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Full Circle Moments — When Jesus Restores What You Thought Was Lost | #Faith4TodayPodcast · #Faith4TodayPodcast

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Bull Circle moments. Have you ever found yourself
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drifting back to old habits, old identities, or an old version of
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yourself simply because this appointment hit?
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You know where else to do. Today we're stepping into John
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21, where Jesus meets his disciples in a full circle
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moment back in Galilee, the very place their story with him first
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began. And there, the risen Christ
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doesn't just forgive failure, he restores their identity, redeems
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memories, and rewrites the story they thought were over.
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If you've ever wondered whether Jesus can renew what feels
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broken or lost in you, this episode is your invitation.
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Let's go to Galilee together. Hey, welcome to episode 49 of
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the Faith for Today podcast. My name is Matthew and I'm your
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host. So glad that you are with us
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today. As we're looking at John 21 here
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on the Faith for Today podcast, we're going to look at a recent
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Sunday message, kind of recap it.
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I'm going to share a little bonus content and then answer
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some questions that came in. And our goal is simply to help
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you have faith for today to to move me on inspiration on a
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Sunday. So you're integrating truth and
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loyalty on Thursdays, loving him as we go.
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Hey, by the time this is released, it is Thanksgiving
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week and I hope that you are just enjoying some time with
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your family. Maybe you're out for a walk
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trying to get ready for some extra pieces of pecan pie.
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I do pecan, not none of that pumpkin stuff for me, but some
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pecan pie, apple pie, whatever. I hope either way, you are
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enjoying the holiday and however this finds you, I hope it finds
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you just full of life. Well, let's jump into the full
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circle moments. Today we're going to look at
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John 21. The the sermon really talked
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about that very thing, those places where Jesus begins to
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bring you back to where your story with him began often.
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So he can renew, he can restore you, and he can remind you who
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you really are. It's exactly what he does with
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the disciples on the Sea of Tiberias or in Galilee.
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This wasn't random geography. Galilee was home base, the place
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of calling, the place of first love.
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It's. And here, in this familiar
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space, the resurrected Jesus shows up again, physically,
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tangibly, unmistakably, as he's eating breakfast, speaking with
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the disciples, carrying his own scars.
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Yet he is fully, physically alive.
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It's actually a preview of our future resurrection and a
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reminder that the new creation God is bringing isn't an escape
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ape from this world, but it's a restoration and a wholeness of
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it, a renewal of all things. And in this full circle moment
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we'll get to experience when Jesus returns.
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Here, in this moment, we see Jesus reveal something about us
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that disappointments might hit, just like they did for Peter.
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And often we drift back into old identities.
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And when we go back to fishing or whatever it is for us, not
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because for Peter, it's not because he really stopped
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believing, but maybe because he didn't know what to do next.
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But even in the drift, God has given his ability to to help
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bring us back. In fact, Peter's God-given
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wiring showed up even in moments of escape.
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So you can try to run from the familiar, but you can't outrun
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who God made you to be. Your gifts, your wiring, your
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calling, these are fingerprints of the Creator that are always
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meant to lead you back to Him and help point others to him as
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well. I think about this full circle
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moment really came about for Peter when they came around the
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fire. A scene familiar for Peter
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'cause that's where his denial took place.
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Same kind of fire, same kind of smells and sounds and same kind
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of a setting and turns to this deep place of of regret.
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Jesus brings it full circle into a place of healing around this
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campfire that matters. Because Jesus doesn't just
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forgive our sins, Jesus redeems our memories too.
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He takes Peter back to the point of his wounds, not to shame him,
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but to restore him. And with every repeated
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question, Do you love me, Peter? Jesus is unwinding the sting of
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rejection, rounding out the cavern of hurt, and renewing
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Peter's love where it had been fractured.
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Jesus repeats the same invitation.
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Do you love me more? He repeats that invitation to
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us. Do you love me more than your
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old identity? Do you love me more than your
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old way of life? Do you love me more than your
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old habits? Do you love me more than the way
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and the comforts of the world? Do you love me more than the
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failures that have comforted you and echoed in your mind?
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Jesus doesn't just want to give you a second chance, He wants to
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restore our hearts. Full circle moments are Jesus
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rewriting the story that we thought was over, renewing what
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has been wounded in US and he restores the love that rejection
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tried to steal. And this is who God is.
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He brings us full circle in so many ways.
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He's done it in my life. And that's kind of what we
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shared and talked a little bit about in the message.
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If you want to listen to the full message, and I encourage
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you to, you can go find it on our YouTube channel, Faith
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Church KS. Just search that and search for
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the message. Full circle moments.
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All right, let's get into a little bonus content.
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I want to share kind of a few different things that we really
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didn't unpack in full detail in the message, but kind of wanted
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to share this in John 21 where Jesus is at the end of his time
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and he's asking Peter, hey, do you love me more than these?
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Speaking of the fish, do you love me more than these?
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Then he says, feed my lambs. And he said, Hey, do you love me
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more than these? He goes then shepherd my sheep.
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Hey, do you love me more than these?
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And he's like, of course. And he says, now feed my, my
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sheep. Now in this moment, Jesus is
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lovingly restoring Peter. He's reminding him of his
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calling to fish for people, not for or to fish for for men, not
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for fish anymore. He's he's reminding him and
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restoring him into leadership into into his place as a, as a
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key shepherd and apostle in the Church of Jesus.
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Jesus is, is lovingly restoring Peter.
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Now why? Why do I use that phrase?
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Because no, no, remember, there's a difference between
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betrayal and denial. Like a betrayal is when trust is
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broken. A denial of something is where
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maybe we reject it and that rejection wounds a loving
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relationship. It ruins love.
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A betrayal is like full on rebellion that breaks down the
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trust to where man, you've gone so far against who I am that I
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don't know that I can trust you to walk with me.
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It's about this loyalty versus restor the, the, the denial is
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more about love and the relationships to, to linger.
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And I think this is important. One breaks trust, the other
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breaks love. And now, now remember, it was
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Judas who betrayed Jesus, but it was Peter who denied Jesus.
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And I, I think that denial, that rejection, it was different than
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the rebellion that Judas had. Judas rebelled, had no trust in
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Jesus as Messiah anymore. Peter still trusted Jesus as
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Messiah, but had a hard time operating in in love and
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affection for Jesus. In fact, in his denial, he chose
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self love instead of love of Christ.
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And we do this often. We choose love of self rather
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than love of Jesus in so many ways in our life.
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And so at the end of the time when when Jesus is walking
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through all of this and then he says come follow me.
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And it just finished saying that this is how Peter was going to
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die. This is the kind of way in which
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Peter was going to give up his own self life so that he could
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fully follow and honor God. And I think at the end of the
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day, that restoration of love for Jesus from Peter is exactly
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what it is for us. We often need to come to moments
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where our love for Jesus is restored.
