1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,500 Well, Happy New Year and welcome back to the grace church members 2 00:00:07,500 --> 00:00:09,000 podcast. I'm one of your host, Chris 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,300 rivers. And in this episode, I'm joined 4 00:00:11,300 --> 00:00:14,900 with Scott Mozingo, and Matt Williams to discuss a biblically 5 00:00:14,900 --> 00:00:18,400 oriented strategy for the year. If you're a first-time listener, 6 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,100 we're excited that you joined us. 7 00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:23,500 The goal of this resource is to address discipleship issues and 8 00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:25,500 the life of Grace Church and discuss. 9 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:29,500 How to be more fully devoted to God conforming Our Lives to 10 00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:31,600 biblical truth they buy. Today, and letting the 11 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,400 scriptures feed. Our souls is something that many 12 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,900 of us struggle to apply. There is this important role of 13 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:41,600 the scriptures as a long-term investment and as a means of 14 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:44,500 feeding our souls. And so the question is, how 15 00:00:44,500 --> 00:00:46,500 should we as members of Grace Church? 16 00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:49,200 Think about this? I am really grateful for this 17 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,500 interview with Matt and Scott. It's filled with lots of 18 00:00:52,500 --> 00:00:55,600 practical information on how we can win with God's word. 19 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,700 It was endearing and I'm just very grateful that you're going 20 00:00:58,700 --> 00:01:00,700 to get a chance to jump into this conversation. 21 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,000 With us. So consider sharing this episode 22 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,000 with someone and discussing these ideas with them and be 23 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,800 sure to check out our podcast page located in the show. 24 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,800 Notes on this page you can access past episodes a summary 25 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,900 of this episode with Matt and additional resources to help you 26 00:01:15,900 --> 00:01:19,500 move towards discipleship. Okay let's jump into our episode 27 00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:21,800 on a biblically oriented strategy for the year. 28 00:01:23,100 --> 00:01:24,500 Matt Williams, good to see you today. 29 00:01:25,100 --> 00:01:26,300 Good to see you. Chris. 30 00:01:26,300 --> 00:01:28,700 Yes. Scott always fun to be a part of 31 00:01:28,708 --> 00:01:29,500 this with you. Hello. 32 00:01:29,500 --> 00:01:31,700 Chris. It's a new year and many of our 33 00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:36,100 members have goals of reading the Bible daily and so as a 34 00:01:36,108 --> 00:01:39,300 leader of our church, if you could sit down with grace church 35 00:01:39,300 --> 00:01:41,500 members and share with them the importance of reading the 36 00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:44,600 scriptures, what one or two things would you want to share? 37 00:01:45,300 --> 00:01:48,900 I want to start with the deeper, why? 38 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:51,200 So one of the things that happened to me when I was in my 39 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:56,400 30s I had my thought. Would blew up and was hyper and 40 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,000 they had to destroy it. So then it went low. 41 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,000 And now I'm on medicine called Synthroid. 42 00:02:01,500 --> 00:02:03,600 Many, many women in our church our own Center would. 43 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,400 So it's like three or four hundred women and me all take 44 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,199 synthroid. I gave a woman some of the other 45 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:11,800 day because she had run out. The thing about Synthroid is 46 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,700 that it it builds up, it takes a long time to build up in your 47 00:02:14,700 --> 00:02:16,100 system and it lasts for a long time. 48 00:02:17,300 --> 00:02:21,700 If you take synthroid today, if you're low, you take synthroid 49 00:02:21,700 --> 00:02:23,900 today, you don't feel. The effects from it. 50 00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:27,400 And when I travel out of town, I'm a I'm going to be gone one 51 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:28,800 night. I may not even take it with me, 52 00:02:29,500 --> 00:02:31,900 but it is the kind of thing that you do need. 53 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,300 If you don't take it, you won't live. 54 00:02:34,700 --> 00:02:37,700 It'll take a while for you to die, but you will not make it. 55 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:39,800 And so you have to be disciplined. 56 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:41,700 There's a sense in which you have to be disciplined every 57 00:02:41,700 --> 00:02:45,200 morning to take it. Take it at a certain time and it 58 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,300 builds up in your system and it gives you life and I could go 59 00:02:48,300 --> 00:02:52,600 the next year or so without taking it, but I would not be 60 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:53,600 here. Here to play with my 61 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,100 grandchildren in 20 years if I didn't take it. 62 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,300 And so one of the things about studying the scriptures and 63 00:03:00,300 --> 00:03:03,500 investing in your spiritual growth, in your walk, and 64 00:03:03,500 --> 00:03:06,800 through the word of God, is that you are making a long-term 65 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,700 investment something that builds up in your system and stays with 66 00:03:09,700 --> 00:03:14,100 you for a long, long time. And so, I want to tell people 67 00:03:14,100 --> 00:03:18,600 this needs to be a part of your life because it had it does have 68 00:03:18,700 --> 00:03:22,700 a benefit for today but it also has lots of long term. 69 00:03:22,900 --> 00:03:25,900 The fit and blessing for you to be connected to God for a long 70 00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:29,400 time because it takes a while to understand, here's the message, 71 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,300 he's trying to communicate to you through his word and it's 72 00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:36,900 not all about me, but it is all about him and my life needs to 73 00:03:36,908 --> 00:03:39,600 be all about him and it takes a while and there needs to be 74 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,300 there in some process that. So there's this discipline 75 00:03:42,300 --> 00:03:45,200 piece, that it's very important for today in the future. 76 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:50,400 But the other part is, is that I have to identify emotionally and 77 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,700 spiritually with the part of me that is starving. 