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Transcript

Living for Eternity · Reformed Thinking

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  Welcome to Reform Thinking, a place where we take a closer
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  look at the ideas that shape our lives and the foundations of our
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  faith. Great to be digging in again.
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  Today, we're diving into a perspective that honestly has
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  the potential to recalibrate everything for you, living with
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  an eye towards eternity. It's a huge topic.
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  Huge We'll unpack what that truly means, drawing insights
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  from a a really powerful message and also some first hand
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  accounts of missionaries serving in Papua New Guinea.
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  Yeah, some really compelling stuff there.
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  This deep dive is designed really to be your shortcut to
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  understanding a worldview that puts the temporal in its proper
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  place and grounds faith in the eternal.
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  And we've got some incredibly rich material to guide us.
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  It walks us through the real life experience of individuals
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  who, well, they radically shifted their focus.
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  And it helps us examine how a proper understanding of God, of
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  our daily struggles and, you know, of heaven itself can
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  reorient every decision we make. So our goal for you today is to
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  really grasp the core insights from these sources, connect them
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  to your own experiences, and maybe gain a fresh outlook on
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  what genuinely holds lasting value.
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  These insights aren't just like abstract concepts, they are
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  vital principles lived out in challenging yet immensely
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  rewarding contexts. OK, so let's begin by unpacking
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  this central idea, living for eternity.
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  At its core, it's a call to view life not primarily through the
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  immediate lens of this present world.
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  Right the here and now. But with the world to come
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  firmly insight, our sources present a fascinating personal
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  illustration of this truth, starting with a man's unexpected
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  path from, well, conventional corporate success to missionary
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  life. OK, lay it out for us.
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  Where did he start? All right, so before he stepped
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  into missions, his life trajectory was on a very
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  familiar path, you know, worldly achievement.
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  He met his wife in college and it's quite a story actually.
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  She was mere weeks away from getting engaged to another guy
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  when they met. Wow, close call, Yeah.
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  But you know, by God's grace that changed and they eventually
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  married. Early on they made this very
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  deliberate discipline choice to tackle their student loan debt.
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  Which wasn't small, right? No, not at all.
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  Quite substantial, somewhere between 60,000 to $70,000.
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  So he gets a job as an accountant for a Dutch
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  multinational company and finds out he's actually really good at
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  it, climbs the corporate lighter fast.
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  His work took in various places internationally, the
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  Netherlands, Germany, France. He was exceptionally good at
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  what he did, just kept rising until he eventually became the
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  CFO of North American operations for this multinational
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  corporation. Wow, CFO.
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  That's that's pretty much the peak for many people.
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  So for someone at that level of conventional success, what does
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  the source tell us about the the initial seed of something
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  different, like what started that shift away from that
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  comfortable life? That's a great question because,
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  yeah, along with his rapid rise came considerable material
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  comfort. It wasn't just paying off debt
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  anymore. They were actively building a
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  life of, you know, affluence. The sources mention them looking
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  at homes in very affluent areas, specifically citing La Jolla,
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  CA. You know, luxury, prestige.
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  Oh yeah, a nice neighborhood. Exactly, His wife drove what he
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  described as an excellent car, and he himself was eyeing a
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  particular brand of luxury car planning customizations that get
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  this would cost more than his current vehicle.
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  So they were clearly on this trajectory towards a life with a
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  six figure salary, a rapidly growing 4O1K, all the trappings
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  of, you know, worldly accomplishment and stability.
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  Yet it was precisely in this context, this rising earthly
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  comfort, that a new kind of spiritual hunger began to stir.
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  Interesting. So it wasn't necessarily
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  discontent driving it, but something else.
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  It seems so. So what truly prompted this
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  pivot from that comfortable corporate life to the missionary
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  field? The inspiration, as our sources
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  vividly narrate it, came directly from reading the Bible.
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  Not sermons primarily. Not solely from sermons, though
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  he notes he'd heard plenty. Instead, specific passages just
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  started to resonate in a new, compelling way.
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  He mentions Matthew 28.1620, the Great Commission.
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  Go and make disciples. Right then, Romans said 10.1315
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  about the need to send preachers so people can hear and believe.
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  How can they hear unless someone is sent?
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  Yeah. And finally, Revelation 5.9 to
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  10, describing that future where people from every tribe and
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  language and people and nation will worship God.
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  These texts didn't just inform his mind, they kind of
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  percolated in his heart. You know, the conviction to go
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  was rooted in a very clear, God centered belief.
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  God wasn't yet known in those parts of the world, and He
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  deserved to be known, worshipped and glorified there too.
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  That emphasis on God's worth, his glory, that's key in
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  Reformed thinking, isn't it? It's not just about us, or even
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  just about saving souls, but about God receiving the honor
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  He's due. Exactly.
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  It wasn't primarily about human rescue, though that's obviously
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  part of it, but about God's inherent worth being declared
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  where his name had never been heard.
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  OK. So the source also clarifies
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  this really crucial distinction, the internal call versus the
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  external call. Now, for many an internal
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  feeling, that prompting might feel like enough.
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  But what does the source say about why the external
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  affirmation you know from church elders holds such weight?
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  Why does it sort of supersede that personal feeling?
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  That's a critical point for understanding this whole shift.
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  The internal call, yeah, that's the personal desire or
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  conviction you might feel. Could be missions, could be
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  ministry, could be anything really.
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  But the external call, that formal affirmation from church
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  elders, is presented as something that provides
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  essential validation and direction.
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  The speaker really stresses why this external call is so vital.
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  He says it functions as a guard against what he calls Lone
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  Ranger Christians. Yeah, going off on your own.