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Why? Because likely we've rejected
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him and chosen our self in how we approach our schedules, how
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we approach money, how we approach sexuality, how we
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approach trying to find satisfaction in our life, How we
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could try to get peace on our own terms.
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Where we choose the way of the world and the security that we
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think the world can bring, rather than sacrificing and
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serving and living like Jesus says to live.
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And, and this, this, this dividing line between self and
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Savior really is important. Between self and and Savior,
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between Savior and the way of the world.
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Like the way of Jesus and the way of the world, it is a battle
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for our love, for our affection, for our devotion and to be fully
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devoted to Jesus is to have a whole heart.
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But to have a divided heart would be double mindedness where
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we move in double directions and and that's not what he's after
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And and Jesus is is asking Peter multiple do you love me?
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Do you love me? Is your loyalty really to me or
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is it to something else? Is it to your flesh?
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Is it to old habits, old ways? Is it So what you want for me
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again, when you, when you think about your life following Jesus
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requires you to make him the center of your life and build
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your life around him and his priorities rather than around
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you and your priorities, rather than around how your family has
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built their priorities and their lives and how they do holidays.
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Following Jesus reorients and redirects every area of your
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life. That's the point.
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And I think in Christianity, we have been, we have turned
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Christianity into such a consumer game that we just
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consume the parts of Jesus that benefit us and we consecrate our
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lives very little to him. If it's not convenient, if it
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doesn't fit with our schedules, if it doesn't make us feel good,
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we just choose to ignore that part of following Jesus.
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And, and, and Peter is having to be.
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I'm I really willing to burn the bridge and not ever go back to
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trying to make my life meaningful by fishing?
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Or am I going to make my life meaningful because I'm giving it
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in service to God? I'm going to live for him.
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I'm going to do it His way. And I think that's something
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that comes for all of us. Now, in every healthy
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relationship, there are two primary building blocks, trust
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and love. And when trust is broken, it
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must be rebuilt. And when love gets wounded, it
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must be healed and tended to. And what Jesus does with Peter
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is help Peter lovingly rebuild, reengage, reestablish his love
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for Jesus. Now, Jesus was the one wounded
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by Peter's rejection, by Peter's denial, but Jesus, in his
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wholeness, was willing to love 1st.
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And that love towards Peter is actually what rebuilt Peter's
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devotion, affection and loyalty to the point that he was willing
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to lay down his life in following Jesus.
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And that's what Allegiance does. Allegiance is willing to lay
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down areas of our life, areas of our pride, areas of our own
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priority, areas of our own doing, our own thinking.
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And instead we say, God, I'm going to follow you.
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I'm going to give everything to you, Jesus, I'm going to follow
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you. And Jesus, in essence, in asking
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Peter these three things, is reinstating Peter as a leader
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and a shepherd, a loving shepherd and a loving leader
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who's going to lay down his life following Jesus.
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So again, we follow Jesus. Jesus doesn't follow us, which
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means we need to look at the ways in which we live our lives
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and ask, is this honoring of God or is this self gratifying?
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Is this gratifying to the Lord or is this all about me?
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And we have to check our hearts, our motives and our actions
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continually because we want our hearts to belong, belong to the
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Lord. And I think there's I thought it
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was interesting, although I don't think there is much of A
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distinction or a, or a reason. I do love the fact that Jesus
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first says feed my lambs, shepherd my sheep, feed my
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sheep. I love the the multifacetedness.
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Now why I don't think there's is anything inherently specific
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Jesus was getting at. I do love the fact that it's
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feed lambs, shepherd my sheep and feed my sheep.
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When I think about lambs, I think about young ones, young
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ones in age and young ones in faith and as a shepherd, Jesus
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is kind of helping us see what a Good Shepherd does.
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Now remember Jesus is the Good Shepherd and Peter and those who
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are in ministry, those that occupy a have an assignment like
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me in in leading in a church. The people of God among the
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flock of God like men here we are.
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Jesus gives shepherds a job description.
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What does he say? He said feeds my lamb, shepherd
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my sheep feed my sheep. So I think about feeding lambs
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in terms of like helping nourish young believers and young ones
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so that they're growing in in faith.
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We try to make this applicable, right?
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Like for me in my life, as I approach my job, my my role as a
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pastor, I really do want to consider often the young ones in
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the faith, like how can I help keep barrier of entry low so
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that people can begin to establish patterns and rhythms
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that doesn't feel overwhelming, that's not going to choke them
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on something. Often times I will use language
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and imagery and examples to kind of breakdown the meatiness of a
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truth so that it's digestible for those who are immature or
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young in the faith trying to help people understand.
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My goal is not to dumb down the Word, but to break it down in
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such a way that it's more digestible so that those who are
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young in the faith can begin to grow so that one day they can
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handle some more wheat and meaty understandable things in in
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Scripture. I really do consider when I'm
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putting together a message, how am I going to present this to
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somebody who has no idea what the Bible says?
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How that's why I like on Sunday in the message when I was
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reminding us of some of the full circle moments and I was telling
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the story like in Luke 5 how Jesus called Peter on the first
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time about casting their Nets and follow me in the fish of
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catch a fish. I wasn't assuming that by saying
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Luke 5 when Jesus called Peter originally.
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And I actually filled in the blank as to what Luke 5 is
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teaching and what the story was so that those who had no context
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for the Bible or didn't really remember or know the Bible well
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could still be a part of the message.
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And they understood the significance what Jesus was
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doing on the shore, what Jesus was doing and having them cast
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their Nets. One of the reason why I do this
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podcast isn't just for the young in the faith.
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I do this for the mature in the faith too, to help you keep
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growing, to help you know more about the word, to be hungry
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for. This is not a short podcast.
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I'm not trying to put this on. Why?
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Because he not only says feed my lambs, he says feed my sheep.
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The cheaper, the more mature, the more adult mature followers
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of Jesus. You, you ought to have a longer
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attention span as an as a mature believer.
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You ought to be able to sit and consider complex the nuanced
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ideas of scripture to be hand able to handle some things that
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that begins to rightly divide the word of God and you be able
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to understand some of the deeper, richer truths of God.
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You're going to you're going to pick up on things in this
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podcast and then the messages that others might not pick up
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on. Why?
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Because you're mature and that's one of the ways that I'm able to
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serve and minister to the more spiritually mature is by feeding
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the sheep more meaty with things that help you kind of digest and
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grow. That's why we're not lowering
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the standard on some things, man.
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There's some strength of our faith that we want to grow to
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and encourage one another and it motivates you.
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We feed lambs and we feed sheep. But then in the middle he says
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shepherd, my sheep. When I think about shepherd, I
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think about the word tend tend to my sheep, tend to my sheep.
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I think all the flock are in God's care and as an under
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shepherd, under Jesus the the chief shepherd, I want to care
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for the people of God in a tender, loving way.
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I think ways in which we're shepherds are instructed in
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Scripture. I think to care for the flock of
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God. It's to strengthen you when
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you're weak to be present with you so that man, you're not
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alone. And, and, and there's a, there's
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a communal aspect. Now we want to be present.
