a twinge of sadness to it. When people disappoint us it can come as a surprise My heart ached for George, that he saw this side of human nature about our neighbors that was so contrary to his own experience. I even briefly thought "maybe we better move.” I know George sees this side of humanity on a daily basis with his peers. He's no stranger to seeing the less flattering side of the human condition. But his surprise with our neighbors' lack of help showed that at 18 years of age he's lost another measure of childhood innocence. That people you would have thought would have been there for you, other adults, were not. I also sensed he was feeling bad for me, that these were the kind of neighbors we have. My heart ached for his kind and tender heart. George knew what our former neighborhood was like; he saw it first hand, with people like Kevin who lived across the street. While some people disappoint us now, others in the past did the opposite In our former neighborhood, Kevin and I cleared driveways of snow for 3 neighbors. They were all older than us. Kevin did more than me. When my mother died in March years ago, we had a late winter snowfall of 3-4 inches the day of her funeral. I didn't have time to snow blow the driveway before the service, as we had to leave in a hurry. But when we got home later that day, Kevin or one of the other neighbors had cleared our driveway of snow. No one asked them to. They just did it. Because our snow-covered driveway told people something was wrong, so they stepped in to help. Sometimes people disappoint us when our expectations are unrealistic Getting back to George's observation, I can imagine all kinds of legitimate reasons why people didn't help. If any of them would listen to this podcast, I'm sure they'd have a reasonable explanation for not helping out. Some of them might even be irritated at me for suggesting someone should have helped. After all it's not my neighbor's responsibility to keep my driveway clear of snow. The fact I helped clear their drive a few times, doesn't mean they owe me a return favor. I certainly get that. I don't want to be critical, I just want to make an observation. And that is in this one instance with George, our current neighborhood personified what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12: 2, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world.” The pattern of this world, at least in our neighborhood, is NOT to help others in a jam. Keep to yourself. Take care of #1. Don't extend yourself. “That's the behavior and custom of this world.” We have nice people in our neighborhood. People are cordial and respectful of one another, and I suspect there are examples of caring and helping others that I'm not aware of. It's one thing for people to disappoint us. It's another when they disappoint those we love Nevertheless, my heart still aches a bit for George. And it may very well be my heart aches more for myself than him. George is a very caring person, you might remember me talking about him in an earlier episode, how even as a first or second grader, he would hold open the door to his school to let teachers and other adults enter before him. I notice in caring people, and myself, that every now and then. Not often, but every now and then, you wonder, “When is it going to be my turn? When are people going to care for me, the way I care for them? I wonder if that was what George was feeling when he shoveled snow off our driveway. I know this thought crosses my mind every now and then, and it can lead to a sense of sadness really quickly. How are we to respond to this inconvenient relational reality I described? Ask God for the wisdom and power to: Resist the temptation to assign bad motives to people who do not care for us the in the way we want to be cared for. Everyone has stuff going on in their lives we are unaware of. Cut people some slack. Extend grace. Take to heart Philippians 2:4, and obey the command, “Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.” As Mr. Rogers, Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood tells us, “look for the helpers.” As adults, look for the helpers and try to be like them. Look for the role models we can emulate. Become a role model for others. The best version of yourself will have a strong component of caring for others. Be courageous and ask for help when you need it. Be okay with the feelings of sadness if they come. Don't minimize or flee from it. Just sit in for awhile, and before you know it, they will pass. Especially as you move forward with being a caring person yourself. If you forget everything else, here's the one thing I hope you remember from today's episode When people you thought would be there for you, fail to show up, respond with grace. Ask God to help you to be there for others, even if they don't show up for you. Because after all, You Were Made for This. Closing In closing, I hope your thinking was stimulated by today's show, enough to respond in healthy ways when people disappoint us. For when you do, it will help you experience the joy of relationships God intends for you. Well, that's it for today. Please consider telling others about this podcast if you think it would be interesting and helpful to them. And don't forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I'll see you again next time. Our website where you can access all past and future episodes JohnCertalic.com Related episodes you may want to listen to 139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast? Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

Eating disorders and self harm are struggles of the flesh that many in this world deal with. Today's guest, our sister Woman World Leader Donna Clare from the UK, shares her personal testimony about battling a dependency, which God has so graciously freed her from.   May Donna's spoken testimony be an inspiration of hope and encouragement to others who face life's challenges and who are looking for a way to overcome. With God all things are possible!   ***   Kimberly Hobbs   Welcome to Empowering Lives with Purpose, and I am your host, Kimberly Hobbs. I'm the founder of Women World Leaders. Ladies, we are so happy that you decided to join us today. And I'd like to welcome our guest today. Donna Claire. Donna Clare   Hi. Good to be with you all. Kimberly Hobbs   Hi, Donna, we are so glad that you've joined us all the way from the UK, the United Kingdom. Ooh. So, ladies, what we like to do here and empowering lives with purpose is just that we are here to strengthen, inspire and encourage you and your walked with with the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are here to help with stories and different things that some of the guests come on and share. God says every believer has received grace gifts. So use them to serve one another as faithful stewards of the many color tapestry of God's grace. That's First Peter 4:10. And I thought that was such a beautiful verse to share that we all have different gifts, and we're encouraged by the Lord to share those grace gifts that he has so graciously given. So ladies, you have a purpose. God has a purpose and a plan for your life. We are glad you're here. And we're hoping that through sharing, sharing different stories from different women around the world, that you can be sparked into thinking about what it is that God has ordained for your life. So I want to share a little bit about our guest today, Donna, she's single, she works as a teaching and learning assistant in a primary school. And her degree is in theatre studies and writing performances, which is super exciting. Her passion is to write plays and scripts and bring glory to God. I admire that that's beautiful. We can do it for all other reasons. But you do it to bring glory to God, Donna, she sings in the worship team and is in Gospel Choir. She loves nature. And when she isn't singing, acting and dancing, she loves walking in nature. So ladies, before we begin, please remember that we're all women who are known by our Creator, God knows each of us in our own beautiful way because He created us or his masterpiece. And some of us have overcome tremendous challenges, heavy struggles, and some of us are still in the midst of pain and struggling and suffering. And then there are those of us who will speak life into others and empower them. We are all just ordinary women. And we are called by God to do extraordinary things. And each of us has the ability to do extraordinary things. So our guest today from the UK is a woman world leader. In fact, she is part of her women World Leaders Group. And God put a nudge in Donna's heart to share with us so she reached out to me and asking if it would be possible to share her story. So as I got to know Donna a little bit, I felt God's prompting to allow her to share her story today. And Donald's Dona has struggled with eating disorder with an eating disorder and also self harm. And God says Colin, me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory that song 5015 And you know what, as I got to know Donna, I thought wow, God, this verse is amazing because you rescue Donna from self harm you rescue Donna from this eating disorder. And now she wants to declare that she wants to give God the glory. And I said yes, please come on and share. Let's talk about this. So I'm Donna, can you share a bit about you and who you are and your story with the ladies? Donna Clare   Yes, of course. So I from a very young age, I was bullied at school and at primary school and then when I went to secondary school, I was also bullied. And then when I got to secondary school, it was more than one person. So I started to think well There's got to be something wrong with me. Because all these people can't be wrong. And there's something wrong with me there's got to be an I just started to really hate who I was, I hated everything about myself. I, I really just, I was feeling sad, I didn't share a lot of the time with anyone that I was being bullied, I kept it all inside. And I, I then it was, I think I was in about year eight, which is like 12 year olds 12 to 13 year olds, and my friend lent me a pair of her jeans to go to a disco with, but they didn't fit me. And in my head, that was I'm fat, I need to lose weight, not I'm a different body shape to her, which now in hindsight, I can see we were just different body shapes, I wasn't going to fit in those jeans. But in my head, it was I'm fat, I need to lose weight. So and at the roundabout at the same time, I had some family issues going on. And there was like family arguments. And I blame myself and I know that was one of the triggers to get in the eating disorder. So I then started to cut out things like chocolate crisps, chips, the things that you know, like with fattening and then gradually, I started to skip meals, so I became anorexic, I will try and avoid food as much as, excuse me as much as I could. I, I just I had this relationship with food that I didn't deserve it I didn't deserve to eat, I wasn't good enough, I was a waste of space, what was the point of me being on this planet, I, I had all these thoughts swirling around in my head that I shouldn't eat, I didn't deserve it, I was bad. And then some people started to see that I was not eating as much. So they decided that they would try and help me by force feeding me, which was one of the worst things they could have done because then I started to make myself sick. So because they were making me when I didn't want to because they were controlling me and my eating disorder, the eating disorder was about control. So I wanted to control something because everything, I couldn't control the bullies, I couldn't control what was happening in my family. I couldn't control anything else, but I could control what I ate. So I decided that I would control my food. So when these people they were trying to help. And I don't begrudge them that they were worried about me, but they sort of made it worse because they made I didn't have the control anymore. And I really couldn't handle having food. If I felt full I couldn't handle it. I just felt disgusting inside. So I then started to make myself sick. And then yeah, I just felt like I needed punishment that I was wrong. There's got to be something wrong with me if I lose weight, maybe people are like me more. And and also I did like not just the the the eating disorder it was I would cut myself I would pull my hair, I would hit myself, I would bite myself, I would take my nails and anything I could do to hurt me. And I would do like I really, I was hurting inside had so much pain inside. I didn't know how to express that. And the only thing I could do was to hurt myself. And when I hurt myself, like all the frustration and anger went away, he sort of helped me to Yeah, just helped me to get all the feelings inside because I just used to stuff all the feelings inside. And so that's why I used to hurt myself as well. And yeah, I just I tried to avoid food whenever I could, I'd say oh, I've eaten I don't need to have dinner, I've already had something to eat. I would go in even going out for me it was traumatic because I felt like everyone was looking at me. So I would think everyone was looking at me saying why is she eating she's big enough. She doesn't need to eat. And, and I wasn't I obviously wasn't big at all. But in my head I was so it's like a distorted image. What Pete other people would see and what is in the mirror is not what I see, or what I saw. I just saw this really massive person. So yeah, I just I really hated myself. That's all I can say. I just felt disgusting. I didn't feel like I was loved. I didn't feel like I felt like if I wasn't here nor there. It wouldn't matter to anyone. They wouldn't care if I wasn't here. And I just felt really like alone. And on my own and like I couldn't share it with only one and and like, like the voices in my head would tell me I wasn't good enough. And then they would say oh, you can't eat so like for an example it would be like oh, you can't eat that food if you eat that you need to get rid of it. And then when when I did if I did get rid of it by making myself sick, the voice would then say You're disgusting. You can't show anyone with that. Look at you now you're even worse than you were before. And it was just like these tormenting thoughts all the time that would like invade my mind and would really Yeah, just make me feel really horrible. I just hated everything about myself. Every single thing I couldn't give you a positive at that point in my life. Because it just felt I was so wrong and like I needed punishment. So yeah, Kimberly Hobbs   This was through your childhood years into your teen years. Donna Clare   Yeah, to and then to my early 20s. So when I was at university as well, so it was So, yeah, it was from about, I started with the eating disorder when I was about 13. And but the other sort of self harm stuff I'd been doing from probably the age of 910. Just because I just, I felt shame, I felt disgusting. And I was abused as a child by other children as well. So that's a factor. So I was I had, I didn't know it was shame at the time, as a child, I just had this just felt wrong. I just felt like, everything was everything was wrong about me, and I was hideous, is the way I can describe it. If I just hated everything about myself, I had no self worth, or anything, I just hated who I was. And I controlled everything by my food, because I wanted control because I felt everything. And everyone was controlling me. And I needed control. So I will say when I when I won't eat, and no one can take that control away from me. So that was yeah, that was that was that was my, my childhood. But in another sense, it sounds really, really bad. All of that. But in another sense, I had, like, I did have friends who were good friends. And then you know, there's some of my childhood was good in the sense. But inside, I just hated myself, I was good at wearing a mask. So a lot of people wouldn't know, there was anything wrong, because I could I could turn it on if that makes sense. I could. Yes, yeah. I'm fine. Nothing wrong with me. I'm fine. Kimberly Hobbs   The counterfeit Donna.  Yes, you're pleasing everyone else. And but inside, this was your way of controlling what what happened with you and what you did and what you allowed and not allowed in those quiet places. So, you know, I I know your story. And I just want you to share with the listeners how, as you developed into, you know, a teenager and then into your young 20s This had such a clench on you this this horrible addiction, you know, like, we're gonna call that that addiction where your mind you know, you you were controlled in your mind by something else other than the Spirit of the Lord, and letting our sinful nature control our mind leads to death, and you are on that path to death. But letting the spirit control your mind leads to life in peace. That's Romans eight, verse six. So let loose and let us know how God freed you. Because the Lord says, Who the sun sets free is free indeed, if you if the sun sets you free, you are truly free. That's John 836. Donna, I know dear that you are free. Let's hear how that happened. Donna Clare   So in my final year at university, I met a lady who was on a teacher training for the theater course. And I would choose to ask him to get poorly. So she got ill. And so she took over and invited me on a holiday. So I went to Italy with 30 people I didn't know. And I said yes, because I've never flown on a plane before at this point. And I just thought this would be my graduation presents for myself. And unbeknown to me at the time, probably about 70% of those people were Christians. And I didn't know. And so I was on the holiday, everything was fine. Then when we came back, we had a post holiday get together. And it was on a Sunday. And the couple he was driving, we said you don't have to come to church, you know, we're not gonna force you to come to church, you can sit in Barbara's house, if you like. And I was like, Barbara had a lot of animals at the time. So I said, No, I'll come to church. It's okay. So the only way I can describe it is the moment I walked through the doors of the church, I felt like I've gone home. And I, to this day, I don't know what the people just loved me. People were hugging me, which I was like, Who are these people? And they will they loved me and accepted me. So I went on a journey of asking questions. And then in the February 2003, I remember it very well. I decided that I believe this Jesus is real. So I took communion for the first time. And then in the June 2003, I got baptized, first of June 2003. That will be 18 years ago, in June this year, best decision I ever made in my whole life. So I was still struggling. And some of the people because on the holiday I'd actually collapsed twice. I'd collapsed on the holiday twice as some of them had an idea because one of them was a nurse and she was like you need to get help. And I was like, I'm fine. But then so I started my journey and God took me out of my church actually in the September and I got a job with a Christian Theatre Company. Wow. And I told primary schools around the country and I I remember this well, we will perform and part of the show in the church service. And they had to in the morning because it was a big church. And in the second in the first service, the agenda, the pastor said, there are people in this room with strongholds in their life. And God is saying to you that today, you need to give him those strongholds. And I just went back to me, I need to give the eating disorder to God and said, You need to clench your fist. And when you let go, you've given the stronghold to God. So I did. And I clench my fist, and I went, you can have it and I had, I was running up and down the aisles, because I just felt this weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Yeah, it was amazing. And then some of my church family have come to support me in the second one. So I was like, I've given the eating disorder to God, I've given the eating disorder to God, and they were like, hallelujah, we've been praying for this is so good. And then obviously, it was a journey. So it took, it was a long journey took probably about 655, or six years for me to be completely free. And maybe maybe less than that, actually. But I went on a journey. And I had to trust God. So one of the scriptures, one of one of the psalms that really helped me was Psalm 139. That wherever I go, whatever I'm doing, God is with me, that even when I go like into when I feel like I'm in the darkness, darkness isn't dark to God, it's still light. And I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. And God knows when I stand when I sit is fashion to me in my mother's womb, He knows every detail of my life. And it really helped me to know actually, God sees me, God knows me, I do matter. Because obviously, at that point, I felt like I was worthless. And these people in my church family are so loving and caring, I just felt so accepted by them, which was unknown to me before then, because I've been rejected so many times and bullied, I just, that's what drew me to the church because they loved me and accepting me for who I was. And then obviously, Jesus because He saved me, He died for me. Yeah, and I was journeying through, and I it was, it was difficult. It helped to actually been away from home because I was away from home initially, because I was with the theater company for a couple of months. And my church when they were praying for me at home, I, it was like, once, one step forward, two steps back, because I just started the journey. And there were good days and bad days, but I kept focusing on God, I kept crying out to him praying and spending time with him, you know, worshipping Him because there's power in worship because I felt bad and worship. And, and then I remember, I was just so struggling. And I had fear in my life as well, because I was afraid to eat, you know, I had all this fear. And I remember my one of my friends speaking down the phone to me, Joshua one, verse nine, have I not commanded you? Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged for the Lord, your God will be with you wherever you go. And I was like, okay, where I need to be. Unknown Speaker   So we do not need to fear. So yeah, I did. I did. It was it was it was crazy. It was like a crazy time, but it was a good time. And I was so like, on fire for God. So I wanted to share and I wanted to help everybody. But I wasn't at that point, I realized I wasn't ready. So I, I worked with another group in the theatre company the next year. So in 2004, and it was, there was another girl who was in my team, and she was actually struggling to she had an eating disorder. And she was talking to me and I was trying to help her. And the family I live with actually said to me, I don't know, I've never seen you so stressed before. And I went backwards. It was dragging me back because I was only on my recovery journey. Like knew it was only six months, so I wasn't ready to help someone else I needed to get me Well, first I needed to be healed work fully for like healed and restored before I could help someone else and that and that was hard. That was one of the hardest times it was like God, have you left? And he's like, No, I told you I would never leave you and one of the verses, a key verse that I still have uneasy, particularly in the Amplified Version I love it is Hebrews 13 Verse five, and it's the second part and I will not in any way fail, you know, give up on you know, I'll leave you without support I will not and he says this three times, I will not I will not in any degree leave you without help, or forsake, you know, let you down or release my hold on you. And that's been one of the key verses as well, like God is not going to fail me. It's okay that if I make mistakes, or something else I've learned it's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to have blips as long as I run to God, and not anybody else. I run away from him, but run to him and just calmly say, God, I'm sorry, please help me. Help me cope. I know. Oh, yeah. So that was a tough section. But then I just I just kept going. We've got I just I had to trust I had to learn to trust God and another verse that has come that has been a key was proverbs three verse five, trusting the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him, He will make your paths straight. I took I took deep into into God and I, yeah, he freed me freed me. You freed me from some of the self harm was straight away, like I stopped cutting myself straight away when I became a Christian because I felt like I was quoting Jesus. Yeah, the other stuff like that hurt to myself by hitting myself. I, because it was a habit, because I've done it for so long. It took it took years to like, become free from that. God did it in layers. And this is this is something God had to do it in layers. God couldn't take the eating disorder and the self harm away from me, just like that. He had to do it. Layer by layer, like an onion is a layer like layer by layer, because it was my whole identity was on centered around the anorexia and the self harm. So we had to do it layer by layer. So we do a layer, I'd become free and it was amazing. And then when I was ready, and strongly go right now we need to deal with this. It'll be like once I thought we've done everything. He's like, No, we've got you've got to go deeper. So we eat just he's been doing it layer by layer by layer, and I can honestly tell you today, I love who God's made me. I'm free, completely free. And God did it. Oh, it was nothing to do with me. He did it all. And I'm free. I love him. He's made me to be I'm not a people pleaser anymore. I please God and God alone, I've learned. I've learned to not be a perfectionist, because of part of the journey. I was a perfectionist. And if it wasn't the best, it was not good enough. And so God has taught me that actually, my best is good enough if I do my best for him. And if I give everything is good, you know, and it doesn't have to be perfect, because Jesus is the only one who's perfect. So I don't need Yeah, I don't. I don't need. Kimberly Hobbs   Then I love I love how you're testifying. And one of those verses that you when you were sharing, and Hebrews, I wanted to just tagline on that. Ladies, when you are afraid when you are struggling, and you're so intense in the midst of that struggle, and fear takes over. God says don't be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you, he will neither fail you or abandon you. And just like you said, Donna, and your scripture, he said it three times that he's never going to leave you. So ladies, you are never alone through your struggle, you have to understand that and the way that you will is by getting in the Word of God and reading his truth in that word. Donna, one thing that you shared with me in one of our other conversations prior to today was you said that, you know, when people think that they're trying to help you by trying to force you to eat, you know, like, they're, they want to help, they just want to help, but they don't necessarily know what the best help is. Can you talk about some of your feelings during that time when people were saying, you know, trying to force food on you? And what were you going through then? Donna Clare   What was happening was that what are you doing, you shouldn't be eating this is I've told you, it's better not to eat. Otherwise, you've got consequences that you'll have to pay. So I just I felt I felt disgusting. I felt like they were trying to hurt me in a way because they were taking the control away from me. So I felt like I felt like in despair like you, you don't understand what's going on. In my mind. You can't hear what's going on in my mind. If I if I eat, I'm gonna have to punish myself later. That's basically what was going to happen. So it was just a complete despair. It was complete. I was like, screaming inside. But for me, because I was before I was a Christian. I was quite shy and timid as well. So I wouldn't really speak up for myself in certain situations, I would just accept what was going on and be quiet because I felt that was better because if I spoke I didn't feel like my words. Were good enough. You know, I mean, so I so I just I just accepted, but I was screaming inside I tried to run away. And I couldn't do that. So the only way you think I could do was like, go off and make myself sick. Oh, like I probably wouldn't. I think I would have hurt myself later on. Like, because I had all the feelings inside. Like, I was angry because they were taking control away from me. I felt hurt because they didn't understand me. It was just really emphasizing that actually. Nobody gets me nobody understands me. I am on my own. I'm all alone, and no one's gonna help me. But that's what I was feeling. Right. Kimberly Hobbs   So those that are listening may you know that because they're they're feeling sympathetic right now. And of course, you know those that loved you, Donna, they just wanted to get you to eat because they they felt you needed that nutrition that would help you that you know, but they weren't being sensitive to what you were going through. But the Bible just tells us, you know what we need to do. When we sense there's a problem. You know, the apostle Paul says, I urge you, first of all, to pray, to pray for all people, and to ask God to help them and intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them. The power of prayer is huge. And so when we see these issues, yes, you know, we need to be aware of them. And we need to know that there are places to go for help. But start praying, asking God for wisdom to point them in the right direction for help. Don't necessarily try to take the bull by the horns and do it yourself, you know, do what God tells us to do, do our part and pray for that person, and start looking for places that they can get help. Donna Clare   Definitely power of prayer. People were praying for me even I didn't know at the time because I've just become a Christian, but people were praying for me. So yeah, it's something I just want to say as well. an eating disorder is not about food. That's a symptom. There's lots of root issues and causes why someone has an eating disorder. So trying to make the me interested, always eat that you only have to wait. And that's fine, because that's not the main issue. Really, there's other underlying issues that may be going on for you. Just to get them help and pray what they need, and you can't help someone with an eating disorder until they accept that they need help themselves as well. So that's where you need to pray. Because when you pray, finally, they will see that and God will help them to see that. That's right. Kimberly Hobbs   That's right. And if you are one that is struggling in this area, it is so important to stay in the presence of God because He tells us in His Word, he's never going to leave you or forsake you. We share those Scriptures with you. But he says that, remember, I will be your God throughout your lifetime. He's, he's there for you all the time. You want to keep him in your presence. You want to talk to him. And don't ever question His promises to you. Because God's ways are perfect. All the Lord's promises are true. And he is a shield for all who looked to him for protection. So when you are afraid, you look to the Lord for your protection and know that he's there searching the scriptures. Ask him for scriptures that's going to help you right just like you did, Donna, he gave you tremendous scriptures that you can, that you can rely on the Word of God is alive and powerful. It's sharper than any two edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit between joint and Morrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and dreams. That's Hebrews 412. The word of God is powerful ladies, it is so important. And I know that Donna through talking with her, she has relied on so many scriptures. And can you share your very special verse with us the one that you relied on most through your struggles? Donna? Donna Clare   I think well what I shared earlier, Hebrews 13, verse five is one. But then the other one is two Timothy one, verse seven, For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. And that was another one that was given to me. And I was like, Yes, God didn't give me a spirit of prayer. I can do this. Be confident in the Lord. Kimberly Hobbs   Amen. So ladies, God knows your name. He's never gonna abandon those who search for him. And he understands your pain. So just as Donna has expressed a desire to come on and share her story and bring it out in the open, a revelation 1211 says that they have defeated him, defeated him which is the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony. And so Donna is here to testify of what the Lord has done in her life and know that the enemy is defeated. He sent back to the pit of hell where he belongs. And she can share this and declare this by the word of her testimony and we are so grateful that you have decided to come on share today about your testimony Donna which is fabulous and God is using you exceedingly abundantly beyond And I know and what you're doing right now in you're acting, and you're writing, and you're performing. And I know you're doing some videos on, on Facebook. And you can find Donna and Donna Claire. And that's clear C L A. R E, and she talks about this on her Facebook page, she's creating awareness, and she's pushing people to the Lord Jesus Christ, you know, because that is where our true help is going to come from. And Don, I know you wanted to leave the ladies, just with that just shot in the arm, that encouragement of what they can do, you know? So what is that that one, as we close up here that one? Helpful, you know, leave them with this memory is going to be Donna Clare   That you're fearfully and wonderfully made. You're not a mistake, you were fashioned by God just to be who you are. So embrace who you are, love yourself for who God has made you. And know that he doesn't make mistakes that he's fashioned you perfectly of how he wanted to make you. So love yourself and know that you are not wrong, that you are right, and just embrace who you are, and go and glorify God and be who was created because Kimberly Hobbs   That's beautiful. Amen. And you are doing just that. And we are just so proud of you. We are so thankful that we have done a Claire's in this world that could share openly sometimes it's difficult, you know, to be transparent about the things that you deal with in your life. But there's others out there that will relate that well know that you know, wow, somebody else is going through something I'm going through or has been through something I've been through, and how important it is to verbalize God tells us to do that. You know that we defeat the enemy, by the blood of the lamb which Donna has accepted Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior. Amen. And by the word of her testimony, she is sharing loud and clear that it wasn't anything of her control that allowed her to get better. It was releasing and surrendering all to Jesus. And by doing that, and allowing him to come in, through all the ways that God will come to your rescue if we allow him if we allow him entrance, he comes in. So I am just feeling that at this moment that if there is anybody out there that's listening, that doesn't have a personal relationship with Jesus, Donna and I, we just encourage you to surrender it all to him. Give your your hearts give your pain, give it all to Jesus. And the way you can ask Him into your heart is through confessing with your mouth that says, confession is made unto salvation. So if you confess the Lord Jesus and believe in his heart, your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. So I'd like to just pray really quick. And if you would like to pray along with Donna and I, and accept Jesus into your heart, that would be wonderful. That's where it starts. And then you're gonna just start reading the Word of God because there is power, transforming power in the Word. So let's pray. Ladies, Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. And I know that there is no other way to heaven, but by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for my sins. Lord, I believe that I can't do anything by my own power God, but it's going to be by the power of the blood of the lamb that saves my soul. So right now, I confess my sins to you, Lord Jesus, and I know I'm not perfect and I know I fall short. Please, God, forgive my sins, cleanse me from all of my unrighteous behavior, Lord, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I trust you, God, I release all other control over my life. Any chains that have held me down God, anything that has bound me, I release it all by the blood of Jesus Christ who died for my sins. Please come into my heart. Please be my Lord and Savior. Please show me scriptures God that will help me that will put me on the right path to follow you and surrender my life. Thank you, Lord Jesus. I trust in you right now with all my heart in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. If you have prayed that prayer ladies along with us for the first time, we want to hear from you too. We want to encourage you and I know Donna is available her. Her Facebook page is Donna Claire CLA R E. Or you can go to our website, women world leaders.com. We have areas there where you can pray, submit a prayer request, and we'll pray with you. We have all kinds of helpful tools at women world leaders where we would love to share them with you. One of them is courageous steps of faith. Ladies, this book is phenomenal. It is so many women that have taken those courageous steps of faith, to walk away from something like addiction or unforgiveness or there's so many things in this book, and they have walked toward the Lord Jesus Christ by those courageous steps of faith similar to Diana's story. And so ladies, you can get this courageous steps of faith on our women world leaders website or on Amazon. It's available Barnes and Noble. Another tool that we have to encourage you, strengthen you and your walk is voice of truth magazine, ladies, it's a free magazine that comes out every other month. It's amazing what God is doing. Women are sharing their stories, women are encouraging you and empowering you to walk in the name of Jesus, walk with us ladies, if you want your free copy of voice of truth magazine, go to info at women world leaders info at women world leaders.com And leave us your name, your address and your email address because we send it out digitally. And we send it out printed copy in the United States. So if you're outside the US, it's going to be digital only. So be sure to leave us your email info at women world leaders.com. And ladies take advantage please have the the tools that we have at women world leaders visit our website women world leaders.com And just skim through that and see all that's available to you know that we have podcasts Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. And you can get those access them by women world leaders podcast, women world leaders podcast. So Donna, thank you so much honey for sharing, saying hello to the ladies and sharing your story. Ladies, we have to close right now. So from his heart to yours. We are women world leaders. All content is copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed written consent. God bless you all and have a wonderful day.  