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  Exactly. Individuals who might act solely
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  on personal conviction without the necessary accountability
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  and, frankly, the wisdom of the broader faith community.
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  This collective discernment within the Church helps ensure
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  the individual conviction is rooted in the wisdom and
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  oversight of the body of believers.
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  So it's a check against just running with your own ideas
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  basically. Pretty much, and this principle
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  isn't just for huge life changes like moving to the mission
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  field. He makes it clear that in all
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  avenues of life you should have trusted church leaders, men or
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  women in your church, depending on your context that you talk
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  things through with seek counsel from on significant decisions
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  that makes sense. This process provides a check
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  and balance right safeguards against impulsive decisions and
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  grounds your desires within the collective wisdom of the church.
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  It helps ensure that a personal sense of calling is genuinely
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  aligned with God's broader purposes as discerned by the
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  community. It's recognizing that God often
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  speaks through His church, not just to isolated individuals.
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  That perspective is so important, especially in a
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  culture that often, you know, champions individual autonomy
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  above everything else. It shows how God's guidance
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  often comes through the community's discernment,
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  guarding against personal bias or maybe just getting carried
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  away emotionally. And what's fascinating is how
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  this personal story, this journey from the CFO suite to
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  considering a jungle, it provides such a concrete
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  illustration of prioritizing unseen realities like the glory
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  of God among unreached peoples over tangible worldly gains.
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  It really forces you to ask what happens when we genuinely grasp
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  that our ultimate belonging isn't here?
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  This decision signals A profound re evaluation of what holds true
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  value. Right.
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  So with that radical orientation now established, the real
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  question became OK, how does this eternal perspective
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  actually translate into the messiness of daily life, into
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  the specific challenges of cross cultural ministry?
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  Yeah, the practical outworking. Exactly.
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  Our sources vividly illustrate this through the experiences of
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  serving among the Ambi people in Papua New Guinea.
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  After making the decision to go, the speaker and his wife
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  dedicated 2 very focused years to specific mission training.
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  So not just a quick decision, then real preparation?
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  Well, yeah. This training wasn't just
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  academic, it was designed to equip them for the demanding
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  spiritual, physical, linguistic work ahead.
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  Survival skills, basic medical stuff, cross cultural
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  communication techniques, all of it makes sense.
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  Then came the reality of language acquisition.
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  For anyone aiming to reach an unreached language group today,
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  it often involves learning 2 distinct languages.
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  First the national lingua franca of Papua New Guinea, which is
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  TikTok Peeson OK, and then the distinct unwritten YIMBY
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  language itself, a language previously unheard by outsiders.
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  2 languages. Wow, that sounds like a
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  monumental task in itself. Can you elaborate a bit on the
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  initial challenges or maybe even unexpected twists as they
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  actually made their way to the YIMBY people?
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  Absolutely. Their arrival story is really
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  one of what you can only describe as providential
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  redirection. They had originally targeted
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  different language group. The Tawadi people planned it all
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  out meticulously, even booked a flight directly to their
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  territory. OK, Plan A.
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  Plan A But on the very day they were supposed to fly out, the
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  pilot delivers some rather abrupt news.
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  The Tawadi airfield, completely underwater, flooded from 10
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  inches of overnight rain. Oh wow, just like that.
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  Just like that impassable couldn't land there.
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  The pilot, ever practical, then asks what's your second choice?
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  And from their prepared piece of paper, their second option was
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  the YIMBY people. So Plan B it is.
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  Plan B orchestrated by God as they clearly saw it, His
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  mysterious wisdom steering their steps.
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  The journey itself was an adventure, a 35 minute flight
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  over Yimby territory that a grueling 5 hour motor canoe ride
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  from the nearest usable airfield down the river to the Yimby
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  village, all while this rhythmic echoing sound of drums pounded
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  from the village announcing they were coming.
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  Five hours in a motor canoe after a flight, That's quite the
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  arrival. And their welcome was truly
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  unique, quite vivid. The UNB people have this
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  particular ritual for welcoming those they favor.
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  They take a large hunk of dark, rich mud, often mixed with
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  fragrant leaves, and quite forcefully shove it into your
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  face. Yeah, pressing it down to about
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  the middle of your throat. Immediately after, they take
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  finely diced flower petals, vibrate and fragrant, and whip
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  them at your face so they stick to the mud.
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  OK. At this point you are considered
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  beautiful and ready to enter the village.
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  This was their first deeply sensory experience stepping into
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  the UMB community. A truly memorable introduction
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  left a literal and figurative mark.
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  That initial cultural immersion, especially the welcome ritual,
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  Wow, must have been quite a sensory shock.
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  It really highlights how understanding the context of the
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  people you aim to reach is just crucial.
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  Totally. And if we connect this to the
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  deeper theological principles, it raises a question, how did
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  they move from that muddy welcome to truly connecting with
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  the YIMBY worldview in a way that prepared the ground for the
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  gospel? Well, as they settled in, they
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  immediately hit a significant cultural reality.
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  By YIMBY standards, they were branded overgrown boys.
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  Boys, why? Because in YIMBY culture, a boy
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  transitions into to a man only after he has successfully killed
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  a wild boar at night with a spear by himself.
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  Seriously, that's the rite of passage.
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  That's it. Until this demanding right is
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  completed, he's considered a perpetual boy.
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  Can't marry, can't even enter the men's communal house where
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  important stories, history, food are shared.
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  So these grown missionaries were seen as boys.