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We want to guide, lead, lead you into, to, to the right paths,
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into pastures, into safety. I want, I want to guide you
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through the cultural complexities of our day so that
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you can be faithful to Jesus. I want to lead and guide our
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whole body, our whole flock at Faith Church.
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My job is to help shepherd you to, to guide you into the
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direction that we believe Jesus is leading us into.
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So it's a lot of communication, a lot of forethought and
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planning. This is part of what what I do,
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I lead, I feed and I care. This is what I do.
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This is what we do. And, and it looks a lot of
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different ways and a lot of times, but, and one of the last
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things I think shepherds do is equip.
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I mean, Jesus said it as a pastor, as a shepherd, we're to
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equip Saints for the works of ministry, to equip you to be
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mature, to equip you, to lead, to equip you how to feed
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yourself, to to teach you how to be kind to others, how to learn,
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to be generous to to help equip you in resources that are going
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to help you grow on your faith, to help you lead other people in
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in ways. And so we, we do that in courses
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and classes and resources and like we got something for Advent
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coming up. Like every year.
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We we put out our Advent guide so that you at home have some
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have a guide to equip you to engage in the season of Advent
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in a way that allows you to slow down, honor God, engage with the
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themes of hope and peace and joy and love and to keep your mind
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on Jesus in a season that the world around you wants you to
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keep your mind on everything but Jesus.
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He wants you to keep your mind on all of the busyness, all of
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the things, but we want to help you keep your mind on Jesus, who
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is the reason why we're celebrating Advent, his first
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arrival with mind and hope of his second Advent, his second
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arrival. These are all things that we do
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as a church. Why?
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Because this is what it means to shepherd the people of God, to
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shepherd the flock, to care for them, to feed them the lambs and
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the sheep. And I love that Jesus was doing
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that for, for Peter. I, I mentioned earlier that
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Jesus called Peter and said, Hey, I want you to be a Fisher
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for man, not for fish anymore. Now fishing for people and
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feeding the sheep are are a synonymous thought process.
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In fact, this is an initial reminder of Jesus's call to
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Peter. It's a, it's a full circle
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moment when Jesus is saying Hey, feed my my sheep, but he's first
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talking about you love me more than you love the fish.
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In other words, are you willing to come and feed the people of
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God rather than just fish for fish and feed yourself?
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Peter was being reminded. Call in Jewish culture In Jesus
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day, the phrase fishing for people was a Jewish rabbinical
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idiom meaning to capture the hearts and minds of others.
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So to fish for people meant to speak in such a way that
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captures their hearts and minds to see the ideas that you're
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presenting. So, so Jesus was inviting Peter
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to come and to present truth in a way and life in a way, the
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Kingdom of God, in a way that captured their hearts, that that
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grabbed and inspired their imagination so that they would
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follow Jesus and see the truth too.
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Peter did this throughout his life.
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He shepherded the flock, He fed the flock, He fished for people.
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See, to follow a a, a, a Jew, a rabbi was, was more than just to
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believe a certain set of doctrines or a certain set of
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set of teachings. To follow a rabbi to, to learn
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to fish for people was to live their way to faithfully follow
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him. And This is why we believe in
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Jesus to to live that faithfully in our hearts and minds.
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And this is part of the restoration that Jesus had for
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for Peter. I know that was a bit rambly and
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kind of went a few different directions with that, but I but
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I hope that extra thought was was helpful.
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Another thing I wanted to point out was at the end of John 20,
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he says Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of
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his disciples that are not written in this book.
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These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the
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Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
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life in his name. Now at the end of John 21, he
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says something similar. He says this is the disciple who
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testifies of these things, who wrote them down.
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We know that his testimony is true.
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In other words, John is saying I'm the one who wrote this down.
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I'm the disciple whom Jesus loved.
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I'm one of the sons of Zebedee. I'm one of the sons of Thunder.
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It's me. I'm John.
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I'm writing these things down, and you know me, and you can
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trust in what I've just said. And he goes on to say this.
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And there are many other things that Jesus did which if everyone
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of them were written down, I suppose not even the world
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itself could contain the books that would be written.
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And many people think that John 21 was kind of like a post strip
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added on to all of what John had already written in John 20.
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Like he wanted to add some more about the resurrection and how
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Jesus showed up and the restoration of Peter and all of
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these other things. And, and I think that that's a
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possibility that John, it's not that it was written at such a
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later date, but that John wrote all of his Gospel and then said,
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you know what, let me add APSI want to add one more section and
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just kept writing there rather than like, you know, they
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couldn't just like insert it somewhere.
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They would have to rewrite the entire scroll.
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And so instead of doing that, he's like, let me add this part
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into it. And then he adds a second kind
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of epilogue, if you will, saying Jesus did a ton and we can't
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even contain all that Jesus had begun and did.
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And this whole point is that Jesus offered many details of
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his life, of his ministry and host resurrection, all with the
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hope of convincing the disciples and convincing the others of who
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he is and what resurrection life really looks like.
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Why? Because John is giving us the
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same opportunity and inviting us into the same thing that he and
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others like Peter and the other disciples were invited into by
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Jesus. What were they invited into?
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Like the disciples, we are called to give our life in
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allegiance to Jesus's team, to give our belief, our life in
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following Jesus, entrusting him as King, entrusting him as Lord,
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entrusting him as Creator, entrusting him as Savior,
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forgiver, justifier, sanctifier, returning King.
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John is giving us all of these things in his gospel, just like
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Jesus was doing things for his disciples so that they might
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believe and find life in his name, so that you and I, like
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all the disciples, can follow our rabbi, adopting his way of
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living while we relinquish ours. That's what it means to follow
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Jesus. To follow him doesn't mean that
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you go to church, although going to church is a part of it.
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Following Jesus doesn't mean that you prayed the sinner's
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prayer one day. Praying is great.
24:58
Pray. Following Jesus means that you
25:02
adopt your Rabbi's way of living and thinking, while at the same
25:10
time you are relinquishing your way of thinking and your way of
25:14
living. And any area of our life that we
25:19
are unwilling to relinquish in pursuit of Jesus is an area
25:25
where we are being Lord ourselves rather than following
25:30
Him. It's an area where we love the
25:33
fish more than we love Jesus. To put it in Peter's terms,
25:39
Jesus proved all sorts of things so that the disciples might
25:42
believe. The disciples wrote these things
25:44
down for us so that we too, like them, might believe, find life
25:49
in his name and relinquish life by our terms and our good name
25:55
and instead trust in Jesus and who he is.
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That's why it's there. This whole thing and throughout
26:02
this entire collection. Now that we're finished with
26:03
John, my hope and my prayer is that we would see who Jesus
26:07
really is and that we would relinquish our way of thinking,
26:12
our way of living. And we would adopt, follow,
26:16
embody, live out the way of Jesus, his way of thinking, his
26:21
way of being in the world. And that as he is, so are we to
26:26
live and be and think in this, in this world.