It's hard to see the goodness of God sometimes in the midst of all the stress and turmoil going on in the world. What really helps though is coming across a feel-good story where we see God's hand in filling a void in someone's heart that's been there for a very long time. For when we see God filling a hole in someone else's heart, we can have confidence that He can fill a void in ours too. I've got such a story for you today. It's one of my favorites. But before we get into it, here's Carol: Welcome to You Were Made for This. If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you've come to the right place. Here you'll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for. And now, here is your host, John Certalic. I'm John Certalic, your award-winning author and relationship coach, here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. You are listening to episode 169. If you're new to the podcast, the easiest way to access all our episodes is to go to JohnCertalic.com and click on the follow or subscribe button. That's John with an “H” and Certalic with a “C” at the beginning and the end. C-E-R-T-A-L-I-C dot com. I'll have a link to it in the show notes. You'll then get a brief email from me each week with a link to the latest episode, together with a description of what it's about. Today's feel-good story Back on the podcast today is Gail Rohde, who has been on the show several other times talking about what it's been like as someone who was adopted into a good family, but who as a grown adult with teenage children felt a longing to find her biological mother and father. I'll have links to those previous episodes at the end of the show notes. Today though, there's been a new development in Gail's story that she shared with me in a recent phone call. Keep listening, or you can read the transcript of our conversation in the show notes. Transcript of the telephone conversation John (00:00): Gail, I noticed that you have now set a record for being on the podcast with the most episodes. You were in episodes 29 and 30 when we talked about your search for your birth parents. And then also 124, just not too long ago. Gail (00:17): Wow. John (00:17): So this is going to look really good on your resume. I hope you appreciate that. Gail (00:24):
I do. I do. I feel honored. John (00:25): Yeah. Well, for those that are new to the podcast and don't quite remember, we had talked in episodes 29 and 30 about the fact that you're adopted, and what that was like for you as a child. You were told at an early age that you were adopted. You had great, great parents, but you always wondered about who your mom and dad were, your birth parents anyway. Gail (00:51): Right. A feel-good story about finding one's mother John (00:51): And we had talked also about you had tracked down your birth mother, and started a relationship with her, and that has been going well. But the new element that I want to chat with you today is finding your birth father, and actually meeting him. I think the last episode, 124, I had asked the question of you and others what are you looking forward to and what are you dreading? And you had mentioned meeting your birth father fell into both categories, as something you were looking forward to, but something you were dreading too. Gail (01:29): Right. John (01:30):
So, can you tell us how you actually did meet, and what that was like, and how that's been going for you? Gail (01:38): Sure. So, we had been talking on the phone for about the last year-and-a-half every now and then, maybe once or twice a month. And had great conversations, learning about each other, learning about each other's lives, but they were fairly short conversations, about 15, 20 minutes, maybe a half hour. So, there's only so much you can really get to know each other in that amount of time. And I think we had tried to do a couple of video chats, but everybody kept freezing, and it was hard to talk. And so that was disappointing, it was hard to really get a feel for who he was, and who his wife was. Meeting Dad for the first time Gail (02:19): And so we finally were able to set up a time to meet last month. And we both drove part way, and met in the middle. They knew this resort town, and so we got a place there and decided to meet. So, we were able to do that. And yeah, it was fantastic. I was so nervous, very anxious going into it, and I don't know why. I knew it was going to go well. He was going to be gracious. I knew he was going to be wonderful. I knew he was going to like his grandkids. But there was still that lingering what if I get rejected kind of feeling underneath. But I would say the minute that we saw each other, and gave each other a big hug, it just all melted away and then it was just great after that. So yeah, it was really great. John (03:21): Well, good. Well, I'm glad that went well for you. What was it like, maybe even before you met in person, when he admitted that he was your father? What did he have to say about his relationship with your birth mother? This feel-good story didn't always feel good Gail (03:38): Well, and it's interesting. I get a different story from each of them. They have very different perspectives on it. So for him, he said that it was kind of a fling. It wasn't a very deep or long-term relationship. And when I was born, he was actually on his way being deployed to Vietnam. And so he had received a letter from my mom with my photograph in it, and he took it to his sergeant and said, "What do I do with this?" And he said, "The sergeant said, "Oh, this happens all the time. I'll take care of it." And that was the last he saw of me. He gave the letter and the picture to his sergeant, and that was the end. And then by the time he came back from the war, he was dealing with PTSD. He was in another relationship, and I think it just kind of got lost. John (04:36): Wow, yeah. Yeah. Different versions of the same story Gail (04:37):
So yeah, it's a very different story, or a different take on what I had learned from my mom, but totally understandable for me. I mean, it made sense, and I get it. John (04:52): Yeah. Gail (04:55):
There's no ill will. It's not like he took off and didn't want to have anything to do with me. It was bad timing. John (05:03):
Yeah. Yeah. I remember in one of the previous episodes that you were told that he was a medical student when ... Gail (05:12): Mm-hmm. John (05:13): Was that true? Gail (05:16): I don't know that he was a medical student at the time, but he did end up becoming a physician's assistant. So, he was, I don't know if he was headed in that direction, or maybe he had started. I haven't really clarified that with him, but that is the path he took. John (05:37): Yeah. Gail (05:38):
So, that was accurate. Other people in this feel-good story John (05:41):
How did your father's wife and his kids and grandkids deal with the news that they had a new relative that they didn't know about? Gail (05:54): Well, it's funny because, and I can't remember if I told this story last time, when I sent him my initial letter, I sent it by mail thinking that he'll get it. And I didn't want to cause any riffs with his wife, I had no idea what that was going to be like. And I guess they were together, and she picked up the mail out of the mailbox. They drove up to the mailbox, she got it, she's looking through it. She's like, "Oh, you got a personal letter from some girl." And she said something like, "Is this about an old girlfriend?" And he's like, "No, just open it." And so she started reading it, and she stopped, she's like, "It kind of is." John (06:33): Wow. Gail (06:34): But she's been so wonderful, and so great, and so accepting. And I probably talk to her just as much as I talk to him. She's just really been great. I haven't met any of my siblings. They all know about me, but I've only heard how those conversations went. So, it sounds like it's all fairly positive, so that's good. Nobody's mad about me, or ... Feel-good stories can be complicated sometimes John (07:09): Yeah. Yeah. I remember when we talked last when you were saying that you were on the one hand looking forward to meeting your birth father, but also dreading meeting him. And I think part of it as I recall was what is the impact going to be with your birth mother? Gail (07:26): Yeah. John (07:29):
How have you navigated that whole dynamic? Gail (07:38): Yeah, I mean that's been a little hard. It's in a good place. Our whole family went out to visit her over spring break, and that's the first time we've all been out there. And so we just had a really wonderful time. And there was a period of time in there that we had just the two of us, and we talked about it. She brought it up, and admitted that it had been very hard, but she knows that I have a right to know who my dad is, and I have a right to meet him. And that she knows she needs to be okay with that. And then I was able to reassure her that I knew that she's worried that he's going to take me away from her, or that I'm going to like him more than I like her. Reassuring Mom Gail (08:28): And I just reassured her, "I'm not going anywhere. If I leave, it's up to me, it's not up to him. He's not going to take me away from you, that's my decision. And I decide to stay with you. I'm always going to be here, we're always going to be here." So, just really tried to reassure her that it's really not changing my relationship with her. So, I haven't been putting it in her face. I didn't tell her when I was going out to see him, she knew I was going to be. And when I came back, we talked on the phone and she said, "You saw him didn't you?" And I said, "Yeah." [inaudible 00:09:16]. And she said, "I'm fine with that, and I'm resolved." John (09:19): Oh, good. Some feel-good stories involve healing Gail (09:19):
So, I think there's been a lot of healing. I think it's going to be okay, yeah. I've just been trying to make sure she knows that everything's going to be the same between us. John (09:34):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I really appreciate your concern for her too, and knowing that it brings out her fragileness a little bit, and understandably so. Gail (09:45): Yeah. John (09:46):
What kind of questions did you ask your dad, your birth father? Do you remember anything in particular? Gail (09:53):
Yeah, we talked a lot. And when we got together, his wife brought pictures of him from his childhood, his young adulthood, his time in Vietnam. She had all these pictures of family members. So, we were able to just sit around the table one night, and they were showing me pictures, and he was telling stories. John (10:19): Wow. Old photos helped fill in the gaps in this feel-good story Gail (10:20): And it was really neat. It was really, really neat. And so, we were able to take pictures of all of those pictures with our phone, so now I have all of those pictures. They gave me all sorts of family information, who my grandparents were, all of my siblings, and their birthdays. And just have just been very, very great. And talking about his life, talking about any questions I have. He kept asking me, "Do you have any questions?" I don't know, you've told me so much stuff I don't even know what to ask. John (10:53): Yeah. Gail (10:55):
So, yeah, it's been really good. They're just very open. And yeah, he's just been so gracious about everything. John (11:06):
Yeah. And what a great idea to bring all those pictures so that you had a picture of what his life was like in the past. Gail (11:13):
Yeah, it was so neat to be able to see pictures of him around the time when I was born. I'm just like, "Wow." So, that was neat. And the other really, really fun thing for me is I look so much like him. John (11:27):
Oh, I was going to ask you about that. Yeah. "It feels good to look like my father" Gail (11:30): Yeah. There's some resemblance to my mom, if you look hard enough you can kind of tell that we're related. But he and I any time I posted a picture on Facebook, and everyone's like oh yeah, who would question you're not related? It's pretty obviously. So, that's fun for me because I always felt like I never looked like anyone. So, that's a really super special thing for me. John (11:56):
Yeah. Do you feel that this has brought closure to your quest to know more about who you are, and where you've come from? Gail (12:07):
Yeah, definitely. Definitely. I mean, even to think of all that's happened in the last three years, and in some ways it seems like I've known a lot longer all these questions. I mean, there's just a settledness to me that it just feels like this is how it is now. And other days, I just sit and think wow, never on this Earth did I think I would know names of my parents, much less to know them personally. John (12:45): Yeah. Gail (12:45):
And just how amazing it is. And yeah, it's just so fantastic. God's involvement in this feel-good story John (12:55): Mm-hmm. Where have you seen God involved in this, Gail, in this search not just for your birth father, but your birth mother? And just kind of filling in some gaps in your personal life story that you always wondered about. Where have you seen God involved in this? Gail (13:17): I mean, I just feel like I've seen him every step of the way. How everything happened, I think it started way back when my husband bought me the DNA test years ago. Just to help me know what nationality I am, and do I have any diseases I need to worry about for my kids? And in that, and through that I never even would have thought to buy a DNA test. I didn't even really know it was a thing. And through that to be able to get so many answers, and so much peace. To meet my mom first, who I think I needed to meet her first. I needed to have that resolution. There's something about the birth mom, it's a different expectation, or a different [inaudible 00:14:22]. Growing up looking for mom Gail (14:22): I grew up looking for my mom at the mall, that's who I was looking for, I was looking for my mom. So, to find her first and to have that resolution. And then to be able to work through with her finding my dad, and then having this completion. And then with my dad now to have new siblings.  My mom was all by herself, so it didn't really bring a lot of family relationships. But then with my dad, now there's all these siblings, and nieces, and nephews, and aunts. And some have reached out to me, I have a sister-in- law and an aunt who has reached out to me. And I'm like wow. Yeah, I mean it's just all of it all I can do is just say, "Thank you God." There's nothing else to say. John (15:09):
Yeah. Yeah. I'm really happy for you that it's come out this way. Where do you see things headed forward now with all of this? Timing is everything in this feel good story Gail (15:30): I see every visit as a gift. Neither my parents nor I are young anymore, so every visit that we can have, every time we talk on the phone is a gift. Just trying to be able to get to know them as much as I can while I have them. And I mean hopefully I have them for the next 20 years, that would be great. But just really recognizing it for the gift that it is, and appreciating that, and appreciating them, and taking advantage of everything I can. John (16:09): Yeah. Yeah. One part of your story that really captured my heart was that when you were telling about your adopted dad and what a great guy he was, I know you had a good relationship with your mom, but you were closer with your adopted father. And how when he was diagnosed with ALS, he had asked you about did you want his help in locating your birth parents? And at the time you weren't that interested. But then later you processed it that he knew that his time was short here on Earth, and he didn't want you to feel like you were fatherless. I just thought that was really incredible, and really a gift from God. Yeah. A second family when the first one passes away Gail (16:57):
Yeah. And in my mind, I just picture him just smiling at this whole situation. Just being so happy that I have this, because now both he and my mom are gone, and so now I have kind of my second family. John (17:17): Yeah. Gail (17:17):
And I think that that would bring him great joy. John (17:23): Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And I'm really impressed with your birth father too, the fact that he is so happy to reconnect with you. Some would not be. I think I shared a story with my birth father, he wasn't happy, he was just apathetic, he could care less. And the fact that your birth father is wanting to have a relationship with you, because it's part of his past too. And then the acceptance of his wife of you into their life, I think is just really commendable. Really commendable. "Welcome to the family!" Gail (18:02): Yeah, I think the whole thing has played out the best way it possibly could. When I wrote that letter to him, I was ready, I had to mentally prepare myself for anything including rejection. And just to know that okay, well I tried. I had to be ready for that. And when he got tested, and he wanted to confirm through DNA. And when he got the results back and he called me and just said, "Welcome to the family." John (18:34): Well, thanks again for your time, and for this wonderful story. I just find it very encouraging, Gail, on several different levels. Just encouraging how you've managed to navigate this relationship with your birth mom, and your birth dad, and some of the dynamics of that with your mother especially. And actually being able to meet with your birth father is just a wonderful story of completion. Gail (19:03): It is. It is. John (19:04): Yeah. Family relationships aren't always easy Gail (19:05): 
And it's not always easy. There's hard times, and there's hard feelings. And you get more family, you get more problems, right? That's not always problem free, but it's worth it. John (19:20): Yeah, very true. Very true. Well again, thanks so much for your time, and for sharing this story with all of our listeners. I got some really good feedback the last three episodes too, and I'm sure I'm going to get the same with this one too. Gail (19:38): Wonderful, yeah. My 19-year-old sat down next to me just before Mother's Day, and it was when we were in the process of planning meeting my dad. He sat down, he says, "Dang mom, you collect parents like they're going out of style." I said, "Yeah, well more grandparents for you." He says, "Oh, that's true." John (19:57):
Yeah. Well, that's very true. That's very true. Gail (20:01):
So, I'm done now. I have no more parents to find, so I'm done. John (20:06):
Okay, great. Great. Okay. It helps to share our story Gail (20:09):
Thanks, John. I appreciate you helping me talk through this too. It's really good for me to be able to get that perspective too. I don't always think that. John (20:17):
Yeah, sometimes it's good to just talk out loud what's going on inside your head. I sure believe that. Gail (20:23): It's true. John (20:24):
And thank you for sharing all of that. And not just what's going on in your head, but what's going on in your heart, which you've done so well here, so ... Gail (20:32): Thanks. John (20:33):
Well, you have a great rest of your afternoon, and thanks again. And we will stay in touch. Gail (20:40): Sounds great; I would love that. John (20:41):
Thank you, Gail, bye now. Gail (20:43): Bye-bye. Here's the main takeaway I hope you remember from today's episode Sometimes we just need a feel-good story to remind us of the goodness of God. When we see him meet the longing of someone else, we can rest in knowing that He can meet our deepest longings, too. I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about today's episode. Closing In closing, I hope this feel-good story makes you, well, feel good. It did for me. I spent years wondering about my birth father, and then months working to track him down. And when I finally met him in person, it didn't go nearly as well as Gail's meeting did. That's a subject for another podcast. But my experience hasn't diminished my joy in hearing Gail's experience one bit. Her joy is infectious, and I loved sharing in it. And I love seeing how God worked in her life. I hope you did, too. Because after all, You Were Made for This. Well, that's it for today. Please consider telling others about this podcast you think might be interested in today's topic. Especially parents who have adopted, and also adult adoptees. And anyone else who could use a feel-good story like this one. And as we talk frequently around here, don't forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I'll see you next time. Our website where you can access all past and future episodes JohnCertalic.com Related episodes mentioned in today's show 029: An Adoption Relationship Story- Part 1 030: An Adoption Relationship Story - Part 2 124: Resting In Our Identity Frees Us to Love Well Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

Alec Bohm is hitting like a mad man and Jeurys Familia almost blew a six-run lead in the ninth, but forget all that--John Middleton is ready to be loved again! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The other day I Googled the phrase “How to Live Well.” 19.5 trillion entries popped up. Yikes! Apparently a lot of people have something to say on this matter. And I do as well in today's episode. But it's going to be different than what my 19.5 trillion colleagues are offering up, I'm sure. But before we get into all this, welcome to You Were Made for This. If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you've come to the right place. Here you'll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for. I am your host John Certalic.  As an award-winning author and relationship coach, I'm here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. New to the podcast? If you're new to the podcast, the easiest way to access upcoming episodes is to go to JohnCertalic.com and click on the follow or subscribe button. That's John with an “H” and Certalic with a “C” at the beginning and the end. Dot com. You'll then get a brief email each week with a link to the latest episode, together with a description of what it's about. Today's episode, number 168, is about a really important relationship God designed for you and me; namely, a relationship with Him! It's where we'll find the greatest amount of joy, for He teaches us how to live well in so many practical ways. For example, he devoted a whole book of the Bible to this subject, drawing from the life of Solomon. the wisest man who ever lived. I'll read the first chapter of this book from the Bible, the Book of Proverbs, and then comment from time to time as I read. It's only 33 verses, so it won't take long. As I read, notice the contrast between people who are wise, and those who are not, and notice the practical advice Solomon has for how to live well here in the 21st century. NOTE: The comments I interject in reading of Proverbs 1 appear only in the audio version The Purpose of Proverbs 1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David's son, king of Israel. 2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
  to help them understand the insights of the wise.
  3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
 to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
  4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
 knowledge and discernment to the young. 5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
 Let those with understanding receive guidance
, 6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
 the words of the wise and their riddles. 7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
 but fools despise wisdom and discipline. A Father's Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom 8 My child, listen when your father corrects you.
 Don't neglect your mother's instruction.
  9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace
    and be a chain of honor around your neck. 10 My child, if sinners entice you,
 turn your back on them!
  11 They may say, “Come and join us.
 Let's hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let's ambush the innocent!
  12 Let's swallow them alive, like the grave;
 let's swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
  13 Think of the great things we'll get!
 We'll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
  14 Come, throw in your lot with us;
 we'll all share the loot.” 15 My child, don't go along with them!
 Stay far away from their paths.
  16 They rush to commit evil deeds.
 They hurry to commit murder.
  17 If a bird sees a trap being set,
 it knows to stay away.
  18 But these people set an ambush for themselves;
 they are trying to get themselves killed.  
19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
 it robs them of life. Wisdom Shouts in the Streets 20 Wisdom shouts in the streets.
  She cries out in the public square.
  21 She calls to the crowds along the main street,
 to those gathered in front of the city gate:
  22 “How long, you simpletons,
 will you insist on being simpleminded?
How long will you mockers relish your mocking?
 How long will you fools hate knowledge?
  23 Come and listen to my counsel.
I'll share my heart with you
 and make you wise. 24 “I called you so often, but you wouldn't come.
 I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.  
25 You ignored my advice
 and rejected the correction I offered.
  26 So I will laugh when you are in trouble!
 I will mock you when disaster overtakes you —
  27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
  when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone,
  and anguish and distress overwhelm you. 28 “When they cry for help, I will not answer.
 Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
  29 For they hated knowledge
 and chose not to fear the Lord.
  30 They rejected my advice
 and paid no attention when I corrected them.
  31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way,
 choking on their own schemes.
  32 For simpletons turn away from me—to death.
 Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
33 But all who listen to me will live in peace,
    untroubled by fear of harm.” Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. So what does all this mean for YOU? If you start going through the 19.5 trillion Google entries for “how to live well” I mentioned at the beginning, I'm sure you'll find some things that sound attractive. But most of them are about behavior. Solomon, however, takes it a step further and talks about behavior rooted in our relationship with God and our reverence for Him and all that he stands for. Which raises the question for all of us, namely, how much do my values align with God's values? Here's the main takeaway I hope you remember from today's episode The answer to “how to live well” is found in growing in wisdom by looking beyond ourselves. It's to live in reverence to God and embrace what is important to Him, and then live accordingly. I'd love to hear any thoughts you have about today's episode. Closing In closing, I hope your thinking was stimulated by today's show, to ask yourself how wise are you living? Are you growing wiser as you allow the Spirit of God to teach you how to live well? For when you do, it will help you experience the joy of relationships God designed for you. Because as you know by now, You Were Made for This. Well, that's it for today. Please consider telling others about this podcast if you think it would be interesting and helpful to them. And don't forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. And I'll see you next time. Related episodes you may want to listen to 021:The most Important Relationship of All 139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast? Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

One of the pleasures of summer is taking time to relax with a good book that both entertains and informs. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss does both. It's a book that will raise your relational intelligence. You would do well to put it on your summer reading list. I review it in today's episode. Get ready for summer Some magazines and newspaper articles will soon be writing pieces about the top ten, or top five, books to put on your summer reading list. I'm not going to put out a list, but I do have a recommendation of one book that I'm pretty sure you will enjoy. It's a non-fiction book that reads like a novel. I found it to be well-written, entertaining, and something that taught me a few things to increase my relationship skills. I'm going to talk about the book in today's episode because I think you're going to find it helpful, too. So keep listening. You're going to like this one. Never Split the Difference - Negotiating as if your life depended on it [NOTE: As an Amazon Associate, Caring for Others, sponsor of this podcast, earns a small commission from qualifying purchases.] The book I'm referring to and reviewing is in some ways a follow-up to episode 154 of this podcast, “How to Listen Like a Hostage Negotiator.” The name of the book is Never Split the Difference, with the subtitle Negotiating as if your life depended on it. It's by Chris Voss a former hostage negotiator with the FBI. Now at first glance, you might think a book about hostage negotiation as something not terribly interesting. Becoming a hostage negotiator may not be one of your five-year goals. You're probably not going to suggest it as a career for your children. This book is so much more than that. I first came across the book when I heard the author on a podcast I listened to. The stories he told from his experience in negotiating the release of hostages were fascinating. He got me hooked, so I read his book, Never Split the Difference. I recommend you put it on your summer reading list. Amazon Reviews For this review, I looked on Amazon to see what others who read the book thought of it. At the time I checked, Never Split the Difference had over 23,000 reviews and was number 19 on Amazon's bestseller list. 94% of the ratings were either 4 or 5 stars. The few negative reviews either complained about a printing problem with pages being cut off or blank pages. The other complaint was some readers thought the author was too egotistical and self-promoting. I get that and see a little of it more in the beginning of the book. I'm usually sensitive to this kind of thing, but frankly, it didn't bother me in the least, especially as I got into the book and saw the compassion he had on occasion for people. Other reviews said there were too many stories of negotiating sessions he was involved in and that the book doesn't have much to offer for the rest of us. My perspective, however, is just the opposite. I actually loved the stories because they were well-written, first of all, and secondly, they all illustrated principles of human interaction. The 94% who gave it a 4 or 5-star rating had good reason to do so. The rest of this review is my reasons for recommending you put the book on your summer reading list. Who the book is for If you like stories of good guys going after bad guys you'll like this book for that reason alone. You'll also like it if you're involved in sales or running a business, as I was for 25 years. There are many strategies the author used in hostage negotiation that are applicable in the business world. If you're a parent or interact with other people, you'll find this book helpful. If you plan to ask your boss for a raise, you'll find a few useful suggestions in the book. When you're selling or buying stuff at a garage/rummage/yard sale this book will save you money. Furthermore, and this is most interesting and another reason to put this book on your summer reading list. We have a number of missionaries who listen to this podcast, and if you're one of them, especially if you serve in a part of the world where hostage-taking is not unusual you would do well to read Never Split the Difference. The author was deeply involved in the negotiations to secure the release of New Tribes missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham held hostage by a radical Islamist group in 2001. He comments at length on what went wrong and calls it the “biggest failure in my professional life.” He talks about it in the first few pages of Chapter 7. It's a tragic story that didn't have to end the way it did. Finally, if you hate conflict, this book is a must-read. Especially the last chapter. There's really good stuff here that you won't find in most other books on dealing with conflict. Structure of the book The paperback version I have is 258 pages in length, which includes a helpful appendix. A footnotes section and index follow. The table of contents lists ten chapters, with a brief phrase that describes each chapter. One of the helpful things about how the book is structured is that except for the first one, each chapter ends with a section he calls “Key Lessons.” It reviews and summarizes the main points the author is trying to get across. I wouldn't recommend reading only this section, as you'll miss the stories the author uses to illustrate each of the key concepts. The book is an easy read for your summer reading list and it won't take long to get through it. The premise of the book The experiences the author shares in hostage negotiations are all interesting and engaging. And there's a heavy dose of that. But more than this, I enjoyed and learned from how he related to people so very different from the kind of people you and I interact with. Reading the book will raise the relational intelligence level of most readers. I've been a student of listening for many years and I learned principles and techniques of listening I have not come across anywhere else. In fact, if I were to teach a college course on listening, this book would be required reading in my syllabus. While I'm waiting for the teaching offers to pour in, I'm content for now to just recommend you put Never Split the Difference on your summer reading list. Passages from the book that grabbed me I'll start by sharing some passages from the book that grabbed me, because I think they will grab you, too. One line from the book that I won't soon forget is this question, “How am I supposed to do that?” You can use it when buying a car and the salesman wants you to pay more than you want to pay. I used it when I sold a car for my son when the buyer wanted to pay less than what my son wanted to sell it for. It worked! Our daughter used the same line when she and her husband sold a house they had rehabbed. “How am I supposed to sell the house for X, when we've already put in Y thousands of dollars to fix it up?” It worked for them, too. The author goes into the psychology of why this one question is so effective. I won't go into it here. It's another reason to put Never Split the Difference on your summer reading list. The author suggests several other questions in chapter 7 to ask that would be helpful for the parties involved in dealing with marital issues, parenting, and differences between friends, neighbors, and co-workers. I will list them in the show notes, but for now, here they are: What about this is important to you? How can I help make this better for us? How would you like me to proceed? What is it that brought us into this situation? How can we solve this problem? What is the objective?/What are we trying to accomplish here? People who lie to us Following this, in chapter 8, author Chris Voss cites a Harvard University study showing that “on average, liars use more words than truth-tellers and far more third-person pronouns. They start talking about him, her, it. one, they, and their rather than I, in order to put some distance between themselves and the lie.” Throughout the book, the author sprinkles in results of various research studies that show me he's not just shooting from the hip in presenting his arguments. “My name is Chris” Also in chapter 8 is an interesting relational technique I'm going to try sometime. The author writes: “A few years ago I was in a bar in Kansas with a bunch of fellow FBI negotiators. The bar was packed, but I saw one empty chair. I moved toward it but just as I got ready to sit the guy next to it said, ‘Don't even think about it.” “Why? I asked, and he said, “Because I'll kick your …. [I'll stop and let you figure out what part of the anatomy the guy was going to kick].” Back to the author's story. “He was big, burly, and already drunk, but look, I'm a lifelong hostage negotiator - I gravitate toward tense situations that need mediation like a moth to the flame. “I held out my hand to shake his and said, ‘My name is Chris.' “The dude froze. and in the pause my fellow FBI guys moved in, patted him on the shoulders, and offered to buy him a drink. Turned out he was a Vietnam veteran at a particularly low point. He was in a packed bar where the entire world seemed to be celebrating. The only thing he could think of was to fight. But as soon as I became ‘Chris,' everything changed. I just love this story of how he diffused the guy's anger, and how once he knew more of the man's story he viewed him with compassion. It's another reason to put the book on your summer reading list. I've learned over the years that when I see an angry person, there's usually a hurt, sad, or fearful person underneath the angry exterior. The Chris discount The author goes on to tell another story right after the bar incident. He was in a shopping mall and picked out some shirts he wanted to buy. The checkout clerk asked him if he wanted to join their frequent buyer program. “I asked her if I got a discount for joining and she said, ‘No.' “So I decided to try another angle. I said in a friendly manner, ‘My name is Chris. What is the Chris discount?' “She looked from the register, met my eyes, and gave a little laugh. ‘I'll have to ask my manager, Kathy,' she said and turned to the woman who'd been standing next to her. “Kathy, who'd heard the whole exchange, said ‘The best I can do is ten percent.' “Humanize yourself. Use your name to introduce yourself. Say it in a fun, friendly way. Let them enjoy the interaction, too. And get your own special price.” I love this guy's approach. I wish this guy was a neighbor. This second story Chris Voss shared certainly humanizes himself for me. It's a great example of what I've been saying lately at the end of each episode, spread a little relational sunshine this week. Use a little humor. Lighten things up in our relationships. Make people smile every now and then. Bargaining In chapter 9 he tells two stories of how what he learned in hostage negotiation that helped him buy a car that listed for $36,000. He got the dealership to sell it to him for $30,000. He also shared a story of one of his MBA students negotiating a rent decrease after it had just gone up. The Author says this about negotiating that applies to any relationship, “It's not how well you speak, but how well you listen that determines your success.” For me, the most inspiring part of the book comes near the end, in chapter 10: “Every engineer, every executive, every child - all of us want to believe we are capable of the extraordinary. As children, our daydreams feature ourselves as primary players in great moments: an actor winning an Oscar, an athlete hitting the game-winning shot. As we grow older, however, our parents, teachers, and friends talk more of what we can't and shouldn't do than what is possible. We begin to lose faith. A map to joy “But when someone displays a passion for what we've always wanted and conveys a purposeful plan of how to get there, we allow our perceptions of what's possible to change. We're all hungry for a map to joy, and when someone is courageous enough to draw it for us, we naturally follow.” What he says here so reminds me of a text I received a few months ago, completely out of the blue, from a former student of mine decades ago when I was a teacher. Geraldine has stayed in touch with Janet and me over the years and wrote the following: Hi John! I hope this finds you and Janet happy and healthy! I just want to let you know how you inspired my life. I would not be a nurse without you. You told me so many years ago that I was smart enough to go to college. I have touched so many lives because of you. Thank you for that! Sincerely, Geraldine This brought tears to my eyes. Without even knowing it I drew a “map to joy” for her so long ago. I bet many of you have done the same thing for others, too. It's such a great privilege to do so. Conflict Back to the author. He writes: “If this book accomplishes only one thing, I hope it gets you over the fear of conflict and encourages you to navigate it with empathy. If you're going to be great at anything - a great negotiator, a great manager, a great husband, a great wife - you're going to have to do that. You're going to have to ignore that little genie who's telling you to give up, to just get along - as well as that other genie who's telling you to lash out and yell.” And finally, the last few lines near the end of the book read as follows: “… I'm going to leave you with one request: Whether it's in the office or around the family dinner table, don't avoid honest, clear conflict. It will get you the best car price, the higher salary, and the largest donation. It will also save your marriage, your friendship, and your family. “One can only be an exceptional negotiator, and a great person by both listening and speaking clearly and empathically; treating counterparts - and oneself - with dignity and respect; and most of all by being honest about what one wants and what one can - and cannot - do. Every negotiation, every conversation, every moment of life is a series of small conflicts, that managed well, can rise to creative beauty. “Embrace them.” So what does all this mean for YOU? Are you creating a map for joy for anyone? Has anyone done it for you? If so, thank them, even if it's decades later, like Geraldine did for me. Finally, and I hope this is obvious by now, put Never Split the Difference on your summer reading list. If you buy it from Amazon, please use the link I have at the bottom of the show notes. This will generate a very small commission for our missionary Care ministry, Caring for Others. The book won't cost you any more. Here's the main takeaway I hope you remember from today's episode Reading Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss will raise your level of relational intelligence in an entertaining way. It will increase your relationship skills and bring more joy into your life. Please let me know what you think about today's episode. I'd love to hear from you. Closing In closing, I hope your thinking was stimulated by today's show, to get the book Never Split the Difference and put into practice some of the things you heard today. It will help you experience the joy of relationships God intends for you. Because after all, You Were Made for This. That's about it for today. Be sure to check out the links at the bottom of the show notes. And remember to spread a little relational sunshine with the people you met this week. Oh, and don't forget to ask for the “John discount.” That's “John with an h.” Let me know how that works for you. Until we meet up again next week, goodbye for now. Related episodes/resources you may want to check out 154: How to Listen Like a Hostage Negotiator 139: Why Should I Listen to This Podcast?- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss NOTE: As an Amazon Associate, Caring for Others earns a small commission from qualifying purchases. Our Sponsor You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. We are supported by the generosity of people like you to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