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  Exactly. Large bodied missionaries
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  married, mature by western standards but socially
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  designated as boys. This cultural expectation
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  actually led the speaker to learn the intricate art of
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  hunting wild boar. He actually got his first spear
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  and successfully secured a boar. He actually did it.
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  He did. Only then did he gain real man
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  status, according to YIMBY Custom, which was a vital step
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  for their acceptance and credibility within the
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  community. It just underscores the profound
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  level of cultural immersion needed.
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  No, that's commitment. Their method of cross cultural
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  communication was also meticulous, deeply respectful.
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  They understood that simply translating words wouldn't cut
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  it, so they spent significant dedicated time learning the MB
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  worldview in depth. What did that involve?
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  Their cosmology, how they understood the universe, its
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  origins, their pantheon of gods and spirits, their beliefs about
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  human origins, sin, the afterlife.
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  The deliberate goal was to, as he put it, bring these two
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  worldviews, the Yimby's and the biblical, into direct collision.
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  Collision. That sounds confrontational.
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  Well, not to erase the YIMBY worldview, but to show how the
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  biblical narrative provided a superior, more coherent
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  explanation for their reality, he quoted this proverb.
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  A foolish man is the one who gives an answer without knowing
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  the context that he's speaking into.
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  That makes sense. You have to understand where
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  they're coming from. Absolutely.
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  This detailed understanding of the UNB context was essential to
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  effectively communicate God's grace and truth, building up
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  God's credibility in their minds before even presenting the
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  gospel message itself. So groundwork first.
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  Foundational groundwork and as a practical foundational step in
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  this communication, they took on the huge task of developing an
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  alphabet for the MB language which had no written form.
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  Creating an alphabet from scratch.
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  Yep, not a quick process. Careful phonetic analysis.
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  Working closely with UB speakers for the first time in their
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  history, they then taught about 100 UB people to read and write
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  in their own language. That's incredible game changing
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  for them totally. This new found literacy was
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  vital. It meant the MB could, for the
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  first time, directly engage with the scriptures themselves once
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  they were translated. No longer solely reliant on
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  spoken teaching, it was a tangible act of empowerment,
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  giving them direct access to God's Word.
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  That literacy initiative is so significant, truly empowering
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  the MB to own their faith through direct engagement with
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  scripture. You mentioned earlier the unique
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  way the MB express emotions. How did this direct, visceral
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  feedback system shape the speaker's teaching, and what
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  does it tell us about cultural differences in expressing
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  understanding or disagreement? Oh, it's fascinating.
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  The UNB had this truly unique, unfiltered way of giving
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  feedback and very different from, as you said, a normal
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  North American audience. You know, quite polite laughter.
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  Maybe for the UNB, their belly is the seat of their emotions.
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  So when they liked what was being said, when the message
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  resonated deep inside, they would literally yell out, Keep
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  talking. This talk is good to my belly.
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  Huh. Love that good to my belly.
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  It was immediate public affirmation message received
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  positively. Conversely, if they disliked it,
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  if it caused inner turmoil or disagreement, they'd express it
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  just as directly. Sometimes saying something like
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  shut your mouth, I'm going to throw this talk up because it's
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  coming from their belly. Wow, no ambiguity there.
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  None whatsoever. This direct, visceral feedback
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  meant the speaker knew very clearly, very immediately, how
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  you're doing as a teacher in Yumby Land.
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  No guessing, no polite silence. He was an immediate indicator of
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  effectiveness and reception. It forced him to be
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  exceptionally clear and culturally sensitive.
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  You had to get it right or you'd know instantly.
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  You definitely know. So the Gospel presentation
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  itself, when it finally came, had this foundational,
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  deliberate structure. Started with Genesis chapters
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  1-2 and three. Creation in the fall.
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  Why start there? The speaker stressed that
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  without understanding the fall of mankind, there's simply no
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  proper understanding of what you're being saved from.
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  He put it this way. If you don't understand Genesis
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  chapters 1-2 and three, there's no way you understand Matthew,
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  Mark, Luke, and John. Makes sense.
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  You need the bad news before the good news makes sense.
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  Exactly, he reasoned. You don't understand what you're
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  being saved from until you understand the context of where
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  God comes from. What's his character?
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  Where does man come from? Where does Satan come from?
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  What's the trajectory of this drama?
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  They spent weeks, even months, carefully laying this
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  groundwork, building a biblical cosmology that would make sense
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  of the brokenness they experienced daily.
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  And that brokenness was pretty evident there, wasn't it?
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  Oh, absolutely. He talked about observing the
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  depravity of man played out in its full extent in the tropics.
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  He highlighted the harsh realities like tragically high
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  mortality rates for women and babies during childbirth because
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  there was zero medical aid, no epidurals, no C sections,
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  nothing. Heartbreaking.
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  These weren't abstract theological concepts.
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  They were stark daily occurrences, vividly
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  illustrating the direct ramifications of the fall.
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  The struggle for survival, rampant disease, tribal
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  conflicts, pervasive fear of spirits.
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  It all made the need for a savior profoundly urgent.
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  It wasn't just theology. It was felt reality.
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  So that context made the Gospel even more relevant.
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  Precisely then, with this foundation laid, he introduced
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  the powerful Bridgeman analogy. In Yimby culture, people often
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  hike long distances, crossing treacherous rivers on these
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  precarious log. Bridges.
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  Log bridges. And while the start might be
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  wide, the far end often gets really skinny, jagged branches
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  sticking out. Super difficult for many to
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  cross, especially if they're sick, elderly or infirm.
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  I can picture that dangerous. Very so for these tough
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  crossings, the community designates a strong man for the
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  day to be the bridge man. This guy physically carries
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  people on his back one by one, sometimes from one side to the
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  other, ensuring safe passage. OK, the bridgeman.