26:30
That's my hope throughout this this collection.
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And the truth is this, that God can and will meet your needs and
26:40
he does it through his body. This is the last thing that I
26:43
wanted to kind of emphasize for us.
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We read about how God gives each each one of us gifts and those
26:51
gifts are meant to meet needs and and help live in the family
26:57
of God. We read in first Peter 4/8
27:00
through 10 that says, above all, maintain constant love for one
27:04
another. Since love covers a multitude of
27:07
sins, be hospitable to one another without complaining.
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Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others as
27:19
God, stewards of the varied grace of God.
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In other words, each one of us has received a gift.
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We've received a gift in order to serve others.
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And in serving others, we do so as a good steward, knowing that
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God was the one who gave us the gift in the 1st place.
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It's like this full circle if you will.
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God gave us a gift. We've received a gift.
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We use our gift to serve others. In serving others, we are
27:45
stewarding the gift because God gave it to us.
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And we just continue in this cycle, this full circle abiding,
27:53
unending area of God because this is what we're called to.
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In fact, we looked at Romans 12 when we looked at all of those,
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all of those gifts. And in Romans 12 verses three, I
28:05
think it's through 7, Paul is reminding us that the reason we
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have these gifts is because we are in one body.
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And because we are in one body, we actually are members of one
28:20
another. We're not members of ourselves.
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Christianity is not an individual sport.
28:26
It is individuals who give themselves to the collective.
28:30
That's that's Christianity. Christianity isn't about you.
28:34
It's not about your personal walk with God near as much as it
28:37
is about your personal surrender to God lived out in the
28:42
community and the people of God. I think that there are personal
28:47
elements to our faith, but they are not private.
28:50
They are not isolated. They are actually integrated and
28:54
interlocked with other inner worked with others.
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That's the whole whole part of it all.
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Let me read it to you. I read it on Sunday, but it's
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worth hearing again now. Verse 4 of Romans 12 says now as
29:07
we have many parts in one body and all the parts do not have
29:11
the same function. In other words, every part has a
29:14
different function. So if you're comparing your
29:16
function to someone else's function, guess what?
29:18
You're going to find yourself in a funk when you compare your
29:22
function in the body of Christ to someone else's function in
29:25
the body of Christ. You're going to find yourself in
29:27
a funk. You're going to find yourself in
29:29
a funk of either arrogance where you are looking down at other
29:33
people, or you're going to find yourself in a funk thinking less
29:37
of yourself than you should. And that's part of the warning.
29:40
Don't think more highly or more lowly of yourself than you
29:44
ought. He already told us to be sober
29:46
minded about those things in the first in Romans 12/3.
29:50
But he goes on to say this in the same way, we who are many
29:54
are one body in Christ and individually members of one
30:01
another. In other words, your part is in
30:04
the collective and in your collective you have an
30:07
individual part, but your part is actually integrated with
30:09
others. So this is where we talked about
30:12
how how God gives you a gift to meet needs in the body because
30:17
life isn't about you. You are not the church.
30:20
I am not the church. We assembled together are the
30:23
church. We collectively together
30:26
assembled for the purpose of God, are the church.
30:28
What it what is the church? The church is you and I
30:30
assembled together ministering to God and ministering to each
30:34
other for the benefit of witness in the world.
30:38
What is the church? The church is you and I gathered
30:41
together, ministering unto the Lord and to each other to
30:46
benefit each other for demonstration and witness in the
30:51
sake of the world. How we love one another, how we
30:54
minister to one another, Jesus said, is how the world will know
30:58
that we are really disciples that were really actually
31:01
integrated in a part of each other and we are actually are in
31:04
the family of God. And each gift that God gives to
31:08
us is as a minister is for the purpose of ministering to each
31:13
other. It's how the body of Christ is
31:15
nourished and strengthened according to Ephesians chapter
31:18
4, that we are mature and we develop because you have a gift
31:22
and you're operating in the function of that gift.
31:26
It builds and encourages me. And there are 7 gifts of the
31:29
Father listed in Romans 12. Romans 12, I believe, is about
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all of the individual gifts that God has worked into each person
31:40
that is a human being on the earth.
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And when we discover that gift and we discover that God gave us
31:46
that gift, we discover the fact that God gave us a gift that
31:50
reflects his character and his nature and that allows us to
31:53
grow in who he is and represent him in the world better.
31:58
And so when we discover the redemption of God, we begin to
32:01
use those gifts to benefit, to nourish, and to strengthen the
32:07
body of Christ. And those 7 gifts are leadership
32:10
or administration, generosity, mercy, prophecy, teaching,
32:15
exhortation, or encouragement and service.
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These 7 gifts are the gifts that God has given to us.
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Now each of those gifts help minister to needs within the
32:31
body of Christ. Now hang with me for a second.
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If you've been around Faith Church for a little while,
32:35
you've heard me talk about how every human being has a primal
32:40
question and there are 7 primal questions that each of us have.
32:45
One of these questions questions like am I safe, Am I secure?
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Am I loved? Do I am I, am I?
32:56
Do I belong here? Am I successful?
32:59
Am I good enough? Or what is my purpose?
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These ideas hit this this question of safety, security,
33:07
love, belonging, success, worthiness, and purpose.
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Do I? Where do I belong?
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Do I belong? Am I successful?
33:15
Am I worth? Am I good enough?
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What's the purpose in these things?
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I want you to notice something, each one of these primal
33:24
questions that lives on the inside of you and me.
33:27
I've got one, you've got one, we've all got one that that is
33:30
the dominate motivator of our entire life.
33:33
Please hear me. God has given someone the gift
33:38
to help answer and reassure that very uncertain question that you
33:42
live with. Every gift that God has given to
33:45
the body of Christ is meant to meet and answer one of the
33:49
deepest longings and questions in the human soul.
33:52
So it's all of these things of, of, of, of safety, security,
33:57
love, belonging, success, worthiness and and purpose.
34:00
Let me let me give them to you when, when, when you have a
34:04
question of am I safe? Somebody with the gift of
34:08
leadership and administration helps create environments where
34:14
you can be safe, helps lead you to safety, helps protect you in
34:18
that way. Leadership is a protection of
34:20
people when done well done God's way.
34:23
The question of am I secure really has to do with a
34:27
financial insecurity and how is that met?
34:31
It's met, but people who are generous to remind you that you
34:35
are, you are protecting, you are taken care of, you are sick,
34:38
there's security. The question of love, am I love?
34:42
That's where mercy shows up and the gift of mercy comes along to
34:46
the person who is questioning Am I loved?
34:48
And they are constantly reassuring them in merciful ways
34:52
of who they are. When you have the question of do
34:56
I belong, Do I fit in? Is there a belonging here?
34:59
Where do I fit? Am I accepted?
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This question of belonging is met actually by prophecy.
35:05
Why? Because prophecy is the gift
35:08
that helps break down false illusions of insecurity and not
35:13
belonging, and it helps us reconnect.