Shut Up and Sing              Today:  Or better yet, shut up.  That's John's advice to this week's prestigious award winner, Nina Jankowicz, newly appointed head of The Disinformation Governance Board.  Then, Jeff McCall, Professor of Communications with DePauw University talks about Biden's new “Disinformation Governance Board” and other media news.  Finally, Mary Washington University student Shawn Fleetwood, intern at The Federalist, writes “America isn't responsible for my student loans, I am”. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) — and to keep in the step with the Holy Spirit means we submit to the Holy Spirit; it means we yield to his guidance and his fruit; and we, by his power, understand that the cross of Jesus Christ is the very center of our lives. To live the Spirit-filled life is to live the cross-centered life. And if that's the case for us it will have a good effect on our church. Keeping in step with the Spirit will result in a healthy church — and Galatians Chapter 6, verses 1–10 shows us what that looks like. We learn at least three things in this passage.If we're keeping in step with the Spirit, resulting in a healthy church, it means:We move toward the wayward.We love one another truly.We endure in love as central to our witness.We're gonna spend some time on each of these, but first let's pray again for God's help:Father in heaven, by the power of your Holy Spirit, please speak to us today. Speak to our church, and bless us, in Jesus's name, amen. 1. We move toward the wayward (verse 1)So walking in the Spirit effects good in the church, and part of that good means, right away, that the church tries to keep one another from ruining their lives. Verse 1:Brothers, if anyone is caught in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.There three pieces here I want us to see:There is the person caught in transgression;There is the spiritual person who seeks to restore that person caught in transgression; andThere is the manner of how the action to restore is carried out.In verse 1 Paul is talking about corrective church discipline. So let me explain a little more about what that is. There's two kinds of discipline in the local church:there's formative discipline (which means we're learning and being trained together in the Word), andthere's corrective discipline (which means we together correct sin in the hopes of redirecting fellow church members to Jesus). …And this corrective discipline is very much a part of discipleship. At its most basic level, corrective discipline happens anytime we are challenged by the word of God and/or we recognize the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And, brothers and sisters, I hope that happens a lot. Because if we read the Bible and we're never challenged by it, it either means that we're perfect or we're doing wrong (and we're not perfect).We want this to be part of our life together as a church. It's why every Sunday in our worship we have a time of Confession, that follows an exhortation. We are invited to confess our sins, and to repent, and to receive the forgiveness of Jesus. At its most basic level, corrective discipline is a normal aspect of the Christian life when we live honestly and whole.And then there are some times when corrective discipline becomes a more formal practice. Jesus taught us about this in Matthew 18:15ff. Paul mentions this several times in his letters, especially in 1 Corinthians. But formal corrective discipline happens when a church member gets “caught in transgression.” This means the church member is doing some outward, serious sin and they don't stop. They are unrepentant. In that case, a spiritual person should seek to restore them. And by spiritual person here, Paul simply means a person who has the Holy Spirit. Paul is talking about a fellow church member who lives by the Spirit — which could be any of us! That person, any person, walking in the Spirit, should go to the person who is caught in sin and exhort them to stop. It's meant to be a way out. And the main purpose of corrective church discipline that Paul mentions here is restoration. We exhort the member to stop their pursuit of sin because we sincerely do not want our brother or sister to ruin their life, which is what unrepentant sin will do. So we move toward them to restore them.And we do that in a spirit of gentleness — which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit — and it's something that's not hard for us to do when our real purpose is restoration. We're not trying to punish the person caught in sin! We're trying to help them! We're not trying to hurt them; we're trying to keep them from the hurt and wreckage that sin will cause. So we move toward them to restore them, and we do it gently … and we do it according to the way Jesus commands us in Matthew 18. And at the end of the day, this really all comes down to simple obedience to Jesus.Look, I understand that corrective church discipline is not easy; it's uncomfortable; and sometimes our goal for restoration fails. But the question of whether a church practices corrective church discipline is a question of whether that church follows Jesus and does what the Bible says. If we are a church keeping in step with Holy Spirit, if we're a healthy church, Galatians 6, verse 1 will be true of us. We will move toward the wayward.2. We will love one another truly (verses 2–5)The central command for this entire passage is verse 2. Verse 2 is the main idea that Paul elaborates in everything else he says through verse 10 — but for now I want us to focus on verses 2–5, because these few verses are kind of packaged together. Notice three parts: First, there's the main idea, and then there are two clarifications. Main Idea: Bear One Another's BurdensNow the main idea is verse 2: “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” So this is a command — “Bear one another's burdens” — and Paul has embedded into the command its effect. The grammar is actually future tense. Paul says “Bear one another's burdens, and in this way — by bearing one another's burdens — you will fulfill the law of Christ” — and so what is the law of Christ?Well, it's to love others. That's the command Jesus gave us in John 13, on the night he was betrayed (which is coming up this Thursday, Maundy Thursday). On that night, Jesus said to his disciples, John 13:34:A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.And of course Paul knew this command. Paul was thinking about this command in Chapter 5. In Chapter 5, verse 6 Paul says: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”In Chapter 5, verse 13, Paul says: “… but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”Then in Chapter 5, verse 22, love is the first fruit of the Spirit.So by the time we get to Chapter 6, we know that:Faith is expressed through loving others;Love is expressed through serving others;And love expressed through serving others is so deep and important that it actually fulfills the Old Testament law.Well, Paul is repeating those same ideas in Chapter 6, verse 2. So try to track with me here:Jesus's new commandment for his people is love one another — that's the law of Christ. And we fulfill that law — we actually will love one another the way Jesus said — when we bear one another's burdens.Loving one another truly means bearing one another's burdens. That's the main idea here. But now notice Clarification #1 in verse 3.Clarification #1: This Applies to EveryoneClarification #1 is that Paul's command here applies to everyone.When Paul says verse 2 he's speaking to the whole church about how we live together, and he has in a mind a holy reciprocity; he's saying: Hey, all of y'all, bear one another's burdens. Y'all do this together.But Paul suspects that there will be some individuals who hear that command and think it does not apply to them. They'll hear Paul say: “Bear one another's burdens” and they'll say: Yeah, I'm good. I don't actually need help. I can handle my stuff on my own.Well, Paul anticipates that thinking and says, “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” In other words, if you think you're something as in: You think you don't need help; you think you can handle life without burden-bearing support from others; if you think that, you deceive yourself. You're actually buying a lie. It's not true. You do need help. We all need help. We know that, right? Every single one of us needs help. How's that landing on you right now? How does it land on you to know that you have needs that God intends for others to meet?Several years ago I read this little book called Side by Side, written by a Christian psychologist named Ed Welch. I was reminded about the book this past week, and I went back, found it, and read my notes — and it's such a helpful book. It's actually divided into two parts: the first part is about having burdens that others help you bear; and second part is about how you help others bear their burdens. And the real genius of the book, to me, is how it starts. Right away, first page, Ed Welch says that to be human means two things — you know what they are?He says to be human means we need help and we give help. And that's true of humans because God made us that way, on purpose. God made us to need others and for others to need us, and if that's true of humans in general, then how much more so for us in the church? All of us as brothers and sisters, in our life together as a church, we each need help and give help. And if we don't understand it's both — if we ever think it's one and not the other — that will actually distort the church community. Here's what I mean:If you think you help others bear burdens, but you don't need any help with your own, it will eventually lead to pride, and that pride will alter the source of your help for others from being God and his word, to being yourself. The only real and lasting way you help others is to know, like Luther once said, that even on our best days we are all just beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. Givers of help are also needers of help. The other side is also true. If you think you only need help from others, but you don't give help (or you think you can't give help), it will also lead to pride — but not the pride of arrogance, it leads to the pride of self-pity — to the thinking that you're poor and pitiful and the whole world should be bending over backwards to make things easier for you. That's not good.Both kinds of pride harm the church's life together. It warps the church community. So we need to get this, brothers and sisters: Givers of help are also needers of help; and needers of help are also givers of help. That's what Paul means (and clarifies) when he says “Bear one another's burdens” — and understand this applies to everyone. You are deceived if you think this doesn't apply to you.And the way to not be deceived — the way to realize that you have burdens and you also need help — is to just take an honest look at your life. Just examine yourself. That's verse 4. And verse 4 gets to the Clarification #2.Clarification # 2: Everyone Takes Personal ResponsibilityClarification #2 is that each person must take responsibility for themselves. Now look, verses 4–5 can be a little puzzling — so we gotta follow Paul's train of thought. Paul says, verse 3: Hey, don't think you're something and deceive yourself, but, verse 4: … let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. So to test your own work and actions means to examine yourself, but don't examine yourself in comparison to your neighbor. If there's something about yourself that you think is great, don't make that assessment based upon how you size up with others, because verse 5:For each will have to bear his own load. The word for “load” in verse 5 is different from the word for “burden” in verse 2. When Paul says “burden” in verse 2 he's taking about something really heavy and concerning and overwhelming. But the word for “load” is not like that. It's simply a load. That's a good translation. The idea is a “load of responsibility.” Paul is saying that each individual member is responsible for themselves. We all have burdens we need others to help us bear, just like we help others bear their burdens — and at the same time we are responsible for our own stuff. So I've got an issue I need you to help me with, but it's not your issue, it's mine — and ultimately I'm going to be held accountable not for how you did or did not help me, but I'm going to be held accountable for what I did.You see how this goes?It's interesting that verse 5 is future tense: “each will have to bear his own load.” Many commentators think Paul is referring to the future Day when we each will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 5:10). One day we all are gonna stand before Jesus as individuals, and when we do, in that moment every comparison we make today between ourselves and others, it will be silly then. Every complaint and grumble we might have today about so-and-so, it will be empty then. Look, whatever you have going on in your life right now, one day we all will stand before Jesus responsible for ourselves.That's a helpful clarification, right? Thank you, brother Paul.Okay, so now, let's just put verses 2–5 altogether. Here's my paraphrase of what Paul is saying. He's saying:Bear one another's burdens, and by doing so you will fulfill the law of Christ to love one another. And don't think that you don't need help — if you think that you're deceiving yourself. Just examine your own life and you'll see, but don't examine your life in comparison with others. Don't focus on how you measure up with so-and-so, because in the end we all will be held accountable for ourselves.That's Galatians 6, verses 2–5. And if we keep in step with the Spirit, resulting in a healthy church, this will be a reality in our church. It will mean that we love others truly — which means that we live interdependent lives of mutual burden-bearing — we need help and we give help — and we're responsible for ourselves. God, let it be. And this brings us to #3. If we keep in step with the Sprit, resulting in a healthy church, it will mean:3. We endure in love as central to our witness (verses 6–10)Okay, there are three parts to need to see here. There's the Principle, the Encouragement, and the Focus.The PrincipleFor the Principle, skip down to verse 7. In verse 7 Paul reinforces what's he's been saying with the principle of sowing and reaping, which is basically the principle of causality. This is about the way God has ordered the world. If you sow apple seeds, you get apple trees and then apples. See, this means we are able to do certain things now that we trust will have a certain effect in the future. And this is really important for human life — in fact, without this, everything in the world, from our perspective, would be random and absurd. Because we'd plant apple seeds and say: I don't know, we'll see?!? We would have no clue what our actions effect. And that type of randomness and unpredictability would make our actions pointless; everything would be a crapshoot; and eventually we would self-destruct. And so that's not how God made the world, and that's not how it goes for the life of the church. If you sow in the flesh, you're gonna reap the corruption of the flesh. If you're walking in the works of flesh described in Chapter 5, verses 19–21, you will not get a healthy, united church — you'll get a corrupt, divided church that will destroy itself, like Paul says in Chapter 5, verse 15. But if you walk in the Spirit, if you sow in the Spirit, you will reap eternal life — which, of course, refers to our life with God in the future new creation, but it doesn't only mean that. The eternal life that Paul says here is not just life in the future, but it's the joy of life with God that we can begin to experience now, together, as the church. Eternal life is a blessing that doesn't just start after we die, but it's a blessing that we can begin to experience now and then it just only gets better.But the problem with the churches in Galatia, is that there were at least some who thought that they could live in the flesh, boast in the flesh, sow in the flesh, but still reap that eternal life blessing — and to think this way is to defy the way God ordered reality. To think this way is to mock God.And this is something we all should consider for a minute: Do you ever think like that? Do you think you can sow in the flesh but reap in the Spirit? Do we as a church ever think like that? Last year the pastors did an exercise over the course of several weeks where we considered some diagnostic questions related to our church's culture — we just tried to pop the hood and discuss some good, pointed questions, and one of the questions went like this: Is there some place in our church's life where obedience to Jesus is being withheld but we expect his blessing anyway? That's a good question. It's a good question for a church, and it's a good question for us all personally. It's another way of asking: Is there any way we might be mocking God? Is there any way we might be sowing one thing and expecting to reap another?Church, we want to sow in the Spirit — amen! And we want to sow in the Spirit in the confidence that sowing in the Spirit will mean reaping eternal life, and it's actually that confidence that enables us to endure in love. That's where Paul goes in verse 9. Look at verse 9.The EncouragementI think in verse 9 there's an implied “therefore.” Because of this principle of sowing and reaping — because if we sow in the Spirit we will reap eternal life — therefore let us not grow weary in doing good. Why? Because in due season — or literally, in its “own time” — we will reap, if we don't give up. See how that's connected? The principle of sowing and reaping is meant to encourage us. Paul is saying: Hey, because sowing in the Spirit will mean reaping eternal life, keep on sowing in the Spirit; don't grow weary, but keep on doing good, keep on loving one another. Don't think that it's pointless, it's not pointless. Keep on because if you do you will experience the harvest. You will, church. There will be a harvest.And that's why, verse 10, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially those in the “household of faith”, which is the local church.And this makes sense, right? If sowing in the Spirit means we will indeed reap, then not only do we want to endure in sowing, but we want to sow as much as we can. Every opportunity. If we're gonna reap from doing good, we want to do good more and more and more. Which all comes back to love. The FocusI want to be sure that we catch this. In this whole passage, the word “love” is not explicitly used, but all of the verbs here about the church's life together fall under the banner of love. This is what loving one another looks like in the local church: it means we move toward the waywardit means we bear one another's burdens.It means the church supports their pastors (that's verse 6).It means we sow in the Spirit and keep on doing good.And doing good means precisely that. It means we do good to others in the effort to seek their good. It means we love them. All of this is about loving one another. And as we seek the good of everyone, in every opportunity we can, we especially want to do that to the church. We especially want to love our brothers and sisters in the family of God.In fact, I think it's a prerequisite for any kind of good we do outside the church. In terms of how we talk around here, our church as three essentials. First, we worship Jesus. Second, we love one another. And then third, we seek the good of the Cities.And that order matters, because we can't really “seek the good of the Twin Cities” if we don't “love one another.”Why? Because our love for another is central to our witness. That's what Jesus taught us. And we know from verse 2 that Paul is thinking about Jesus's words in John 13. The “law of Christ” is the new commandment that Jesus gives us to love another. That's John 13, verse 34. But do you know what Jesus says in verse 35?In verse 34, Jesus says, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” Verse 35: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”The reason we focus our love on the church — the reason we especially love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ — is because that love is precisely what shows the world the life-transforming love of Jesus. Hey, church, we all just beggars who have found bread. That's who we are on our best days. And as we love another, we just want each of us to have more bread; and as we're having more bread together, we then go out and invite others. Is there anybody hungry out there? Are there any hungry people in these cities? Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Know that Jesus came to this world to save sinners. Jesus died on the cross in our place, taking upon himself the punishment that we deserved for our sins — Jesus was crucified for us, dead and buried for us, and then on the third day he raised for us — and right now, if you put your faith in Jesus, you will be saved. God will forgive all your sins and declare you to be righteous in Jesus, and you will know eternal life. Trust him. That's the invitation for all of us, and for you who do trust in Jesus, this is what brings us to the Table. The TableAt the Table the bread represents the body of Jesus, and the cup represents his shed blood, and this is a meal for everyone who is united to Jesus by faith. For those of us who have put our faith in Christ, when we eat and drink together, we remember the his death for us, we receive his grace afresh, and give him thanks. We worship him, which is our first essential.

“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) — and to keep in the step with the Holy Spirit means we submit to the Holy Spirit; it means we yield to his guidance and his fruit; and we, by his power, understand that the cross of Jesus Christ is the very center of our lives. To live the Spirit-filled life is to live the cross-centered life. And if that's the case for us it will have a good effect on our church.  Keeping in step with the Spirit will result in a healthy church — and Galatians Chapter 6, verses 1–10 shows us what that looks like. We learn at least three things in this passage. If we're keeping in step with the Spirit, resulting in a healthy church, it means: 1. We move toward the wayward. 2. We love one another truly. 3. We endure in love as central to our witness. We're gonna spend some time on each of these, but first let's pray again for God's help: Father in heaven, by the power of your Holy Spirit, please speak to us today. Speak to our church, and bless us, in Jesus's name, amen.  1. We move toward the wayward (verse 1) So walking in the Spirit effects good in the church, and part of that good means, right away, that the church tries to keep one another from ruining their lives. Verse 1: Brothers, if anyone is caught in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. There three pieces here I want us to see: There is the person caught in transgression; There is the spiritual person who seeks to restore that person caught in transgression; and There is the manner of how the action to restore is carried out. In verse 1 Paul is talking about corrective church discipline. So let me explain a little more about what that is. There's two kinds of discipline in the local church: there's formative discipline (which means we're learning and being trained together in the Word), and there's corrective discipline (which means we together correct sin in the hopes of redirecting fellow church members to Jesus). … And this corrective discipline is very much a part of discipleship. At its most basic level, corrective discipline happens anytime we are challenged by the word of God and/or we recognize the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And, brothers and sisters, I hope that happens a lot.  Because if we read the Bible and we're never challenged by it, it either means that we're perfect or we're doing wrong (and we're not perfect). We want this to be part of our life together as a church. It's why every Sunday in our worship we have a time of Confession, that follows an exhortation. We are invited to confess our sins, and to repent, and to receive the forgiveness of Jesus. At its most basic level, corrective discipline is a normal aspect of the Christian life when we live honestly and whole. And then there are some times when corrective discipline becomes a more formal practice.  Jesus taught us about this in Matthew 18:15ff. Paul mentions this several times in his letters, especially in 1 Corinthians. But formal corrective discipline happens when a church member gets “caught in transgression.” This means the church member is doing some outward, serious sin and they don't stop. They are unrepentant.  In that case, a spiritual person should seek to restore them. And by spiritual person here, Paul simply means a person who has the Holy Spirit. Paul is talking about a fellow church member who lives by the Spirit — which could be any of us! That person, any person, walking in the Spirit, should go to the person who is caught in sin and exhort them to stop. It's meant to be a way out. And the main purpose of corrective church discipline that Paul mentions here is restoration. We exhort the member to stop their pursuit of sin because we sincerely do not want our brother or sister to ruin their life, which is what unrepentant sin will do. So we move toward them to restore them. And we do that in a spirit of gentleness — which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit — and it's something that's not hard for us to do when our real purpose is restoration. We're not trying to punish the person caught in sin! We're trying to help them! We're not trying to hurt them; we're trying to keep them from the hurt and wreckage that sin will cause. So we move toward them to restore them, and we do it gently … and we do it according to the way Jesus commands us in Matthew 18. And at the end of the day, this really all comes down to simple obedience to Jesus. Look, I understand that corrective church discipline is not easy; it's uncomfortable; and sometimes our goal for restoration fails.  But the question of whether a church practices corrective church discipline is a question of whether that church follows Jesus and does what the Bible says. If we are a church keeping in step with Holy Spirit, if we're a healthy church, Galatians 6, verse 1 will be true of us. We will move toward the wayward. 2. We will love one another truly (verses 2–5) The central command for this entire passage is verse 2.  Verse 2 is the main idea that Paul elaborates in everything else he says through verse 10 — but for now I want us to focus on verses 2–5, because these few verses are kind of packaged together. Notice three parts:  First, there's the main idea, and then there are two clarifications.  Main Idea: Bear One Another's Burdens Now the main idea is verse 2: “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”  So this is a command — “Bear one another's burdens” — and Paul has embedded into the command its effect. The grammar is actually future tense. Paul says “Bear one another's burdens, and in this way — by bearing one another's burdens — you will fulfill the law of Christ” — and so what is the law of Christ? Well, it's to love others. That's the command Jesus gave us in John 13, on the night he was betrayed (which is coming up this Thursday, Maundy Thursday). On that night, Jesus said to his disciples, John 13:34: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. And of course Paul knew this command. Paul was thinking about this command in Chapter 5.  In Chapter 5, verse 6 Paul says: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” In Chapter 5, verse 13, Paul says: “… but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” Then in Chapter 5, verse 22, love is the first fruit of the Spirit. So by the time we get to Chapter 6, we know that: Faith is expressed through loving others; Love is expressed through serving others; And love expressed through serving others is so deep and important that it actually fulfills the Old Testament law. Well, Paul is repeating those same ideas in Chapter 6, verse 2. So try to track with me here: Jesus's new commandment for his people is love one another — that's the law of Christ. And we fulfill that law — we actually will love one another the way Jesus said — when we bear one another's burdens. Loving one another truly means bearing one another's burdens. That's the main idea here. But now notice Clarification #1 in verse 3. Clarification #1: This Applies to Everyone Clarification #1 is that Paul's command here applies to everyone. When Paul says verse 2 he's speaking to the whole church about how we live together, and he has in a mind a holy reciprocity; he's saying: Hey, all of y'all, bear one another's burdens. Y'all do this together. But Paul suspects that there will be some individuals who hear that command and think it does not apply to them. They'll hear Paul say: “Bear one another's burdens” and they'll say: Yeah, I'm good. I don't actually need help. I can handle my stuff on my own. Well, Paul anticipates that thinking and says, “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”  In other words, if you think you're something as in: You think you don't need help; you think you can handle life without burden-bearing support from others; if you think that, you deceive yourself. You're actually buying a lie. It's not true. You do need help. We all need help.  We know that, right? Every single one of us needs help. How's that landing on you right now? How does it land on you to know that you have needs that God intends for others to meet? Several years ago I read this little book called Side by Side, written by a Christian psychologist named Ed Welch. I was reminded about the book this past week, and I went back, found it, and read my notes — and it's such a helpful book.  It's actually divided into two parts: the first part is about having burdens that others help you bear; and second part is about how you help others bear their burdens. And the real genius of the book, to me, is how it starts. Right away, first page, Ed Welch says that to be human means two things — you know what they are? He says to be human means we need help and we give help.  And that's true of humans because God made us that way, on purpose. God made us to need others and for others to need us, and if that's true of humans in general, then how much more so for us in the church? All of us as brothers and sisters, in our life together as a church, we each need help and give help. And if we don't understand it's both — if we ever think it's one and not the other — that will actually distort the church community. Here's what I mean: If you think you help others bear burdens, but you don't need any help with your own, it will eventually lead to pride, and that pride will alter the source of your help for others from being God and his word, to being yourself. The only real and lasting way you help others is to know, like Luther once said, that even on our best days we are all just beggars telling other beggars where to find bread. Givers of help are also needers of help.  The other side is also true.  If you think you only need help from others, but you don't give help (or you think you can't give help), it will also lead to pride — but not the pride of arrogance, it leads to the pride of self-pity — to the thinking that you're poor and pitiful and the whole world should be bending over backwards to make things easier for you. That's not good. Both kinds of pride harm the church's life together. It warps the church community.  So we need to get this, brothers and sisters: Givers of help are also needers of help; and needers of help are also givers of help. That's what Paul means (and clarifies) when he says “Bear one another's burdens” — and understand this applies to everyone. You are deceived if you think this doesn't apply to you. And the way to not be deceived — the way to realize that you have burdens and you also need help — is to just take an honest look at your life. Just examine yourself. That's verse 4.  And verse 4 gets to the Clarification #2. Clarification # 2: Everyone Takes Personal Responsibility Clarification #2 is that each person must take responsibility for themselves.  Now look, verses 4–5 can be a little puzzling — so we gotta follow Paul's train of thought. Paul says, verse 3: Hey, don't think you're something and deceive yourself, but, verse 4:  … let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.  So to test your own work and actions means to examine yourself, but don't examine yourself in comparison to your neighbor. If there's something about yourself that you think is great, don't make that assessment based upon how you size up with others, because verse 5: For each will have to bear his own load.  The word for “load” in verse 5 is different from the word for “burden” in verse 2. When Paul says “burden” in verse 2 he's taking about something really heavy and concerning and overwhelming. But the word for “load” is not like that. It's simply a load. That's a good translation. The idea is a “load of responsibility.”  Paul is saying that each individual member is responsible for themselves. We all have burdens we need others to help us bear, just like we help others bear their burdens — and at the same time we are responsible for our own stuff.  So I've got an issue I need you to help me with, but it's not your issue, it's mine — and ultimately I'm going to be held accountable not for how you did or did not help me, but I'm going to be held accountable for what I did. You see how this goes? It's interesting that verse 5 is future tense: “each will have to bear his own load.” Many commentators think Paul is referring to the future Day when we each will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 5:10). One day we all are gonna stand before Jesus as individuals, and when we do, in that moment every comparison we make today between ourselves and others, it will be silly then. Every complaint and grumble we might have today about so-and-so, it will be empty then.  Look, whatever you have going on in your life right now, one day we all will stand before Jesus responsible for ourselves. That's a helpful clarification, right? Thank you, brother Paul. Okay, so now, let's just put verses 2–5 altogether. Here's my paraphrase of what Paul is saying. He's saying: Bear one another's burdens, and by doing so you will fulfill the law of Christ to love one another. And don't think that you don't need help — if you think that you're deceiving yourself. Just examine your own life and you'll see, but don't examine your life in comparison with others. Don't focus on how you measure up with so-and-so, because in the end we all will be held accountable for ourselves. That's Galatians 6, verses 2–5.  And if we keep in step with the Spirit, resulting in a healthy church, this will be a reality in our church.  It will mean that we love others truly — which means that we live interdependent lives of mutual burden-bearing — we need help and we give help — and we're responsible for ourselves.  God, let it be.  And this brings us to #3.  If we keep in step with the Sprit, resulting in a healthy church, it will mean: 3. We endure in love as central to our witness (verses 6–10) Okay, there are three parts to need to see here. There's the Principle, the Encouragement, and the Focus. The Principle For the Principle, skip down to verse 7.  In verse 7 Paul reinforces what's he's been saying with the principle of sowing and reaping, which is basically the principle of causality. This is about the way God has ordered the world. If you sow apple seeds, you get apple trees and then apples.  See, this means we are able to do certain things now that we trust will have a certain effect in the future. And this is really important for human life — in fact, without this, everything in the world, from our perspective, would be random and absurd.  Because we'd plant apple seeds and say: I don't know, we'll see?!?  We would have no clue what our actions effect. And that type of randomness and unpredictability would make our actions pointless; everything would be a crapshoot; and eventually we would self-destruct. And so that's not how God made the world, and that's not how it goes for the life of the church.  If you sow in the flesh, you're gonna reap the corruption of the flesh. If you're walking in the works of flesh described in Chapter 5, verses 19–21, you will not get a healthy, united church — you'll get a corrupt, divided church that will destroy itself, like Paul says in Chapter 5, verse 15.  But if you walk in the Spirit, if you sow in the Spirit, you will reap eternal life — which, of course, refers to our life with God in the future new creation, but it doesn't only mean that.  The eternal life that Paul says here is not just life in the future, but it's the joy of life with God that we can begin to experience now, together, as the church. Eternal life is a blessing that doesn't just start after we die, but it's a blessing that we can begin to experience now and then it just only gets better. But the problem with the churches in Galatia, is that there were at least some who thought that they could live in the flesh, boast in the flesh, sow in the flesh, but still reap that eternal life blessing — and to think this way is to defy the way God ordered reality. To think this way is to mock God. And this is something we all should consider for a minute: Do you ever think like that? Do you think you can sow in the flesh but reap in the Spirit? Do we as a church ever think like that?  Last year the pastors did an exercise over the course of several weeks where we considered some diagnostic questions related to our church's culture — we just tried to pop the hood and discuss some good, pointed questions, and one of the questions went like this:  Is there some place in our church's life where obedience to Jesus is being withheld but we expect his blessing anyway?   That's a good question. It's a good question for a church, and it's a good question for us all personally. It's another way of asking: Is there any way we might be mocking God? Is there any way we might be sowing one thing and expecting to reap another? Church, we want to sow in the Spirit — amen! And we want to sow in the Spirit in the confidence that sowing in the Spirit will mean reaping eternal life, and it's actually that confidence that enables us to endure in love. That's where Paul goes in verse 9. Look at verse 9. The Encouragement I think in verse 9 there's an implied “therefore.” Because of this principle of sowing and reaping — because if we sow in the Spirit we will reap eternal life — therefore let us not grow weary in doing good. Why? Because in due season — or literally, in its “own time” — we will reap, if we don't give up.  See how that's connected? The principle of sowing and reaping is meant to encourage us. Paul is saying:  Hey, because sowing in the Spirit will mean reaping eternal life, keep on sowing in the Spirit; don't grow weary, but keep on doing good, keep on loving one another. Don't think that it's pointless, it's not pointless. Keep on because if you do you will experience the harvest. You will, church. There will be a harvest. And that's why, verse 10, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially those in the “household of faith”, which is the local church. And this makes sense, right? If sowing in the Spirit means we will indeed reap, then not only do we want to endure in sowing, but we want to sow as much as we can. Every opportunity. If we're gonna reap from doing good, we want to do good more and more and more.  Which all comes back to love.  The Focus I want to be sure that we catch this. In this whole passage, the word “love” is not explicitly used, but all of the verbs here about the church's life together fall under the banner of love.  This is what loving one another looks like in the local church:  it means we move toward the wayward it means we bear one another's burdens. It means the church supports their pastors (that's verse 6). It means we sow in the Spirit and keep on doing good. And doing good means precisely that. It means we do good to others in the effort to seek their good. It means we love them.   All of this is about loving one another.  And as we seek the good of everyone, in every opportunity we can, we especially want to do that to the church. We especially want to love our brothers and sisters in the family of God. In fact, I think it's a prerequisite for any kind of good we do outside the church.  In terms of how we talk around here, our church as three essentials. First, we worship Jesus. Second, we love one another. And then third, we seek the good of the Cities. And that order matters, because we can't really “seek the good of the Twin Cities” if we don't “love one another.” Why? Because our love for another is central to our witness.    That's what Jesus taught us. And we know from verse 2 that Paul is thinking about Jesus's words in John 13. The “law of Christ” is the new commandment that Jesus gives us to love another. That's John 13, verse 34. But do you know what Jesus says in verse 35? In verse 34, Jesus says, “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” Verse 35: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The reason we focus our love on the church — the reason we especially love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ — is because that love is precisely what shows the world the life-transforming love of Jesus.  Hey, church, we all just beggars who have found bread. That's who we are on our best days. And as we love another, we just want each of us to have more bread; and as we're having more bread together, we then go out and invite others. Is there anybody hungry out there? Are there any hungry people in these cities? Come to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Know that Jesus came to this world to save sinners. Jesus died on the cross in our place, taking upon himself the punishment that we deserved for our sins — Jesus was crucified for us, dead and buried for us, and then on the third day he raised for us — and right now, if you put your faith in Jesus, you will be saved. God will forgive all your sins and declare you to be righteous in Jesus, and you will know eternal life. Trust him.  That's the invitation for all of us, and for you who do trust in Jesus, this is what brings us to the Table.  The Table At the Table the bread represents the body of Jesus, and the cup represents his shed blood, and this is a meal for everyone who is united to Jesus by faith.  For those of us who have put our faith in Christ, when we eat and drink together, we remember the his death for us, we receive his grace afresh, and give him thanks. We worship him, which is our first essential.

Day two from SxSW has us seeing a celebrity walkthrough. We talk about that and laughing stocks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live to Love scripture encouragement for Feb. 23, 2022. Today's Live to Love scripture encouragement comes from John 9:33. "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." True, and the same is true for us. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing. If the love of God flows at all through us, then we are from God. It is the proof that we are His, and that Jesus is from God. For Jesus said, "By this, all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." That's John 13:35 and, "I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them, even as You have loved Me." That's in Jesus's prayer to His Father in John 17:23. We are from God. So we can do something. We can live to love with Jesus.

Live to Love scripture encouragement for Feb. 19, 2022. Today's scripture encouragement comes from John 9:29. "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from." Jesus had told the Pharisees and Jews, that God had spoken to him, John 8:28, but I speak these things as the Father taught me. He had also told them where he was from John 8:23. You are from below, I'm from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. There were some who knew where Jesus was from, but were still confused. Nicodemus, for instance, had said, "Rabbi, we know that you've come from God as a teacher for no one can do the signs that you do, unless God is with him." That's John 3:2. There are some even today, like Nicodemus, who, even though they know where Jesus is from, remain in the dark. The contrast is stark like light compared to darkness. Those who know where Jesus is from know that He is the light and therefore walk with Him in the light of His love.

Readings: Zephaniah 3:14–18 Isaiah 12:2–6 Philippians 4:4–7 Luke 3:10–18 The people in today's Gospel are “filled with expectation.” They believe John the Baptist might be the messiah they've been waiting for. Three times we hear their question: “What then should we do?” The messiah's coming requires every man and woman to choose—to “repent” or not. That's John's message and it will be Jesus' too (see Luke 3:3; 5:32; 24:47). “Repentance” translates a Greek word, metanoia (literally, “change of mind”). In the Scriptures, repentance is presented as a twofold “turning”—away from sin (see Ezekiel 3:19; 18:30) and toward God (see Sirach 17:20–21; Hosea 6:1). This “turning” is more than attitude adjustment. It means a radical life change. It requires “good fruits as evidence of your repentance” (see Luke 3:8). That's why John tells the crowds, soldiers, and tax collectors they must prove their faith through works of charity, honesty, and social justice. In today's Liturgy, each of us is being called to stand in that crowd and hear the “good news” of John's call to repentance. We should examine our lives, asking from our hearts as they did: “What should we do?” Our repentance should spring not from our fear of coming wrath (see Luke 3:7–9) but from a joyful sense of the nearness of our saving God. This theme resounds through today's readings: “Rejoice! . . . The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all,” we hear in today's Epistle. In today's Responsorial, we hear again the call to be joyful, unafraid at the Lord's coming among us. In today's First Reading, we hear echoes of the angel's Annunciation to Mary. The prophet's words are very close to the angel's greeting (compare Luke 1:28–31). Mary is the Daughter Zion—the favored one of God, told not to fear but to rejoice that the Lord is with her, “a mighty Savior.” She is the cause of our joy. For in her draws near the Messiah, as John had promised: “One mightier than I is coming.”