78 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:58,400 And I cannot assume that I am sufficient in and of myself to 79 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:00,700 feed myself and to care for my soul. 80 00:04:00,700 --> 00:04:05,800 On my own, I need something from outside to feed my soul to feed 81 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:10,800 my heart and even if I am motivated and very positive and 82 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:12,900 Overcomer and Life to go in my way. 83 00:04:12,900 --> 00:04:14,900 And everything, that's really not what it's about. 84 00:04:14,900 --> 00:04:20,200 There's still a part of me that is famished that God has spoken 85 00:04:20,300 --> 00:04:22,700 through his word, to be able to feed my soul. 86 00:04:23,300 --> 00:04:26,700 And I there's some work that that was Scott Mozingo would do. 87 00:04:26,700 --> 00:04:28,300 That would be different than what I would do. 88 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,900 There's a part of Scott that could get in touch with where 89 00:04:31,900 --> 00:04:35,800 his soul is and realize that he's famished in a way that may 90 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,000 be similar, but may be very different than me and I am and 91 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,700 so I need to be in touch with that, so there's this discipline 92 00:04:42,700 --> 00:04:45,700 piece but there's also this emotional and spiritual peace 93 00:04:45,700 --> 00:04:48,200 where I need to get in touch with the fact that I'm starving 94 00:04:48,700 --> 00:04:51,900 and you go, we always jump to what to do this plan that plant 95 00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:52,600 us. That's fine. 96 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,300 But what I need to start with is where am I famished? 97 00:04:55,300 --> 00:04:58,500 Where do I, where am I starving? And I need the god of the 98 00:04:58,500 --> 00:05:01,900 universe that created a speak to me and poor life into me. 99 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,500 And I think that when I'm sitting with someone that is 100 00:05:05,500 --> 00:05:09,300 what I say, you know and we talk through how are you starving? 101 00:05:09,300 --> 00:05:12,600 And that may be foreign language to us but it may take a minute 102 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:13,900 to get there, but it's important. 103 00:05:15,100 --> 00:05:17,300 So Matt is that why? It's important? 104 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,700 To have personal time because I was thinking about this, you've 105 00:05:21,700 --> 00:05:26,800 been teaching the Bible for probably more than half your 106 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,200 adult life now so it's kind of crazy think of that way. 107 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,800 It's true. It's a you're a very good 108 00:05:33,100 --> 00:05:35,700 professional Bible teacher so why don't I just listened to 109 00:05:35,700 --> 00:05:39,700 you? Why do I need to be disciplined 110 00:05:39,700 --> 00:05:42,800 and go do it myself. What am I lacking? 111 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,600 If I'm I'm just because there's a lot of good teachers out there 112 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:50,000 there's a lot of good resources but how does That what we're 113 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,200 doing on the weekends, how does that compliment my personal 114 00:05:53,500 --> 00:05:55,800 study and not take the place of it? 115 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,400 Yeah, I mean, I think we have to be honest about that. 116 00:05:58,500 --> 00:06:01,100 That there's a bunch of Truth here that ought to be pulled 117 00:06:01,100 --> 00:06:04,100 apart. And so, if I'm thinking about 118 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,400 actually a guy that I know that I know from the gym who's just 119 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,000 started coming to our church, he doesn't really know God. 120 00:06:11,500 --> 00:06:16,900 And so, I would say that our services or somebody that he 121 00:06:16,900 --> 00:06:19,900 might see on YouTube, Uber, another Pastor another preacher, 122 00:06:19,900 --> 00:06:22,800 whatever. He's in a place where actually 123 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,900 that corporate communication is very important, right? 124 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,300 Is what he's got. So I don't want to minimize that 125 00:06:29,300 --> 00:06:31,600 because I used to, I used to be like, that's not important. 126 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,600 What I'm doing the weekends and I'm not important preachers have 127 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:36,600 a role to play. I would be kind of downplay all 128 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,600 that and I think there is a role there and I think there's a role 129 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:41,600 when we're all together. Here in the word together 130 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:44,100 responding together. I think that's very, very 131 00:06:44,100 --> 00:06:47,200 important. But the thing about what we 132 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,700 believe Within Vanity. Is there something about it? 133 00:06:49,700 --> 00:06:55,100 That's very personal that the Holy Spirit wants to speak to 134 00:06:55,100 --> 00:07:00,800 you and move you in a way that he does not want to move me and 135 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:06,400 carving out the space and the time for y'all to commune for 136 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,800 you to commune with the spirit. And let's be honest, there are 137 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,200 days. When you you talk, and you don't 138 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,100 feel anything, you don't hear anything. 139 00:07:14,700 --> 00:07:17,300 So that's part of it too. You know, you see that in a 140 00:07:17,308 --> 00:07:19,200 marriage. There's days when your spouse 141 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,900 tells you something that does not resonate, you know, make any 142 00:07:21,900 --> 00:07:25,100 sense to you, but, but I do think we believe in a very 143 00:07:25,100 --> 00:07:29,600 personal God that wants to speak to you, that wants to lead you 144 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,200 that wants to connect you and your walk is very unique for 145 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,500 mine, and I think that a lot of us don't believe that and that's 146 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:38,100 why we're not investing the time in it. 147 00:07:38,100 --> 00:07:40,800 Yeah, they got that. There's an expectation that God 148 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,000 has something for me and it's doing something and I need to 149 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,800 participate in that. And I think in a fast-paced 150 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,300 culture, it's easy to drop that. That it's easy to forget that. 151 00:07:49,300 --> 00:07:52,500 Yeah. Now, going back to the first 152 00:07:52,500 --> 00:07:54,900 question. The long-term investment you 153 00:07:54,900 --> 00:07:57,600 talked about the discipline and the emotional like, when did you 154 00:07:57,600 --> 00:07:59,600 first recognize you were starving? 155 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,700 Did, did someone inspire you? Was that? 156 00:08:02,700 --> 00:08:07,000 What kicked it off for you? My dad was a Bible, dude, he 157 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,900 loved the Bible. And so I saw it from a distance. 