35:16
We've got biblical prophecy helps us connect to the heart of
35:20
God, and when we connect to the heart of God, oh how we know
35:24
that we belong. When we think about success, am
35:27
I successful? This is what teaching does.
35:30
Teaching helps illuminate practicals and truths that help
35:34
point us to practices. And it's in the daily practice
35:37
that we find ourselves feeling like meant we really are doing
35:42
the right thing. We're moving in the right room.
35:44
And it's an embodiment of understanding that we are
35:47
valuable and there's something here.
35:50
And then you get to the moment of worthiness.
35:52
You're asking, am I good enough? And this is where those with the
35:55
gift of encouragement show up and they speak a life to us.
35:59
They help us understand that that man who we are is valuable.
36:03
It's meaningful. It's not so much that we're good
36:06
enough near as much as it is that they're encouraging us that
36:09
we don't have to strive to do more, more, more, more, more
36:12
that what we have done. It's meaningful, it's matters,
36:15
it's it's impactful. And that encouragement is what
36:18
fuels us to feel like we are good, good enough.
36:22
And then the question of do I have a purpose, man?
36:24
That's where service comes in. And when people begin to serve,
36:28
it begins to answer the question in their soul, what is my
36:31
purpose? My purpose is actually to serve
36:34
someone else and help them. It goes beyond myself and that
36:38
helps meet the greatest need in our lives.
36:41
And so many times there are gifts that help meet the need.
36:45
And sometimes the gifts God give us help us reassure and answer
36:48
the own question within our within our soul.
36:52
And so I love how God in his wisdom has has given us each of
36:57
these gifts. And each of these gifts help to
36:59
meet a need that we have, help to answer one of the God sized
37:04
questions in our hearts and our souls helps answer a question in
37:09
our life that brings meaning, that brings wholeness, that
37:12
brings safety, that brings security, that helps us
37:15
experience love and acceptance in this area.
37:19
And I love that that's what God has done.
37:21
And so because I've been studying the primal question and
37:24
I've been studying these gifts, it has been so fun to just see
37:27
the connection of how those things come about.
37:31
So I'm not saying that every primal question that we have
37:34
means that we have that spiritual gift.
37:37
I'm saying that there is a spiritual gift.
37:39
And when that spiritual gift is operating properly in the body
37:42
of Christ, the body of Christ can then answer each of the
37:47
primal questions that someone might have in their life.
37:50
And that's how we minister one to another in a very impactful
37:55
and meaningful way. All right, that does it.
37:57
For all of our bonus content and the recap.
38:00
Let's jump into a few questions and I'll give a response.
38:05
Here's the first question. Jesus already knew the disciples
38:09
hadn't caught any fish, but he still called out friends, have
38:13
you caught any fish? What's the significance of Jesus
38:17
asking them that question? OK, so first, I think that kind
38:22
of scripturally we can kind of make this case, although it's
38:26
not explicit in this particular text, I think from the character
38:29
of God we recognize that Jesus never asked a question or God
38:33
never asked a question that they don't really know the answer to.
38:36
Most of the time, the questions God asks us are more about our
38:40
willingness to acknowledge our reality.
38:44
It's an invitation into honesty. It's an invitation into
38:49
confession. It's an invitation into
38:53
transparency, courage, and relationship.
38:57
So why is it Jesus is asking, Hey friends, have you caught any
39:00
fish yet? It's because it's good for us to
39:03
acknowledge where we failed. It's good for us to acknowledge
39:07
the you are here moment. I think sometimes you know, even
39:12
in life, like, no, it's OK to acknowledge I'm I'm just not
39:15
happy right now. That leads us to understand why
39:18
are we not happy right now? Acknowledging man, I'm, I'm
39:22
really grieved right now. Why am I grieving right now?
39:26
Well, it helps us to discover some things.
39:29
Jesus asks us questions to help us discover what's happening in
39:34
our heart, what's happening in our soul.
39:36
And ultimately, those questions lead us to knowing we aren't the
39:40
answer, but rather He is the answer.
39:45
Here's the next question. Did Peter not really know what
39:48
it was? Or did Peter not really know
39:51
that Jesus was the one on the beach?
39:53
Apparently John knew it was Jesus and told Peter that it
39:56
was. But why did?
39:58
Why did John know that it was Jesus and not not Peter?
40:02
It's another really interesting observation.
40:04
I I don't know that there's a a specific reason, and I'm not
40:09
well enough acquainted with the Greek language.
40:13
While I have some great resources and I've done a little
40:16
bit of learning in it, I'm not acquainted with it enough to say
40:21
if there's anything actually in the Greek text to to indicate
40:25
that it's possible that John was just simply saying Peter.
40:30
It's Jesus. Like perhaps because John had a
40:35
grid and a framework that it could be Jesus again, and Peter
40:39
was too overwhelmed and concerned with life, with the
40:44
weight of things, with the man, all these fish, how did I not
40:48
catch the fish? So much in his own shame cycle
40:51
that he couldn't see what was obvious to others.
40:55
In fact, the text does say like nobody dared to ask who, who is
40:58
it, who this man was? Because they all knew it was
41:01
Jesus. Whether they knew it from the
41:03
moment he called out, whether they knew it from the moment the
41:07
fish were starting to show up and they put the net on the
41:09
correct side. Whether they knew it when they
41:11
got to the shore and saw his face and how good of the fish
41:14
and breakfast he had. Whether it was, hey, bring the
41:17
fish that you caught. Because Jesus always invites us
41:20
to participate into life and ministry.
41:23
And so that's what they knew, because Jesus didn't only do for
41:27
them what only he could do. He also invited them to do what
41:30
it was that he wanted to do in their life.
41:33
And there's always a participation with God, a
41:36
partnering with him. It's not an equal partnership,
41:39
but it is nonetheless an invitation to participate in
41:42
whatever it is that God's doing. I don't know if that's what
41:45
opened all of their eyes. What we are told is that they
41:48
knew it was Jesus. John saw it and disclaimed it
41:51
first. And, and I have a my own human
41:54
interpretation of this is that, you know, there are times I get
41:58
so consumed with myself that I don't recognize other people.
42:04
Like I'll be in a storm and I am in my own thought and people I
42:08
have known for years walk by wave and say hi.
42:12
And I completely miss it. I don't even see them or
42:15
recognize who it is, not because I don't know them, but because
42:20
I'm preoccupied and consumed with other things.
42:24
Normally I'm consumed with myself.
42:27
I think that's probably the reality for Peter.
42:29
He was consumed with how is that I didn't catch these fish.
42:34
I've been fishing all night. I should have known to put the
42:36
fish on the other side. How?
42:37
How is it that this guy and like all of these internal dialogues
42:42
have blinded him to see what's right in front of him?
42:46
And I think that's true in all of us, isn't it?