Are you awake? How awake are you? Do you remember why you are here? Do you remember where you came from? And most importantly, do you remember who you are? That's really what it is all about. Who are you? Because you are not your name. You are not your gender. You are not the father or mother of your child. These are merely temporary illusions. So too is the role you play. You are not the illusion you are living or living in. You are no more your physical body than you are the car you drive. So who are you?   I contemplate this at the start of my show before moving on to dreams.     Dream: In my time of dying What does your brother dying in a dream mean? It's good news for RJ. Listen to find out why.     Dream: Clean your house That's John's entire dream! But we can still make something out of it.   Dream: Need to use cremation machines at a funeral This is such a short dream but it packs a punch with what it means.   Dream: Robot Me What could a robot version of yourself throwing shoes over your head be about? We are about to find out.   Dream: Feeding Joe's cat Luke wonders how can you tell if a supplement you are taking is good for you based on a dream? The dream he submits does give the answer. Replay of webinar: How Dreams Reveal Your Life Purpose https://www.dream-analysis.com/courses/index.cgi?n=the-spiritual-dimension-of-dreams   Our First Spanish Webinar: Cómo los Sueños Revelan el Propósito de tu Vida https://bookings.theaislingschool.com/maria/como-los-suenos-revelan-el-proposito-de-tu-vida     Submit your dream to the show https://www.dream-analysis.com/podcasts/contact.htm   Archives https://www.dream-analysis.com/podcasts/

The Revelation of Jesus the Messiah Revelation 1:1-8 by William Klock The book of Revelation has, I think it can very safely be said, produced more useless commentaries than any other book of the Bible.  Every generation churns out books, almost all of which are quickly and mercifully forgotten.  That said, our generation has turned writing and preaching nonsense about Revelation into an art form, but no generation in Church history has been immune.  In the last few years I've been invited to pick through the libraries of several retiring clergymen and have found a number of “gems”.  A book from the 70s about computerised credit systems and how they were connected to the “mark of the beast”, one outlining how Khrushchev is the antichrist—and another doing the same for Henry Kissinger, and yet another for Saddam Hussein.  Oops.  And one little book titled “88 reasons Why the Rapture will be in 1988”.  Oops again.  That author went on to pen another tract titled “89 reasons Why the Rapture will be in 1989.”  And there were some more recent—but already past-their-expiry-date—books about blood moons heralding the end.  And, of course, more recently there are so-called “Bible prophecy” folks finding the current pandemic in Revelation.  I had a phone call from a woman, nearly hysterical, who was convinced mRNA vaccines are the mark of the beast, that they'll mess with your genes, erase your soul, and leave you eternally damned.  Revelation is for far too many people, at best, a book of doom and gloom, picked apart and explained and expounded by pessimists, and all too commonly at worst, a fertile ground for kooks and outlandish prognostications.  G. K. Chesterton quite accurately wrote, “Though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creatures so wild as one of his own commentators.”[1]  These sorts of things end up undermining faith in God's word and faith in God's church.  And, Brothers and Sisters, if there's anything you take away from these forthcoming sermons on Revelation, I hope it's the opposite: that Revelation reveals the faithfulness of God in Jesus and is meant to strengthen our faith, enliven our hope, and embolden our mission. Now, part of the problem is that Revelation is a notoriously difficult book.  It wasn't meant to be.  The Christians to whom it was written, it's safe to say, had no trouble understanding what it was that the Spirit was communicating to them through the pen of St. John.  It has become difficult for us thanks to our distance from the original context.  And because of this difficulty—and because all of you have, over the years been exposed to so many different ways of approaching Revelation, some better and some worse than others—I think it's important to talk about these approaches.  That's not something I normally do when I'm preaching, but bear with me this morning as I swap my surplice for an academic gown and play professor rather than pastor for a few minutes. There are four basic approaches to Revelation.  And, of course, within each of those approaches you'll find plenty of variation, but this is just an outline so that we can have some interpretive bearings. The first approach is what we'll call the “Futurist”.  I put it first because you may or may not be familiar with the other three, but I guarantee that everyone here has been exposed to this one.  While it's not the dominant view historically, it is the dominant view today in North American Evangelical circles and it's also the one that gets all the popular attention, because it's the one that purports to tell the future.  This is the approach behind the sensationalist best-sellers and Bible prophecy teachers on TV.  Simply put, this approach to Revelation sees most, if not all, of the book's events as taking place in the future.  This was the dominant view of the Church in the Second Century and well into the Third.  We don't have many details of how they parsed everything out, because this view pretty quickly fell out of favour.  In part that was because the “future” came and events didn't happen as these folks had thought they would.  (When “88 reasons Jesus is Coming Back in 188” didn't pan out, they were smart enough not to write another tract on why he would come back in 189!)  Like our own era, it did produce some sensationalist and goofy predictions, but unlike our era, when those predictions failed this approach to Revelation simply fell out of favour.  But it also fell out of favour because, in the Third Century a new approach to interpreting the Bible arose that gave allegory primacy of place.  Futurist interpretations pop up here and there in Church history, but usually amongst weird or cultic sects.  That's exactly what happened in the 19th Century.  That century was a breeding ground for odd, new approaches to biblical interpretation and numerous cults like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists, which put a lot of emphasis on weird eschatology.  The Plymouth Brethren, generally orthodox despite some odd beliefs, developed their own system—something now called “Dispensationalism”—but due to a number of factors, it didn't die out like so many others.  It was there in relative obscurity for almost a century when three things happened: First, in 1909, a guy named C. I. Scofield published the first modern study Bible and incorporated Dispensationalism into its notes.  The Scofield Reference Bible quickly became wildly popular.  Second, in 1906, the Pentecostal movement began  and quickly latched onto Dispensationalism's claim that the “last days” were about to begin as an explanation for why the Spirit had suddenly returned miraculous gifts to the Church.  And, third, in the heat of the Modernist-Fundamentalist controversies of the early 20th Century, Dispensationalists' claim—a dubious one, but that didn't matter much—it's claim to be a consistently literal means of interpreting the Bible became very popular.  And within a couple of decades this odd, obscure, and very recent approach to the Bible became the dominant view amongst many Evangelicals—even to the point that anyone who doesn't hold to it has often been viewed with suspicion or accused of being a “liberal”.  This is the school of interpretation behind the vast majority of “end times” and “Bible prophecy” literature since World War II.  But as prominent as it is, it's not the only evangelical approach.  It took hold in many of the new Evangelical churches and denominations, but the older Evangelical traditions—Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterian and Reformed, and some Reformed Baptists—already had confessions of faith and established theological traditions that are at odds with Dispensationalism and especially its key defining feature, which is that it maintains a distinction between Israel and the Church.  Dispensationalists claim that when the Bible speaks of Israel, it refers and can only ever refer to ethnic Jews, and that the Church is a specifically gentile body.  Dispensationalism not only divides the people of God into two distinct groups, denying the continuity between the old and new covenants, but it also teaches that God essentially has two plans of salvation.  The Church is for gentiles and he's got another plan for the Jews.  The entire Dispensational approach to Revelation is uniquely built around this belief, which makes it distinct from all other approaches.  For this reason classical, confessional Protestants have rejected Dispensationalism.  In the last few decades, I think mainly as a protest against Dispensationalism, there has been a movement to revive a more historical Futurist reading of Revelation.  It's produced a number of very good, serious commentaries, but hasn't gained much traction at the popular level.  The general problem with most Futurist approaches to Revelation, Dispensational or otherwise, is that they leave the book largely irrelevant to the people to whom John wrote it in the First Century.  It also ignores the overwhelmingly imminent and urgent nature of John's message.  And that's not to mention that this approach has an utterly abysmal track record of ever getting anything right.   The second approach is one we'll call the “Idealist” approach.  This approach, in one form or another, has dominated the Church's approach to Revelation from the Third or Fourth Century until the Seventeenth or Eighteenth and continues to dominate both Roman and many confessional Protestant circles.  It began as the Church Fathers placed emphasis on interpreting the biblical text allegorically instead of literally.  There have often been elements of this approach that have been Futurist, but the trend has been towards flattening the biblical narrative into sort of universal and timeless truths.  There have been some positives that have come out of this approach and it's often been seen as the best way to let Revelation speak both to the original audience and to people today, but it falls short in that it largely ignores the original context and, as I said, in that it flattens out and often fails to account for the big biblical narrative. Third is what we'll call the “Historicist” approach.  This is often combined with various Futurist approaches and understands Revelation to be describing the history of the Church from beginning to end, so for example, while the seven churches addressed by John in Chapters 2 and 3 were real churches in Asia Minor, they represent progressively the Church from Acts up to the return of Jesus.  The rest of the book plays out the same way.  The major problem with this approach is that it accounts only for the church in the West and that every generation that uses it finds itself at the very end and has to massage the details to make them fit the new timeline.  Every few years it has to be scrapped and reconstructed.  Like the Futurist approach, this may appeal to people today, but it leaves the book largely meaningless to the original audience and simply ignores most of global Christianity in its artificially constructed timeline. The fourth and last approach is what's usually called the “Preterist” approach—“preter” meaning “something past”.  This approach has been around since at least the Eighteenth Century.  It understands most or all of Revelation to be describing events which took place in the First Century, typically centring around the fall of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 and reads Revelation in close connection with the apocalyptic teaching of Jesus.  Again, there are plenty of variations, but most Preterists hold that at least the last few chapters of the book remain in our future.  There is an heretical variant of Preterism holding that all of the events of Revelation have already taken place, but this isn't very common.  The common criticism of Preterism is that while it makes a great deal of sense of the book for Christians in the First Century, it doesn't leave much for us today.  This is, however, the approach that I'll be taking here and I think it makes the best sense of the book within the context of the bigger biblical narrative.  I think this approach does the best job of reading Revelation as First Century Jews would have done with their deep grasp of the Old Testament and I think it takes account of what Revelation actually is—something we'll get to shortly.  It's also really the only approach that takes seriously the language of imminence we see both here in Revelation and in the apocalyptic teachings of Jesus.  When John says “soon” and when Jesus says “before this generation passes”, Preterists believe they really meant “soon” and “before this generation passes”!  I think, too, that Preterist and some Idealist approaches are commended by their optimism.  They see the Church, commissioned by Jesus and empowered by the Spirit, actually succeeding in the mission we've been given, rather than whisked—or “raptured”—away just as everything turns for the worst. So, off with the academic gown and back on with the surplice, let's look at the first Chapter and St. John's introduction.  Revelation 1:1-8. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.  Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.   John to the seven churches that are in Asia:  Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.   “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”   This is the revelation—in John's language it's the apokalypsis, an unveiling, making something known.  Specifically, it's the revelation of Jesus the Messiah.  John writes that God gave this revelation to Jesus to reveal to his servants—to his Church.  What does that mean?  Well, first, we know that these early Christians were struggling.  These were people who had heard the good news about Jesus, that he had died and risen and that he is Lord.  Some of them may even have witnessed those events first-hand.  And they believed.  In Jesus, the God of Israel was fulfilling his promises.  In Jesus, the God of Israel was making all things new.  In Jesus, the God of Israel had defeated sin and death and inaugurated new creation.  They saw the promises fulfilled.  They saw and experienced first-hand the transformation brought by Jesus and the Spirit in the Church.  And yet they struggled.  The good news was spreading.  Little churches were springing up all over the world.  But they faced opposition, persecution, and sometimes even martyrdom.  They proclaimed: “Jesus is Lord”.  And they believed it.  They saw the evidence first hand.  But Caesar's claim to lordship was only growing stronger and his cult was spreading fast—and Christians were facing pressure to acknowledge him.  Great temples were being built in some of these cities.  And back in Jerusalem, as much as Jesus had denounced the unbelief of his own people, as much as he had pronounced judgement on them, they too were violently persecuting the Church.  What did it mean?  What was God's plan?  Was their hope misplaced?  Was Jesus really Lord? In those desperate days, God spoke to his Church.  Now, consider that in the days of the old covenant, the temple has been the place where earth and heaven met, the place where men and women went to meet God—often to pray and to wait for his revelation.  But now there's a new covenant.  Now we meet God in Jesus the Messiah.  He is the new temple.  He is the one in whom earth and heaven, God and man have been brought together.  God gives his word to Jesus and we come to him to receive it.  There's some deep covenantal truth in this first verse. God's revelation in Jesus is delivered by an angel to John.  It's the angel who comes to him and acts as a kind of tour guide and expositor of the things he sees.  Briefly, who is John?  This has been debated since the Second Century and I don't know that the question will ever have any ultimate resolution this side of the New Jerusalem.  The majority view has always been that the John who wrote Revelation is the same John who wrote the Gospel and the three epistles that bear that same name.  That's John the Son of Zebedee or John the Apostle and Evangelist.  There may have been another well-known figure in the early Church known as John the Presbyter or Elder.  Some have said that he may be the author.  Some who don't want to commit refer to St. John the Divine—the namesake of the parish down the hill on Fifth Street—who was maybe one of these two or maybe a third person.  At the end of the day I don't think it really makes much of a difference and I'm happy with the evidence for John the Apostle—the author of the Gospel and epistles—also being the author of Revelation.  He describes himself as the one “who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw” and I think that certainly sounds like the man who was Jesus' close friend and who wrote the Gospel.  That he could introduce himself to these churches as simple “John”, not “John This” or “John That”, I think also points to his being the well-known John the Apostle. “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,” John writes.  He's not talking about reading Revelation as if it's some kind of talisman—just pick something at random and read it and you'll be blessed.  Again, he's addressing these churches where it will be read aloud to the congregation—where God will reveal himself in Jesus through the reading of his word—and in that these people full of question and maybe even fears and doubts, will be blessed.  The word of God will strengthen their faith, their hope, and their joy.  It will prepare them for the difficult days to come.  And it will remind them of the faithfulness of God. Brothers and Sisters, this is true about God's word in general.  Read the Bible and be blessed as God reveals himself through his word to you.  But I encourage you to let God speak to you this week through the uniqueness of Revelation and to be blessed as your faith, hope, and joy are strengthened.  It takes about forty-five minutes to an hour to read the whole book and I guarantee that there are plenty of things you'll do this week that take longer that won't leave you as blessed as God's word will.  As John writes, Jesus loves us, he has freed us from our sin by the shedding of his own blood, he has made us priests to God his Father.  And even after all of that, if we're left wondering or left troubled by our situation, come to him and be reassured.  John writes at the outset to these churches: “Jesus is coming with the clouds…every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes on earth will wail on account of him.”  John draws on the language of the Prophet Zechariah (12:10-14) to say that Jesus will vindicate the faith of his people.  As the Father has revealed his faithfulness to do what he has promised and as he had done so in Jesus, Jesus himself will be faithful to do what he has promised and to finish what he has begun.  Have faith.  Read his word—his self-revelation—and have even greater faith. And the last line there in verse 8 points us to the ultimate purpose of everything that has happened and everything that will happen.  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Jesus has come so that the world will know the Lord God, the one who is both the source and the goal of all of history.  That's what “Alpha and Omega” is getting at.  The first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet.  Rebellious humanity has rejected and forgotten him, but Jesus has come to make him known—in judgement on those who persist in their rebellion and for salvation to those who believe.  For he is the Almighty, the pantokrator, the Lord of hosts, whose dominion encompasses the cosmos. So clearly Revelation is important.  But as I said, it's not an easy book to understand.  What can we do that will help us understand beyond just being careful and prayerful as we read?  Brothers and Sisters, in these first verses John tells us just what kind of a book this is and that's a good starting point.  First, it's a letter.  And not just any letter.  Like the epistles, it's a letter written to a specific, real, historical people.  In the case of Revelation, it was written to a cluster of seven churches in Asia Minor—Western Turkey.  It was God's Spirit-inspired word directly to them and only indirectly to us.  That means it had to make sense to them.  When we don't understand something, we often make the mistake of reading it through our present situation and cultural lens, but we can't do that with the Bible.  Before we can start talking about how a text relates to us, we first have to ask what it meant to the people to whom it was originally addressed. Second, John writes that this is a prophecy.  And as we read it, we see that John not only writes in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets, but that he is constantly drawing on those prophets and their language and imagery.  This is, I think, the biggest obstacle we face in understanding the book.  John's readers were steeped in the Old Testament (and in a certain way of reading it) that very, very few people are today.  The average Christian, at best, knows the Old Testament only as disconnected Bible stories and struggles to string them together into a full narrative.  Many know familiar passages from the Prophets, but don't know anything of the context or history those prophets were addressing—and then just assume that the prophets speak directly to us or to current events.  In contrast, for the early Christians the Old Testament was their culture and many knew large sections by heart.  We're not nearly so steeped in the scriptures and so we miss the connections and we misunderstand—or we try to understand them through categories that we do know and make a mess of things.  We read about weird astronomical happenings and instead of looking back to the use of such imagery in the prophets, we look to literal events in our own day—like the “blood moons” fiasco of a few years ago.  We hear about weird grasshoppers or scorpions and instead of looking to the Old Testament, we try to see how their descriptions fit with modern military hardware and interpret them as tanks and helicopters. Third, and this follows closely on the last point, we need to read Revelation with the big narrative of God and his people constantly in mind.  Getting back to my earlier example, an interpretation that divides the people of God in two rather than stressing the unity and continuity of the people of God between the old and new covenants, can't be right because it simply doesn't fit the narrative.  Of course, this assumes we've got a good grasp of that big story—which is why I so often put the stress I do on exactly that. Finally, Brothers and Sisters, as we read Revelation we need to keep our eyes on Jesus.  He is the central figure through whom the Father reveals himself and his faithfulness.  In his death and resurrection he has accomplished the purpose of God.  In him we see not only the love of Jesus, but also the love of the Father for sinners.  The Father gave his Son and that Son gave himself for the sake of his rebellious creatures.  He is the firstborn of the dead.  He is the king.  And there's an obvious promise there as we look around us and see that the work of his kingdom has yet to be fulfilled.  The God who has proved himself to be faithful has more work to do and in that we can find faith and hope.  In that we find reason to worship the King both for what he has done and for what we know he will do.  Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again. Let's pray: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen. [1] Orthodoxy (Hendrickson, 2006), 13.