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  But there's one rule for the person being carried, a rule
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  that speaks volumes about dependence.
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  Don't try and help. Don't help?
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  Why not? Because if you try to help shift
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  your weight, grab a branch, both might lose balance, fall into
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  the churning water, get rolled over jagged rocks, and perish.
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  The crossing success depends entirely on the bridgeman.
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  Wow, total dependence. Total.
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  The speaker then powerfully applied this metaphor to Jesus
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  Christ. He explained that the YIMBY
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  people came to call Jesus the Bridgeman, the one who takes us
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  from Satan's side to God's side. That must have resonated deeply.
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  It did. It fit their cultural experience
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  perfectly and powerfully underscored that salvation is
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  entirely by grace, with absolutely no human effort
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  added. It vividly conveyed the truth.
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  You added nothing to your salvation.
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  It was all the work of the strong bridgeman Jesus carrying
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  them safely to God's side. They understood that
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  intuitively. That Bridgeman analogy is
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  incredibly powerful for conveying salvation by grace
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  alone, sola Gracia right there in their culture.
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  It forces me to consider how did such a deeply contextualized
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  message, rooted in their everyday experiences
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  specifically unlock faith in a way that maybe a more abstract
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  theological explanation might not have For the envy, it really
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  speaks to God's wisdom and letting His truth be
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  communicated in culturally relevant ways.
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  Absolutely. So the climactic gospel
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  presentation, the moment the full message of Jesus death,
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  burial, resurrection finally broke through to the YIMBY
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  people who speak the BCS language that's the YIMBY
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  language occurred on April 21st, 2008 a specific.
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  Date must been significant. Immensely first time in history
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  that message had been fully, clearly articulated in their
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  tongue and the impact was clear and immediate.
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  The speaker recounted this stirring testimony of Quali,
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  whose English name was Dennis, a Yimby man.
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  Two weeks after the Gospel was presented.
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  He's on a night hunt in the canoe, looks up at the stars and
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  moon, and he expresses this deep, profound awe and
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  recognition that God made them. He says, stars, I see you, Moon,
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  I see you. I know who made you.
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  I know the one who hung you out there.
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  He speaks to me. He tells me he's real just by
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  you. Wow, from spirits to the
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  creator. Exactly.
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  A huge palpable shift because before this, glory went to
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  ancestor spirits. Now the God of heaven and earth
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  is getting glory. Amazing.
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  So what happened after that initial breakthrough?
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  Well, after this initial gospel presentation and the visible
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  signs of saving faith among the YIMBY, the missionary stayed for
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  another eight years until 2016. Eight more years.
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  Why so long? Their primary goal during this
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  extended period wasn't just individual conversions, but
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  establishing a healthy, strong New Testament church among the
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  EMB believers. Church Planting discipleship.
• 20:05
  Right teaching sound doctrine, establishing leadership,
• 20:08
  discipling new believers, helping them live out their
• 20:11
  faith in community. The speaker also undertook the
• 20:14
  monumental task of translating the entire New Testament into
• 20:17
  the BCS language, plus the first five books of the Bible, the
• 20:20
  Pentateuch. Translating the whole New
• 20:22
  Testament and Pentateuch, that's massive.
• 20:24
  Painstakingly slow, methodical work ensuring accuracy, cultural
• 20:29
  relevance, but it gave the YIMBY church God's written word in
• 20:33
  their own tongue. And.
• 20:36
  Here's the really inspiring conclusion to this part of the
• 20:38
  story. The YIMBY Church, born out of
• 20:41
  this sacrifice and faithful teaching, is now preparing to
• 20:44
  send its first missions team to another language group.
• 20:47
  Get out. Really.
• 20:50
  Showcasing this incredible multiplication of faith, a
• 20:53
  living testament to the initial sacrifice and the continued
• 20:56
  work. It illustrates the heart of the
• 20:57
  Great Commission right, making disciples who then make more
• 21:01
  disciples, reaching beyond their own borders.
• 21:03
  It's truly compelling, witnessing the YIMBY people,
• 21:05
  having received the gospel, now participate in its spread.
• 21:09
  It's a vivid example of how prioritizing God's glory leads
• 21:12
  to reproducing that very mission in new context.
• 21:15
  It forces us to consider the the enduring legacy of such an
• 21:19
  outward focused life. So what does this all mean for
• 21:21
  us, For you listening as you navigate your own life and
• 21:25
  faith? Our sources draw primarily from
• 21:27
  Second Corinthians chapter 4, identifying 3 key views that
• 21:31
  help Christians live with an eternal mindset.
• 21:33
  OK, let's break this down. Before we dive into those three,
• 21:37
  the chapter also briefly touches on this idea that Christians are
• 21:40
  like jars of clay. Right, fragile containers.
• 21:43
  Fragile containers holding an incredible treasure, which is
• 21:46
  the gospel. This analogy suggests that while
• 21:49
  we might be outwardly fragile, you know, malleable subject of
• 21:53
  breaking or persecution in this world, we carry this invaluable
• 21:57
  eternal message inside us. It implies an inner resilience
• 22:01
  and an ultimate dependence on God's strength, not our own, in
• 22:04
  carrying His message despite any outward decay or weakness we
• 22:08
  might experience. This truth itself is kind of a
• 22:11
  bedrock for a living for eternity.
• 22:12
  That's a good starting point. Treasure and jars of clay.
• 22:16
  So the first view that helps us cultivate an eternal mindset is
• 22:19
  cultivating a proper view of God.