42:48
We live our lives and often our inner dialogue blinds us from
42:53
recognizing and seeing what's right in front of us and seeing
42:57
even something that that we really do believe in, that we
43:02
really do long for, that we really have been searching for.
43:06
Like it's staring at us in the face and we still can't see it.
43:10
I think that's kind of what's happening.
43:12
I think that's a big part of one of the reasons, man, I love John
43:16
21 so much because it reminds me of my life, my journey.
43:20
Those moments that I get so consumed with my own shame,
43:24
remembering the ways in which I've rejected loving Jesus and
43:27
I've chosen the way of self instead of the way of the
43:30
Savior. Those ways in which I I've been
43:33
get so caught up in my own insecurity, my own stuff, my own
43:40
identity and purpose, that I miss what's right in front of
43:43
me. I miss the people right in front
43:45
of me. I miss the Lord, the subtle ways
43:48
in which the Lord is trying to speak and move.
43:50
I think that's the reality of Peter.
43:52
I think that's why John recognized Jesus because he had
43:55
a clearer mind to see Jesus. And This is why we need people
43:59
in our lives because they're going to help us see the obvious
44:02
and see where God is in moments when all we can deceive is our
44:06
circumstance, where all we see is our failure.
44:09
We're all we see is how less than we are.
44:12
All that we are, is seeing and struggling in our old identity
44:15
that is fruitless when we know there's more for us and it's
44:20
people around us to help point out Jesus to us.
44:23
And we need those people in in our lives.
44:28
Here's the next question. What exactly does Jesus's
44:31
resurrected body tell us about our future resurrection?
44:35
Yeah. I mentioned in the text that,
44:38
you know, you have Jesus sitting around a campfire.
44:41
He made breakfast. He obviously ate with them.
44:45
Jesus sounded the same. He looked the same.
44:47
He had scars. He appeared physically in their
44:51
form. He also could disappear at any
44:53
point in time, like, but Jesus was one place at one time,
44:57
limited in that way. In his physical form, however,
45:01
could be anywhere at any point in time, because he could walk
45:05
through walls, reappear here, disappear there.
45:08
But he ate and he talked and He lived and he had a very physical
45:12
nature to himself in resurrected form.
45:16
And so the resurrection of Jesus was not and is not just a
45:20
spiritual one. It's a physical one of a new
45:24
spiritual reality. It's it's that which is
45:28
incorruptible has left aside the corruption that that the the
45:33
moral has put on immortality, if you will, and won't die again.
45:38
And that's Jesus. Jesus is in an immortal state,
45:42
resurrected physically in the presence of God right now.
45:47
And so while the Bible doesn't say, hey, when you get
45:50
resurrected, it's gonna be this, this and this, it lays some
45:53
hints. And I think Jesus is kind of a
45:55
template for us to look at and say, okay, I think within
45:59
reason, because Jesus was recognizable.
46:02
He had the same voice, the same physical stature.
46:05
He had physical attributes. He could eat, he could be heard,
46:10
he could see, he had cognitive ability, he knew people's names,
46:13
He knew where places were. And there were also some non
46:18
kind of earthly things where he could go this place and know
46:21
what others were thinking. And I think that there's a
46:25
uniqueness to the resurrected body that can handle the full
46:29
glory of God, the full presence of God and being united with
46:34
God, which we know is going to happen when Jesus returns.
46:37
There will no longer be a separation between heavens,
46:40
where God dwells, and earth where humanity dwells, so that
46:44
the created human beings can be interactive with divine beings,
46:51
without hindrance, without shade over our eyes, with fully being
46:58
able to engage and participate with the divine divine creatures
47:03
and the human creations of God, the human beings and divine
47:08
beings can all interact together.
47:10
We know that's going to happen because that's what Jesus is
47:12
able to do right now. And that's what Revelation hints
47:17
at, that we'll be able to do that, see that and and
47:20
experience those things. So I think it tells us some of
47:24
those things that we will have a physical body that is immortal
47:29
and that has similarities to our current physical body and
47:32
realities. And there are some divine
47:36
characteristics or or non earthly realities to the new
47:42
heavens and the new earth that we'll get to participate in and
47:45
be in with God in bodily form forever.
47:48
But it's a renewed bodied form. And so I don't think we could
47:53
take that so far to say we know exactly what some things are.
47:58
But I think Jesus gives us a a bit of a sampling of what life
48:02
in the new, new Kingdom of God is going to look like when he
48:05
comes, Resurrection occurs. And in the meantime, those who
48:09
are dead right now, they are disembodied in spirit form in
48:15
the presence of God. God is in heaven, in the
48:18
heavenlies, a divine unseen realm.
48:21
That's where God is. And those who die and are in the
48:24
faith of Jesus are present with God.
48:28
That's what Paul says, To be absent from your body is to be
48:32
present with the Lord. So we know until the
48:35
resurrection comes, until Jesus returns.
48:39
The dead in Christ would then rise and be united, spirit and
48:41
body together. Our bodies remain here, and our
48:45
spirits go to be with the Lord in paradise and in delight and
48:49
wonder and beauty in his presence in his heavenly throne
48:52
room, in the unseen space where he is now.
48:55
But when Christ returns, our spirits will be reunited with
48:59
our physical bodies, and the dead in Christ will rise, and we
49:02
will put on a new physical experience to be with God.
49:07
That's what will happen at the resurrection.
49:10
Again, Revelation points to this.
49:13
Thessalonians points to this. 1st Corinthians 15 points to
49:18
this. So many scriptures point us to
49:21
that reality, that future resurrection reality.
49:25
The next question is this, if Jesus is truly the risen king,
49:29
why did he choose such ordinary moments like breakfast by a fire
49:33
to reveal himself? It's really, really important.
49:36
I, you know, I wonder, you know, what it kind of would make so
49:41
many things like awesome. Like if he just like decided to
49:44
show it physically in the sky floating around and like, I'm
49:47
alive, I'm alive and he showed himself to every human being on
49:50
the earth. That would be pretty dope.
49:52
That would really help the Christian, 'cause I think.
49:56
But that's not what Jesus did. He didn't do it in some
49:59
spectacular way, I think because Jesus is all about being present
50:04
in ordinary moments. I think Jesus is all about
50:09
revealing his love, revealing his redemption, helping wipe
50:14
clean our memories in ordinary ways because we live ordinary
50:19
lives. Jesus always meets us in in
50:22
ordinary life. I think that's the beauty of
50:25
Advent. We're celebrating the advent of
50:29
Jesus, the first Advent and his second advent.
50:33
When he came to the earth. The first time he came,
50:37
incarnated God, the divine Son, put on human flesh as a physical
50:44
son, and he came and lived ordinary moments.
50:48
Jesus lived an ordinary life. He ate, he celebrated, he
50:52
attended weddings and funerals. And although a lot of the
50:56
funerals he attended didn't stay funerals for very long, he, he,
51:02
he sang and he danced and he studied and he laughed and he
51:05
had conversations and he walked the earth and he did normal
51:09
human things. Ordinary moments.