Job's commitment to mercy ministry teaches us two main lessons about suffering. First, Godly people alleviate the suffering of others. Second, godly people suffer well themselves, trusting in God through it all. - Sermon Transcript - Turn in the Bible to Job 31 as we continue to move through this book. As I study the various books of the Bible, I realize that God in his wisdom has given us this incredible holy library of 66 books. And that each book of the Bible has a different role to play in our salvation, actually an array of roles. The central role of the book of Job is to address the problem of human suffering in the world. There are many other themes that come, but that is the central role. And in this book, we see an amazingly godly man, Job, being brought through wrenching trials, the dimensions of which we can scarcely imagine. And in this sermon today, today's sermon, we're going to see that Job, an amazingly godly man, cared very much about the sufferings of other people around him long before he ever came into suffering himself. He yearned to use his resources, his time, his energy, his money, all of the things are in his life to alleviate the suffering of others. That was part of what made him a blameless and a godly man. "The central role of the book of Job is to address the problem of human suffering in the world." And he recounts this track record in this chapter, Job 31. But this chapter, Job 31, his final defense, as we've been saying is set in the larger context of the sorrow and the misery that God had brought in his life. And so we can derive two lessons, a vertical lesson and a horizontal lesson from the themes today. Horizontally, first, godly people alleviate the suffering of other people around them. And then secondly, vertically, godly people suffer well themselves and do not murmur or chafe against God. They trust in God through it all. These are the two great lessons on suffering that I see through this chapter today. Now, as we deal with the issue of our horizontal awareness of the suffering of people around us and our sacrificial service to the poor and needy, I'm mindful of how difficult this topic is for all of us. I. Life in a Bubble It is very difficult for us as selfish sinners to care about the suffering of others. We really would like to move through life in this world in a protected bubble until we finally get to heaven and are free from it forever, no more death, mourning, crying or pain. We actually would like that to some degree. Now this was underscored for me by two experiences I had on the mission field. The first was in the summer of 1986, my first time being outside of the United States, I went on a 10-week summer mission trip to Kenya. And at the end, the last week, we spent at a resort area on the Indian Ocean coastline in Mombasa. And it was a very nice resort. And we were there enjoying good food and fellowship together on the final week together. Some of us wanted to go into the city of Mombasa. And we went and we were in an air-conditioned van moving through this city of Mombasa. And for the first time in my life, I saw poverty in a city, not in the United States. I saw that the difference between the poor in the U.S. and the poor in other countries was almost immeasurable. And it was shocking to me, the things that I was seeing in that area of Mombasa. And the more streets we moved through and drove through, the more uncomfortable I became with the shocking disparity between my lifestyle and the lifestyle of the people I was seeing outside that air-conditioned van. And it wasn't long after that, that van ride, that air-conditioned van ride became a kind of a symbol or a metaphor of me on this issue of ministering to the poor and needy, that my flesh, my heart desires, something like that for the rest of my life, I would like to just move and see it through tinted glass and be in a comfortable cushioned seat and have the air around me conditioned and just move through life like that. The second experience came a year later on my second mission trip, this one in Pakistan. I was on a team ministering to Afghan refugees who were fleeing from the Russians who had invaded to support their toppling communist regime, summer of 1987. Now those refugees, the Afghan refugees that we'd seen, I'd never seen such poverty in all my life. I mean, no, there were no one. I still haven't seen anyone as destitute as those people. They had fled with only their tattered clothes on their backs. And they had been through such experiences we can scarcely imagine. Almost every one of them had seen a loved one killed by a helicopter gunship or a landmine or something like that. The horror on their face was extraordinary, and we sought to minister to them. But the experience that sticks with me was not even those Afghan refugees, it was something that was churning in me. And as I looked and saw their needs and all that, but we're just moving through the city of Peshawar, and we're going to do some errands in Peshawar, Pakistan. And a number of poor Pakistani people would kind of come and accost you. They'd wait outside the bank when you went to get money or something. They were waiting for Westerners and they were coming at us. And as I encountered them, they would inevitably kind of point to their mouths and their stomach saying that they're hungry. They couldn't speak our language, but we knew what they wanted. And it was disturbing to me. The missionary that we were working with was dealing with it all the time and was used to it, didn't say a lot about it. He said that the beggars were frequently organized into somewhat like professional syndicates, somewhat like a prostitution ring with a pimp and all that. There would be individuals that would take advantage of poor people and would take a lot of the money that you gave them. And that there was this whole system going on. But he said, "Look, if you're concerned about them, all you have to do is just go to a Pakistani bakery and buy some of that naan, that beautiful, warm, delicious, flatbread, and just get a bunch of it and just have it ready. And when people would come, just give them the bread.” So I thought this was a great idea. So I went to a bakery and bought five or six of these loaves and carried them around in a bag with me. And wasn't long before a woman came doing the same thing, pointing to her mouth or her stomach. So I was excited. I triumphantly pulled out the naan and handed it to her and she became enraged and took it from me and threw it to the ground and walked away. She wanted money, she didn't want bread. And what was really troublesome to me at that moment was my heart reaction. I was actually relieved by this. It's, "Oh, okay." So I actually didn't feel I had as much of a burden now for the poor and needy, because of this woman's reaction. The whole thing's kind of a sham or a scam or something like that. Well, the problem was the day continued, there's more things going on. And another woman came up and she had a little child and she did the same thing pointing to her mouth in her stomach. And I took out a piece of bread and she immediately ripped it in half and gave it to her child and ate it herself. And it was gone in seconds. I gave her the rest of the bread I had and I realized it isn't a scam, it isn't a sham. There are genuinely needy people in this world. And the fact of the matter is I was looking for a neat solution to ministry to the poor and needy. I was looking for a way out to some degree. I realized that fully facing the problems of haves and have nots of poverty, of suffering in this world would be costly for me. And I would have to kind of get out of the air-conditioned van more than I was comfortable doing. And it was even more troubling to have a tour of my own heart in this matter, the wickedness and the selfishness of my own heart. That tour has continued to this present day. The fact of the matter is, Christ means to use the issue of poverty and the suffering of others, not just poverty, but suffering of any sort going on in other people's lives. Even among wealthy people, people that are going through cancer treatments or different things, just the suffering of others. He means to use that suffering to challenge us. And I mean that continually, a continual test, a continual challenge. He does not want us to feel comfortable ever, like we have a silver bullet or a neat solution to this problem. He means to bring us all, I think, to a point of desperation and self denial, where we look up to God and ask him what he would have us do. That we don't rely on ourselves to meet the needs, but we look to God. Jesus did this with his own disciples. He constantly challenged his own disciples. For example, the feeding the 5,000. Disciples came to Jesus late in the day, "Send the people home." And Jesus said, "They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat." Wow, what a moment that was. "Christ means to use the issue of poverty and the suffering ... to challenge us. " And John's gospel, then John's account, John tells us that Jesus sought out the issue with Philip and said, "Where are we to buy bread that all these people may eat?" And then John tells us, "Jesus only did this to test him because he knew what he was going to do." You just look that up. That's John 6. Jesus intends to test us on this issue. He brings the thing up and tests you to see how you will respond. So the issue is, are we going to be aware? Are we going to see what's going on in the world around us? We're going to face the huge overwhelming needs of many sorts. Will we look upward and trust God for the resources to meet needs? And then will we be sacrificial servants to alleviate suffering of others in the world or not? Now we need help on this issue, because from infancy, every one of us has been fanatically committed to self-interest. Augustine, in his classic Confessions, he describes the staggering level of selfishness, even in an infant nursing at his mother's breast. What was he like a moment before his needs started to be met? Well, you moms know exactly what he was like, depending on the circumstances, howling with rage. Inarticulate, unable to speak what was on his mind. But he wasn't thinking about you, Mom, and what your needs were at all, fanatical commitment to self-interest. And all of us are like this. Not just some of us, all of us. We grow up in that same mode. And only Christ, only the power of the Holy Spirit, only the grace of God, can break that fanatical commitment to self-interest so that we might love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that we might love our neighbor as ourselves. And to this end, we are given the greatest possible example. I don't mean Job, we'll get to him in a moment. But I mean Jesus Christ. Jesus entered the world before his incarnation with his eyes wide open, knew very well he was going to be swimming in a sea of misery. He was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. What were his daily days of ministry like? What was it like? It was a river of sick, hurting people coming to him for healings. That's what his day was like. Crowds bigger than you can imagine. Crushing him, all of them sick or broken or paralyzed or in some agony in some way. He was just drawing the poison of sorrow and suffering into himself. Second Corinthians 8:9, "For you know the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich." So Jesus left the comfort and ease of heaven to alleviate our sufferings. Now in Scripture, God has given us, aside from the central glorious example of Jesus, many other examples as well. And I think in the Old Testament, there may not be a greater example of mercy ministry or care for the poor and needy or justice ministry, whatever you want to call it, than Job and the way he accounts himself here in Job 31. Job lived out what James calls a pure and faultless religion. James 1:27, "Religion that our God and father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Now let's remember the context here in the midst of Job's sorrows and sufferings that we know about. We've talked about this many times. Job 31 is his final defense against the accusations of his friends. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar have accused him of suffering because of his own wickedness. But as you remember from the very beginning, Job is introduced to us as a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil. Now, God allowed Satan to assault Job, to steal from him his wealth, his children, and his health. And then in the cycle of debate and discussions that follow, that make up the bulk of the book, there's all these discussions from Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. They came to be with him and they followed their theology, the law of sowing and reaping, you reap what you sow, and God is just inactive in this world. So the only possible explanation for the magnitude of Job's suffering is that he must be a great sinner. They have no evidence, but this is where the theology led them. And so Job 31 is his defense against this. He's refuting this vigorously. Now we've already looked two weeks ago in an overview fashion over this whole chapter, magnificent chapter of eight different elements of Job's righteousness. Last week, we focused on Job's commitment to absolute sexual purity. Today, we're going to zero in on his care for mercy ministry. And this is a direct answer to a Eliphaz's outrageous accusation against Job. Job 22:5-10, Eliphaz said this, and just keep this in mind. This is the blameless and upright man that God boasted about to Satan. Eliphaz said this, "Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?" Now this is Eliphaz way out on a limb, no evidence. He's just saying these things. “You demanded security from your brothers for no reason, you strip men of their clothing, leaving them naked. You gave no water to the weary. You withheld food from the hungry though, you were a powerful man owning land, an honored man living on it. And you sent widows away empty handed. You broke the strength of the fatherless. That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you.” So we're going to see in this chapter, in the sermon today, just three kind of main areas of Job's mercy ministries, concern for mercy. First in verse 13, fair treatment for his servants. And then secondly, in verses really throughout, but 16-20, especially sacrificial care for the poor and needy. And then thirdly, justice for the needy in court, exerting influence and justice for the needy in court. These are the three main areas. So we'll walk through each of these so that Job can give us help, that Job can be a role model, so that Job can stand and say to us in Christ, “follow me as I follow Christ." That's what ultimately the benefit that we'll have from this. So let's talk first about the cost of Job's care for the poor and needy. This is not without charge. It's costly. It was energetic and costly for Job to serve the poor and needy. II. The Cost of Job’s Care for the Needy Now remember a couple of weeks ago, I talked about the contrast between Confucius' version of the Golden Rule and Jesus' version. I don't know if you remember that. The Golden Rule, Matthew 7:12 says, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the Prophets." It just sums up the second great commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you think about it, that means activity, it means energy, it means self-denying, sacrificial work. Effectively it's saying, put as much energy into caring for the needs of your neighbor as you do into caring for your own needs. Put as much thought and creativity into caring for the needs of your neighbor, as you do into caring for your own. So Christ's Golden Rule is harder to obey than Confucius'. Confucius’ basically is negative, don't do to others what you would not have them do to you. It's a simple ethic of “do not harm.” Do no harm. Christ turns around and says, "Actively do good as you would have it done to you." "So Christ's Golden Rule is harder to obey than Confucius'. Confucius’ basically is negative, don't do to others what you would not have them do to you. ... Christ turns around and says, "Actively do good as you would have it done to you."" Remember, Christ's parable of the Good Samaritan taught to, I guess, a lawyer who tried to justify himself. There’s always the danger on this issue of mercy and ministry. We're always trying to justify ourselves and our behavior. We're fine as we are. We care about poor people like we should. He said, "Well, who is my neighbor?" And he told the parable, "The Good Samaritan." You remember how this man went down on the road to Jericho and was waylaid by highway robbers who violated Confucius' rule of do not do harm. They attacked him and etcetera. They also violated the Golden Rule. But then along come two others. You remember a priest who saw him bleeding there by the side of the road and walked by on the other side of the road and just kept going and did nothing. So he fulfilled Confucius' edict to not do harm, but he didn't do anything for him. He saw him and just walked on. Same thing with the Levite, exact same thing. He saw him. Jesus makes it very clear. Both of these saw, but they walked on, on the other side of the road. So the seeing and other side, that's what I mean by the bubble, that air-conditioned bubble that we're looking for. I see it, but I don't want to see it. And I'm over here and there's a space. And then along comes the Good Samaritan who sacrificially cares for him. So Job did that. Job lived a life of active service. It was costly for him to care for the fatherless and the widow. It was costly for him to feed hungry and clothe the naked. It was costly for him to house the stranger. This is the pattern that Jesus commends to all his servants. And it's on the basis of this, he says in Matthew 25, that he's going to evaluate the entire human race. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory and all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he's going to put the sheep on his right on the goats on his left.” And he's going to say to those on his right, the sheep, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Take your inheritance the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick, and you look after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me." And they said, "When?" And he said, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me." Then he turns it around on the goats and said, "You did not do these things for me." Priest and the Levite walking by on the other side, "You didn't do it. So depart from me you who are cursed," he says. That's what's going to happen on Judgment Day. It’s a costly sacrificial service. III. The Patterns of Job’s Care for the Needy Now let's talk about the patterns of Job's care for the needy. Now Job's speech, his talk is in the form of an oath that he's taking in a court. If I have done this, and if I have done that, and if I have done the other, then may I be cursed? That's basically the pattern that we have in his language here. So verse 16, verse 17, verse, 19 verse 21, they all have “if, if, if, if.” So, but he's denying that he did those things. So you turn it around, they become then the assertions he's making about his life. So first one, fair treatment for his servants in verse 13. Verse 13, "If I have denied justice to my man servants and maid servants, when they had a grievance against me…..may I be accursed?" I didn't, I didn't deny justice to my men servants and maid servants when they had a grievance against me. Job was a great man running a great estate. He had lots of livestock. He had many servants that cared for the livestock as you remember. If any of them Job said, at any time had a grievance against him, say, I didn't run a perfect estate. Inevitably there would've been some things that would've happened, some mistakes, some ways that I could have been a better master to them as servants. I could have done better. So if they ever brought a grievance to me, I made certain that I heard them, that I listened to them and that I addressed their grievance. That's what he's saying. He was humble enough to listen to them. Great men of those days, they wouldn't listen to these people at all. They wouldn't even get a day in court, so to speak. They wouldn't even be heard. Job made certain that they were heard, made certain that their needs were addressed, was humble in that respect. Modern day application, some of you may be important, powerful people in your companies. You may be employers. You may be bosses. The question is, do you deal justly with people who have a grievance against you? Very easy to get defensive and use your position of power to make life difficult, to make their work lives miserable. Second main pattern is just sacrificial care for the poor and the needy. In verse 16, he said, "If I've denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary." So this is a lifestyle of active care for the poor and widows in the community. He did not deny their desires, the basic commodities of food, of clothing, of shelter. He saw that they got it. He didn't send them away empty handed without their desire met. So over 17 bread for the hungry. If I had kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless. John Calvin, in his sermon on this text, he uses the image that frequently the New Testament uses of a steward who's put in charge of the master's goods to manage them. And the master gives specific instructions that this amount of these resources go to this person and these resources must go to this person and all that. He gives specific instructions. And then the steward doesn't do what the master told him to do. He doesn't embezzle. He doesn't hold it to himself. He just doesn't distribute the goods the way the master told him to. "That master,” said John Calvin, "will have every right to be angry with the steward because by his not following out the generous commands of his master, he made the master look stingy. He made the master look unjust." And so it is when we withhold resources that the Lord has given to us, that he means to distribute, then we actually make God look bad. As it says in Romans, "The name of God is blasphemed because of you." Romans 2:24. We don't want to do that, we want to make our God look generous. Now we cannot give a specific rule about how much to give or when to give or etcetera. It's hard to know. It takes wisdom. Jesus said in Mark 14:7, "The poor you will always have with you” and you can help them anytime you want." And that, just that freedom, it's just like they're always going to be around you. You're not going to solve the problem of poverty in the world. So you're always going to have opportunities. And part two, you can help them anytime you want. Implied in that is you can help them as much as you want. Part three is, we'll talk about how much that was on judgment day. That's how I hear that. You're always going to have poor. We can't solve this. It's going to be with us till Jesus comes back. Secondly, it's up to you what you do. You have choices to make in this matter. And third, sheep and the goats, we're going to talk about it on judgment day. So God leaves it to us to be wise stewards, to give in proportion to our income, wisely learning the condition of the poor. Expecting in some cases, perhaps to get taken advantage of like that beggar syndicate. I didn't know anything about that. I didn't realize that a good chunk of the money that I gave would go to some unscrupulous wicked person. But that doesn't free me from caring for the genuinely hungry there. Job was lavishly generous with any person, poor person he knew. We tend to be stingy. We also feel excessively proud of ourselves when one out of a hundred times we help someone. And then we feel like we boast, “that was a big moment for me, Lord, you did see that,” right? “You saw what I did there. That was generous of me, don't you think?” So we like that. I know it's hard. I know it's hard, brothers and sisters, to get this right. I understand. I've been fighting this struggle, I struggle with this issue my whole Christian life. I understand. I don't think we're going to reach Job's level. But the dynamic of the Christian life is to see some defect in yourself and take it to God in prayer and say, "Change me, make me a different man or a different woman a year from now than I am now. I'm not very generous to the poor and needy, honestly. I don't sacrifice much for them. Will you please transform me?" He also talks about giving guidance to the orphan and the widow. Verse 18, "But from my youth, I reared the fatherless as would a father. And from my birth, I guided the widow." So he basically just kind of grew up in an atmosphere of caring about the poor and needy. Obviously, he doesn't care for widows as an infant. But I think what he's saying is these foundations got built in his soul from an early age. Says a lot about Christian parenting, doesn't it? That you’re raising people up, kids up to care about others from childhood. And then look at the level of care. He said that the fatherless grew up with him, implies adoption or an active care for the orphan, giving him an education, rearing him as a father would a child. This was the level of Job's piety. It was very costly. It's hugely inconvenient to open your home and your lifestyle to an outsider. But to be the father to the fatherless involves a lot more than just giving a little bit of money. In Job's case, it meant pouring wisdom into the young man, seeing him grow up. And then when it came to the widow, it wasn't again, merely a matter of money. It was guidance. She was stripped of her protection often, legally. But she could come to Job and he was a safe haven for her. He would give her good advice, not just money, but guide her and get her into a good situation. So Job spent himself on behalf of the poor and needy. It was time. It was money. It was energy. Those commodities. And he speaks of clothing for the shivering. Verses 19 and 20, "If I've seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing or a needy man without a garment and his heart did not bless me for warming him with the fleece, from my sheep." So Job took his massive resource. Remember he had 7,000 sheep and he used a large portion of the wool that he had sheared from his sheep to make certain that the poor, the naked that he knew, were clothed. He rescued them from perishing in the cold. And he saw them. It was a key moment. He looked at them, he saw them with compassionate eyes. And he cared for them. He also speaks of housing for the stranger, verses 31, 32. He said that, "The men in my household have never said, who has not had his fill of Job's meat? But no stranger had to spend the night in the street for my door was always open to the traveler." So he was open for hospitality. I mean, back then, you didn't have hotels and inns generally. And so if there was a stranger coming into the community, as Jesus said, "I was a stranger, you invited me in." And then finally, this issue of justice in court. In verses 21-22, he says, "If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint." It was easy for the poor and the widow to get dominated in court. It's easy for the powerful, the wealthy to set up the system and gain the system so that they can take advantage of people who can't get good legal counsel or can't get somebody to stand up for them in court. This is why Jesus said very plainly that the teachers of the law, he cried out, “woe to them” because they devoured widow's houses. What does that mean? They were able legally to confiscate widow's property, take advantage of them. So instead, a truly godly man would come to the aid of widows in a court of laws. It says in Isaiah 1:17, "Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Now, what were the reasons for Job's care for the needy? This is as important as what he did. IV. The Reasons for Job’s Care for the Needy And his reasons, as we've seen in Job 31, was a God-centered piety, everything centered on God. From the beginning, we're told of Job that he “feared God and shunned evil.” Things came again and again in Job's heart to God, to that vertical dimension. He was always thinking about God, how will God see this? What will God do about this? And he knew that he was accountable to God. For example, his reason for making certain he didn't deny justice to his own servants is that someday he himself would have to give an account to his own master. He knew that while he was a master temporarily, at least he was also a slave of God. So look at verses 13-14. He said, "If I have denied justice to my men servants and maid servants, when they had a complaint against me, what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account? Someday," Job said, "I'm going to have to give an account for how I have treated these people. I'm going to have to give an answer to God for what I've done." And fundamentally, as he says in verse 15, God made us both. Verse 15, "Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?" John Calvin said, "Whenever you look at another human being, no matter what their circumstances, you're really looking in a mirror. You are both created in the image of God. There's no significant difference between you." So this is the foundation of all of our ethical treatment of other human beings. This person is a human being created in the image of God, fashioned in the womb by his meticulous care, just like you. Job also feared God's judgment. Verse 23, "I dreaded destruction from God. For fear of his splendor, I could not do such things." Job knew that God would be highly motivated to defend the poor and needy against their oppressors. He says in Proverbs 14:31, "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker. But conversely, whoever is kind to the needy honors God." So turning it around positively, whenever you are kind to the needy, you're honoring God, you're worshiping God, you're elevating God and presenting him as glorious and loving. And that's ultimately a positive motivation, isn't it? The delight you bring to others, the happiness you can bring in somebody's circumstance. Look at verse 20, 19 and 20. He said, "If I've seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing or a needy man without a garment and his heart did not bless me for warming him with a fleece from my sheep." How sweet is that? Somebody's in a extremity, an extreme situation and you're able to step in with some resources. Might just be counsel, might be friendship, but it could be money, some care and the burden is gone. You've taken care of it and there's a joy that comes from it. Now I know not everybody's going to say thank you. I know not everybody. Some people act as though you owe it to them. We understand that. There's going to be some bad behavior on both sides of the equation, but that doesn't matter. No matter what happens, ultimately, what matters is vertically God sees it and he's pleased. There's a joy and a delight in all of this. V. Applications All right. So what applications can we take from this? Well, first of all, Job is to all of us, spiritually, a father. We are like his children. It's like, "Teach me, dad, how to be, what kind of man should I be? What kind of woman should I be?" To have a godly father who can set a good role model for us and set a good example. So I don't think we're going to reach Job's level. You read this chapter. If you take it all as gospel truth, that this is how he lived his life, it's a very, very high standard. What you can do is take counsel in prayer with yourself. If you're married, husband and wife, get together and say, "How can we grow in care for the poor and needy? What can we do?" There are ministry opportunities right here in Durham. There are ministry opportunities around us. So we have to ask, not just individually, but for us as a church, the elders of our church, we have to ask what mercy ministries does God want us to do that we're not doing yet? I can't imagine not asking this. Oh, it's inconceivable that we aren't doing any mercy ministries God wants us to do that. Just can't be, there must be some opportunities that we're missing, there must be some things. Maybe up to this point, there hasn't been an open door, but now there's an opportunity. How can we do that? And as we do, we need to keep proper priorities. We need to care for the body, but care more for the soul. They're not equal in importance. The social gospel in the 19th century basically said, fatherhood of God, brotherhood of man, God has no active wrath or justice against any sinners. It's all fine. It's like a universalism kind of thing. The real issue is alleviating temporal suffering. That's what the social gospel is all about. The soup kitchens, all that kind of thing. There was no concern for proclaiming a gospel of salvation to sinners who were under the wrath of God, because they didn't believe in that. That was a social gospel. But the problem was fundamentalists in the 19th and on to 20th century overreacted the other way and did nothing for the body, many of them. Preached the gospel and that was it. And so there was a detachment that seems a lot like that air-conditioned bubble ride I was talking about that fundamentalists just didn't get involved in alleviating temporal suffering. And then Carl F. H. Henry came along the uneasy conscience of the modern evangelical and there started to be a concern. John Stott talked about two wings of a bird, the gospel, and then alleviating temporal suffering. I don't think it's helpful because I think they're not equal. Do you remember when Jesus fed the 5,000? Remember that? John 6. What did they do the next day? Came back for more food. Remember? It's like, "Well, this is a good gig. Jesus can do this effortless. I could quit my Job. It's like we've won the lottery here. I mean, he waves his hand and a five loaves and two fish and look at that. And that was good. Those are good loaves too. Did you taste that fish? It was good. Jesus is an excellent chef." Jesus rebuked them for that constant pressure for the stomach. He said, "Do not labor for the food that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give you." So they're not equal. They're not like two wings of a bird. One is far more important. A number of years ago, I spoke at a conference Gospel Coalition put on about mercy ministry and they're talking about that. And the slogan’s very helpful. Christians should care about all human suffering, but especially eternal suffering. There is no suffering worse than that of eternity in hell. Depart from me ye who are cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. But Christians should also seek to alleviate temporary suffering too. Jesus did, and Job did. So that's what stands in front of us. So the call to us is to get out of the bubble and to make steps toward people that are broken, people that are hurting. People, we tend to go away from suffering. We need to go more toward it, ask God to work this in you. But realize, no matter how much you do in mercy ministry, no matter how sacrificial you are, even if you got close to Job's level, none of those things would ever save you from your sins. Job wasn't saved from hell because of his mercy ministry. And after this chapter, a few chapters later, he's repenting of his sins vertically. He needed to repent and have a savior as much as any human being. And so we are saved because Jesus left his throne and came and was born of the Virgin Mary and lived a sinless life and died an atoning death for sinners like you and me. And by faith in Christ alone, our sins are forgiven. Not by our mercy ministry, our justice or any of that. But having been saved, how then shall we live? Job 31 tells us. Let's close in prayer. "Christians should care about all human suffering, but especially eternal suffering. There is no suffering worse than that of eternity in hell." Lord, thank you for the role model that Job is for us in this issue of justice and mercy. Father, we know that this is a challenging topic. We know it searches us. We are so selfish. Father, I pray that you would enable us to be more generous than we've ever been before. Show us individually and show us also as a church, what mercy ministries and what alleviation of suffering that you're calling us to do. Help us to be willing to do it even if it's sacrificial, maybe especially if it's sacrificial. Transform us, Lord. Make us different. Help us not to be selfish and self-focused, but instead to live for others as you did. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sermon Manuscript“I am a New Testament Christian.” That statement has been said many times over the years. And usually, the one saying it is critiquing the Old Testament as irrelevant.One person who used that phrase also said this: “Jesus' teachings and my daily conversations with God is what's MOST important to me.” That person probably has a red-letter Bible. You know, one where Jesus' words are in red… as-if the red letters are more important than the other words in the Bible. Some of you are probably thinking “uh-oh, I have a red-letter Bible!” That's ok, one of my Bibles is red-letter.But you see, all of Scripture is inspired by God. All of Scripture is profitable for knowing God, for training us in holiness, All of Scripture points us in one way or another to our need for salvation… and how God has accomplished it.And the Old Testament? Well, besides it being the Word of God, which makes it important, it also enriches our faith and understanding.• The Old Testament takes us all the way back to God's creation. • It reveals the root and impact of sin• It begins to unfold God's grace as he established relationships with first a man, and then his family, and then a people, and then a nation.• And all throughout this weaving of history, God is making promises and fulfilling them. Promises that involve land… and promises of redemption… and promises of God's eternal presence.• God also gives His people rules and laws that both govern them and reveal to them who he is.• In the Old Testament, God shows his people the various kinds of sin… such as pride and idolatry and what happens when they reject Him. Idolatry is when something or someone becomes more important than God• The Old Testament is also full of wisdom and amazing poetry. And all throughout… God is moving towards a grand climax… fulfillment of his promises and laws in Christ. But here's the thing about the Old Testament. Actually 2 things:1.) First, if you are Jewish, you could get stuck in all the outward forms, and laws, and customs, and miss – totally miss the purposes behind them. It can all become hollow ceremonialism and self-righteous religious piety.2.) Second, if you are not Jewish, you could be tempted to skip over the Old Testament altogether, thinking that it is irrelevant, full of strange practices, laws, and people that don't matter to you.Either way misses the boat… missed out on God purposes, and on all the blessings and benefits that God gives us through the Old Testament.Stephen here, in this sermon, addresses both of these ways that the Old Testament is misunderstood. In fact, Stephen is culturally Greek. He grew up reading the Greek translation of the Old Testament, so he's able to very effectively address both the Hebrew context as a Jew, yet apply the Old Testament to the church – to us, as a Greek. The beauty of this speech is how Stephen interweaves the history of God's people and how it all comes to a fulfillment in Christ.Kids, let's say you had never seen the movie Toy Story before, and some friends were going to watch it. However, you were late to the party, and you started watching it halfway-through. And you are trying to figure out who the characters were. Is Woody bad or good? What about this Buzz guy. Why is this neighbor kid, Sid, torturing the toys? But the more you watch, the more it starts to make sense – especially if you watch it again from the beginning.Well, some of the history and laws in the Old Testament may not make sense at first. But over time as your read and study it, you can see how the parts fit together. You get to know the main characters, and can see how God's plan and purposes are worked out. And how it applies to you, and to us, to the church today.Ok, before we jump into what Stephen said, here's a quick reminder.Stephen had just been accused! And his accusers first said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God," and then they said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law."That may sound like 4 things, but it boils down to actually 2. They charged him with rejecting God… and to them, God lived in the temple. The holy place. Do you see that parallel? – between God and the temple. That's one charge. And they also charged Stephen with rejecting Moses… well, God gave them the law through Moses – all the ceremonial practices and laws. That's the other charge.They were saying that Stephen was rejecting both – God and Moses. The temple and the law. And those were 2 things that they held on to so dearly! How dare he!That's really important to understand... because in Stephen's speech, he's answering both charges.It may feel like Stephen is just giving an overview of the history of God's people in the Old testament.,.. from Abraham to Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses and Joshua and David and Solomon. They are all in there. But Stephen is very intentional about what he's highlighting. He's first answering the question of God presence…. He does this by highlighting how God was present with his people all throughout, all the way to the Temple, and to Jesus. That's the first focus of Stephen's sermon, which we'll look at this morning. And second, God's law. That will be next week's focus. We didn't read the set of verses in the middle about Moses… we'll get to those next week.So this morning… we'll focus on the first theme… the fulfilled promise of God's presence.Here's what Stephen is saying to this Jewish court: “You got it all wrong! You're trapped in the outward ceremonies, you're stuck in the forms, you think God lives in the temple!” He's saying, “No, I'm not rejecting God and Moses, no, quite the opposite. You are rejecting God, just like your forefathers. I'm elevating God and seeing the fulfillment of Moses!”Just to be sure, Stephen is not saying, “you need to be a ‘New Testament Christian!'” No, he's showing them that this was God's plan all along. It all fits together, it all makes sense, and it all comes to a fruition in Christ Promise and PresenceOk, Let's now direct our attention to these words. You see, the Jewish people and their leaders had elevated the temple beyond God's purposes. To them, it represented God. It's where they met God. God lived there.And Stephen says to them, No, no, no. It's never been about a piece of land or a building. You've misunderstood your whole history! And his speech in part is to correct their understanding.I want you to notice something. The verses we red this morning are all about land and places. It didn't matter where God's people were, God was with them. Let's look at it.• Verse 2 – The God of glory appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia. God spoke to him there.• Verse 4 – God was with Abraham in Haran. • And then, God actually brought him into the land where they now live – where the temple is. But guess what? verse 5, Abraham didn't own any of the land. Not a square inch. But God was still with him• And in fact, verse 6, Abrahams descendants would live in a foreign land for a long time! But God would be with them, nonetheless• In verses 7-16, Stephen reminds them about all that. About the promises to Abraham's son, Isaac, About Jacob and his son Joseph.• Well, Joseph is sold as a slave by his brothers. And Joseph is taken to Egypt. Verse 9. But guess what, God was with Joseph in Egypt. That's exactly what verse 9 says. You see, Stephen is continuing to make his point that God does not live in a place. In fact, God used Joseph in Egypt to save his family. They all moved there. And God was with them. It's there that they grew from a family into a people – the Hebrews, the Jewish people. • Next week we'll talk about how the Egyptians enslaved the Hebrews. Yet how God was still with them! He rescued them through Moses. Stay tuned.• Now Jump down to verse 44. After Egypt, God's people were in the wilderness, in the desert. But guess what, God was with them there – in the tent of witness – that's the tabernacle where God was “in their midst” as they moved around.• Finally, verse 45, they enter the land that God had promised.• But do you know what? …the temple wasn't even built until Solomon. That's verses 46 and verses 47. That's over 400 years after they entered the land! Do you get what Stephen is saying?• And here it is, the climax of Stephen's speech, verse 48, look at it – “the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands.”• And then Stephen quotes Isaiah 66, to prove his point that it's never been that way. “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” Says the Lord.God is not bound to the temple. He never has been. God was with his people all throughout, wherever they were. Leading and saving them. It was never about the Temple. Now, the Temple did serve an important purpose. Yes, God met with them in the temple in a special way. That happened through ceremonies and events. But God established those things to teach them. They were shadows that pointed forward to a greater reality. But the Jews had mistaken the temple, and the temple practices as the reality, not the shadows. And in doing that, they missed God in the process.And let me say, that continues today. I've been to Jerusalem twice. Some of the structures still remain. For example, the temple used to be perched up on top of what's called the Temple Mount. It's this massive platform, 37 acres. Some of the supporting walls are 100-feet high… built with huge stones. The Temple itself is no longer there, but the Temple Mount still remains. The temple was destroyed in 70 AD. And today, a golden mosque sits on the temple mount. The Jewish people are not allowed into the temple mount area where the mosque it. No, rather, the closest they can get to where the original Temple … is the Western Wall of the Temple Mount.On both of my visits to Jerusalem, I visited the Western Wall. It's a very sacred place for them. When you go in to the area, they give you a paper head covering. They also offer you a piece of paper and a pencil to write something like a prayer, because, after all, you're close to God. You could then fold the paper and put it in one of the cracks between the stones in the wall. So I took my piece of paper… and I wrote on it: “Erik was here” and I stuffed it in the rock.Overall, it's a sad sight to behold. The Jewish people sit or stand next to the wall and they rock back and forth… or they put their hands on the wall. Sometimes the wall is called the wailing wall… because of their lamenting, their crying and wailing that the temple is no longer there.Just like back then, so today, this holy place has become an idol – In other words, they're exalting the place over and above the living God – who does not dwell in houses made by handsLet's go back to their charge against Stephen. They accused him of teaching, “Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place.” Well that's actually true! Jesus had said that the temple would be destroyed but he would raise it up in three days! That's John chapter 2. The apostle John notes that Jesus was referring to his body. Referring to his death and resurrection. At that time, Jesus was pointing beyond the temple. Beyond all the elements and signs of the temple to something greater.When Jesus died on the cross, something happened that we don't often talk about. We read it, but usually skim over it. But in fact, it's one of the most significant incidents – and it happened right as Jesus breathed his last. You can read it in your bulletin – the Matthew 27 reading. “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”Inside of the temple was this large thick curtain – multiple inches thick. And it separated the main room of the temple from the inner room, which was called the holy of holies. In there were several things including the Ark of the Covenant, which had a copy of the 10 commandments, and Aaron's Rod, and some of the manna – that's the bread that God daily gave them in the wilderness. Also in the Holy of Holies was the mercy seat, and table of incense, the lampstand, and the bread of the presence. We don't have time to go into all those details. The only one allowed into the Holy of Holies was the High Priest. And only once a year at that. And when he was in there he would intercede for the people and for himself.Now, some of you may be thinking … “see! All that Old Testament stuff. Like, what does it mean and why is it important to me?”The purpose of the Holy of Holies was to point to the very presence of God… and to indicate, and this is the important point, what is required to be in God's presence. In fact, the Holy of Holies pointed back to the Garden of Eden. That's where Adam and Eve, the first humans, communed perfectly in God's presence… before sin. The lampstands represented trees from the garden. Two cherubim were engraved on the curtain. They pointed to the cherubim guarding the garden. And the manna pointed to God's sustaining grace. The 10 commandments pointed to perfection in His presence. The mercy seat, in fact, was identified in Exodus 25 as where God would meet them. It all represented in one way or another, God's presence and how to commune with him.Each one of those things, by themselves, deepens our understanding of God and his grace. Even the priest! The High Priest had to intercede not just for the people, but for himself. These are the shadows that point to the realities. These are not the realities. But the Jewish people mistook them for the realities.And when Jesus died on the cross - the temple curtain was torn in two. Why? Because Christ fulfilled these shadows. Through Jesus, we can come into the very presence of God. The Temple is no longer needed! • He perfectly fulfilled the law-the 10 commandments.• He is the one who feeds us spiritual manna. He is the manna, the Bread of Life.• He is the perfect High Priest – we'll spend more time on that next week.• Through Christ, our communion with God is restoredGod established the Temple to point forward to Christ. It was never about the Temple itself, it was never about the land, it was God teaching them …and pointing to a restored relationship with him, through Christ.I have a dear friend who has been serving in the US Army for about 25 years now. Back in the early 2000s, he got his orders to deploy to Iraq. He would be gone for about a year. At the time, his wife was pregnant. She was almost due with their first child, a son. Well, they wanted their son, when he was born, to have a connection with his dad, even though he wouldn't meet his dad in person for almost a year. This was before Skype, and there weren't many opportunities to talk on the phone. So, they made a life-sized poster of my friend. They hung it up right next to the crib that they had set up. My friend also recorded his voice, reading children's stories, and praying. Soon he deployed… and his wife shortly thereafter gave birth to their son. Well, all through the first year of this boy's life, his mom referred to the poster of his dad, played the audio of his dad reading different books and praying for him. Those were the shadows of the reality. They were pictures and things to help. But then, one day, his dad came home. They met in person, and he and his son embraced – the son recognized his dad. He was there in the flesh, the full reality. They could hug and play games, and his dad could read books and interact with him, and teach him. They didn't need the poster any more. It served a great purpose. They could tear it down. They didn't need the recordings any more. They could talk in person.Now what if this young boy rejected his dad and kept pointing to the poster or wanting to listen to the recordings? Well, he wouldn't have understood their purpose. They pointed to his dad, they were not his dad.You see, it's the same with Christ. The promise of land and the establishment of the temple – they were merely pointing forward to show them and to show us who the Savior is. But one day, Christ came in the flesh. His very presence was with his people. And he would accomplish what he came to do, to die and be raised, to restore our relationship with God. When Jesus came and fulfilled the promises, it didn't diminish the value of learning from the Temple and its ceremonies. Read the book of Hebrews and you'll see that. But the time had come for the shadows to come to an end, and for the realities to replace them. Why? because the true substance was Christ.Application and conclusionAnd, today, we're tempted to do the same thing. To look for God in places - not the temple, of course - but to seek sanctuaries, or to think that merely going to church makes you a Christian, or to seek for God in ceremonies, or to mistake feelings for closeness to God, or to idolize people - pastors even… thinking certain people have better access to God. But if you are a believer in Christ – if you've turned your life to him. Then you have the realities of God's presence in Christ. You are a “temple of the living God,” as the Word says – because Christ is in you. Given to you. The curtain was torn for you. You don't need a priest, you don't need to perform a special ceremony, or go to a sacred place. You have access to God through Christ. You can come before him in prayer and you can worship him. And Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, Moses, David, and Solomon. They, too, had access to God through Christ. Through the promised one to come. The Righteous One as verse 52 highlights. And this reality of God's presence in Christ, now, will be the reality for eternity. In the heavenly vision God gave the apostle John, Revelation 21, he said, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” The Lamb being Jesus.So may we see the promises of God's presence, fulfilled in Christ. And may we forsake all the wrong ways in which we pursue his presence, and instead come to him through faith in Christ.