158 00:08:11,900 --> 00:08:13,500 I mean, I was closed up but I saw it. 159 00:08:13,500 --> 00:08:16,200 I watched him, he would say things and I would always think 160 00:08:16,900 --> 00:08:20,400 It's interesting to me how important the Bible is to him. 161 00:08:21,100 --> 00:08:23,900 It's not important to me like that, but it is interesting to 162 00:08:23,900 --> 00:08:25,500 me that it's that important to him. 163 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,300 So I thought that was, that was always in the back of my head, 164 00:08:28,300 --> 00:08:32,900 back of my mind. By the time, I got to college, I 165 00:08:32,900 --> 00:08:38,000 was very perplexed at what we now, call organized religion, 166 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,900 how it was going in church, and how it felt dead to me, and I 167 00:08:40,908 --> 00:08:43,900 was perplexed at the world. Some of the things I started 168 00:08:43,900 --> 00:08:46,500 seeing a good friend of mines, mom committed. 169 00:08:46,700 --> 00:08:51,100 Suicide, she died by Suicide, another friend of my mom's died 170 00:08:51,100 --> 00:08:54,000 in a tragic accident. And then, my freshman year in 171 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,100 college, my dad got brain tumor almost died. 172 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:01,800 So, all that happened within, like two years and the, the 173 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,600 world was kind of creeping in and was very confusing to me. 174 00:09:05,608 --> 00:09:08,400 I was like, whoa, this place is really dark and really broken 175 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,100 and really bad things happen. So, I started having questions 176 00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:14,500 and so I started it just, it seemed intuitive to me that the 177 00:09:14,500 --> 00:09:16,400 scriptures had answers and I was reading them. 178 00:09:16,700 --> 00:09:19,200 In the Bible and I wouldn't really make any sense of it, 179 00:09:19,700 --> 00:09:22,000 some parts but a lot of I could not make sense of it. 180 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,500 I was perplexed by the end of college. 181 00:09:24,500 --> 00:09:27,800 I ran into some guys who started discipling me and teaching me 182 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,200 and they weren't they were saying it. 183 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,900 They were saying that the scriptures had answers but I was 184 00:09:33,900 --> 00:09:37,800 watching them when I would ask a question, they would quote 185 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:41,100 scripture to me not in a shallow or superficial way. 186 00:09:41,500 --> 00:09:44,100 I would call Tom Nelson in Texas and he would take my phone 187 00:09:44,100 --> 00:09:46,000 calls. I was a college student is with 188 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,800 so weird. He would just pick up the phone, 189 00:09:49,100 --> 00:09:51,600 like, I'd remind him who I was, and he's kind of a big deal and 190 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,400 I was nobody to know me and he would he would just quote, he 191 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:55,800 built. Well, the first Timothy says 192 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,100 this, and I was meeting with a guy named foad Ferris, who was 193 00:09:59,100 --> 00:10:01,000 on staff with Fellowship of Christian athletes, and we would 194 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,200 meet at McDonald's and he would teach me through the book of 195 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,200 Ephesians, but I would ask him a question about marriage or life 196 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:10,500 or money, or sex or whatever. And he would take me to go will 197 00:10:10,500 --> 00:10:12,700 turn to turn to John. Turn the gospel. 198 00:10:12,700 --> 00:10:14,500 John, let me say something chapter 9, J this. 199 00:10:14,900 --> 00:10:18,400 You know, I'm Genesis 2 turns. Is to and whole thing would just 200 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,700 tell me. Just tell me what you think. 201 00:10:20,700 --> 00:10:23,100 Hmm. And his point was I mean they're 202 00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:24,700 really matter what I think she would go. 203 00:10:24,700 --> 00:10:27,000 I'll tell you what, I think about what God says, I'll try to 204 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,000 help you understand it. And so, I was realizing that the 205 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,400 world because of some things that happened the world. 206 00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:38,500 I was no match for the world. It was bigger than I was, and I 207 00:10:38,500 --> 00:10:41,600 didn't have all these answers, but some of the guys that God 208 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,900 brought into my life, they did have some answers but they were 209 00:10:44,900 --> 00:10:48,200 not just telling you what they thought they were going back to 210 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,200 the scriptures and pointing to it and saying, hey well let's 211 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:52,400 look at this. Let's talk about this. 212 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,700 Let's think about this. That was real meaningful to me 213 00:10:55,100 --> 00:10:57,100 that people. That looked very smart to me. 214 00:10:57,100 --> 00:11:00,200 They look very talented, were leaning on the scriptures and 215 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,000 way that I had never never considered, you know, what 216 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:07,900 strikes me is that we want to know what other people think. 217 00:11:08,900 --> 00:11:10,900 But now we want to know what other people think. 218 00:11:10,900 --> 00:11:14,000 So we can evaluate what we think of what other people think. 219 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,300 And I don't know if it's always been that way, but it seems like 220 00:11:18,300 --> 00:11:21,400 what strikes me in your stories you had there was a high view of 221 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:29,400 scripture and so how do we help Elevate that view so that when 222 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:31,700 we're leading people? And we're pointing people to 223 00:11:31,700 --> 00:11:36,300 scripture that they know that it's doesn't matter what I think 224 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,900 they can go read it for themselves and they have to 225 00:11:39,100 --> 00:11:42,100 contend with God on that. How do we help them have a 226 00:11:42,100 --> 00:11:45,600 little higher view I guess? And that's a good question. 227 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:52,200 And I think, I don't know. I mean, I think that the example 228 00:11:52,900 --> 00:11:56,800 and I'll even Jump Ahead even after we started the church, I 229 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:02,400 would be in a conversation with Tom Fowler and he was the year 230 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,200 after we started our church, he had been an elder up, north 231 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,700 loves the Bible, and we would be talking about something and I 232 00:12:08,700 --> 00:12:10,300 would be in the middle of explaining. 