51:12
I actually think it's in the ordinary moments we can meet an
51:15
extraordinary time with Jesus. I think it's in the ordinary
51:19
moments that we get to participate in ordinary ways to
51:23
see God do the extraordinary. I think that's actually the
51:26
story of so much of the invitation of Jesus.
51:30
Think about it. I mentioned it just a minute
51:33
ago. Jesus already had fish and bread
51:38
cooking and ready for the disciples for breakfast.
51:41
But then he says, hey, bring some of the fish you just caught
51:45
and bring it here and let's eat it together.
51:48
Maybe it's because he didn't have enough or hadn't prepared
51:51
enough or only had a little bit or whatever.
51:54
I don't think that would actually be a problem for Jesus,
51:56
right? But rather he, like he has done
51:59
so many times through the Gospels, invited the disciples
52:04
to participate in the very ordinary, limited way that they
52:09
could participate. And whenever they, in their
52:12
limited ordinary human way participated, something
52:17
extraordinary happened. And that's what happens in our
52:21
lives of the day. When we come with our ordinary
52:24
life in human ways and we participate in non extraordinary
52:30
ways, God takes that ordinary and does something extraordinary
52:34
with it. God takes the natural and does
52:37
something supernatural with it. Why?
52:39
Because Jesus always invites us to participate in whatever it is
52:43
that he's doing. And if we're going to
52:45
participate, it's only going to be in ordinary basic moments in
52:52
our life. So that's what God is always
52:54
after us, bringing our ordinary limited life.
53:00
And in so doing we see Him produce extraordinary things
53:06
with ordinary people like you and me.
53:08
This is the story of God's people for millennials.
53:11
Now that we participate, we bring the ordinary, our limited
53:15
things. Whatever's in our hand, we give
53:17
it to him and he does something extraordinary with it.
53:20
See it in the loaves and the fish.
53:21
You see it in the certain healings that he took ordinary
53:25
things like mud and opened up eyes.
53:27
He he did ordinary, extraordinary things with
53:31
ordinary resources. And this is what God does.
53:33
We are ordinary and we are limited, but He has given us
53:37
something, and that's something that He's given us is ours to
53:41
steward, a gift to bring to Him, so that in bringing it to Him,
53:45
we together can experience something extraordinary.
53:49
God always invites us to bring our limited, ordinary human
53:55
life, and when we give it to Him, He does something
53:58
extraordinary with it and through it.
54:01
That's what's so amazing, and that's why I think Jesus kept
54:04
showing up in ordinary moments like breakfast to reveal
54:07
himself. Because when you're having
54:09
breakfast, you can meet with Jesus then too.
54:12
Here's the next question. What do I do when I'm tempted to
54:15
go back to my old life or my old identity like Peter did?
54:22
Yeah, I think many times we try to circle back to old things,
54:25
old patterns, old habits #1 I want to acknowledge that
54:29
following Jesus and breaking old habits and pattern takes
54:33
intentional practice. Not perfection, but practice.
54:36
There are some days you are going to practice your new life
54:40
and put it on much better than you do other days, but everyday
54:44
His mercy is new. So whether or not yesterday you
54:47
practice your faith well or you failed miserably at practice,
54:51
tomorrow is a new day that you get to start practice again.
54:55
And I think that's why Jesus used that language.
54:57
He hears my words and puts them into practice.
55:00
Matthew 7. He's a wise man who's building
55:03
his house on the rock. And so I think building a house
55:06
takes some time. Undoing the ways in which our
55:10
lives have been patterned to live according to the ways of
55:13
the world takes a long time. It took the disciples 3 years of
55:18
following Jesus 24/7. They say 10,000 hours of doing
55:22
any one thing to become proficiently expert in it.
55:27
If we're going to not if we're going to really get comfortable
55:30
in our new way of life, it's going to take more.
55:32
Please hear me. It's going to take more than you
55:34
sitting and listening and not applying to a sermon today, a
55:38
sermon a week. And some of us, we're not even
55:40
hearing one sermon a week. We're not opening our Bibles
55:42
like it's going to take more than just that one hour on
55:45
Sunday to develop a life of faithfulness to you in in a new
55:49
way of living, to put on Christ and live like him instead of
55:53
putting our old life and living in our old identity. 10,000
55:56
hours. Now they say that if the
55:58
disciples were with Jesus 24/7 for three years, it equates to,
56:03
you guessed it, about 10,010 thousand hours.
56:07
So if it's going to take that, I think we need to 1 be patient
56:11
with ourselves to know that every day is a new day, a new
56:14
day to put into practice the things that we want to become to
56:18
every day to behold Jesus in the way that we want to become like
56:22
Jesus. And so when I'm tempted to go
56:24
back to my old life, sometimes I escape it and sometimes I fail
56:28
and I act in old ways and I live out an old identity and I'm
56:32
eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
56:34
instead of eating from the tree of life, as we talk about often.
56:39
Peter did it. He slipped back into old
56:41
patterns. So easy to do.
56:43
It takes a while to groove a new pattern of living and a new
56:46
pattern of identity. So you need people in your life.
56:49
You need to be honest. You need to not beat yourself up
56:52
because if you didn't, if you missed one day, don't miss too.
56:55
Just get out of the next day and and participated and recognized
56:59
that God loves you regardless. And when you do miss that man,
57:04
you see Jesus show up in Peter's life and you're going to find
57:08
Jesus show up in your life too. Because Jesus keeps drawing us
57:13
to himself. Jesus keeps inviting us to come
57:15
into union with him. Jesus wants us to walk and
57:19
follow him and he's going to keep showing up in our life.
57:21
Sometimes he shows up in a friend who sends us a text
57:23
message. Sometimes he shows up and it
57:26
keeps reminding us to to to remain and to not give up by
57:29
messages that you hear. And all of a sudden it shows up
57:32
a song, a friend, a text, a movie, a quote, something that
57:36
you you're scrolling and you see a real.
57:38
All of a sudden it's going to remind you to remain in him to
57:42
not give up, to don't quit, to keep investing and keep racking
57:46
up those hours as you become more and more like him, living
57:51
like him, looking like him, acting like him, sounding like
57:54
him, denying yourself like him and recognizing that he's called
57:59
you into a new way of human. What a new way to live.
58:03
And that's what we want to practice.
58:05
That's what we want to live. So what do I do when I'm tempted
58:07
to go back to my whole life? Well, hopefully I I ask for
58:10
help. Hebrews 4 says that when when we
58:18
are tempted or when we are in need, we can approach the throne
58:21
of grace to find mercy and help in the time of need.
58:25
You only need mercy when you've messed up and you only need help
58:28
before you mess up. Sometimes you can go every time.
58:32
You can go to God. In the middle of wanting to go
58:34
back and say Jesus. I really want to go back to my
58:36
old way of life right now. It was so much easier to just
58:39
give in to the temptation and to follow this habit.