• 22:22
  As AW Tozer famously put it, what comes into our minds when
• 22:26
  we think about God is the most important thing about.
• 22:28
  US foundational. Absolutely foundational.
• 22:31
  It's foundational to everything else, and it's not just about,
• 22:34
  you know, casually reading the word, but about meditating on
• 22:36
  it, spending dedicated time dwelling, concentrating,
• 22:40
  allowing all the other distractions of life to be
• 22:42
  pushed out. The aim is to genuinely know him
• 22:45
  better. Not just know about.
• 22:47
  Him exactly. Not just for Bible trivia or
• 22:49
  accumulating facts, but for a living, breathing relationship.
• 22:54
  Think of it this way. It's about becoming a student of
• 22:57
  your God, much like you might study a loved 1.
• 23:00
  You learn their preferences, their character, what makes them
• 23:02
  joyful, what grieves them. Getting to know their heart.
• 23:05
  This deep intimate knowledge of God is what the Apostle Paul
• 23:09
  exemplifies in Philippians 3.7. He declares he counts
• 23:12
  everything, all his worldly gains, his impressive religious
• 23:15
  pedigree, accomplishments. He counts it all as rubbish.
• 23:18
  Strong word. Rubbish.
• 23:21
  Garbage. For the surpassing worth of
• 23:23
  knowing Christ Jesus is Lord. For Paul, everything else was
• 23:27
  trash compared to the security, identity, and ultimate purpose
• 23:31
  he found in Christ. He redefined what was truly
• 23:34
  valuable by recalibrating his view of God.
• 23:37
  That pursuit of God, for God's sake, not just for what he can
• 23:40
  do for us. It's so liberating.
• 23:42
  It raises A practical question, though.
• 23:45
  If our view of God truly shapes our confidence, our courage, our
• 23:48
  willingness to step out in radical ways, how can we
• 23:51
  intentionally cultivate that clearer, deeper understanding of
• 23:54
  Him, especially in the midst of our busy, fragmented daily
• 23:57
  routines? What disciplines do the sources
• 24:00
  imply? Well, when you cultivate this
• 24:02
  right view of God, it brings these incredible benefits that
• 24:06
  reshape your life. First, there's a greater
• 24:07
  confidence you realize who you are and your identity becomes
• 24:11
  securing God. Not in shifting circumstances or
• 24:13
  what people think. Solid ground.
• 24:14
  Solid ground. You gain more courage
• 24:16
  understanding that the one who controls all things, the
• 24:19
  Sovereign God, secures your future so you don't have to live
• 24:22
  in fear. And this naturally cultivate the
• 24:24
  profound willingness to risk more.
• 24:26
  Because your security isn't ultimately here.
• 24:28
  Right. You grasp that ultimate security
• 24:31
  is found in God, not in avoiding hardship or piling up worldly
• 24:34
  stuff. It frees you to live with an
• 24:37
  open hand. And this deep knowledge of God
• 24:40
  also creates this powerful, almost irresistible compulsion
• 24:44
  to share His glory. You just can't keep it to
• 24:46
  themselves when you truly know Him.
• 24:49
  It overflows. It has to.
• 24:51
  The speaker uses these compelling analogies, like
• 24:54
  standing at Niagara Falls feeling the mist, hearing the
• 24:56
  roar, or diving the Great Barrier Reef and seeing
• 24:59
  incredible colors. You can't help but surface and
• 25:01
  immediately tell someone you've got to see this.
• 25:04
  Yeah, you want to share the wonder?
• 25:05
  Similarly, when you truly know God, His Majesty, His goodness,
• 25:08
  His mercy, you are compelled to speak about Him.
• 25:11
  We saw this with Quali right among the YIMBY.
• 25:13
  After hearing the gospel. He looks at the stars, knows who
• 25:16
  made them, gives glory to God, not ancestor.
• 25:18
  Spirits a direct result of seeing God more clearly.
• 25:21
  The ultimate goal, the speaker says, is that the God of heaven
• 25:24
  and earth is getting glory. And this, he contends, is the
• 25:28
  ultimate purpose of missions and the very thrust of the Christian
• 25:31
  life itself. This deep understanding of God
• 25:35
  causes this world to start to grow strangely dim, and the
• 25:40
  world to come will start to fill up your mind and ambitions.
• 25:42
  Shifting your focus entirely. Entirely, and for those seeking
• 25:46
  to deepen this proper view of God, the speaker recommends
• 25:50
  obviously prioritize the Bible above all but also specific
• 25:53
  readings he suggests Holiness of God by RC Sprole.
• 25:56
  Classic foundational. Holiness by JC Rile, Another
• 25:59
  classic on Christian living stemming from God's character.
• 26:02
  Also excellent. And Knowing God by Ji Packer,
• 26:06
  which unpacks God's attributes in a deeply devotional way,
• 26:10
  these resources are presented as valuable tools to help you truly
• 26:12
  grasp who God is and solidify that eternal perspective.
• 26:16
  It's so clear how a comprehensive understanding of
• 26:19
  God's character naturally leads to a willingness to risk.
• 26:23
  Which brings us nicely to the second view, a proper view of
• 26:26
  scars. Now, for many in our comfortable
• 26:29
  societies, suffering is well, it's something to be avoided at
• 26:32
  all costs. So what does the source mean
• 26:35
  when it says Christians can view their troubles, their
• 26:37
  sufferings, as light and momentary afflictions?
• 26:41
  That sounds almost counterintuitive when pain is so
• 26:43
  real. You're right, that phrase light
• 26:44
  and momentary afflictions from Paul in 2nd Corinthians 4.