What do you do when life becomes a train wreck? Today I want to share with you the five secrets to advance your vision. Do you feel stuck in your own calling? Do you often think that you'd like to be more successful and more influential, but something's in the way our circumstances keeping you from achieving your life goals? If so, this week's podcast is for you. How do I bring my faith to work? How do I tap into the power of God in my work life? Paul, why am I going through this? Adversity is God mad at me? I'm all Sylvan and I've been helping leaders like you answer these questions and more for over 30 years. That's what this podcast is all about. Let's learn and grow together. Welcome to TGF Today God is First podcast. Hey guys, and welcome to our podcast this week. This week we're going to do two podcasts because we've got some special things going on this week. So today's podcast is talking about what happens when there's a train wreck in your life. And I'm going to share with you a few secrets that I learned when I had a train wreck of my life and hopefully it's going to be helpful to you. Now. Over the years I've discovered that most people are in one of three places. Life is good. You're really doing well, you're making lots of money, you're having great impact. I hope that's where you are. Uh, others are, you know, not so lucky. They're not in that place of blessing. They're having struggles, but it's not too bad. But they reason that, well, everybody has those kinds of struggles. And so, you know, I just deal with it. And then there's a third category of people and that is, they're in a very difficult crisis and they need some help in understanding what God is doing in their life so that God can take them through that and really help them fulfill God's purposes in your life through that train wreck. And so that's what I want to talk to you. A, what I'm sharing today is going to be helpful no matter whether you're in one, two, or three stage. And so I hope that you'll stay tuned. I'm also going to give a free resource at the end. If you want to stay with me at the end, there'll be a tool that you can use that can help you again, no matter where you are in that phase of your journey. So I want to do something a little different than I normally do today. I want to take you through some some principles as we start this. The question I have for you is, What's your story? You know, we all have a story and that story often tells us where we are and what we need to do as it relates to that story. So, you know, the best way for me to communicate this is kinda share a little bit with my story and, and you've probably heard my story many times, but I've never gone to the depth that I'm going to go with you today. Uh, because I think by going to the depth, you get a better understanding of how what I learned is applicable to your own life and how you can navigate and no matter what circumstance you find yourself in, that you can be successful. And, you know, God takes us through these and some of them are very difficult and some of them are seasons of prosperity. And so it's important to understand how to relate in each of those stages. So let us be down and let's talk about your dream and what you had hoped your life would be like. You know, uh, my dream was to be a professional golfer that didn't work out. You know, I worked hard at it and not early twenties, but it didn't work out. And so, but it did use, uh, God you that failure in a good way. He allowed me to come to Christ through that failure. And, uh, gosh, I'd probably not be where I am today if I'd had not had that failure. And so the important thing is to fail forward and understand how to use those failures to take us to a different place. And a different calling. And that's exactly what happened to me. So I ended up going into business and ultimately would end up in advertising and had my own advertising agency. And, uh, you know, we'd had a run for about 12 years and it was a good run. And, uh, so, um, but in 1994, I went through my crisis and you probably already know that, but I lost a half million dollars through a Bernie Madoff situation and, uh, you know, life was very disrupted. And so, uh, what do you do with that? What do you do when there is a train wreck? And I was less with all of those questions as well, but that was my dream. I basically wanted to be, you know, a Christian business leader that impacted lounges of other people that was able to give money to Christian causes to influence our culture. I really wanted to do that. And they, my ad agency after, as Lyndon lion called the Aslam group. And so, and God was using us in that way. It was a very, uh, exciting time in my life, but I had some struggles and I had a marriage struggle and just, uh, uh, you know, things I was being successful financially. Uh, but in 94, went through that crisis and I had a Bernie Madoff situation happen where, you know, my half million dollars in savings that, uh, been taken by this guy, I would never recover it. And then 80% of my business walk out the door and I get stuck with $140,000 bill from that client and my vice president would take me and my wife decided to leave me during that time and said that I shouldn't be into a seven year season. And so it was not until 1996 that I was able to get some revelation about my current situation. And so, you know, I met Gunnar Olson, in Washington D C in 1996 and you heard my story and I said, Oh, I do. You have a Joseph calling in your life. And so I said, what does the Joseph calling? And he explained that to me. It's, uh, a person who's has a marketplace call to be a physical and spiritual provider for others. I say, Oh my gosh. Well, I walked in that day really with a lot of shame and failure that, uh, I had, you know, let my family down. I'd let the others in my business down. And so, so I was dealing with that. And so when gunner spoke those words to me, it was like, Oh, he said, you know, the adversity is not because something you did wrong is because of a consequence or call on your life. And that was what it was for Joseph. He had a consequence of the call on his life that even though the devil was trying to kill him by throwing him in a pit and you know, putting him in slavery, God used that in his life to fulfill a destiny. And he later said those famous words, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. And you might be in that place today where you're struggling to know the events of your life and you know, there's no event in your life that Gaza doesn't know about the most important thing. It's what are you going to do with it? How are you going to turn that event into something that can be positive in your life and others? So here I was in my situation, I had a barrier. And that barrier was I no longer had money. I no longer had a wife. I no longer had a means of, you know, making a living. And if 44 years old, I was questioning, God, where are you? What did I do wrong? What is the barrier between you and I that's not allowing your blessing to come to me? I felt like I'd been faithful to God serving him. I was giving money, uh, you know, and so it didn't make sense to me until on that good or awesome. And then I realized that God was doing a different kind of work in my life. And maybe he's doing that with you. And so we need to understand, you know, those barriers are real. Um, but it also says in the scriptures that the truth shall make you free. The truth shall make you free. That's John eight 32. Whenever you discover the truth about your situation, that becomes the beginning of change. Because once you've learned the truth about things, you can begin to change things, at least move toward change. And so what I realized was the truth that meeting with gunner helped me realize the truth about my own situation. It wasn't all my fault. Yeah. I had some things that God needed to work on in my life and he did. In fact, I'm not the same person as I was back then. Uh, I got a lot of strong holes removed and it was a, a process. It got and took me through for seven years. And, uh, it led to a new common lane. Now, I didn't know I was going to be led to a new calling, but many times whenever a crisis happens, that's the front door to your new calling. And so you need to understand that when God disrupts your life, sometimes it's for his purposes, you think is about the apostle Paul. He had his life disrupted, he was blinded by Jesus, and that was a disruption. Uh, Peter's life was just rooted when Jesus met him at the boat that day and other lines were disrupted when a crisis came into their life. So the most important thing is to discover what the truth is about your condition. And sometimes we can go through adversity through, um, sin, you know, go haze on the assistant to Elijah, lost his job and got leprosy because he tried to profit from a healing that Elijah did. And so it's important that we understand that. That's another secret to this whole process. And number four is once we go through the crisis, that means we've got to develop a new plan, a new plan of action, what's, what's the new strategy? And sometimes he doesn't give it all to us and he has to allow us to go through that transition. And my transition was seven years, and I'm in the seventh year. I was able to receive some money from a piece of property that God allowed me to sell for six times what I paid for it. It allowed me to become debt free. And I had begun writing during that time, but I had to survive during that time, before that happened. And so I had to ask myself, what do I have in my hand? And you know, that's a principle in the old Testament where Elijah was, um, ministering to the widow who is on her last meal. And he said, what do you have in your hand? What do you have in your house? And she says, well, I don't have anything other than some oil lamps. And he said, well, go collect all the oil lamps you can, even your neighbor's oil lamps. And a miracle happened where oil appeared in those oil lamps. And she was able to sell that and, uh, care for her needs and her children's needs as a result of that. And so I had to ask myself, what do I have in my hand that could help me transition in my period? Well, I was pretty good at marketing and advertising. And so God opened the door for me to do some consulting with a sports marketing company and later a ministry in um, and Detroit. And it was, I was able to do that for about three years and that was God's man up for me as he was remaking me and reshaping me. So my question do you, is what do you have in your hand? You know, what is it that God could multiply during a tough season if you're in a train wreck season? What is it that God might want to multiply in your hand? The other thing I discovered is it, I had to invest in myself. I had to learn why did I go through the things I went through and to discover those things so that I wouldn't repeat them. And so that's another important part of the process. So by this time I was starting to sense that God was taking me into a new calling and that new calling was to equip men and women in the marketplace. And I'd started writing TJ out during the late nineties. I'd send that off to my computer and people would write back and say how much it helped them. And then it got on a website that was, uh, called crosswalk.com. And, uh, I began to get letters from people around the world. And, uh, the only thing was that I had a desire to equip people, but I didn't feel like I had the skillset. Um, I was very weak in grammar and, uh, I barely got out of English class in high school. And so I felt very insecure about writing. And, uh, I also wasn't a very good speaker. I was very shy. Uh, I was a young man who had a lot of insecurities growing up. Like Moses. Uh, I didn't want to speak. I felt like, uh, I was not the right man for the job, but you know, as God was doing such a deep work in my heart, I began to share with other people and the need to share became greater than my insecurity, if you know what I mean. Well one thing, I was weekend as grammar, as I was writing these devotional and I'd send them out and I would send them to people who wanted them and it was free. And I miss a day one or two and people say, where's my devotion on? I said, what do you mean? Where is your devotion and you're not paying forward? And but that was a verse indication. I got that a, it was helping people. But I also got comments like, Hey, I love your devotional, but have you ever thought about having somebody look at your work grab grammatically? And uh, so I, I, uh, didn't know what to do with that and I asked her about the fifth or sixth one of those comments. I said, well, how about you? Can you help me if you're good at that? And well, it just so happened that it was a Hong Kong English teacher, uh, who responded that email. And that person agreed to be my long distance editor. So I would write the devotional, send it to them, they sent it back and correct it. And so God provided, but you see, I had to put my foot in the water. Sometimes people don't step out because they feel like they are so unqualified. And you know, I understand that. But you can't let that dictate when God calls you to do something and you have a passion and a to do that. And um, so the other thing I had to do was, you know, do something that was very contrary to my current status and that was, money was very tight, but there were certain conferences that I had to felt like I needed to go to that Gunnar Olson was at. And that costs money. I remember one time I said, you know, I believe God wants me to go to this conference. And so, uh, I didn't have the money. It was going to cost $2,500. And so I kept praying and said, Lord, I don't know what, what I'm supposed to do here. And so the very day of the deadline for the registration, a man who was in my Bible study came and wrote me a check for $2,500. He says, I believe you're supposed to go to this conference. And so you did. I did. And, uh, but I began to see a lot of those kinds of miracles. Uh, and sometimes we have to put our foot in the water for the water to, to park. And that's what the, the, uh, priest had to do when they were carrying the art across the Jordan river. They had to put their foot in the water first. And maybe, maybe yours in a place where you don't feel like you could invest in yourself. Well, let me challenge you with that. That, you know, sometimes that can be the greatest investments and the greatest breakthrough I'm going to share with you at the end about a new initiative we're doing that is going to allow you to invest in yourself. And, uh, you know, you might say, well, I can't afford to do that. Well, you can't afford not to, you know, and, uh, God calls us to make us equipped. And sometimes, uh, investing in those kinds of things can really help us. And so that's the other secret that you need to, uh, understand your weaknesses, but not let your weaknesses dictate what you do and then you need to invest in yourself toward your optimization. So in my own journey, God took me through that period and, um, today I can consider what great things God has done because he literally transformed me into a marketplace leader. And I would end up going to 26 countries to equip leaders. I would write, just finished my 19th book and, uh, I'm debt free. You know, after those seven years I received that money, I became debt free. And, uh, and so God has used that. And I'm also happily married to Pamela that, uh, I got remarried four years ago and the God is using us. She has a powerful prison ministry herself. And so, you know, God turns our Valley of a war into a door of hope as Hosea two 15. And it's a hope, this not only for us, but it's others as well. And so whether you're in a place of great prosperity or you're in a kind of a transition period or where you're in that train wreck, you know, God is not, uh, unaware of your condition. Uh, Paul once said, the things that have happened to me have served to advance the gospel. And that's what we need to ask each of us is what has happened to my life? Is it advancing the gospel either in a good way, uh, or you know, some kind of significant way of touching other people. And God doesn't want you to stay in your pants. He don't want you to be a victim to your past or your circumstances or your train wreck. As I began to share many of those things with others, I would often have people say, do you, do you mentor others? And that, you know, God began to invite me to other places to, uh, receive, um, to be able to teach and equip others. And he was learning. He was teaching me to learn how to see God as my provider. I w I remember one time a man called me from New York city and he said, um, I've read your adversity book seven times. It's the only book that has ministered to me because of your marketplace background. And I said, well, that's interesting. And he had just lost his job as, as a major, um, uh, financial, uh, Morgan Stanley type business there in New York city. And his wife was leaving him. And so I began to serve him and minister to him and, uh, just, uh, receive his calls anytime he called. And so we developed a very close relationship. I ended up going to New York a few times and, uh, you know, just talking with him. And after about seven months, I began to think, Lord, you want me to continue to serve this man? And the Lord said, yes, continue to do that. So I did, uh, never got a donation from him and then it was Christmas time and he calls me and says, I've, I've sent you something and, uh, just be on the lookout in the mail. So a few days went by and I got this envelope from him, and in that envelope was a check for $20,000. And I began to realize that God calls us to be obedient. And now whenever there's a vision, he provides the provision for that. And so sometimes we have to be obedient. On another occasion I was invited to speak the Barbados and I was in the middle of my adversity. And, uh, it was a very, very small meeting. I mean, it was like 12 people in a marketplace. People either don't pay me about 150 bucks to and, but, and I knew it'd take two or three days of my time. And so, but God said, go. And so I've mapped and administered to the man who had a marriage problem himself. And, uh, I was there for three days, ended up leaving some of my books behind. And uh, as a result of that, a man began to, who spoke the following month and got some of my books and began reading them and they were administering to him. And so he called me and said, I've, I've been reading your TGI F book. I really like it a lot. It's ministered to me. I'm doing a marketplace conference on the Island of Trinidad and I'd like to have you as our keynote speaker. It'd be 22 Island nations represented. So I went and did that. And that man became a very close friend from that time on. And I taught a workshop during that time and I found that, um, there was a man there that was really ministered to by my teaching on the Joseph calling. It transformed his life. He said he was the largest car dealer in the, um, in the Caribbean. And, uh, that December I got a check from him for $5,000. And you know, so sometimes both obedience does it yield immediately and it takes time for that seed to come back to us. And so sometimes we have to invest in the others. We have to invest in ourselves through training and equipping. Uh, we have to invest in being mentored by others. And so that all of these experiences are to help others fulfill their dreams. And so that's a, that's what the conclusion I've come to over these years is that God has used what I went through to be able to help others. The most common comment I get from people who read TGF is you read my mail today. And I said, what do you mean? And what you spoke right into my own situation. And I think that, um, you know, God did that. I wrote those devotionals for myself, not other people in order to help me better understand the processes of God in my own life. And so it turned out that those devotionals were helping many other people at the same time. And so when people said, do you have a mentoring program? And so, well I, um, I do have a ment, I don't have a mentoring program cause I can't, can't do it right now because I'm traveling so much. And so what came out of that is we put together sort of a [inaudible] mentoring program called the change agent network. And the change agent network had many courses and training, video PowerPoints and so forth, podcasts and interviews with leaders on it. And so that became our mentoring program for a season. But, um, over the last three months, we've been asking many of our friends, what are you going through? What do you need help with? Um, what could we do to help you be able to invest in yourself? And so we heard from a number of people and we took those comments and we said, they need help here. They help here, they need help here. And so what came out of that is a, uh, a more advanced change agent network. We call change agent master mentor program. And in that program we have 10 core things that we're addressing. One is managing your money and the other is the Joseph calling. How do you navigate difficult seasons? One is discovering your purpose. You know, I find that a lot of people just don't understand their purpose. You know, you need to know your purpose. You need to be able to write it down in one sentence because that becomes the filter by which you judge all your activity and what to focus your time on and what not to focus your time on. Uh, you need to learn from other proven culture shaped is one of the things we did last year in Washington is we had an international culture shapers summit. I had 50 different presenters. If you can imagine, over three and a half days, these were top leaders in their area of the seven cultural mountains at business. And they spoke to our group. And we've included all of those sessions on this new program called a change agent master mentor program. And that hearing God, you know, the number one thing that people struggle with, uh, in their marketplace call is hearing God. How do I hear God? What, uh, what, uh, is the way that God speaks to me? How can I discern his voice better? So I know it's him versus me? And so there are 10 ways God speaks and we cover that in the training. Make your work matter to God is another focus and that is helping you understand the theology of work. How do I experience God in my work? How I manifest the power of God in my work? How do I see his hand in my work? How do I, uh, really break through barriers in my calling in the marketplace? And that's what we do there. Experience thriving relationships is another area that we focus on. And that is a powerful session. You know, I was a very much of a performance driven bottom line kind of person. Um, and uh, I was very transactional and so a board member of mine named Ford Taylor still on my board, uh, he has a whole organization called transformational leadership. And so I had him, um, uh, provide some courses on our platform that will allow him to teach others. Like he taught me to be a relational leader and there's, uh, a term he coins called real actionable leadership. And it's a combination between true relational and transactional. And so, uh, you know, we all need improvement on relationships and I wasn't very good in relationships and so I'm pretty good now because I've learned a lot and you have to be intentional about learning these things. And, uh, then Lauren from a mentor, uh, you know, I can't be a one mentor to people, but I can be in a group setting. And so we've created zoom calls to be able to process, of course, each week, you know, a session each week. And then we come together on that call and take questions and engage with each other. And then we have a private Facebook so that you can engage around the Facebook and um, you know, it's only for those who are in the course or part of our TGI inner circle. And so that's why I created the change agent master mentor program. In this course number there are a number of things that make up the program. There are 34 modules in the program, but all these 10 different topics, there's 135 classes. So, you know, you're never going to run out of things to learn. There's 54 case studies. And, uh, as I mentioned, there's mentoring via zoom. There are 250 leader interviews. So here's you're going to gain from this program. You call requires tremendous wisdom and discernment and knowledge to fulfill your marketplace call. So let me just review with use all of the things that you get as part, um, the program. You just heard the course, these courses and the value of that's over $8,000. And then the presentations of the prison from the change agent network or the change agent, uh, uh, culture change your summit. And I'm sorry, uh, that, uh, those 50 presentations would have a value of over $3,500 on the market. Uh, it costs a lot to go to that summit. And, uh, so this is the real value. And then you get our TGI media app and the change agent, uh, program can be usable on your phone. It works just like an ad and reads re really good. So you can access a lot of the training on your car. Uh, and anywhere you're, you're on vacation or whatever. As I say, the 250 leader interviews that has a value of $950. And you know, we have a weekly teaching blog, there'll be a weekly teaching segment, there'll be sent out. And, uh, as I say, accessing the private Facebook community, you're also going to get 10 eBooks from me. And, you're also going to get a number of downloads, 20 different PDF downloads. These are tools to help you live out your calling. And so, uh, you can access all of this 24, seven. And so it's a, it's a tremendous opportunity. The question is where, where could you go and get that kind of value that we estimate the value of that program to be $19,000 just to just the base, uh, offerings that we're putting on the platform. So where else can you go get training? You're not going to get this kind of training and your, um, church because it's very marketplace specific and you're going to be able to develop a mentoring relationship with myself. So, um, the registration enrollment opens tomorrow and uh, opens tomorrow. That's February the 19th. And so you can, you can't register today, but you can, we'll be giving out the website tomorrow, uh, and uh, you'll be able to register, um, by looking for an email from me. And you can be one of the first to enroll. So already mentioned all the things that you're wanting to gain from that. So we don't need, need to rehash that. I just don't want to encourage you to join us. And, um, I'm going to give you a resource, uh, in a minute called are you a biblical worker? Uh, it's a tool that you've been using, personal study and small groups that we've been giving away for the last couple of months and it's 50 questions, true false questions on, uh, what you would do in a workplace situation. And then at the back of the book we give all the answers. So it's a great little tool for small group study if you have a small group in the marketplace or just your personal study. So I hope you'll take advantage of that free resource for you. And I hope you'll be looking in your email for our announcement on the change agent marketplace mentor program. And, uh, don't forget to give us a comment below what you think about this session today. Was it helpful? Uh, and always good for me to get feedback from you and let me know what you think about this new initiative. And then, uh, uh, if you're on iTunes listening to this audio, then let me encourage you to uh, just give us a comment on iTunes. It will help us, uh, generate more re a listenership on iTunes when you give us a good rating. So I think that's all today. So thanks for being with me. I'd like to pray for you today before we end up by there. I thank you for those listening today and I pray that you will fulfill their purpose and destiny and that you will help them in their transitions, those who are in a train wreck situation themselves. I pray for the grace of God to work in their midst and for those who are living a very successful life, that the things that have happened to them will be used to advance the gospel in a positive way. We thank you father in Jesus name. Amen. I have a red dead. Hi, this is Ron Hart out in Santa Cruz, California. And I just wanted to give a shout out for the agent network. It's like having mentoring on demand. It's kind of fun. Is that right? We're all in transformation and we have to start with ourselves. So on the change agent, we have access to video courses, uh, uh, webinars with leaders in the marketplace and a, a searchable database of you name it and uh, you can find it there. We also have forums to discuss this with other change agents. So without [inaudible], uh, because there's a long road that T can't find your way, man. Anytime. It is a very great resource and it's changed my life. Are you a biblical worker? Do you know what the Bible says about how to work biblically? I've got a great resource I want to give you called. Are you a biblical worker? It's a 50 question. True false self assessment, great for personal study and small groups. Plus you get the answers with supporting scriptures to help you apply what the Bible says about your daily work life. It's a value of $25 but we want to make it available to you as a free. Just go to www.threebiblicalworker.com that's free biblical worker.com.

What do you do when life becomes a train wreck? Today I want to share with you the five secrets to advance your vision. Do you feel stuck in your own calling? Do you often think that you'd like to be more successful and more influential, but something's in the way our circumstances keeping you from achieving your life goals? If so, this week's podcast is for you. How do I bring my faith to work? How do I tap into the power of God in my work life? Paul, why am I going through this? Adversity is God mad at me? I'm all Sylvan and I've been helping leaders like you answer these questions and more for over 30 years. That's what this podcast is all about. Let's learn and grow together. Welcome to TGF Today God is First podcast. Hey guys, and welcome to our podcast this week. This week we're going to do two podcasts because we've got some special things going on this week. So today's podcast is talking about what happens when there's a train wreck in your life. And I'm going to share with you a few secrets that I learned when I had a train wreck of my life and hopefully it's going to be helpful to you. Now. Over the years I've discovered that most people are in one of three places. Life is good. You're really doing well, you're making lots of money, you're having great impact. I hope that's where you are. Uh, others are, you know, not so lucky. They're not in that place of blessing. They're having struggles, but it's not too bad. But they reason that, well, everybody has those kinds of struggles. And so, you know, I just deal with it. And then there's a third category of people and that is, they're in a very difficult crisis and they need some help in understanding what God is doing in their life so that God can take them through that and really help them fulfill God's purposes in your life through that train wreck. And so that's what I want to talk to you. A, what I'm sharing today is going to be helpful no matter whether you're in one, two, or three stage. And so I hope that you'll stay tuned. I'm also going to give a free resource at the end. If you want to stay with me at the end, there'll be a tool that you can use that can help you again, no matter where you are in that phase of your journey. So I want to do something a little different than I normally do today. I want to take you through some some principles as we start this. The question I have for you is, What's your story? You know, we all have a story and that story often tells us where we are and what we need to do as it relates to that story. So, you know, the best way for me to communicate this is kinda share a little bit with my story and, and you've probably heard my story many times, but I've never gone to the depth that I'm going to go with you today. Uh, because I think by going to the depth, you get a better understanding of how what I learned is applicable to your own life and how you can navigate and no matter what circumstance you find yourself in, that you can be successful. And, you know, God takes us through these and some of them are very difficult and some of them are seasons of prosperity. And so it's important to understand how to relate in each of those stages. So let us be down and let's talk about your dream and what you had hoped your life would be like. You know, uh, my dream was to be a professional golfer that didn't work out. You know, I worked hard at it and not early twenties, but it didn't work out. And so, but it did use, uh, God you that failure in a good way. He allowed me to come to Christ through that failure. And, uh, gosh, I'd probably not be where I am today if I'd had not had that failure. And so the important thing is to fail forward and understand how to use those failures to take us to a different place. And a different calling. And that's exactly what happened to me. So I ended up going into business and ultimately would end up in advertising and had my own advertising agency. And, uh, you know, we'd had a run for about 12 years and it was a good run. And, uh, so, um, but in 1994, I went through my crisis and you probably already know that, but I lost a half million dollars through a Bernie Madoff situation and, uh, you know, life was very disrupted. And so, uh, what do you do with that? What do you do when there is a train wreck? And I was less with all of those questions as well, but that was my dream. I basically wanted to be, you know, a Christian business leader that impacted lounges of other people that was able to give money to Christian causes to influence our culture. I really wanted to do that. And they, my ad agency after, as Lyndon lion called the Aslam group. And so, and God was using us in that way. It was a very, uh, exciting time in my life, but I had some struggles and I had a marriage struggle and just, uh, uh, you know, things I was being successful financially. Uh, but in 94, went through that crisis and I had a Bernie Madoff situation happen where, you know, my half million dollars in savings that, uh, been taken by this guy, I would never recover it. And then 80% of my business walk out the door and I get stuck with $140,000 bill from that client and my vice president would take me and my wife decided to leave me during that time and said that I shouldn't be into a seven year season. And so it was not until 1996 that I was able to get some revelation about my current situation. And so, you know, I met Gunnar Olson, in Washington D C in 1996 and you heard my story and I said, Oh, I do. You have a Joseph calling in your life. And so I said, what does the Joseph calling? And he explained that to me. It's, uh, a person who's has a marketplace call to be a physical and spiritual provider for others. I say, Oh my gosh. Well, I walked in that day really with a lot of shame and failure that, uh, I had, you know, let my family down. I'd let the others in my business down. And so, so I was dealing with that. And so when gunner spoke those words to me, it was like, Oh, he said, you know, the adversity is not because something you did wrong is because of a consequence or call on your life. And that was what it was for Joseph. He had a consequence of the call on his life that even though the devil was trying to kill him by throwing him in a pit and you know, putting him in slavery, God used that in his life to fulfill a destiny. And he later said those famous words, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. And you might be in that place today where you're struggling to know the events of your life and you know, there's no event in your life that Gaza doesn't know about the most important thing. It's what are you going to do with it? How are you going to turn that event into something that can be positive in your life and others? So here I was in my situation, I had a barrier. And that barrier was I no longer had money. I no longer had a wife. I no longer had a means of, you know, making a living. And if 44 years old, I was questioning, God, where are you? What did I do wrong? What is the barrier between you and I that's not allowing your blessing to come to me? I felt like I'd been faithful to God serving him. I was giving money, uh, you know, and so it didn't make sense to me until on that good or awesome. And then I realized that God was doing a different kind of work in my life. And maybe he's doing that with you. And so we need to understand, you know, those barriers are real. Um, but it also says in the scriptures that the truth shall make you free. The truth shall make you free. That's John eight 32. Whenever you discover the truth about your situation, that becomes the beginning of change. Because once you've learned the truth about things, you can begin to change things, at least move toward change. And so what I realized was the truth that meeting with gunner helped me realize the truth about my own situation. It wasn't all my fault. Yeah. I had some things that God needed to work on in my life and he did. In fact, I'm not the same person as I was back then. Uh, I got a lot of strong holes removed and it was a, a process. It got and took me through for seven years. And, uh, it led to a new common lane. Now, I didn't know I was going to be led to a new calling, but many times whenever a crisis happens, that's the front door to your new calling. And so you need to understand that when God disrupts your life, sometimes it's for his purposes, you think is about the apostle Paul. He had his life disrupted, he was blinded by Jesus, and that was a disruption. Uh, Peter's life was just rooted when Jesus met him at the boat that day and other lines were disrupted when a crisis came into their life. So the most important thing is to discover what the truth is about your condition. And sometimes we can go through adversity through, um, sin, you know, go haze on the assistant to Elijah, lost his job and got leprosy because he tried to profit from a healing that Elijah did. And so it's important that we understand that. That's another secret to this whole process. And number four is once we go through the crisis, that means we've got to develop a new plan, a new plan of action, what's, what's the new strategy? And sometimes he doesn't give it all to us and he has to allow us to go through that transition. And my transition was seven years, and I'm in the seventh year. I was able to receive some money from a piece of property that God allowed me to sell for six times what I paid for it. It allowed me to become debt free. And I had begun writing during that time, but I had to survive during that time, before that happened. And so I had to ask myself, what do I have in my hand? And you know, that's a principle in the old Testament where Elijah was, um, ministering to the widow who is on her last meal. And he said, what do you have in your hand? What do you have in your house? And she says, well, I don't have anything other than some oil lamps. And he said, well, go collect all the oil lamps you can, even your neighbor's oil lamps. And a miracle happened where oil appeared in those oil lamps. And she was able to sell that and, uh, care for her needs and her children's needs as a result of that. And so I had to ask myself, what do I have in my hand that could help me transition in my period? Well, I was pretty good at marketing and advertising. And so God opened the door for me to do some consulting with a sports marketing company and later a ministry in um, and Detroit. And it was, I was able to do that for about three years and that was God's man up for me as he was remaking me and reshaping me. So my question do you, is what do you have in your hand? You know, what is it that God could multiply during a tough season if you're in a train wreck season? What is it that God might want to multiply in your hand? The other thing I discovered is it, I had to invest in myself. I had to learn why did I go through the things I went through and to discover those things so that I wouldn't repeat them. And so that's another important part of the process. So by this time I was starting to sense that God was taking me into a new calling and that new calling was to equip men and women in the marketplace. And I'd started writing TJ out during the late nineties. I'd send that off to my computer and people would write back and say how much it helped them. And then it got on a website that was, uh, called crosswalk.com. And, uh, I began to get letters from people around the world. And, uh, the only thing was that I had a desire to equip people, but I didn't feel like I had the skillset. Um, I was very weak in grammar and, uh, I barely got out of English class in high school. And so I felt very insecure about writing. And, uh, I also wasn't a very good speaker. I was very shy. Uh, I was a young man who had a lot of insecurities growing up. Like Moses. Uh, I didn't want to speak. I felt like, uh, I was not the right man for the job, but you know, as God was doing such a deep work in my heart, I began to share with other people and the need to share became greater than my insecurity, if you know what I mean. Well one thing, I was weekend as grammar, as I was writing these devotional and I'd send them out and I would send them to people who wanted them and it was free. And I miss a day one or two and people say, where's my devotion on? I said, what do you mean? Where is your devotion and you're not paying forward? And but that was a verse indication. I got that a, it was helping people. But I also got comments like, Hey, I love your devotional, but have you ever thought about having somebody look at your work grab grammatically? And uh, so I, I, uh, didn't know what to do with that and I asked her about the fifth or sixth one of those comments. I said, well, how about you? Can you help me if you're good at that? And well, it just so happened that it was a Hong Kong English teacher, uh, who responded that email. And that person agreed to be my long distance editor. So I would write the devotional, send it to them, they sent it back and correct it. And so God provided, but you see, I had to put my foot in the water. Sometimes people don't step out because they feel like they are so unqualified. And you know, I understand that. But you can't let that dictate when God calls you to do something and you have a passion and a to do that. And um, so the other thing I had to do was, you know, do something that was very contrary to my current status and that was, money was very tight, but there were certain conferences that I had to felt like I needed to go to that Gunnar Olson was at. And that costs money. I remember one time I said, you know, I believe God wants me to go to this conference. And so, uh, I didn't have the money. It was going to cost $2,500. And so I kept praying and said, Lord, I don't know what, what I'm supposed to do here. And so the very day of the deadline for the registration, a man who was in my Bible study came and wrote me a check for $2,500. He says, I believe you're supposed to go to this conference. And so you did. I did. And, uh, but I began to see a lot of those kinds of miracles. Uh, and sometimes we have to put our foot in the water for the water to, to park. And that's what the, the, uh, priest had to do when they were carrying the art across the Jordan river. They had to put their foot in the water first. And maybe, maybe yours in a place where you don't feel like you could invest in yourself. Well, let me challenge you with that. That, you know, sometimes that can be the greatest investments and the greatest breakthrough I'm going to share with you at the end about a new initiative we're doing that is going to allow you to invest in yourself. And, uh, you know, you might say, well, I can't afford to do that. Well, you can't afford not to, you know, and, uh, God calls us to make us equipped. And sometimes, uh, investing in those kinds of things can really help us. And so that's the other secret that you need to, uh, understand your weaknesses, but not let your weaknesses dictate what you do and then you need to invest in yourself toward your optimization. So in my own journey, God took me through that period and, um, today I can consider what great things God has done because he literally transformed me into a marketplace leader. And I would end up going to 26 countries to equip leaders. I would write, just finished my 19th book and, uh, I'm debt free. You know, after those seven years I received that money, I became debt free. And, uh, and so God has used that. And I'm also happily married to Pamela that, uh, I got remarried four years ago and the God is using us. She has a powerful prison ministry herself. And so, you know, God turns our Valley of a war into a door of hope as Hosea two 15. And it's a hope, this not only for us, but it's others as well. And so whether you're in a place of great prosperity or you're in a kind of a transition period or where you're in that train wreck, you know, God is not, uh, unaware of your condition. Uh, Paul once said, the things that have happened to me have served to advance the gospel. And that's what we need to ask each of us is what has happened to my life? Is it advancing the gospel either in a good way, uh, or you know, some kind of significant way of touching other people. And God doesn't want you to stay in your pants. He don't want you to be a victim to your past or your circumstances or your train wreck. As I began to share many of those things with others, I would often have people say, do you, do you mentor others? And that, you know, God began to invite me to other places to, uh, receive, um, to be able to teach and equip others. And he was learning. He was teaching me to learn how to see God as my provider. I w I remember one time a man called me from New York city and he said, um, I've read your adversity book seven times. It's the only book that has ministered to me because of your marketplace background. And I said, well, that's interesting. And he had just lost his job as, as a major, um, uh, financial, uh, Morgan Stanley type business there in New York city. And his wife was leaving him. And so I began to serve him and minister to him and, uh, just, uh, receive his calls anytime he called. And so we developed a very close relationship. I ended up going to New York a few times and, uh, you know, just talking with him. And after about seven months, I began to think, Lord, you want me to continue to serve this man? And the Lord said, yes, continue to do that. So I did, uh, never got a donation from him and then it was Christmas time and he calls me and says, I've, I've sent you something and, uh, just be on the lookout in the mail. So a few days went by and I got this envelope from him, and in that envelope was a check for $20,000. And I began to realize that God calls us to be obedient. And now whenever there's a vision, he provides the provision for that. And so sometimes we have to be obedient. On another occasion I was invited to speak the Barbados and I was in the middle of my adversity. And, uh, it was a very, very small meeting. I mean, it was like 12 people in a marketplace. People either don't pay me about 150 bucks to and, but, and I knew it'd take two or three days of my time. And so, but God said, go. And so I've mapped and administered to the man who had a marriage problem himself. And, uh, I was there for three days, ended up leaving some of my books behind. And uh, as a result of that, a man began to, who spoke the following month and got some of my books and began reading them and they were administering to him. And so he called me and said, I've, I've been reading your TGI F book. I really like it a lot. It's ministered to me. I'm doing a marketplace conference on the Island of Trinidad and I'd like to have you as our keynote speaker. It'd be 22 Island nations represented. So I went and did that. And that man became a very close friend from that time on. And I taught a workshop during that time and I found that, um, there was a man there that was really ministered to by my teaching on the Joseph calling. It transformed his life. He said he was the largest car dealer in the, um, in the Caribbean. And, uh, that December I got a check from him for $5,000. And you know, so sometimes both obedience does it yield immediately and it takes time for that seed to come back to us. And so sometimes we have to invest in the others. We have to invest in ourselves through training and equipping. Uh, we have to invest in being mentored by others. And so that all of these experiences are to help others fulfill their dreams. And so that's a, that's what the conclusion I've come to over these years is that God has used what I went through to be able to help others. The most common comment I get from people who read TGF is you read my mail today. And I said, what do you mean? And what you spoke right into my own situation. And I think that, um, you know, God did that. I wrote those devotionals for myself, not other people in order to help me better understand the processes of God in my own life. And so it turned out that those devotionals were helping many other people at the same time. And so when people said, do you have a mentoring program? And so, well I, um, I do have a ment, I don't have a mentoring program cause I can't, can't do it right now because I'm traveling so much. And so what came out of that is we put together sort of a [inaudible] mentoring program called the change agent network. And the change agent network had many courses and training, video PowerPoints and so forth, podcasts and interviews with leaders on it. And so that became our mentoring program for a season. But, um, over the last three months, we've been asking many of our friends, what are you going through? What do you need help with? Um, what could we do to help you be able to invest in yourself? And so we heard from a number of people and we took those comments and we said, they need help here. They help here, they need help here. And so what came out of that is a, uh, a more advanced change agent network. We call change agent master mentor program. And in that program we have 10 core things that we're addressing. One is managing your money and the other is the Joseph calling. How do you navigate difficult seasons? One is discovering your purpose. You know, I find that a lot of people just don't understand their purpose. You know, you need to know your purpose. You need to be able to write it down in one sentence because that becomes the filter by which you judge all your activity and what to focus your time on and what not to focus your time on. Uh, you need to learn from other proven culture shaped is one of the things we did last year in Washington is we had an international culture shapers summit. I had 50 different presenters. If you can imagine, over three and a half days, these were top leaders in their area of the seven cultural mountains at business. And they spoke to our group. And we've included all of those sessions on this new program called a change agent master mentor program. And that hearing God, you know, the number one thing that people struggle with, uh, in their marketplace call is hearing God. How do I hear God? What, uh, what, uh, is the way that God speaks to me? How can I discern his voice better? So I know it's him versus me? And so there are 10 ways God speaks and we cover that in the training. Make your work matter to God is another focus and that is helping you understand the theology of work. How do I experience God in my work? How I manifest the power of God in my work? How do I see his hand in my work? How do I, uh, really break through barriers in my calling in the marketplace? And that's what we do there. Experience thriving relationships is another area that we focus on. And that is a powerful session. You know, I was a very much of a performance driven bottom line kind of person. Um, and uh, I was very transactional and so a board member of mine named Ford Taylor still on my board, uh, he has a whole organization called transformational leadership. And so I had him, um, uh, provide some courses on our platform that will allow him to teach others. Like he taught me to be a relational leader and there's, uh, a term he coins called real actionable leadership. And it's a combination between true relational and transactional. And so, uh, you know, we all need improvement on relationships and I wasn't very good in relationships and so I'm pretty good now because I've learned a lot and you have to be intentional about learning these things. And, uh, then Lauren from a mentor, uh, you know, I can't be a one mentor to people, but I can be in a group setting. And so we've created zoom calls to be able to process, of course, each week, you know, a session each week. And then we come together on that call and take questions and engage with each other. And then we have a private Facebook so that you can engage around the Facebook and um, you know, it's only for those who are in the course or part of our TGI inner circle. And so that's why I created the change agent master mentor program. In this course number there are a number of things that make up the program. There are 34 modules in the program, but all these 10 different topics, there's 135 classes. So, you know, you're never going to run out of things to learn. There's 54 case studies. And, uh, as I mentioned, there's mentoring via zoom. There are 250 leader interviews. So here's you're going to gain from this program. You call requires tremendous wisdom and discernment and knowledge to fulfill your marketplace call. So let me just review with use all of the things that you get as part, um, the program. You just heard the course, these courses and the value of that's over $8,000. And then the presentations of the prison from the change agent network or the change agent, uh, uh, culture change your summit. And I'm sorry, uh, that, uh, those 50 presentations would have a value of over $3,500 on the market. Uh, it costs a lot to go to that summit. And, uh, so this is the real value. And then you get our TGI media app and the change agent, uh, program can be usable on your phone. It works just like an ad and reads re really good. So you can access a lot of the training on your car. Uh, and anywhere you're, you're on vacation or whatever. As I say, the 250 leader interviews that has a value of $950. And you know, we have a weekly teaching blog, there'll be a weekly teaching segment, there'll be sent out. And, uh, as I say, accessing the private Facebook community, you're also going to get 10 eBooks from me. And, you're also going to get a number of downloads, 20 different PDF downloads. These are tools to help you live out your calling. And so, uh, you can access all of this 24, seven. And so it's a, it's a tremendous opportunity. The question is where, where could you go and get that kind of value that we estimate the value of that program to be $19,000 just to just the base, uh, offerings that we're putting on the platform. So where else can you go get training? You're not going to get this kind of training and your, um, church because it's very marketplace specific and you're going to be able to develop a mentoring relationship with myself. So, um, the registration enrollment opens tomorrow and uh, opens tomorrow. That's February the 19th. And so you can, you can't register today, but you can, we'll be giving out the website tomorrow, uh, and uh, you'll be able to register, um, by looking for an email from me. And you can be one of the first to enroll. So already mentioned all the things that you're wanting to gain from that. So we don't need, need to rehash that. I just don't want to encourage you to join us. And, um, I'm going to give you a resource, uh, in a minute called are you a biblical worker? Uh, it's a tool that you've been using, personal study and small groups that we've been giving away for the last couple of months and it's 50 questions, true false questions on, uh, what you would do in a workplace situation. And then at the back of the book we give all the answers. So it's a great little tool for small group study if you have a small group in the marketplace or just your personal study. So I hope you'll take advantage of that free resource for you. And I hope you'll be looking in your email for our announcement on the change agent marketplace mentor program. And, uh, don't forget to give us a comment below what you think about this session today. Was it helpful? Uh, and always good for me to get feedback from you and let me know what you think about this new initiative. And then, uh, uh, if you're on iTunes listening to this audio, then let me encourage you to uh, just give us a comment on iTunes. It will help us, uh, generate more re a listenership on iTunes when you give us a good rating. So I think that's all today. So thanks for being with me. I'd like to pray for you today before we end up by there. I thank you for those listening today and I pray that you will fulfill their purpose and destiny and that you will help them in their transitions, those who are in a train wreck situation themselves. I pray for the grace of God to work in their midst and for those who are living a very successful life, that the things that have happened to them will be used to advance the gospel in a positive way. We thank you father in Jesus name. Amen. I have a red dead. Hi, this is Ron Hart out in Santa Cruz, California. And I just wanted to give a shout out for the agent network. It's like having mentoring on demand. It's kind of fun. Is that right? We're all in transformation and we have to start with ourselves. So on the change agent, we have access to video courses, uh, uh, webinars with leaders in the marketplace and a, a searchable database of you name it and uh, you can find it there. We also have forums to discuss this with other change agents. So without [inaudible], uh, because there's a long road that T can't find your way, man. Anytime. It is a very great resource and it's changed my life. Are you a biblical worker? Do you know what the Bible says about how to work biblically? I've got a great resource I want to give you called. Are you a biblical worker? It's a 50 question. True false self assessment, great for personal study and small groups. Plus you get the answers with supporting scriptures to help you apply what the Bible says about your daily work life. It's a value of $25 but we want to make it available to you as a free. Just go to www.threebiblicalworker.com that's free biblical worker.com.