233 00:12:10,500 --> 00:12:14,100 This says I'm 26, 27 years old I've explained so he goes mad as 234 00:12:14,100 --> 00:12:16,100 a great idea because but is that what the Bible says? 235 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:18,900 Hmm. And you know about well I mean I 236 00:12:18,900 --> 00:12:20,700 don't know the bible really address it because I think it 237 00:12:20,700 --> 00:12:24,900 does look here and he would turn and I do caution actually does 238 00:12:25,300 --> 00:12:27,300 and there's Freedom around all things that the moment an 239 00:12:27,300 --> 00:12:30,300 address but he's a look at this and it really does but I think I 240 00:12:30,300 --> 00:12:33,900 was just impressed with people that were actually leaning on it 241 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:38,900 and I think that that spoke volumes to me, I don't know how 242 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:44,100 to make that case for someone else other than to invite them 243 00:12:44,100 --> 00:12:49,100 to try to experience it for me. Be humble and say it doesn't 244 00:12:49,100 --> 00:12:51,200 matter what I think. I mean, not just for my kids. 245 00:12:51,900 --> 00:12:53,700 I mean I'll tell my kids this right. 246 00:12:53,700 --> 00:12:56,600 All right, look, I'm way smarter than you are relatively speaking 247 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,600 from experience but I don't I think we got to lean. 248 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:01,500 I could we go to look at this, this is what God says. 249 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,200 We probably you're going to want to do this God's way. 250 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,500 So it's a good question. I don't know that I have a great 251 00:13:10,500 --> 00:13:13,800 answer to it but I know for me it was compelling to see people 252 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:15,800 do it. People people think that way 253 00:13:16,100 --> 00:13:18,500 Harry Stevenson. And a man has been our church 254 00:13:18,500 --> 00:13:21,500 for a long time and he's very biblical guy and I would ask him 255 00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:23,000 a question. He would always think because 256 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,800 he's older than I was. Everybody was older. 257 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,100 I was that Tom, but he would always just be able to say 258 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:28,700 about. Here's here's what I think the 259 00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:30,600 scriptures teach on this or here's what I think that he 260 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,000 wasn't thinking. Here's, here's my opinion. 261 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,300 Here's what I want to tell you. It was like there was there was 262 00:13:35,300 --> 00:13:38,000 some Bible thinking and some Bible reference to it. 263 00:13:38,300 --> 00:13:41,700 Here's where I think we can go to find legitimate Transcendent 264 00:13:41,700 --> 00:13:43,500 information on this idea. Yeah. 265 00:13:43,500 --> 00:13:46,200 And maybe it's that we've developed some. 266 00:13:46,700 --> 00:13:49,700 Some It's in our church and in our personal lives just because 267 00:13:49,700 --> 00:13:52,400 we're so acquainted. When we've been in the 268 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,900 downstream of the blessings of so much good Biblical teaching, 269 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,000 not just this church but just culturally, you know, it's like 270 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:04,900 we've just had a Awakening to Bible teaching that we can have 271 00:14:04,900 --> 00:14:08,000 a lot of wisdom but we don't always necessarily tell people 272 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:12,200 exactly where it comes from or lead them and and have them. 273 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:13,500 Go find it themselves. Yeah. 274 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,100 On over the conviction for me over the last couple years is I 275 00:14:17,100 --> 00:14:20,400 got to re-calibrate my mind on to think differently. 276 00:14:20,500 --> 00:14:25,300 So I like how you were inspired by people that just hey this is 277 00:14:25,300 --> 00:14:27,600 what the Bible says. Why don't you think on that 278 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,700 first? Now did you have to develop some 279 00:14:30,700 --> 00:14:32,100 new habits? Yeah. 280 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,100 Or some new disciplines will had to change as you really began to 281 00:14:36,100 --> 00:14:38,200 grow in this area of being biblically oriented. 282 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,000 You know, when I got involved with the fellowship of Christian 283 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,100 athletes in Clemson, the the talk was have a quiet time, you 284 00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:48,700 know? Have a quiet time in the, you go 285 00:14:48,700 --> 00:14:50,500 in these Retreats out. Quite that was OK. 286 00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:53,300 That kind of makes sense. It wasn't a foreign idea but 287 00:14:53,300 --> 00:14:54,900 they were, they had language for it. 288 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,500 And I know for the guys involved with crew and Navigators, they 289 00:14:58,500 --> 00:15:00,700 had basically the same language, but everybody had language, they 290 00:15:00,700 --> 00:15:03,200 were, they were bringing in a position to do and expecting you 291 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:05,500 to, you know, engage the scriptures that way, that was 292 00:15:05,500 --> 00:15:09,600 real helpful for me, it was, it made sense to me, I'm a morning 293 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:14,800 person was all it was born that way and so I went as my days, 294 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:17,100 got busy. And I remember when I started, 295 00:15:17,300 --> 00:15:20,900 Student teaching as a senior in college and then I was coaching 296 00:15:20,900 --> 00:15:24,000 in the afternoons. It was the first time I remember 297 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,900 having to get super disciplined about it. 298 00:15:26,300 --> 00:15:29,600 So I was having to get up extra early to have a quiet time 299 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,300 before I went to school because then I'm in school all day and 300 00:15:32,300 --> 00:15:34,200 then I'm coaching track and the afternoon. 301 00:15:34,900 --> 00:15:38,300 And so then I just get up extra early and I was reading a 302 00:15:38,300 --> 00:15:42,800 passage and I was memorizing. First, Timothy and I be for my 303 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,300 life, see a Bible and I was like it's after the first the first 304 00:15:46,300 --> 00:15:48,500 few days. I was getting more and more 305 00:15:48,500 --> 00:15:50,500 versus built up. So I had to get a little more 306 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:52,900 time sounds like this, get harder. 307 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,000 I thought it's going to be pretty simple. 308 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,100 This is actually harder than I thought it would. 309 00:15:56,100 --> 00:15:59,300 But for me it fell into neatly into morning. 310 00:15:59,300 --> 00:16:01,600 I'm wide awake, I'm going to get up. 311 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:02,900 I'm going to study them and memorize. 