58:42
I so desperately just want to sit back and Netflix and chill
58:45
instead of open up my scriptures and seek you God.
58:48
I, I think you need to be honest and you can ask for help or when
58:53
you mess it, you can ask for mercy.
58:55
God gives you both help and mercy when you come to him.
58:59
So whether when you're tempted to go back into your old life,
59:02
ask for help, call out to a friend, talk about it.
59:06
And when you have gone into an old way of life, then ask for
59:09
his mercy and tell a friend. And I think that's one of the
59:12
ways that we can move in that, that direction.
59:16
Final question is this, how do I know what my God-given gifts
59:19
are? And what if I feel like I failed
59:21
too much to use them? Such a big, such a such, such a
59:26
great question. I think there are a lot of times
59:28
I thought, man, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not gifted at this.
59:32
I'm not good at this. I, I don't know that it's, it's
59:35
really this. I mean, I shoot, I've screwed up
59:40
way too many times for God to use me.
59:43
I've actually found it the exact opposite.
59:47
It's when I I think that I am usable, that God doesn't use me.
59:52
And there are moments when I'm humble and I'm accurate and I'm
59:54
sober minded about my gift. And I'm really aware that my
59:58
gift is there to love other people, to serve other people
1:00:02
and to build other people up, that he uses the giftings inside
1:00:04
of me. And often times in the moments
1:00:07
where I have failed miserably, I'll have a friend reach out and
1:00:11
then be like, bro, would you pray with me about this?
1:00:14
And it's like this God, it's like God knows that the way in
1:00:21
which to often help me overcome whatever temptation, whatever
1:00:26
failure, whatever shortcoming, whatever insecurity I'm living
1:00:30
from, one of the best ways for me to overcome it is actually by
1:00:33
helping someone else overcome theirs.
1:00:36
Not not because I'm doing it from a place of arrogance, just
1:00:41
because I'm, I'm broken too. And God just uses cracked pots
1:00:45
like me to help other people see their value even in the cracked
1:00:50
pots that they are. And, and yeah, our gifting is
1:00:55
hard wired on the inside of us. And the reason it's fruitless at
1:00:59
times isn't because the gift isn't genuine.
1:01:01
It's because we're walking in pride or we're walking with
1:01:05
wrong motives. But when we recognize either in
1:01:08
our brokenness or in our choice of humility, remember you can
1:01:13
either be humbled or walk in humility.
1:01:16
Both put you in the right posture. 1 You do, the other,
1:01:20
other people do, or circumstances do.
1:01:22
Circumstances have often humbled me, but I also have an
1:01:26
opportunity to walk in humility by humbling myself.
1:01:30
So it's going to happen one way or the other.
1:01:32
And the only time I found that God has not brought fruit out or
1:01:36
or or not allowed my giftings to be meaningful is when I've been
1:01:40
walking in complete arrogance, where I'm using it for
1:01:44
selfishness or selfish gain or to to make myself appear better,
1:01:48
be better, or be superior in some way or to get my own way.
1:01:52
Well, that's not going to be fruitful, not in a God way, not
1:01:55
in a God honoring way, but when I am humble or when I am broken
1:01:59
and I recognize that I I don't have anything or I'm doing this
1:02:03
because man, I really just love people and I really want them to
1:02:06
grow. That's when I find not only the
1:02:10
gifting being fruitful, but I'm all That's when I also recognize
1:02:14
that it's a gift that God gave, not that I own.
1:02:18
It might be hardwired in me, but it's still something I Stewart
1:02:22
again, what did Peter say? By the grace of God-given to
1:02:25
you, serve one another, recognizing that you are
1:02:29
stewarding a gift that God gave. God gave it.
1:02:34
We receive it to serve others in a way that allows us to
1:02:39
recognize that we are stewarding it because we've received it
1:02:43
from God as a gift. And it just keeps going in that
1:02:45
way. I so first Peter is a big, big
1:02:50
part of me holding onto and framing those things, those
1:02:54
things correctly. It's it's such an important
1:02:57
thing. First Peter 4/8 through 10 was
1:02:59
the verse specifically. And so recognizing that my gift
1:03:03
might be hardwired. It's only hardwired because I
1:03:06
was created by God, not by myself.
1:03:08
I didn't earn it. I didn't deserve it.
1:03:10
I didn't anything. It was a gift from him, and that
1:03:12
gift of him are given so that I can steward others and help them
1:03:17
not help me. And often times in my own
1:03:21
brokenness, the thing that strengthens me, the thing that
1:03:24
helps me get out of my own failure cycle or shame cycle is
1:03:28
actually serving somebody else. Which is the paradox of the
1:03:31
Kingdom, isn't it? That if you want to find
1:03:34
significance, satisfaction, it's actually through service, not
1:03:38
demanding, not others serving you, but you serving others.
1:03:43
And so the people who feel like a failure, go serve someone else
1:03:46
to people who feel stuck, go serve someone else to people who
1:03:50
feel superior. Check your motives and go
1:03:52
remember why you serve someone else.
1:03:55
It's actually in serving others that I become most satisfied and
1:03:59
most alive in the gifts that God has given to me.
1:04:04
I'll close with this. I was talking with a fellow
1:04:07
staff member recently and I was actually in tears because I have
1:04:13
just come to a place as a pastor, as a leader, as a
1:04:18
communicator, as a teacher of the Word, as it's just a, a, a
1:04:23
person of God, as a child of God, as someone who recognizes
1:04:28
that I have a function, but my function isn't more important
1:04:31
than other people's function. And my function absolutely is
1:04:35
there to help other people to serve them that so much of these
1:04:40
things that that we're speaking and talking about, they're not
1:04:43
easy subjects to talk about. It's not easy to talk about some
1:04:46
of these things, man, I, I have come to a place and with many
1:04:51
tears in my eyes, have just come to realize that it's the mercy
1:04:53
of God in my life, not anything that I've deserved or it's not
1:04:58
even his favor. It's just his mercy.
1:05:01
And in his mercy, I want to help others receive his mercy too.
1:05:05
I want you friends listening. I want you to walk in wholeness.
1:05:10
I don't want you to be stuck in your shame cycle.
1:05:12
I don't want you to keep going back to old patterns of living.
1:05:14
I I don't want you to be so consumed with what's happening
1:05:18
in your own mind that you can't recognize Jesus in the mundane
1:05:22
moments of your life. I want you to be alive to union
1:05:26
with Him and experience the richness of fellowship with Him.
1:05:30
That's what I long for, and I hope that podcasts like this are
1:05:35
helping you. Have faith for today so that you
1:05:39
can experience loving Him in a loyal way in the mundane,
1:05:44
ordinary, practical moments in the limited life that you have,
1:05:49
so that you can see God in an extraordinary fashion.
1:05:52
Move in your heart. Friends, I love you.
1:05:56
Thanks so much for listening, watching, sharing this out.
1:06:00
I hope, I hope you have faith for today.
1:06:02
I'll see you next time.