Greetings! Welcome to the show! It's good to have you with us. I want to open today with an experiment; one that you can try out with your own friends & family. Illusion: A Number between 1 and 50— I want you to think of a number between one and fifty. Both digits have to be odd, but not the same number. Once you have that number, hold it in your mind. Was it 37? If so, pretty awesome. If not, that's okay, I'm not a mind reader. However, when phrased the right way, most people will choose 37. 35  is next and 17 is also sometimes chosen. What would it be like for somebody to reveal something to you about yourself that nobody but you could possibly know? And that is something that we see taking place in our passage today. Jesus astounds a man with a revelation of knowledge the man thought only he was privy to. Except, unlike this, it was not an illusion or a trick. Jesus does something that only God can do. First, He reveals the previous location of the man (which if Jesus were a mere man, He couldn't possibly know); and then He reveals something much more incredible: the nature and character of the man (which only God could know). And in this revelation we discover something not just about the man, but about Jesus Himself. So if you would, go ahead and turn with me to John chapter 1. That's John chapter 1. We'll look at verses 43-51. Nathanael Comes With Philip-- Now Nathanael didn't know what to think about Philip's testimony, but he saw the presence of Jesus emanating through the life of his friend. And so he comes with Philip to see what this Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth was all about. Now it says in… John 1:47 (NIV)— 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” A Character Statement— And Jesus was here making a character statement about Nathanael. He compliments Nathanael as being an Israelite who has remained true to God's calling, “in whom there is no deceit!”. Now in that word “deceit” Jesus is hinting at a story he is going to bring up later in His conversation with Nathanael; and that is the story of Jacob. You will remember that Jacob's name means “supplanter”, which suits him because of how he deceived and manipulated first Esau, then his father Isaac, then Laban, and just about everybody around him, at least until the Lord laid hold of him (literally) and wrestled him to the ground. And in that encounter God blesses Jacob and re-names him, giving him the name “Israel”. It was a change of name that signified both a change of identity and a change of future. In Nathanael's Shoes-- And what Jesus is saying to Nathanael is (and I love how J. Vernon McGee puts it): [“Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no Jacob.”] And we know this is in Jesus' mind because of how He references the story later. But picture this. Let's say that somebody came up to you that you had never met before, from a completely different town than the one you live in and greets you by saying, “Ah, here is a righteous person indeed. A good spouse; a loving parent; this person is one of absolute character.” What would you think? Wouldn't you be a little bit skeptical, like somebody who is having their fortune told. Was Jesus nothing more than the equivalent of a palm-reader? […Galilee had already seen a number of men come forward who had made some claim to messiahship. Nathanael will have none of it.] He is careful, as he should be. And to be honest, Jesus had not yet said anything yet that any pious Israelite would not love to hear. But Jesus is saying them as if He knows them to be true of Nathanael. Now while a man might be able to say these things as a compliment, only God can say these things in an absolute sense because only God knows the heart of a person. 1 Samuel 16:7b (ESV)— 7…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 1 Chronicles 28:9 (ESV)-- 9…the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought…. Jeremiah 12:3a (ESV)-- 3 But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. 1 Kings 8:39 (ESV)— 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), Psalm 44:21 (ESV)— 21 would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. Psalm 139:1 (ESV)-- 1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! Proverbs 16:2 (ESV)— 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Jeremiah 17:10a (ESV)— 10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind,… Divine Implication-- So, to be able to know (in an absolute sense) the character of the heart is a divine attribute. So by the authoritative way that Jesus declares Nathanael to be a man in whom  there is no deceit, He is implying that He shares in the Divine all-knowing attribute of God, which points to His own deity. And Nathanael I think realizes this. So Nathanael decides to put Jesus to the test to see if Jesus is the real deal. So it says… John 1:48 (NIV)— 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Supernatural Knowledge-- Ok, now what is incredible is that Jesus tells Nathanael where he was before Philip even reached him. He reveals that location as being under the fig tree. We are not sure exactly what brought Philip to that fig tree. In the ancient world [The shade of a fig tree was a favorite place for study and prayer in hot weather.] Fig trees had huge branches that would provide a lot of shade and were typically grown by poor people who lived in small one-room houses who wanted to escape to someplace private and cool. [Perhaps Nathanael had some significant or outstanding experience of communion with God at the location]. We don't know. But  […the main point is that Nathanael knows exactly what Jesus is talking about;] And this gives Nathanael a glimpse of Jesus' supernatural knowledge. And for Nathanael it meant that because Jesus knew the geographical information that was impossible for Him to know, Jesus' declaration of Nathanael's inward condition could also be trusted. And what is key here is Nathanael's response. It says… John 1:49 (NIV)— 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” High Titles-- [Nathanael has witnessed a miracle, and from it decides to make a remarkable step of faith. At once Nathanael, who now has experienced Jesus for himself, addresses him with a litany of titles: “Rabbi!  .  .  . Son of God  .  .  . King of Israel.” “Rabbi” is a title of respect for a Jewish teacher (1: 38). “Son of God” is an unexpected recognition of Jesus' deity that was used with tremendous reserve in the Old Testament. “King of Israel” is used elsewhere at the triumphal entry (12:13) and when Jesus is on the cross (Matt. 27: 42); {yet} here it is no doubt an expression of Jesus' identity as the Messiah. Together these three names complete the portrait of John that has been building throughout this chapter.] Now what is amazing to me is that we already have a wholistic picture of Jesus in this and we haven't even gotten to chapter 2! Nathanael (apparently) is quick to understand, which may be why Jesus calls him a true Israelite; because that is how all the Israelites ought to be. Now Jesus responds to Nathanael. It says… John 1:50-51 (NIV)— 50 Jesus said, “You believe[a] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[b] you[c] will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on'[d] the Son of Man.” Truly, Truly— Now [Truly, truly, I say to you is a solemn affirmation stressing the authoritative nature and importance of Jesus' pronouncements. The expression is found 25 times in this Gospel. The two references to “you” here are plural.] When we want to affirm something is true in Church, we say “Amen!” afterwards. In Biblical times if you wanted to affirm something that had been said was very true, you would say it twice. But Jesus changes the order of the sentence and begins with “Amen, Amen”. It is his way of declaring that what He is going to say is very important and we need to tune in. He says: Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on' the Son of Man.” ​Jacob's Ladder-- And Jesus is of course referring here to Jacob's dream of a ladder all the way back in Genesis 28. In that dream there was a ladder that stretched between heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending from it. And it was a means of man coming to and entering into a relationship with God. And what Jesus was saying to Nathanael was that He Himself (the Divine Son of Man as prophesied about through the prophet Daniel) was that ladder; and that Nathanael himself could enter into a relationship with God in and through Him. He was the bridge! And that relationship is open to anybody who is willing to receive Christ. You want to get to God? Jesus is the Way; the only Way. And He is the greatest road that we could ever take; leading us to life; to rebirth; to renewal; to healing; to forgiveness; to reconciliation; to redemption; to freedom. He is the key to every element of your life. And He wants you to come; He wants you to come to Him. And if you do, He will change you. If you're a Jacob, He'll make you an Israel. If you don't know Him, receive Him into your life. Simply ask Him in and He will bring you into a saving relationship with God. Amen.

I. Unsung Heroes of Church History We're looking this morning, as we return to the book of Philippians after a little time away, at Philippians 2:19-30, so I think you'll be helped if you open in your Bibles there and look along. Shortly after I came to Christ, over 20 years ago, I was given the gift of a mentor. His name was Tim Schuman, he was on staff of Campus Crusade for Christ when I was a student at MIT, and he taught me many things. He knew the Bible much better than I did, which was saying absolutely nothing at that point in my life, but he was a good mentor to me, but more than his biblical knowledge, much more than that, it was just the way he lived his life. It was the fact that he was a role model for me, and a mentor. Now we're going to look much more carefully at the issue and the theological necessity of role models in chapter 3. And again, in chapter 4, we'll see it. But here in chapter 2:19-30, we see three role models for our lives, Paul and Timothy and Epaphroditus. Now, as I went on in my Christian life, I found a great interest in church history, and I found that role models don't have to be living; they can be dead. We can learn from people who've gone before us. And so therefore, in this text, we have three men who are with the Lord now, and who can be for us role models. We also see another thing in this text, and that is that God ordains the passing on of the torch from one generation to the next, when Paul speaks of Timothy, laboring with him as a son with his father. Now, we get the sense of the generational passing on of the torch, from one to the other, and the awesome burden of following a man like the Apostle Paul in ministry. Can you imagine being Paul's protégé? I don't think he had just one, I actually think he had a number, but Timothy certainly was following Paul in ministry, and that's a great burden, picking up where the master left off. With what trembling do you think Joshua was told in Joshua 1? "Moses my servant is dead. Now then… you, Joshua, get up and lead this people." Can you imagine what must have gone into his mind? If he had any humility at all, I'm sure he was overwhelmed with the crushing burden. He saw what it did to Moses all those many years, and now he was called upon to pick it up and to take it along. We've seen this again and again in Scripture and also in church history, the young inexperienced being trained and prepared to take on that torch, that mantle, on into the future. David and Solomon, David, speaking of his son, not disrespectfully and not without love, but saying, "My son, Solomon, is young and inexperienced, and this temple that is to be built will be a great and majestic temple for the glory of God. So my son needs some help," said David concerning Solomon. And then there's the Elijah and Elisha relationship, where Elijah is called by God to go put his mantle on Elisha and call him as his successor in ministry. And that was the very mantle that was left behind when Elijah was taken up to Heaven in a chariot of fire and in a whirlwind. It was with that mantle, the mantle that had been passed on to Elisha, that he struck the river and was able to cross through on dry ground and continue the ministry in the power of the Spirit. This is also a recurring theme, not just in Scripture, but also in church history. A little while ago, I was reading about the end of Augustine's life, and four years before he died, he handed over the administrative duties of the church in Hippo, in North Africa, in Hippo, to his assistant, Eraclius. Imagine being Eraclius at his own installation ceremony, as the old man is sitting on the Bishop's throne just behind him, and he's preaching a sermon. This awesome presence of Augustine, listening to your first sermon in that post. Overwhelmed by a sense of inadequacy in Augustine's presence, Eraclius said, "The cricket chirps, the swan is silent." So he felt himself to be a cricket, a grasshopper in his own eyes, while the swan sat back there, so majestic. Again and again, the great men of church history have passed on to those that follow. The great women of church history have trained another generation of godly women to take up after them. Again and again, it's been seen. When William Carey died at age 73, a young missionary who was just beginning his ministry was overcome with grief, but remembered again the sovereignty of God, and remembered again the timelessness of God. This is what that missionary said, "And what shall we do? God has taken our Elijah to Heaven, but we must not be discouraged. The God of missions lives forever. His cause must go on, with our departed leader, all is well. Amen and amen. He has finished his course gloriously, but now the work descends on us." And G. Campbell Morgan, who was a pastor at Westminster Chapel, handed over in July of 1943 the reins of that ministry to a young preacher from Wales named Martin Lloyd Jones. And in his resignation letter, G. Campbell Morgan wrote, "I have to place in your hands my resignation to take effect at the end of August. It is not an easy thing to do. On John Wesley's monument in the Abbey, the words are found, 'God buries His workmen, but He carries on His work.'" And so it is. God ordained 20 centuries of church history at least after Christ. And so the torch must be passed on, the next generation must be prepared. They must take up where the mentor has left off. They must pick up this work. And what an awesome burden it is, that both the old and the young have to face. That the aged have to be worthy of being mentors. They have to have lived lives worthy of emulation, and they have to be willing to say, as Paul will say later in Philippians 4, "Whatever you've learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it in practice and the God of peace will be with you." But yet, with all of that, there's the humility of recognizing, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants, nor he who waters, is anything, but only God who makes things grow." II. Respecting Timothy’s Proven Dedication (vs. 19-24) And so here is Timothy, this young minister in training, being prepared by the Apostle Paul, groomed, as it were, for taking on the torch. And Timothy himself will pass it on to others. As it says in 2 Timothy 2:1 and 2, Paul speaking to Timothy, "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others also." So there's that four generations of spiritual heritage passed on, one to another. Now Timothy's been carefully groomed for success in ministry. He was evangelized and trained by his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice, prepared for a life of faith. The Apostle Paul came to town, Timothy's father was really of no account spiritually. We don't know anything about him, other than that, he was a Greek and probably not a believer or else he would've been mentioned more strongly in the Book of Acts. He was just not a presence. He was an absentee father for Timothy spiritually. Timothy "Adopted" by Paul But the Apostle Paul, in effect, kind of adopted Timothy. Took him under his wings. It says in 1 Timothy 1:2, and this is so precious, it says, "To Timothy, my true son in the faith." There's a sense of that adoption, the Greek word there is of children born in wedlock. "This is my genuine son." That's the way he thought. Now, clearly, he's meaning "spiritually." Now, of course back then, it was possible as it is today, for a significant person like Paul to adopt somebody and make him his legal heir. That's how we get to go to Heaven, by the spirit of adoption. We are adopted into the family of God. God has one only begotten son, Jesus Christ, but we are His adopted children. And I think that's the way Paul felt toward Timothy. It was somewhat like an apprenticeship. And he was going to get him ready, he was training him for ministry. Look at verse 22. He says, "You know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the Gospel." What an incredible discipleship opportunity have you fathers for your sons and your daughters as well. Parents have a great discipleship opportunity, and I would say more than that, responsibility to train their children spiritually. Get them ready for their work. Get them ready for the good works that God has ordained in advance that they should walk in them, Ephesians 2:10. It's for you to shape them and to prepare them and get them ready. So also the church in a lesser way, but parents, first and foremost, to prepare that next generation and get them ready. He says, "As a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the Gospel." Somehow, I fear that we're losing that, the father-son relationship. I think there's so many forces pulling families apart so that they're atomized, and there isn't that quality time for fathers and sons to spend doing just simple projects. We could imagine... It's not in the Bible, but we could imagine Jesus and his earthly father, Joseph, working in the carpentry shop, because Jesus was called a carpenter, in Mark's Gospel. Where did he learn that skill? It's got to be from his father, Joseph, his earthly father. But how much more Jesus and his Heavenly Father? As we're studying in the Sunday school, in the International Sunday School, in John chapter 5, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth. My Father is always at His work to this very day. And I, too, am working." And so Jesus is at work. Whatever the father does, the son wants to do. He wants to imitate his father. He doesn't want to do anything that his father's not doing, and never was there a man who so perfectly met that criteria as Jesus Christ. Only did what His Father was doing, and never anything His Father wasn't doing. "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." I don't want to do anything that God's not doing, do you? What a waste of time to build up a whole structure and see it come crashing down, because it was not in God's will. But Jesus never did anything like that. He served perfectly, as a son, with His Father. And at a lesser level, so also Timothy served with his father, spiritual father, Paul, in the work of the Gospel. May I say to you, fathers, take time to disciple your children. Redeem the time. Make the most of the days, they're so brief, aren't they? Our days are like a vapor. They're here for a little while, and then they vanish. Make the most of it. And younger folks who're just having new children coming in, realize what a great opportunity you have. Listen to what I'm saying now, and realize what an opportunity it is for you to shape and to train the next generation of church history. And those of you whose children are grown, realize you still have a valuable ministry here in the church to prepare young parents, to shape and mold their children as well. And even apart from the biological relationships within the family, we can mentor and disciple young spiritual children, as it were, bringing them along in the faith, just as Tim Schuman did with me. Timothy’s Qualities for Success in Ministry Now, as we look at Timothy, we see some qualities for success in ministry right in this text. First of all, a rare and genuine interest in the welfare of God's people. He says... He has a genuine interest in your welfare. The word "genuine" there means a true interest. He's truly interested, it's not fake, but it goes to the core of his being. And the word "interest" is, we're going to mention in a moment a little bit more, means he's literally kind of anxious over you. He's concerned about your welfare, spiritually. That's Timothy. He has a genuine anxiety, as it were, over how you're doing spiritually. And it's rare. He says, "I have no one else like him." Now this is very unusual, the spirit in this young man. It's an unusual spirit. "I have no one else like him who takes a genuine interest…" And it also says, "For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ." "I have no one else like him... Everyone looks out for their own interest." This is a rare individual, Timothy. And so clearly, Paul, in this glorified thank-you letter, which is Philippians, is establishing Timothy as a key leader, because Timothy, I think, is going to go back to the Philippians with Paul's letter. And so he wants them to think well of Timothy and receive him so that they can benefit from his ministry. He has a rare and genuine interest in the Philippians. Secondly, he has proven loyalty and dedication to the great commission. As I already mentioned, it says, "Everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself." What it means is that his mind is focused on the great commission. He's focused on the kingdom of Jesus Christ. He wants to build the kingdom. He's thinking Christ's thoughts after Him. What does Christ care about, except His own glory and the building up of His kingdom and the benefit of the people of God? And Timothy thinks about the same thing. He's not thinking about his own thoughts, and his own career, and what he wants to do with his life; he's thinking Jesus' thoughts after Him. And he was, in this way, I think, very much like-minded with the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul said, "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given to me, the task of testifying to the Gospel of God's grace." They were kindred spirits, Paul and Timothy. Genuine interest. He also had a good reputation among believers. Paul says, "You know that Timothy has proved himself." A good reputation in ministry is vital for success. In Proverbs 22:1, it says, "A good name is more desirable than great riches. To be esteemed is better than silver or gold." In order to be an elder, you have to have good reputation with outsiders, so that the Gospel will be held in honor. This is required for being an elder. And if something were to happen in the life of an elder or a pastor which would besmirch greatly his reputation and there's truth in it and a reason for the reputation to be besmirched, then he can't continue ministering. Now this is the kind of thing that is a challenge. The need to maintain a good reputation, an honorable reputation, before unbelievers in the outside world. Philip's book said that preaching is truth delivered through personality. It's not just an angel from Heaven or some person you don't know standing up in front of you, teaching you the Word, but it's somebody that you can know whose life you can observe. I think this is somewhat connected theologically to the issue of the incarnation, that Jesus lived among us and we beheld His glory. We could see the way He lived. And so, there was a mixture or a marriage, I would say, of a lifestyle of holiness and godliness with right doctrine. And so Paul commands Timothy to watch his life and doctrine closely. It's so vital that you watch both, not just your life and not just your doctrine, watch them both closely. And so, he had a good reputation among believers. And fourthly, he had a servant heart. He says, "You know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father, he has served with me in the work of the Gospel." This is this man, Timothy, and well-worth emulating. III. Honoring Epaphroditus’s Courageous Gamble (vs. 25-30) We also have another role model before us, and it's this man, Epaphroditus. We know a lot more about Timothy than we do about Epaphroditus, but Epaphroditus gets some attention here. Now, who was Epaphroditus? He was their messenger who was sent from Philippi with the money that they were giving. Paul needed money in order to keep living, really hard to make money while you're in prison. Very, very difficult to do. And so, there has to be an outside support system, and if Epaphroditus was chosen by the Philippian church to bring the money to Paul in prison. Look at verse 25 and following. Paul writes, "But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me." Now, what was Epaphroditus' dangerous mission? You think, "Well, what's the big deal about taking a huge amount of money across roads in the 1st-century world to where Paul was?" Well, nowadays, we would hire Brinks or Wells Fargo in a truck to protect that kind of money. Of course, there was great danger. It was actually almost expected on some roads that you would be attacked by brigands. Paul was attacked by highwaymen numerous times, as he says in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 when listing his sufferings. And so, it almost was expected that he would have to fend off an attack or survive it, or somehow get that money through without being robbed. Very dangerous. It was also dangerous in terms of guilt by association. When he got to wherever Paul was, perhaps Rome, and he began to have commerce or conversation with him, the Roman authorities might assume that he was part and parcel with all that uprising, and they might very well arrest him and put him in prison. It took great courage to be with a prisoner who was under these kinds of charges. But as it turns out, the real threat to Epaphroditus' life was neither one of these things; it was illness. It was physical illness. It was sickness. Could be just from the disease of being in a prison, I don't really know, we don't know that much about where Paul was. But we do know this, Epaphroditus was ill. And not just with any illness, but with a grave illness, serious illness, to the point even of death. And so he had a dangerous mission. Therefore, his mission, we could call a courageous gamble. He was willing to risk his life, that's what the text literally says. Verse 30, "He almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me." Now I want to speak very clear about risk in the issue of missions. There're some things that cannot be risked, because they are beyond our reach. You can "store up treasure in Heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal, and they will never be at risk." Isn't that glorious? There's no risk at all for heavenly treasure. But there are earthly valuable things, aren't there? Things that matter to us. Like our life, our health, our reputation, material possessions, loved ones. These things are actually at risk when you do missions. When you're willing to step out in faith, for example, trying to lead some people at work, and the non-Christians there have a certain opinion of you, "Oh, he's a nice guy, likes to talk about sports," or "He's a good engineer," or "He's this or that," or "She's a nice lady, she did this or that. Nice person," you're going to risk that to share the Gospel with them. You got to be willing to trade it in. because it's not worth much anyway, to be honest with you. It really isn't, it's barely worth the paper it's printed on, but they think well of you, kind of, to the level that non-Christians think of you. You have to be willing to risk it, to trade it in, to get uncomfortable for the advance of the Gospel. You've got to be, kind of, in one sense, I want you to understand, a gambler, in order to advance the Gospel. It's not guaranteed that you'll get sick. It's not guaranteed that highwaymen will attack you and take your money. It's not guaranteed that you'll be arrested by the Romans, it's not guaranteed you'll be persecuted in those ways. But you have to be willing to risk them. A year ago, when there was the big SARS epidemic, you remember that? Big story right after the second Gulf War was ended, and the voracious media vacuum was looking for a story, and SARS was it. And we were thinking this was going to overwhelm the world, I remember, the headlines and all this kind of thing. At that time, we were planning our mission trip to a large populous East Asian nation. And as we were preparing that mission trip to large populous East Asian nation, we had to decide, were we willing to risk the lives of those that would go? Now, we had some information from people that we knew that said it's not a major issue there, but it was an issue. There were people that were getting that illness, and we had to pray through. And it was thinking about this passage and others that made me realize you cannot advance the Kingdom of Heaven without some risk. You have to be willing to die. Jesus said in John 12, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, [if it's willing to risk] it will bear many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it. But the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." That's risk. You have to be willing to say goodbye to some valuable things in this world in order to advance the kingdom. Epaphroditus’s Rewards Well, what are Epaphroditus' rewards? First, honor for men. Look at verse 29 and 30. It says there, "Welcome him in the Lord with great joy and honor men like him." Honor him, "because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me." Paul says it's right to give honor to people like Epaphroditus. Earthly honor from other Christians is a strong inducement to a life of faithfulness. It is a benefit, an encouragement in the ministry, but I want to give you some warnings about it. There are some warnings that come from this kind of earthly honor that church people give to other church people. Honors, number one, should recognize God's grace in the achievement. They should recognize that apart from the grace of God, that individual could never have done that thing. Secondly, honor should not be done in an earthly or kind of pagan way, but in a very Christian way, an encouragement to greater service to Christ. Thirdly, earthly honor should not be the individual person's goal in service. Jesus covers that in Matthew 6, we don't do our good works before men to be seen by them. And if nobody ever honors you, God sees it all. And wouldn't you rather have God's reward than human honor? I would. And the fourth, honor should not be, therefore, a source of jealousy among church members. But yet, we should honor each other, shouldn't we? We should encourage, we should find the good things that brothers and sisters are doing in this church, and encourage them. This should be just a hot house of encouragement for greater service to God. So let's find things that are worthy of encouragement and honor, and do it. But I'll tell you this, Epaphroditus right now isn't thinking a lot about the Philippians' honor, is he? He is thinking about a different honor that Jesus mentioned right after those verses in John 12:26. "Whoever serves Me must follow Me, and where I am, My servant also will be." That's enough reward right there, just to be with Jesus. And then he says this, "My father will honor the one who serves Me." That's John 12:26. That's honor worth living for, isn't it? And so Epaphroditus is honored in Heaven now for his service to God. IV. Understanding Paul’s Real Struggles Now the third aspect of this text that I find fascinating is a true insight into the Apostle Paul as a role model. It's easy to put this man up on a pedestal, isn't it? To say he was a perfect person, a marble saint. Had no flaws, no real struggles, this kind of thing. Everything he did was easy, but we see some paradoxes here. Paul’s Earthly Hope in a Life of Heavenly-Mindedness First of all, Paul has an earthly hope in the middle of a life of heavenly-mindedness. What is his earthly hope? "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon," he says. In verse 23, "I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me." There is the earthly heavenly hope that no one can take from us. It's kept in heaven for us. That hope is the anchor of our soul and it will not give way. But then there are earthly hopes along the way. And this was one of Paul's, he was hoping to send Timothy. No guarantee that it would happen, just hoping that he could do it. Now, realize, back then, communication across the empire took a long time. I mean, as recently as the 19th century, missionaries like Adoniram Judson, he could write a letter and wait two years to get a response to his letter. Timothy was going to be the messenger from Paul to Timothy, and so he has an earthly hope that Timothy will fulfill that role. Lottie Moon, for whom the Lottie Moon Christmas offering is named, was starving and well near death before anyone really knew about it, because of how slow the communication was, even as recently is about 100 years ago. And so, communication was slow back in the 1st century Roman Empire. Timothy was, Paul hoped, going to be the messenger who would take this letter back to the Philippians. Paul’s Anxiety in a Life of Faith Now, Paul's desire is to be cheered by Philippians' spiritual health. He says, "I want to be cheered when I receive news about you." We see here then, I think, a vulnerability in Paul. And what I would call an anxiety in a life of faith. What kind of anxiety is it possible for a believer to have? The fact of the matter is later in this text or in this letter, Paul's going to say, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." But here, Paul is greatly anxious, isn't he? What's he anxious over? Well, he's anxious over the spiritual condition of the Philippian church. And so, he has great anxiety in a life of faith. The fact of the matter is, we have no guarantee, no guarantee, that this or that person that we're ministering to is going to end up in Heaven. We have promises from God that people who believe in Christ will end up in Heaven. We know from Scripture that those who are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world will most certainly end up in Heaven, but are the Philippians in that category? Paul's not sure. He hopes so. Time will tell, but he doesn't know for sure. And so he's anxious. And he's anxious over the Galatian churches. Anxious like a mother in childbirth. He says in Galatians 4, "until Christ is formed in you," and he knows that they're believers. He's anxious over the Thessalonian church. In 2 Corinthians 12, he says, "I face daily, constantly, the pressure being worried about these churches that I've planted." The very thing that Timothy was also anxious over, the Philippians. He's concerned. Parents, probably anxious over the spiritual condition of their children. Do you know for sure that your children are going to be with you in Heaven? I don't. I pray, and I yearn for them, and I train them, and I pray, and I desire. But I've said to them many times, well, I keep saying, "You can't go to Heaven on my faith. You must be a believer." And time will tell. So Paul has a godly anxiety in the midst of his life of faith. He's concerned. Look at verse 28, "I'm all the more eager to send him so that when you see him again, you may be glad and I may have," what? Look at it, "less anxiety." He's concerned, he's anxious. "Oh, you hypocrite, Paul. You told us we shouldn't be anxious for anything." Well, I think he means, be anxious for nothing in that you don't pray, and trust God over it. In the end, he conquers his anxiety by prayer, but he is anxious. Paul’s Sorrow in a Life of Joy Thirdly, we see Paul's sorrow in a life of joy. Philippians is rightly called an "epistle of joy" because of the number of times that Paul displays or commands joy. He says in Philippians 1:18, "Because of this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice." Philippians 2:17, he says, "Even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you." And then in verse 18 of that same chapter, 2:18, "So, you too should be glad and rejoice with me." In Philippians 3:1, he says, "Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord." Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice." And then 4:10, "I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me." Chapter 4, he's going to say, "I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Well-fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want, I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." However, in this section of the epistle, we get a glimpse into his true heart. And here he speaks about being spared sorrow upon sorrow. Do you see it? Look at verse 27, "Indeed, Epaphroditus was ill and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow," overwhelming sorrow. Hmm. Hmm, how can you have overwhelming sorrow and still live a life of joy? That's a big question. Is it possible to just kind of sail blissfully through this world, never being touched by sorrow or sadness? Do you really think that's even a Christian goal? Was not Jesus a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering? Was that not Christ who is weeping over Jerusalem? Was it not Christ who was sweating great drops of blood in Gethsemane? Was it not Jesus who said, "I have a baptism to undergo and how distressed [as in a straitjacket] I am until it is completed"? It is not a Christian virtue to be blissfully untouched by misery and pain as you sail through this world. That is not what "rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again, rejoice" means. Philippians 2:27 gives me insight here. Instead I think what we ought to do is say, "This world is filled with pain and suffering and struggling, difficulty. And things that are precious to me, I may well lose, and I'm going to hurt over them. But I'm going to fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning at shame, and sat down at the right hand of God." Now that gives me the ability to rejoice in the midst of great sorrow and suffering. It's not in your outline there but you might want to take a pen and write down 2 Corinthians 6:10, in which these two come together. 2 Corinthians 6:10, Paul speaks of himself as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing, as poor and yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing everything. So it's possible as a Christian to be sorrowful and yet always rejoicing. If your child is diagnosed with Leukemia this year, are you going to want somebody to come and say, in effect, "Don't worry, be happy"? Is that going to minister to you? For somebody to quote Philippians 4:4 and say, "Rejoice in the Lord always"? In the end, that will give you great joy, but realize, in this world, you will have trouble. But in Christ, you have peace. We don't have an ostrich joy, but we have one that faces the realities of suffering in this world and is able to be joyful anyway, and why? Because 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, "Our light and momentary troubles are working in us a glory that far outweighs them all." Paul’s Weakness in a Life of Power And finally we see Paul's weakness in a life of power. Do you realize that few people have ever had as powerful an impact on history as the Apostle Paul? How many millions of people do you think were saved through Paul's letter to Romans? Think about it. How many millions of people have been affected by Paul's epistle to the Ephesians or the Philippians? Perhaps as many as hundreds or thousands of people were saved directly through his ministry in his time on earth. How many miracles did he do? We don't know. But he did some. A powerful life, courageous and bold, a world-changing life, and yet here in Philippians 2, we see, really, a man of great weakness and dependency. He's hoping that he can send Timothy to the Philippians, he's not sure whether that will work out or not. He's dependent on the Philippians to send him money so that he can eat, ultimately dependent on God, but he is the picture of dependency and weakness. And frankly, in the end, I believe that was Paul's greatest sanctification lesson. He was a ladder-climbing Pharisee, he had the world by the tail, he was a powerful guy, he knew all the right moves to make, courageous and strong. God taught Paul to be nothing, to be totally dependent on God, so that he would realize that he only lives except at God's word. 2 Corinthians 1:8 and 9, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure far beyond our ability to endure so that we despaired even of life, indeed, in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death. But this happened so that we might no longer rely on ourselves but on God Who raises the dead." And so we see in Paul a life of weakness in the middle of a life of power. Total dependence on God, a thorn in the flesh, teaching him every day, "My grace is sufficient for you, Paul, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." V. Application What kind of application can we get out of these three men? Well, first, honor godly role models. Honor Timothy's proven dedication, serving like a son with his father in the Gospel work. Honor Epaphroditus' courageous gamble, his willingness to die, even, for the advance of the Gospel. And honor Paul, so genuine, so dependent on God, so trusting. Secondly, learn the true Christian life. As we've just been discussing, it's not a fake life, is it? It's not a life of saying, "I'm fine, I'm a Christian. Everything is always fine for me." No, as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, able to trust in God even in the hardest times. Thirdly, risk more for Christ. Next week, you'll have an opportunity to go out and witness. Every week, there are between 300 and 400 people that come and worship with us. Every month, we have an outreach in which between 30 and 40 people come. Now, I'm not really sure what God is going to call you to do next Sunday afternoon. I believe there will be callings for people who are sitting and listening to me other than going out and witnessing, but I want you to pray seriously about what that calling would be. Realize that our time on earth is brief, and God is calling on us to witness. This church is making available to you an opportunity to reach out to those who haven't heard the Gospel before. Pray through being involved, be willing to risk your Sunday afternoon. Be willing to risk not eating your favorite lunch. There will be food available, it just not necessarily going to be your favorite lunch, but it's very good, I enjoy it, I really do. And you'll enjoy it too, alright? The folks that put that together, we love them, okay? We are grateful for the food, it just may not be your favorite lunch. But you will be fed. But more than that, you'll be able to say with Jesus, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and finish His work." And fourth, focus again on living for the reward of the honor from God. Paul, that baptism was powerful, and be able to think, "I want to know Christ, I want Him to be pleased with me at the end of my life." You brought me to tears, brother. I want us to live for the honor of God. That God would look at us at the end of our lives and honor us. I'm not so worried about whether the Philippian church honors me or not, but I am concerned about whether God is pleased with my life. And that matters to me.