• 26:48
  He can sound dismissive if you don't get the context.
• 26:50
  The speaker clarifies. This is absolutely not a denial
• 26:53
  of pain. Pain is real.
• 26:55
  It's hard. It can last a lifetime, even be
• 26:57
  excruciating. OK.
• 26:58
  So it's not minimizing the hurt. Not at all.
• 27:00
  But there's an inward reality, he says, that says that no
• 27:03
  circumstance can take away my joy, a joy rooted in Christ and
• 27:07
  that proper view of God we just talked about.
• 27:09
  It's a perspective that calibrates present suffering
• 27:11
  against the backdrop of eternity.
• 27:13
  It means seeing current hardship as temporary and ultimately
• 27:16
  purposeful when compared to the weight of future glory.
• 27:19
  OK, temporary and purposeful in light of eternity.
• 27:22
  Exactly. And the fully grass Paul's
• 27:24
  perspective. The speaker details Paul's
• 27:26
  actual sufferings from 2nd Corinthians 11.
• 27:29
  These were not minor inconveniences.
• 27:31
  They were truly brutal. Let's hear it.
• 27:32
  What did Paul list? Paul recounts receiving five
• 27:35
  times the 40 lashes -1 from the Jews.
• 27:38
  These involve leather whips embedded with hunks of steel and
• 27:40
  bone designed to literally tear off flesh, often fatal.
• 27:44
  Unbelievable brutality. Three times he was beaten with
• 27:47
  rods specifically meant to dislocate bones, bend joints in
• 27:51
  unnatural, excruciating ways. He was pelted with stones, left
• 27:55
  for dead, and on three separate occasions he was shipwrecked.
• 27:58
  He even spent a terrifying night in the day drift in the open
• 28:01
  sea, totally exposed. Just reading that list is
• 28:04
  exhausting. And to help us picture that
• 28:06
  shipwreck experience, the speaker shares his own
• 28:08
  frightening motor canoe trip in a storm off Papua New Guinea he
• 28:12
  described as being 80 miles offshore in a small boat.
• 28:15
  Sudden violent storm hits waves so high the motor kept coming
• 28:18
  out of the water, threatening to capsize them.
• 28:20
  Terrifying boat starts taking on water.
• 28:22
  They're sure they're going to be swallowed by the ocean, the boat
• 28:25
  driver, desperate, repeatedly tells them.
• 28:28
  I need you all to jump out so that I can bail the water just
• 28:31
  to lighten the boat. Jump out in a storm miles from
• 28:34
  shore. He describes being incredibly
• 28:37
  afraid, heart pounding, jumping into the churning ocean multiple
• 28:40
  times. The boat disappears from sight,
• 28:43
  miraculously reappears 45 minutes later to pick them up
• 28:46
  from the vast dark water. I can't even imagine that fear.
• 28:49
  And Paul, the sticker reminds us, didn't just go over waves
• 28:53
  like that. He was shipwrecked.
• 28:54
  His ship went down. He was left to the mercy in the
• 28:57
  sea for a whole day and night. Yet Paul categorized these
• 29:00
  extreme experiences, brutal beatings, near death encounters,
• 29:05
  constant peril as light and momentary.
• 29:07
  It's still remarkable that Paul could categorize such extreme
• 29:11
  suffering that way. For many listeners, that might
• 29:12
  seem almost dismissive of real pain.
• 29:14
  Does the source delve into how Paul maintained that
• 29:17
  perspective? Was it like a constant battle or
• 29:20
  a settled conviction rooted in something deeper than just
• 29:23
  optimism? That's where the eternal
• 29:25
  perspective becomes so absolutely vital.
• 29:28
  The speaker explains this paradox.
• 29:30
  Paul considered these things light and momentary because of
• 29:33
  his eternal perspective. It allowed him to recalibrate
• 29:36
  his vision. Recalibrate.
• 29:38
  That's a good word for it. He wasn't denying the immediate
• 29:40
  agony, but he was comparing it to something far greater, an
• 29:43
  eternal weight of glory. Beyond all comparison that
• 29:46
  awaited him, this future glory just outweighed any present
• 29:49
  suffering. This perspective lets you view
• 29:52
  earthly hardships as temporary and ultimately purposeful,
• 29:55
  shaping you for something far greater.
• 29:57
  So the comparison changes the perceived weight.
• 30:00
  Precisely. And this leads to the powerful
• 30:02
  concept of scars as marks of honor.
• 30:04
  These aren't just any scars, but beautiful scars for the sake of
• 30:07
  the glory of the King. Not marks of shame, but honor.
• 30:10
  Right. Not wounds to hide in shame, but
• 30:12
  visible evidence of a life lived outwardly for God's purposes,
• 30:16
  not personal comfort. The speaker gives various
• 30:18
  examples. Physical scars like getting
• 30:21
  malaria or typhoid repeatedly from poor water and sanitation
• 30:25
  and during extreme heat. 90s at night, 100 and 2130 during the
• 30:28
  day. Every breath of struggle.
• 30:30
  Just physically demanding. Or for women, maybe the daily
• 30:33
  discomfort of wearing a burqa for long periods in conservative
• 30:36
  regions. Emotional scars, the deep pain
• 30:38
  of missing family events, Christmas births, milestones.
• 30:42
  He mentioned his own father missing all his college
• 30:45
  basketball games to establish a church among the Teddy people.
• 30:48
  Sacrifices that sting. Financial scars too, willingly
• 30:52
  giving up that 6 figure salary, the four O 1K, the luxury homes
• 30:56
  and cars for the gospel sake, counting it all as loss for
• 31:00
  Christ. Real, tangible costs.