312 00:16:02,900 --> 00:16:05,600 This verse, I'm going to pray. The praying thing was super hard 313 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:09,100 for me because I'm activator and I was like um, I'm actually 314 00:16:09,100 --> 00:16:10,700 solving these problems that our brain about them. 315 00:16:10,700 --> 00:16:13,900 You know, it was I was real complicated for me early on but 316 00:16:13,900 --> 00:16:16,500 the study of the scriptures that made sense, get up early go 317 00:16:16,500 --> 00:16:20,000 after it. And I ran into a guy that was in 318 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:24,100 the student Ministry next to me and he was talking about, he was 319 00:16:24,100 --> 00:16:25,800 just randomly someone asked about as quiet time, and he 320 00:16:25,808 --> 00:16:26,200 goes. Yeah. 321 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,100 I mean, it's the last thing I do because once everybody else is 322 00:16:29,100 --> 00:16:32,500 in bed on my schoolwork's done, you know, you guys it might be 323 00:16:32,500 --> 00:16:35,000 11:30. It might be 12:30 at night, you 324 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,600 guys. And I'm having my quiet time 325 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,600 because I cannot concentrate on this and meditate and think 326 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,600 about God until everything else is done and I thought, oh God 327 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:46,800 makes them all different as first time I'd ever, I didn't 328 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:48,300 know night. That existed I thought everybody 329 00:16:48,300 --> 00:16:51,800 was was like me so I mean he was he was doing the same thing, he 330 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:53,900 was trying to build that structure in at the end of his 331 00:16:53,900 --> 00:16:55,900 day because it felt complete for me. 332 00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:00,800 It was early in the morning and the more I got pushed with the 333 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:03,600 time then the more I just moved it to earlier and I go back to 334 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,099 the original thing. I'm not saying it's all about 335 00:17:05,099 --> 00:17:07,500 discipline, but you do have to create the space. 336 00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:13,000 I did have to create the time, you know, You've been 12 though 337 00:17:13,099 --> 00:17:19,400 to really talk about obedience and if you know a little versus 338 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,300 know a lot that's fine because you still have something to do 339 00:17:22,300 --> 00:17:26,599 talk a little bit about the balance between knowledge and 340 00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:28,800 obedience. Yeah. 341 00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:33,700 Now here's I'll fully acknowledge that some of this 342 00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:37,100 does play to my personality, you know. 343 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,700 Sure to do to want to do to want to see something happen, but I 344 00:17:41,708 --> 00:17:46,400 don't even with that being true, I don't think it negates the 345 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,400 reality of this idea. I mean, Jesus is real clear, 346 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,700 Mark for is a perfect example. Jesus, teaches all day. 347 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:56,400 He uses Parables, we don't really know why. 348 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,600 At first, we don't really care because parables are part of our 349 00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:04,500 lingo But for those folks, then it happened to is weird. 350 00:18:04,900 --> 00:18:07,600 He's using these stories that don't totally make sense. 351 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:10,700 Apparently, a bunch of people were listening at the end of the 352 00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:13,100 day everybody goes home that night around the fire. 353 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:17,000 The disciples look at Jesus some of them and say hey man that was 354 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,700 great today but I don't know what you're talking about and 355 00:18:20,700 --> 00:18:23,600 you guys oh I'll explain it to you because you asked, I'll 356 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:26,400 explain it to you. I make this part up. 357 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,900 I assume there was a dude who went home after hearing Jesus, 358 00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:32,100 teach all day. Day and his wife said, hey did 359 00:18:32,100 --> 00:18:33,600 you hear the new Rabbi teacher today? 360 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,500 And he's like, yeah, it's very compelling, it's what he's 361 00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:39,000 saying because actually I don't know he's a good speaker but he 362 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,500 said a bunch of stories that I don't understand and I don't 363 00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:44,500 know what to do with. So it was interesting but I 364 00:18:44,500 --> 00:18:47,700 don't know. Well, that guy didn't get 365 00:18:47,700 --> 00:18:52,000 anything and these other guys who ask for, more got more. 366 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,400 And so they, they heard something they understood a 367 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:57,400 little bit of it, but not all of it, but it doesn't matter 368 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,500 because they took action. And I think there's a bunch of 369 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,300 Examples of that in the scripture and it would match the 370 00:19:03,300 --> 00:19:07,300 more, the Walk of faith is that for whatever you learn, if you 371 00:19:07,300 --> 00:19:09,700 will take action on it, you will learn more. 372 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:15,200 And that Jesus says to he, who has more will be given you has 373 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:16,900 little, even what he has will be taken away. 374 00:19:16,900 --> 00:19:20,600 It's in the context of obedience around a number of things. 375 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:22,600 And so, I still think that's true. 376 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,000 I think it's not important, and I Think Jesus thinks it's not 377 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,500 important to tell me everything on day one. 378 00:19:28,900 --> 00:19:32,400 I think he says, hey, here's Here's where you might be in sin 379 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,400 or here's something I want you to act on but he doesn't feel 380 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,000 compelled to tell me now in six months. 381 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:38,000 Here's what it's going to look like. 382 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,200 And I think that's the beautiful part because now you can look 383 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:45,600 back over the last year and see if I had known that following 384 00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:48,400 God on this issue, was going to get me to here. 385 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,700 I might not have done it. I can tell you for sure that's 386 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:53,000 true at Grace Church. If you I came here for 18 387 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,900 months, that was my deal. I really felt compelled. 