I. Review: The Rise and Fall of the World Please, if you would, take your Bibles and open to Daniel chapter 2. We're going to be finishing this morning, God willing, our look at this chapter. It's an incredible chapter in which the rise and the fall of the world is so clearly depicted in prophetic perspective. For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of a triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals from the conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot. The dazed prisoners walked in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses alongside him. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning that all glory is fleeting. With those words, one of my favorite movies ever, ended. It's the movie Patton. If you go see the movie Patton, that's the way that it ends. And that's an amazing ending to it, because it's right before that General of the Third Army of the United States of America, World War II, right before he died, the film doesn't cover his death, but it does give us this incredible reminder. All glory is fleeting. You see, Patton had ridden at the head of the Third Army. They had conquered or re-conquered 12,000 towns and villages, inflicted 1.5 million casualties on the Nazi armies facing them. And he knew enough military history to know that he was just another in a long line of conquerors riding over the same territory in front of mighty armies conquering the same land and that some day his glory and his triumph would sink back into the dust from which he came. I think it's a telling way for him to end or for them to end that film. All glory is fleeting. Now, we have a reminder of that in our bulletins. If you look on the cover of the bulletin today, I've put a picture. And it's a picture of a desolate windswept plain near Pasargadae, which is in modern Turkmenistan, used to be the northeastern frontier of the ancient Persian Empire. And there stands a simple gabled edifice made of limestone blocks cramped together with iron bands, it's a small edifice, it rests on a stone platform of six courses. It contains a windowless chamber about 10.5 feet by 7.5 feet, 8 feet high, just a little room. And on it, according to the ancient historian, Plutarch, the inscription reads in old Persian characters: "O man, whosoever you are and whencesoever you come, for I know that you will come, I am Cyrus, who won for the Persians their empire. Do not begrudge me this little earth that covers my corpse." So here is Cyrus, and he conquered one of the greatest empires the world had ever seen, and now he's got a little room to show for it, a little limestone room with an inscription on it, that you have to be a scholar to read. And the inscription reminds you of the fleetingness of all human glory. Well, the Scripture reminds us of that as well, Daniel chapter 2. It speaks of kingdoms that rise and fall, of empires that come and go, of emperors and kings that live and are raised up to incredible glory, and then sink back into the dust from which they came. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream This is the vision and the dream that King Nebuchadnezzar, the first of these great emperors saw. Do you remember the story? Nebuchadnezzar was laying down on his bed, and he was thinking about the future, thinking about what would come, and as he was thinking, his mind turned to perhaps his own empire and perhaps who would follow him as a successor and he fell into maybe a fitful sleep. And while he was sleeping, he saw a vision, a dream, and the dream so terrified him and disturbed him that he could not sleep anymore. And so, he as soon as he could summoned his chief counselors and his magicians and astrologers and dream interpreters and they all came, and they were eager and ready to interpret his dream for him, but he was so eager and determined to have an accurate interpretation to that dream that he said that they must tell him what his dream was before they had the right to interpret it. So it was a two-fold test. They tried to wriggle out of it, but he wouldn't let them move. He said, "You've got to tell me my dream and then I will know that you can interpret it for me." And they said, "Nobody can do this, King. Nobody can read your mind. We don't know what your dream is. We're ready to interpret the dream if you'll tell us what it is, but if you will not tell us the dream how can we interpret it? No king however mighty, however powerful can ask this of his counselors." And so, Nebuchadnezzar in a rage decreed death for all of the counselors of Babylon, because they could not do these two things, number one, to tell him his dream and number two, to interpret it accurately for him. This was a terrified man, he wanted to know what this dream meant. When Daniel received word, Daniel was a Judean, a Jewish young man. He had already been through the training that the Babylonians offered and he and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were junior counselors, I believe, at this point. Not full counselors, they'd not been asked to come and stand before the King yet, and they received news, what the king had said. And Daniel said to the king… He got an audience with Nebuchadnezzar and said, "Give me some time, and if you give me some time, I will interpret the King's dream for him." And then he went back and he and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, they gathered together in an incredibly urgent and passionate prayer meeting. And they prayed. They prayed as if their lives depended on it, because they did and they asked God for a miracle. They said God, "You've got to tell us what this dream is or else we will perish." God was gracious to them and gave to Daniel in particular, a night vision in which he saw the dream, and not only did he see the dream, but he understood the meaning, the significance of that dream, its interpretation. Daniel Describes and Interprets the Dream We saw last time what that dream was. Daniel stands before Nebuchadnezzar and after giving credit and praise to God, he says this, beginning in verse 31, "You looked, O King, and there before you stood a large statue, an enormous dazzling statue awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching a rock was cut out, but not by human hands, it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace, but the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole Earth." And then Daniel went on to interpret the dream, he said, "This was the dream and now we will interpret it to the king. You, O King, are the king of kings, the God of Heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory. In your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all, you are that head of gold.After you, another kingdom will rise inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth and finally there will be a fourth kingdom strong as iron, for as iron breaks and smashes everything, and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. Yet, it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. And as the toes were partly iron, and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united any more than iron mixes with clay. In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed nor will it be left to another people, it will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of the mountain but not by human hands, a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true, and the interpretation is trustworthy." So here's the dream, it's a dream of a statue, an immense statue. And we've seen in the interpretation, and we talked about last time, that the statue unfolds a chronology, it unfolds history. It starts at the gold head, goes down through the chest and arms of silver, through the belly and thighs of bronze, into the legs of iron and then the feet partly of iron and partly of clay and the toes are mentioned as well. And so, we have traced out human history, we understand that Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold, he represents the Babylonian kingdom. As we talked about last time, we saw that he was in many respects the Babylonian kingdom. And when he died, it pretty much came to an end. There were two others that ruled after him, but they did not have his power. And it wasn't long before the kingdom crumbled and fell to the Medes and the Persians, the second kingdom. Chest of arms, chest and arms of silver. The Medes and the Persians, and Cyrus the Great, whose tomb you have printed on the cover of your bulletin, conquered Babylon in 539 and then died 10 years later. Darius the Mede raised the empire to its greatest heights after that and ruled over that region, ancient near east, for 200 years. But they never did control the Greeks on the border. Never could really control them. And then when the time was full, 4th century BC, 330 or so BC, Alexander the Great came crashing through and destroyed the Persian army and then conquered an area of immense size, 3000 miles from modern Yugoslavia to the Indus River Valley in Pakistan and India. About the distance from Los Angeles to New York. That's what Alexander the Great conquered, never lost a battle. Incredible speed, he conquered the world, but then he died. At the height of his power he was cut off, and his kingdom divided among his four top generals. And they continued on for a while until Rome rose in the west and took over. And so, history is somewhat like a relay race, one empire taking over from the next, as one empire sinks back into the dust from which it came. Now, we covered all this last time. This is just by way of review, but I left unaddressed some details. And there's a great deal of detail given specifically to the feet of the statue, the feet partly of iron and partly of clay with the toes, and of this stone cut out but not by human hands. What is the meaning of this? And what does this passage teach us about the Kingdom of God? And what does this passage teach us perhaps about the future? Second coming of Christ. We're going to look today at the nature of the Kingdom of God. We're going to look at the triumph of the Kingdom of God, we're going to look at the timing of the Kingdom of God. And then some end time details and perhaps some millennial questions. II. The Nature of the Kingdom of God Let's begin with the nature of the Kingdom of God and realize that God in this vision is setting up a contrast. The contrast is between the statue, this immense glorious imposing statue and the rock cut out, but not by human hands. It's a contrast. They're being compared one to another. And they're being compared in four senses. Origin: Human vs. Divine First, in terms of origin. The origin of the human kingdoms, the human statue is human. Its origin is from the earth, and that is being contrasted by an origin which is divine, a heavenly origin. Now, the form of the statue is that of a human being, the empires represent humanity and all of its immense power and its glory and its strength and its ability, its intellect. And all of the human empires are patterned after human mind, human lusts, human conception of glory and of power. They all sprang up, therefore, out of human imaginations. Nebuchadnezzar's father, Nabopolassar, was a minor official in the Assyrian empire down in a corner called Chaldea. But he got ambitious. He started to have dreams of grandeur and glory, started to think about a kingdom, even an empire. And he started to come up along the Tigris and the Euphrates River and conquered the Assyrian empire. And he was successful and he committed to his son Nebuchadnezzar his most powerful army and they swept on down through, that's when they conquered Jerusalem and Egypt. Then, in the height of all this, Nabopolassar died and Nebuchadnezzar inherited that kingdom. But where did this kingdom come from? From the mind of Nabopolassar, the imagination, the thoughts, the ambition of a man. Was it any different with Cyrus the Great? Cyrus the Great was an official on the edge of the Babylonian empire, and he started to see the cracks around the edge, he started to see the toppling of the Babylonian empire. And so, the ambition filled his mind, and he started to organize his army and his men and he conquered Babylon. Was it any different with Alexander the Great? Philip, his father, Philip of Macedon began to have dreams of glory, but he also just like Nabopolassar cut off before he could realize them. Alexander the Great picked up that baton of ambition and started to conquer. And so, it was with the Roman Senate, and Caesar's as well. The origin of human kingdoms is human imagination and pride and ambition. The origin is human, but the stone has an origin that is supernatural. It is a stone cut out but not by human hands; it has no human origin. Verse 34, "While you were watching a rock was cut out, but not by human hands." This missile, which is going to come in and destroy human government, comes from heaven, not from Earth, it has a heavenly origin, not an earthly origin. Now, some commentators believe this refers to the virgin birth of Christ. That Jesus was born without a human father, and it may be, but I think it means far more than that. I think it just talks about the Kingdom of God and how its origin was not human, but divine. Do you remember when Jesus Christ stood before the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate? And do you remember what the charge was against him? That he was a king, a rabble-rouser trying to organize a kingdom. Well, Jesus couldn't rightly deny that he was a king, he is a king, he's in fact the king of kings. But he needed to show Pontius Pilate that he was thinking about his kingdom all wrong. Do you remember what he said? He said, "My kingdom is…" What? "Not of this world." "My kingdom is not of this world." That's John 18:36. He said, "If it were, my servants or my followers would have fought to prevent me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is my kingdom is from another place." Do you understand what Jesus is saying there? He's saying, if I were an earthly king, I would be leading a revolt with swords, you see, that's the way that earthly kings conquer. All who draw the sword will what? Perish by the sword. One sword comes along and devours the next. I'm setting up a kingdom not by that way. "My kingdom is not of this world.” Pilot says, "So you are a king? And Jesus responds, "You are right in saying that I am a king. In fact, for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth." Jesus is saying that his kingdom gets built with truth. When people hear the truth, they come into the kingdom. It does not get built with a sword. Now, since the Emperor Constantine declared himself to be a Christian in the 3rd century, the church got a little confused about this, and so it adopted the sword and began to advance by the sword. You've heard of the Crusades, haven't you? And it got confused about the relationship between church and state. It took the Baptists to set them straight on that many years later. This confusion between church and state, but the kingdom of Jesus Christ does not advance by military power, or by political power. We get confused about this, we get wrapped up in the politics, we should get involved as American citizens, but realize, the Kingdom of Heaven does not advance that way. It advances by truth, by the preaching of the Gospel, by people who come to faith in Christ. And then we have a salt and light effect on society, it's true, and we must not neglect that. My kingdom is not of this world, said Jesus. Essence: Earthly vs. Heavenly Also, it speaks of the essence of the kingdom. What is the essence of human kingdoms? They are built of earthy stuff, aren't they? They're built of stuff you can find lying around on the earth. If you dig hard enough, you can find them. Each phase of the statue, gold, silver, bronze, iron, where do they come from? Up out of holes in the ground, up out of the earth. Job testified to this. Job 28:1-2, "There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from its ore." He covers all four materials. They come up out of the earth, they're earthy. And I mentioned last time, so is the Tower of Babel. It was built of clay, thoroughly baked, and it rose supposedly to heaven, but remember what God had to do, he said, "Let us go down and see this great tower they're building. They haven't even come close to heaven, they're building up from the earth, but they'll never make it." Human ambition soars, but not that high. You can never reach heaven by earthy means. And the feet of clay testifies to this as well. Have you ever heard of that expression, about someone's feet of clay? It means their... Perhaps their Achilles heel or their weakness. The thing that's going to destroy them, or their point of weakness. Well, ours is our humanity, our mortality, our sinfulness. It says in Genesis 2:7, "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Paul picks up on this in 1 Corinthians 15:47 and said, "The first man is from the earth." Earthy, he's earthy. "But the second man is from Heaven," spiritual. And then after the fall, after sin entered the earth in Genesis 3:19, God said, "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken, for dust you are and to dust you shall return." And so, the statue rises up out of the ground and then it falls back down into the dust. All that's left of Cyrus the Great is the photo you see on the cover there, that's it, that's all he's got left. And actually, there's nothing inside. You know, they... At some point, hundreds of years ago, they plundered it. It's just an empty room with an inscription that no one can read. That's what's left of Cyrus the Great and all that he accomplished. But the Kingdom of God is made up of supernatural essence. God does not build his kingdom by earthy means or earthy materials. I think we get confused about this in terms of money too. We think more money means more kingdom, it doesn't work that way. And for... Or that commercial, "There are some things that money can't buy, everything else put on a credit card." Well, you can't do that at church. We're not set up for that. Not yet. You can't buy the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember when Simon tried to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter said, "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money." The Kingdom of Heaven doesn't advance that way. Now, money is important, very important. Jesus taught a great deal about money, so did Paul. It actually shows where your heart is. But God does not build his kingdom with earthy means, but rather with supernatural means and materials. And therefore, all of us who are presently earthy... Aren't we? Don't you feel your earthiness? The older you are, the more you'll feel it. Now, some of you are laughing, but you don't know anything, you're only 38. I'm feeling it as it is. There are some things I used to be able to do, I can't do anymore. And it goes on, we're earthy, we're decaying. And therefore, it says in 1 Corinthians 15:50, "I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." We must be transformed and we're transformed first by the hearing of the imperishable Word of God, and secondly, by the glorification, the new resurrection body that only he can give. The Kingdom of God is not perishable. Duration: Temporary vs. Eternal Thirdly, the comparison is in terms of duration, temporary verses eternal. All human empires are temporary. Each empire had its first day and its last day. Because they are human, their mighty leaders eventually sink back into the dust and each empire is superseded by another human empire. Some day, if the Lord tarries, America will sink back down. Is that shocking to you? We are God's people, so we think. No, we're not. The church are God's people. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will transform our lowly bodies, that's earthy bodies, into his glorious body. That's our citizenship. Don't hold on to earthly kingdoms too tightly, even this one will sink down. But God's kingdom is eternal. Look at verse 44, "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms, and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever." This is ascribed to Jesus Christ, the Messiah. His kingdom will never end. It says in Isaiah 9:6-7, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government," interesting word, "the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." And so, when Gabriel came to tell Mary of the birth of her son, this is what Gabriel said, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." The Kingdom of Jesus Christ will never end. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ has already begun, and it's been growing for 2000 years. I'm going to talk about that in a moment, and it will never end. The final fourth point of comparison is that of power. Earthly kingdoms have power, a great deal by our standards, but they are nothing compared to God. And every one of them is vulnerable, but the Kingdom of God is unconquerable. Each kingdom is vulnerable, for example, to the ravages of a more technologically advanced army. When Cyrus the Great came through, his army was just better trained and more able to conquer than that of the Babylonians. Alexander the Great brought a kind of warfare that no one had ever seen before, with the use of cavalry, he conquered armies 10 times his size by just knowing how to fight. And then there were the Roman legions with their discipline and their structure and their organization. Every human empire has limited power, also vulnerable to the ravages of time, and internal decadence. How did Rome fall? Internal corruption, sin, drunken feasts. Also vulnerable to the law of succession. Who will be next, a wise man or a fool? Listen to what King Solomon said about this. He said, "I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless. A chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun because I must leave them to the one who comes after me, and who can say whether he will be a wise man or a fool, yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless." How many kings have hoped for a prince, a son who would be worthy, a worthy successor, and he ended up to be weak, ineffective, given to luxury, for example, not a good leader. But not so Christ's kingdom, Christ reigns forever, and he will never be taken from his throne. In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed nor will be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms, and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. John Wesley in the 1700s knew the King of England. This was a time when England was just coming into its ascendancy and its power. Queen Victoria's reign just lay ahead. It was just in the middle of the building of its empire, and John Wesley knew the King. And he had a time to stand with the King one time, and this is what he said. "I was in the Robe Chamber, adjoining to the House of Lords when the King put on his robes. His brow was much furrowed with age and quite clouded with care. And is this all the world can give even to a king? All the grandeur it can afford, a blanket of ermine around his shoulder so heavy and cumbersome he can scarce move under it? A huge heap of borrowed hair with a few plates of gold and glittering stones upon his head. Alas, what a bubble is human greatness and even this will not endure." So we've seen the nature of the Kingdom of God. III. The Triumph of the Kingdom of God What of its triumph? Well, when the stone cut out but not by human hands smashes the feet, it gives rise to an instantaneous victory. In the dream, in the vision, the statue is smashed immediately. All the rival kingdoms are destroyed and a wind blows them away. But then there's a sense of growth of the kingdom as well. In verse 35, "the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth." So which is it? Is it an instantaneous victory or smashing or is it a gradual growth to fill the whole earth? Could it be both? And could it be even in reverse order that the gradual growth gives way to the final smashing at the second coming of Christ? That's what I believe. If you read the commentators on this, they are divided. Is the smashing of the stone the first coming of Christ, or is it the second coming of Christ, which is it? You pay your money, you make your choice. I don't think that we should make a choice. I think it's both. Jesus Christ came and the key to the interpretation of this is, what is the rock? The rock is the Kingdom of God, it is the kingdom. And in order to understand the kingdom, we must look to the New Testament. IV. The Timing of the Kingdom of God Now, what is the timing of this kingdom? We get two clues about the timing of the kingdom. In verse 34 it says, "while you were watching a rock was cut out but not by human hands and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay..." So the feet give us an indication of the timing. There is a chronology here, isn't there? From gold to silver to bronze to iron and to the feet, partly of iron and partly of clay. So there's a flow of history, and at that point the rock comes. There's also a clear statement from Daniel in verse 44, "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed." Now, what does it mean in the time of those kings? Now, people who believe that Jesus will reign for a thousand years on earth point to the 10 toes. By the way, it doesn't say there's 10, but we have to assume that the statue had 10, it's a human being and most human beings have 10 toes. So there were 10 toes, so they assumed. And so, could it be that there's going to be 10 final kings in the final form of the Roman Empire, and in the time of those kings Jesus Christ will return? So, it's looking to something yet future, so the interpretation goes. There's a mingling together of clay and iron. We didn't see that in the time of Jesus' first coming. No, the Roman Empire was strong, Caesar Augustus, he was their greatest strength of power. That was the legs of iron, but we get a final form of the Roman Empire, yet to come. And so, this whole interpretation goes this way. They're looking at Europe, they're waiting to see the 10 member nations and when the 10 nations are together, they're going to have a consortium or consolidation of power and those 10 kings will give their power to the anti-Christ, so the interpretation goes. And in those days, the stone will come. It's the second coming of Christ. That's how the interpretation goes. Well, I think that may be true. But if you're reading this, the most natural way to understand "in the time of those kings," is the kings we've been talking about, the kings of gold, the kings of silver, the kings of bronze and the kings of iron. So, in the era when Gentiles are ruling Jerusalem, in the times of the Gentiles, in those days, God will set up a kingdom. I think that's a safer interpretation. V. The Kingdom of Heaven: A Summary of the Issues Now, what does this Kingdom of Heaven entail? What do we learn about the Kingdom of Heaven? Well, there are some lessons that we get from the New Testament. I printed them there in your bulletin. And if we follow this, I think we'll understand how to interpret Daniel chapter 2. First, the Kingdom of God made its appearance when Christ came the first time. That is a key point. The kingdom came when Jesus came the first time. How do we know that? Well, numerous ways. What was Jesus' first preached message? Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near or at hand. Kingdom of Heaven is, we say, near, does that mean yet to come? Well, it is yet to come, but it's also here now. He said, "The Kingdom of God is in your midst, among you." He also said, "If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you." Did Jesus drive out demons by the Spirit of God? Yes. Then the Kingdom of God has come upon us. It's already here. Secondly, people can enter the Kingdom of Heaven now, so the kingdom is not near the future. You can enter the kingdom today, now. How do you do that? Well, in Matthew 5:3, it says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit…" The spiritual beggars, for what? "Theirs will be the Kingdom of Heaven?" No. "Theirs the Kingdom of Heaven," now. If you're a spiritual beggar, if you are poor in spirit, you get the Kingdom of Heaven through faith in Christ, now, today. Jesus in his day spoke of some that were getting converted and he was speaking to the Pharisees, the self-righteous Pharisees and they were always looking down on other people. And it says in Matthew 21:31, Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of you," that settles it to me. You can enter the kingdom now. The Kingdom of God is here now, and has been for 2000 years. Next, however, the Kingdom of God awaits a yet future fulfillment when Christ will reign on the Earth. How do you know that? Do you ever pray the Lord's prayer? What does it say about this in the Lord's Prayer? Thy Kingdom, what? Come. Let your kingdom come and then it gives an explanation after that, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Is that the truth now, is that the case? Do you look around in this world and see Christ's will being done or God's will being done on earth in the same way it's done up in heaven? Do I even need to ask? Absolutely not. And so we're praying for it. O Lord Jesus, come and be king here, down here on earth, so that we can see it. Next, and this is a key step, Christ is ruling over the Earth now for the benefit of his advancing kingdom, and I mean over governments. He's ruling over governments, ruling over Eastern European governments to bring down the Berlin Wall, he's ruling over Russia, he's ruling over China, and over the US, he's ruling over all the kings of the Earth. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is sitting at the right hand of God, while God makes his enemies a foot stool for his feet. It's going on now. It's not yet future, it's happening now. Ephesians 1:20-22 says this, that God raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come and God placed all things under his feet, and appointed him to be head over everything for the Church. What does that word "for the church" mean? It means he's ruling over everything for your benefit. He's causing all things to work together for good for you, for the church. And that includes human governments. He has that kind of power, and he exercises that power. Next, it says the Kingdom of God advances forcefully through the world, growing bigger and bigger all the time. The Kingdom of God is getting bigger and bigger all the time. Isn't that what happened to the rock? Remember the rock cut out but not by human hands, what happened to it? It got bigger and bigger and bigger until it filled the whole earth. Jesus spoke of this advance, Matthew 11:12 says, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it." The Kingdom of Heaven has been advancing from the time of John the Baptist until now, it's moving out, it's moving on. Jesus spoke of this in his parables, "the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. Though it is smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it becomes a garden plant, the largest of all garden plants, so big that birds can come and make nests in the branches." Is that not the principle of growth from small to big? It starts small, it gets bigger. And then the next parable teaches something very important about that growth. The Kingdom of God is like yeast, which a woman took and hid into a large amount of flour until it permeated through the whole dough. It's a secret growth. It's a kind you can't see, you're not going to read about it in the New York Times. They're not going to talk about it on CNN, you're not going to see it in 20/20 or Nightline. It's secret permeating growth, and yet it is the story of human history. It is what God has been waiting for 2000 years, the growth of his kingdom. It's going on now. Next step, kings and kingdoms are frustrated and defeated if they try to stop this advance. This is Psalm 2, you remember? Remember Psalm 2? "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed one. 'Let us break their bonds and shake off their chains,' they say… The one enthroned in Heaven laughs…and he terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 'I have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.'" You can't beat him. You might as well join him. That's what he's saying. Therefore, you kings, be wise and be warned you rulers of the earth, Psalm 2, "serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry with you and his wrath flare up in a moment and you be destroyed in your way. What is that saying? It's saying, Kings of the Earth, go ahead and be king of Turkmenistan and President of the United States and whatever, but don't fight me, because if you do, you're going to destroy yourself. Your kingdom is going to sink back into the dust anyway, you already know that, but you will lose your soul, do not fight me. The Kingdom of Heaven advances. My kingdom is not of this world. It's advancing spiritually not by the sword, but by the preached Word and nothing can stop it. At the second coming of Christ, the final form of human governments will be assembled and smashed forever. This is the final smashing. And I think it's also in view, in the vision of Daniel 2. Now, in order to get this full story, you have to read Daniel 7. We'll talk more about it when we get there, and Revelation 19. But they are the kings of the earth, they're assembled together at a place called Armageddon, and the anti-Christ is there ruling over them, leading them, and Jesus Christ comes on a white horse with the armies of heaven, they're all clad in white. And we'll be there. It says in 1 Thessalonians 4 that we're going to meet the Lord in there, if we're still alive, we will go up and meet him and come down to do that battle, I believe. If you've died, you'll be there too. The wind will come in with him, and he's going to come and destroy, militarily destroy, those governments. And that is the wind that will blow those governments away and they'll be left with no trace, nothing left, but Jesus Christ, gone forever. Now, I'm not going to talk now about that coalition of 10 kings. We'll get to that in Daniel 7. That's a better place. Why? Because do you see the number 10 here in Daniel 2? Now, I know you say there's 10 toes. Well, let's wait until Daniel 7. It's a better place to discuss the 10 kings. But what I say is there may well be a future final form of the Roman Empire mingled together with peoples and yet the strength of the Roman Empire and in that final day, Jesus will come. Let's talk more about that in Daniel 7. The final point is, at this point, Christ's kingdom will come and God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Revelation 11:15, the kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he will reign forever and ever. VI. Applications Now, what applications can we make about what we've learned here in Daniel chapter 2? First of all, this is a deep chapter, isn't it? We've been three weeks in it. We could spend more, but we're going to go on next week to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the burning fiery furnace. So let's learn some lessons from Daniel chapter 2. First, human kingdoms exhaust themselves for nothing. Did you hear that? Well, that's a quote from Scripture, Habakkuk 2:13-14. "Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:13-14 put together, that's Daniel 2. The nations exhaust themselves for nothing. God's kingdom is going to fill the whole world and nothing can stop it. Alright, what application? Can I urge you, don't build an earthy kingdom? Don't waste your time building earthy things that aren't going to last. Can I ask you as stewards of your time and of your money and of your life, think about what you're building with your life? And ask, is it going to be swept away like chaff or is it going to last for all eternity? Think about it. How are you living your life? What are you spending your time on? Are you building a kingdom that will last or will it be swept away? Secondly, all human glories is nothing. Can I urge you, don't be impressed by anything human? Don't be impressed by the mighty achievements of America, the skyscrapers of Chicago, the technological advances of Silicon Valley, the jets of McDonnell Douglas, the financial acuity of NASDAQ or Wall Street, don't be impressed by these things. They're all chaff, that's going to be blown away. Don't yearn for a business as successful as Microsoft. Don't yearn for a body that looks like Sylvester Stallone's, don't yearn for things that don't matter. All human glories is nothing. And therefore, thirdly, Christ's kingdom, God's kingdom is everything. Realize that nothing in this world matters as much as entering the Kingdom of Christ. How do we know that? Well, Jesus said so. What would it profit a man to what, gain the whole world? Isn't that empire language? What would it gain... What would it profit if you conquered even the whole world? Has any one man ever conquered the whole world? No, there's never been an emperor that took over the whole world. And Jesus said, even if you did, it would be worth less than your soul. Imagine you're Napoleon standing on the edge of hell. I don't know whether he's in heaven or hell, I'm not making a pronouncement, it's not my place. But suppose you were Napoleon and you were asked, would you trade your European empire now for your eternal soul, what would he say? What would you say in a second? Would you hold any part back? Maybe Austria, that beautiful mountain... No, I wouldn't hold it back, I'd give it all. What would a man give in exchange for his soul? Can I ask you to look inward, what are you trading for your eternal soul? Have you entered the Kingdom of Jesus Christ? And those of you that have, are you putting these kinds of questions to your American fellow workers and people around you who are losing their souls for earthly things? Are you being the evangelist God's calling you to be? To give them a warning that they're building their lives on sand, and it's all going to get swept away. Final application, 2 Peter 3:11-12, "since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?" I'm quoting Scripture now. "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming." Three things that he's telling you to do, live a holy and godly life, look forward to the day of God, and speed its coming. Live a holy and godly life by not being polluted by this world. Look forward to the day of God by hope and put your yearning and your hope and your ambition in the day of God, and speed its coming. How do you do that? By evangelism, by doing the work of the Kingdom. Next Sunday afternoon at 4:45, you'll have an opportunity to be trained in how to do outreach and evangelism. Whether you come to that training time or not, you will still be held accountable for evangelism on Judgment Day. Do you understand that? Whether you come to that training or not, you will still be asked by God about witnessing opportunities you had. We, the staff, are making available to you a chance to be trained and to be exhorted and helped in outreach and witnessing. Whether you come or not, however, you will still be held accountable. Look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. Please close with me in prayer.