• 31:02
  The speaker then challenges you, the listener, to consider if you
• 31:06
  bear such marks, contrasting a life lived maybe too comfortably
• 31:09
  with one of sacrificial service. He expresses concern for those
• 31:13
  who might have very few scars to show at the great day of
• 31:16
  judgement, suggesting a life that actively avoided any
• 31:19
  situations that would put them in such positions.
• 31:22
  That's convicting. He pointedly quotes Amy
• 31:25
  Carmichael's poem Hast Thou No Scar?
• 31:28
  Which powerfully asks if you can truly claim to follow the master
• 31:32
  who bore the ultimate scars for us without burying some wounds
• 31:36
  yourself in his service. It's a stark reminder.
• 31:39
  A faith that costs nothing might accomplish little.
• 31:43
  That concept definitely challenges a core societal value
• 31:47
  of pain avoidance. It invites us to consider a
• 31:50
  radically different way to interpret life's hardships not
• 31:52
  as things to just endure or eliminate, but as potential
• 31:56
  marks of a life given for a grander, God glorifying purpose.
• 31:59
  It truly makes you re evaluate what you prioritize.
• 32:02
  OK, so the third crucial view for living for eternity centers
• 32:05
  on heaven itself. For Christians, heaven is the
• 32:08
  ultimate homeland. Our true citizenship.
• 32:10
  Exactly, the Bible teaches believers are strangers and
• 32:13
  exiles on earth, belonging to a different country with a
• 32:16
  different king. This world, with all its
• 32:18
  transient things, is meant to grow strangely dim as the world
• 32:22
  to come fills our minds and ambitions.
• 32:24
  Heaven is depicted as a better country, a heavenly one for
• 32:27
  which God has prepared a city. The.
• 32:29
  New Jerusalem. It's an inheritance that never
• 32:31
  spoils or fades, kept in heaven for us, a secure, incorruptible
• 32:36
  future. That security changes
• 32:38
  everything. This vision of heaven acts like
• 32:40
  wind in their sails, providing spiritual energy, pressing
• 32:44
  believers onward through every trial and temptation.
• 32:47
  It was a powerful motivation for the Saints of old.
• 32:50
  Think of Peter, history tells us.
• 32:52
  He willingly faced crucifixion upside down for his faith,
• 32:55
  knowing there was an imperishable treasure waiting
• 32:57
  that no earthly power could touch.
• 32:59
  Incredible courage born from hope.
• 33:01
  And John the Apostle was given that breathtaking vision of
• 33:04
  heaven recorded as an incredible city, the New Jerusalem that
• 33:07
  someday the Saints will inhabit. This vivid vision helped him
• 33:10
  look past the fleeting struggles of this world to the world to
• 33:13
  come, a city where there will be nothing evil in it, no
• 33:16
  temptation, only pure, only good.
• 33:19
  This glorious future sustained him.
• 33:20
  That vision of heaven as both motivation and ultimate home
• 33:25
  truly allows for a detachment from earthly fears.
• 33:28
  It begs the question, how does actively meditating on heaven,
• 33:32
  our true home, equip us to live with such boldness, such
• 33:36
  liberation from the fears and, frankly, the allurements of this
• 33:39
  present world? What practical disciplines
• 33:42
  foster that kind of eternal gaze?
• 33:44
  Well, this eternal perspective sharply contrasts with what the
• 33:47
  speaker calls cowardly people who shrink back.
• 33:51
  Their fear grips them. They get slowly swallowed by the
• 33:54
  demands and attractions of this world, constantly making
• 33:57
  decisions to avoid pain, inconvenience, challenge, rather
• 34:01
  than embracing A costly walk for God's glory.
• 34:03
  Playing it safe, essentially. Playing it safe.
• 34:05
  In stark contrast, those who genuinely live for eternity,
• 34:08
  like the famous missionary John G Payton, they're able to see
• 34:11
  past earthly dangers, even the threat of death.
• 34:14
  The speaker recounts Peyton's famous response when warned by a
• 34:16
  cautious church elder, Mr. Dixon, about being eaten by
• 34:20
  cannibals in the new head breeds where another missionary, John
• 34:22
  Williams, had been killed. Oh yeah, the famous story.
• 34:24
  What did Peyton say? Peyton's reply was remarkable in
• 34:27
  its faith. He said, Basically, Mr. Dixon,
• 34:30
  you're old. You'll soon be laid in the grave
• 34:32
  and eaten by worms. I confess, if I can live and die
• 34:35
  honoring the Lord Jesus, it makes no difference to me
• 34:38
  whether I'm eaten by cannibals or by worms.
• 34:40
  In that great day, my resurrection body will arise as
• 34:43
  fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.
• 34:46
  Wow, just wow. That perspective is stunning.
• 34:50
  This powerful statement shows how a deeply ingrained, eternal
• 34:53
  view allowed Peyton and countless others to face danger,
• 34:57
  illness, death with incredible courage and hope.
• 35:00
  Their eyes were fixed on the future glory, the promise of a
• 35:03
  resurrected body. It made the suffering and perils
• 35:06
  of this pref life seem insignificant compared to the
• 35:08
  vastness of eternity. This unwavering hope in heaven
• 35:11
  frees you to truly live. It puts everything in
• 35:14
  perspective. Death loses its sting in a very
• 35:17
  real way. OK, let's unpack this final,
• 35:19
  powerful illustration from the speaker's personal story.
• 35:21
  It paints such a vivid picture of how earthly hardship can
• 35:25
  actually heighten the joy and appreciation of heavenly glory.