388 00:19:56,900 --> 00:19:58,900 We need to start a church in Greenville, but I thought this 389 00:19:58,900 --> 00:20:01,200 is a 18 to 24 months. Deal for me. 390 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,800 If someone had said, Matt in 27 years, you're going to be 391 00:20:04,808 --> 00:20:07,600 sitting in a room talking into a microphone doing something 392 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:09,800 called a podcast. I'd be like I'm telling you. 393 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,800 Now I'm out. Tell me I'm not doing that. 394 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,400 There's just no way and that's okay, you're right that we it's 395 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,500 very okay that we don't know the whole deal from the beginning, 396 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:23,300 but that when I learned something, having a quiet time, 397 00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:26,900 praying, whatever. And I and it gets clear to me 398 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,000 that I ought to go apologize to my wife. 399 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,400 Or I need to text one of my kids and encourage them or exhort 400 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:36,900 them around something. I just need to do that right 401 00:20:36,900 --> 00:20:39,400 then. And that may lead to something 402 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,300 else that I can see or it may not lead to anything else. 403 00:20:42,300 --> 00:20:45,400 It doesn't see irrelevant. It's just that following and 404 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:49,400 obeying then puts you in a position to learn new things, 405 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:53,300 understand new things in a deeper way and I hate to say it 406 00:20:53,300 --> 00:20:56,300 like that because then it sounds like oh the elite deeper people, 407 00:20:56,300 --> 00:20:59,900 but there is a depth, there is a growth that comes when you see 408 00:20:59,900 --> 00:21:02,300 something in the the scriptures, you hear something from God and 409 00:21:02,300 --> 00:21:05,700 you act on it and then it takes you to a different place. 410 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,400 And I think some people are stagnant in their faith because 411 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,400 they might be in a real Bible teaching church. 412 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,600 And they may be learning a lot about the Bible and they may be 413 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,800 learning a lot about God, but they never really act on it. 414 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:18,500 They never really obey and live it out. 415 00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:21,600 So then they just wind up accumulating information. 416 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,100 But then they don't have the experience of Walking with God 417 00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:27,600 and experiencing some of the interesting things that he wants 418 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,400 to do in you and through you. Because they didn't really I 419 00:21:30,408 --> 00:21:32,300 follow out. Yeah, and they may not be in 420 00:21:32,300 --> 00:21:34,600 this big rebellious thing. Right? 421 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,100 I hate God, they're going to be doing that but they're just not 422 00:21:37,100 --> 00:21:39,900 following in the little things and so the adventure is just not 423 00:21:39,900 --> 00:21:43,300 there. Matt, this idea of acting on 424 00:21:43,300 --> 00:21:45,800 what you learn following in a bang. 425 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,200 Now that you've been doing this for a season, how have you grown 426 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:52,200 in this area and what have you discovered about yourself? 427 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,600 What have you discovered about the Creator? 428 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,000 Okay, let's acknowledge my life's a little complicated 429 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:03,900 because I teach the Bible. So, you know, I'll get up in the 430 00:22:03,900 --> 00:22:07,400 morning and I might have a quiet time first. 431 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,500 And then, I'll study for three hours for a sermon. 432 00:22:10,300 --> 00:22:12,000 Or I might just feel compelled to get started. 433 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,100 Studying some, I start studying and then I might have acquired 434 00:22:15,100 --> 00:22:18,300 time a little bit later. So, I mean I'm involved in the 435 00:22:18,500 --> 00:22:20,400 scriptures all the time, so it's real complicated. 436 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:25,900 So as I was thinking about this earlier, I will like if I am I 437 00:22:25,908 --> 00:22:28,900 am and I'm just setting the stage for you if I'm teaching in 438 00:22:28,900 --> 00:22:30,800 the New Testament. And I'm having quite times in 439 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:32,200 the Old Testament. If I'm teaching the Old 440 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,700 Testament, I haven't quite done. I'm trying to get as far away 441 00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:36,600 from what I'm doing from what I'm doing. 442 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:38,700 Professionally, I want to get as far away from that, so I can 443 00:22:38,700 --> 00:22:44,800 hear I teach in the NLT. So my quiet times are in Ni b or 444 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:48,400 ESV. I spend, and I am getting to 445 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:52,000 your and soon as I can, I spend a certain portion of time 446 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,800 reading the scriptures, but that's the least. 447 00:22:55,900 --> 00:22:58,200 Mount. I spend more time listening 448 00:22:58,900 --> 00:23:02,300 auditorily because I'm auditory learner, but I still do read but 449 00:23:02,300 --> 00:23:05,600 I spend more time probably listening and then I discipline 450 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,700 myself to listen to some other people. 451 00:23:09,100 --> 00:23:13,600 Teach the Bible not like for saruman's week I mean just look 452 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:17,300 mainly snippet, devotional kind of stuff and then people that 453 00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:20,400 are writing in a devotional way I will read some of that so I am 454 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:24,400 trying to to get as far away from my professional voice as 455 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:28,400 possible and that Complicates the question for so with. 456 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:32,100 Here's the reason I do all that I've spent the last ten years 457 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:38,200 trying to be introspective and go, what is my heart longing for 458 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,000 And that is not always an easy question. 459 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:48,700 If I can discover what my heart is craving and hungry for then 460 00:23:48,700 --> 00:23:53,000 reading studying the scriptures becomes much less of a 461 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,400 discipline, it becomes more of an opportunity. 462 00:23:55,400 --> 00:24:01,400 I'm hungry and I want to eat but used to I just had this rule 463 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,700 structure discipline. I'm reading through this book 464 00:24:04,700 --> 00:24:07,100 and taking these notes and journaling this and then I'm 465 00:24:07,100 --> 00:24:09,200 going to do this book and it was just a decision. 466 00:24:09,500 --> 00:24:11,900 That I made without a lot of reflection. 467 00:24:11,900 --> 00:24:14,900 And so then I'm just working out of discipline all the time and 468 00:24:14,900 --> 00:24:17,900 what I have learned and how I have grown is, it's much more 469 00:24:17,900 --> 00:24:22,300 meaningful. If I can identify a part of me 470 00:24:22,300 --> 00:24:26,300 that is, that is starving, that is longing for something this 471 00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:28,400 Desiring something. Now here's the problem with that 472 00:24:28,500 --> 00:24:30,600 is that can become super self-indulgent. 473 00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:35,100 You know, it just can wear if I'm not feeling it, I'm not 474 00:24:35,100 --> 00:24:36,700 doing it. I mean, there are days when I 475 00:24:36,700 --> 00:24:38,600 don't feel it's still do it right. 476 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,100 But I do think. Think I've had to learn, you 477 00:24:41,100 --> 00:24:42,800 know, where have you grown in this area? 478 00:24:42,900 --> 00:24:46,100 Where I've grown is trying to be a little self aware of what 479 00:24:46,100 --> 00:24:50,300 God's trying to teach me, and where I'm hungry, because he has 480 00:24:50,700 --> 00:24:53,100 his thoughts. For me, just like he does for 481 00:24:53,100 --> 00:24:57,000 you, he has things undiscovered, feelings, things that lie 482 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,500 dormant inside of you that when you read the scriptures, like I 483 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:03,300 feel the same way she does. When I'm reading I'm reading 484 00:25:03,300 --> 00:25:06,800 that or I'm she looks afraid. Esther looks afraid. 485 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:10,500 I'd be way more afraid than that, but Identify with this 486 00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:14,300 story with this character to spend some time thinking, what 487 00:25:14,300 --> 00:25:16,200 is it that I need? Right now? 488 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,800 How much mystery do I want? How much tension do I? 489 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,000 What am I, where am I living? So that these scriptures makes 490 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,800 sense to me? And I think not getting locked 491 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:31,900 into one way of receiving the scriptures and being somewhat 492 00:25:31,900 --> 00:25:33,400 flexible, I think's real helpful. 493 00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:37,100 Yeah, that's a good answer. Just thinking about putting 494 00:25:37,100 --> 00:25:40,200 yourself in the scriptures. Not at the The center because 495 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,000 it's not about you. It's about God. 496 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:46,800 But you have to know yourself to be able to put yourself in the 497 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,300 story. And so you have to be honest. 498 00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:51,700 This is why you need other people, why you need to read 499 00:25:51,700 --> 00:25:56,100 scripture with other people so that your blind spots, get 500 00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:59,700 exposed, you can now yourself. You can you can feel, I mean, 501 00:25:59,700 --> 00:26:01,800 it's okay to feel right? You need to feel when you're 502 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:06,100 reading the Bible, you know, one time its class that I teach one 503 00:26:06,100 --> 00:26:11,100 of the emphasis is just That God knows exactly where we are. 504 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,600 And one of the things we read is like Psalm 88 you've ever read 505 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,500 Psalm 88. It's like incredibly depressing 506 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:22,300 and there's no happy ending. It just ends just ends with this 507 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,000 idea. That darkness is my only friend. 508 00:26:26,900 --> 00:26:30,500 You do your preached on very much and and the point of using, 509 00:26:30,500 --> 00:26:34,200 that is an example to say, Do you believe that you can go to 510 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,000 God in all kinds of mom? We know we can go to God when 511 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,200 we're happy and we're celebrating and one more joyful. 512 00:26:39,300 --> 00:26:41,600 But do you believe you can go to God at any time? 513 00:26:41,900 --> 00:26:44,300 And that he knows how to meet you there. 514 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:49,900 And so being real as real with God as we would be with each 515 00:26:49,900 --> 00:26:53,100 other but we it starts with understanding ourselves being 516 00:26:53,100 --> 00:26:54,700 real with other people being real with God. 517 00:26:55,100 --> 00:26:58,300 And then I love the intentionality of knowing where 518 00:26:58,300 --> 00:27:01,200 you would drift know some of us are always going to drift to the 519 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:02,700 gospels. Some of us are always going to 520 00:27:02,700 --> 00:27:06,000 drift to Paul's letters and it's like okay well let's 521 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,900 intentionally build a path to go to something that God might have 522 00:27:09,900 --> 00:27:13,800 foreseen the Psalms or in the in the Old Testament law or in the 523 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,300 prophets or whatever. You know, I mean, understanding 524 00:27:16,300 --> 00:27:19,300 the entirety of scripture and understanding the story, and 525 00:27:19,300 --> 00:27:22,200 there's some learning along the way to make it all make sense, 526 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:27,800 but so if you could kind of package all this up, go back to 527 00:27:27,900 --> 00:27:32,900 Young, Matt and say, all right, what's the advice, what's the 528 00:27:32,900 --> 00:27:34,100 advice? You're going to give young? 529 00:27:34,100 --> 00:27:35,800 Matt? What advice have you given your 530 00:27:35,808 --> 00:27:41,500 kids about how All of this works itself out over time. 531 00:27:42,100 --> 00:27:46,000 I mean, the main thing I would say is in Des go back to the 532 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:50,400 Synthroid, illustration is that this is going to work, this is 533 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:55,600 going to pay off. I was talking to a guy not too 534 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:59,200 long ago, one of our campuses and he was just, he was just 535 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:02,300 explaining how busy and complicated life is and 536 00:28:02,300 --> 00:28:05,600 relationship with his kids and and we're talking about biggest 537 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:07,700 fears. And what's your most we met 538 00:28:07,700 --> 00:28:09,500 concerned about what would be the worst case scenario? 539 00:28:09,500 --> 00:28:13,400 Because worst case scenario, be like that I died and was up here 540 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,100 to be with my family and my children. 