• 35:27
  All right, I'm ready. He recounted his family's nine
• 35:30
  months living in the remote Papua New Guinea jungle.
• 35:34
  Truly limited comforts, No hot water, no AC, and that's
• 35:37
  stifling humidity, just bare necessities.
• 35:40
  During their difficult journey out of the jungle.
• 35:42
  This dangerous incident occurred involving acopoly.
• 35:46
  Acopoly. What's that?
• 35:47
  Described as resembling a koala bear, but with intimidating
• 35:51
  fangs and long, sharp claws. OK, not your cuddly koala.
• 35:54
  Then definitely not. This creature, which the MB saw
• 35:57
  as a potential meal, was killed right there in their small motor
• 36:00
  canoe led to a very messy, frightening encounter.
• 36:03
  Blood sprang onto his wife and young son.
• 36:06
  This journey, a grueling 5 hours in the canoe after two hours
• 36:10
  walking through dense jungle, was the prelude to something
• 36:13
  profound. Sounds intense.
• 36:14
  After this intense hardship and the challenging trip out, they
• 36:17
  landed in Australia. The relief and joy they
• 36:19
  experienced upon arriving were immense, almost overwhelming.
• 36:23
  He described walking into customs and seeing the the most
• 36:26
  beautiful carpet he'd ever seen. A simple, ordinary carpet, but
• 36:29
  after the of the mud it seemed magnificent.
• 36:31
  Exactly. They went straight to
• 36:33
  McDonald's, a simple Quarter Pounder with two patties.
• 36:36
  Extra large Coke became the pastiest, best food I've ever
• 36:39
  tasted in my life. McDonald's is gourmet.
• 36:43
  Then they crank the AC in their hotel room to high, blissful
• 36:47
  after months of unrelenting heat.
• 36:49
  And then the most wonderful hot shower, washing away jungle,
• 36:53
  mud, sweat, even the Capulli's blood.
• 36:56
  Unparalleled relief and cleansing.
• 36:58
  Every simple comfort was amplified into sheer delight.
• 37:00
  I can almost feel that shower. The speaker then drew this
• 37:04
  direct, striking analogy from this experience.
• 37:06
  The reason that that experience tasted the sweetest look, the
• 37:09
  most beautiful, felt the most wonderful, was because of what
• 37:12
  we went through to get there. The hardship enhanced the
• 37:16
  relief. The stark contrast between the
• 37:18
  severe discomfort and danger of the jungle and the simple
• 37:20
  comforts of Australia made those comforts incredibly sweet,
• 37:24
  beautiful, profoundly appreciated.
• 37:26
  It was the prior deprivation that enhanced the subsequent
• 37:28
  enjoyment. Makes perfect sense.
• 37:30
  He then applied this directly to the Christians experience of
• 37:32
  heaven. He suggests that for believers,
• 37:36
  heaven will taste sweeter. Everything will be markedly more
• 37:39
  beautiful because of what you went through in this short
• 37:41
  earthly journey. So our struggles here aren't
• 37:44
  pointless. Not at all.
• 37:45
  The difficulties, sacrifices, the scars endured in this life,
• 37:50
  physical discomforts, emotional longings, financial giving up.
• 37:54
  They're not in vain. They're not merely endured.
• 37:57
  They serve a specific purpose to amplify the joy and glory of
• 38:02
  eternity. Our struggles here are preparing
• 38:04
  us for a deeper appreciation of the perfect rest and glory that
• 38:07
  await. That changes how you view
• 38:09
  hardship right now. It really does, he concluded
• 38:12
  with this powerful challenge to you, the listener.
• 38:15
  Don't live the lives of those timid, weak people who for all
• 38:17
  of their life will work to avoid the pain, work to avoid the
• 38:20
  discouragement, work to avoid the challenge of doing something
• 38:24
  that may bring glory to their God.
• 38:26
  But it's going to cost. Don't shrink back from the cost.
• 38:28
  It suggests that how you choose to live in this life, whether
• 38:31
  you shrink from cost or embrace it for God's glory, will
• 38:34
  directly affect how you step into your eternal home and maybe
• 38:38
  even the depth of your joy there.
• 38:39
  Wow, sobering thought. As we wrap up this deep dive
• 38:43
  into living for eternity, we are left with a truly compelling
• 38:46
  vision. A vision of God so captivating
• 38:49
  compels us to share Him. A vision of suffering so
• 38:52
  reoriented that our scars become marks of honor, testifying to a
• 38:56
  greater purpose. And a vision of heaven so real
• 38:59
  and inviting, it fuels us through every challenge and
• 39:02
  tribulation we face here on earth.
• 39:03
  The invitation before us then, as faithful hearers of God's
• 39:07
  Word, as members of His church, is to choose a path of courage
• 39:11
  and conviction, to willingly embrace the costs that come with
• 39:14
  following Christ, and to live for something far greater than
• 39:17
  temporary comfort or fleeting earthly security.
• 39:20
  To make decisions today that will resonate throughout
• 39:22
  eternity, shaping not just our future, but our present reality.
• 39:26
  This means intentionally looking beyond the scene to the unseen,
• 39:29
  trusting in a secure future in Christ, and embracing the
• 39:32
  specific calling God has for you for His ultimate glory.
• 39:36
  So as you go from this discussion, what will you carry
• 39:39
  forward? How will your refreshed view of
• 39:40
  God, of your struggles, and of heaven itself begin to shape
• 39:45
  your daily walk and the choices you make?
• 39:47
  Lots to think about. Thank you for joining us on
• 39:49
  Reformed Thinking.