541 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,400 I said it's really not. I said there. 542 00:28:19,100 --> 00:28:22,300 What's the worst is? I said if you died kind of a 543 00:28:23,100 --> 00:28:25,000 difficult thing to say, well I'll leave you die. 544 00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:26,600 Demand, they think you're a hero. 545 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,000 You'd be immortalized. I'm like, but really A 546 00:28:30,008 --> 00:28:34,000 worst-case scenario for you is in two years, your children are 547 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,500 sitting around the dinner at the dinner table with you and you're 548 00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:39,900 completely irrelevant, because you spend all your time, 549 00:28:39,900 --> 00:28:42,000 thinking about work and your powerful at work, but you're not 550 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,000 powerful in your home and your girls, they don't look up to you 551 00:28:45,100 --> 00:28:47,000 because you don't know the latest Taylor Swift song. 552 00:28:47,100 --> 00:28:48,200 You don't really know what's going on. 553 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,500 Here's I'm telling you don't need another latest Taylor so 554 00:28:50,500 --> 00:28:52,200 it's long. It's a great album, it just drop 555 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:54,700 but you don't really need to. You don't have to know all that 556 00:28:54,700 --> 00:28:57,000 to be. Relevant to your children and 557 00:28:57,700 --> 00:29:00,800 the things that make you powerful and influential with 558 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,500 the most important people in your life, come from a depth of 559 00:29:04,500 --> 00:29:08,500 your own soul. Regardless of how we're aware, 560 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:13,900 you are of any cultural shift or change and spending time, 561 00:29:13,900 --> 00:29:17,700 learning who you are with the Creator, what? 562 00:29:17,700 --> 00:29:22,500 What he thinks about you, what? He's created you to do and to be 563 00:29:22,500 --> 00:29:24,900 and how you relate to him, that's the kind of thing. 564 00:29:25,100 --> 00:29:27,900 In the provides a real answers for people and really 565 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:30,500 encouragement for people and real correction when they 566 00:29:30,500 --> 00:29:34,200 needed, but it gives you to overuse the word gives you a 567 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,200 sense of Gravitas, which none of us, even knows what that is. 568 00:29:37,700 --> 00:29:40,400 But when we talk about it, then we're like, yeah, I know what 569 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:42,400 that is, but no one can tell you what it is. 570 00:29:43,100 --> 00:29:46,900 And I believe, if someone, if I could just say to me, say Matt, 571 00:29:46,900 --> 00:29:49,500 you're going to want to cut some corners and you hate the wisdom 572 00:29:49,500 --> 00:29:51,800 literature, but you got to hang in there. 573 00:29:52,900 --> 00:29:54,900 You can't just do the Epistles and narrative. 574 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,200 As you love it, stay with the plan, stay with the program. 575 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,900 Think about what you're craving. Think about what you want to 576 00:30:00,900 --> 00:30:04,700 know, think about what you want to learn be disciplined, but 577 00:30:04,700 --> 00:30:07,000 just keep working. It is going to work. 578 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:12,900 In 20 years, you are going to acquire a base of knowledge and 579 00:30:12,900 --> 00:30:16,500 thought and even feeling about who God is this going to be real 580 00:30:16,500 --> 00:30:19,200 meaningful to you and going to be meaningful to your family and 581 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,500 be around you. And so, I wish I had been more 582 00:30:22,500 --> 00:30:24,300 fair. I wish I had I wish I had not 583 00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:26,500 gotten so Purged at times, you know. 584 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,200 And like I said, I would just hide from the wisdom literature. 585 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:33,300 Only cares about this, their poems could never say that back 586 00:30:33,300 --> 00:30:34,100 then. Right? 587 00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:36,800 I would hear this one Pastor talked about wisdom literature 588 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:39,000 and I would think he's having a completely different experience 589 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:43,300 with it than I am and it's meaningful to him and I just 590 00:30:43,300 --> 00:30:47,400 don't give up because you it's small, small incremental 591 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:50,200 Investments and there's a great payoff at some point it just 592 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,000 takes time. Matt, this has been great. 593 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,500 Thanks for just sharing some of these ideas and just land the 594 00:30:56,500 --> 00:30:58,700 plane. What would be some practical 595 00:30:58,700 --> 00:31:01,700 tips for us? You know, where should we start? 596 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,500 Just commissioned us even if you're been in the scriptures a 597 00:31:05,508 --> 00:31:10,200 long time, I mean make sure that you have a good study Bible. 598 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:12,200 There's no I don't think there's a better tool. 599 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,600 Would you agree - yeah, 100%, I mean a good stuff. 600 00:31:14,700 --> 00:31:19,300 NLT Study Bible the ESB Study Bible, I mean those are all just 601 00:31:19,300 --> 00:31:22,900 great tools because you have some good Notes in there to kind 602 00:31:22,900 --> 00:31:25,200 of clarify, because there are little things that have little 603 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:28,000 bit of context, little bit of culture, little bit of History 604 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,200 to it, it's just clears all that up so fast and so, a good study 605 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,200 Bible, I made a deal with myself. 606 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,700 I don't ever if I get in the car for more than 30 minutes, I am 607 00:31:37,700 --> 00:31:42,700 going to listen I'm going to put a book on audio book of the 608 00:31:42,708 --> 00:31:45,500 Bible and I'm going to listen to two. 609 00:31:45,500 --> 00:31:49,800 Four eight ten chapters. Am I going to remember all that 610 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,600 going from Genesis? I just went to see my mom last 611 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,200 week going from Genesis 18 to 32. 612 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:57,700 Am I keeping up with all that know? 613 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:00,600 But that is flowing into my brain, right? 614 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:04,500 I'm being reminded of what God thinks how we respond. 615 00:32:04,500 --> 00:32:07,000 These people are not more sinful than I am. 616 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:08,700 I was just upset. I'm just that simple. 617 00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:11,400 And I want to be just a faithful to. 618 00:32:11,700 --> 00:32:13,500 And so I just made a deal with myself. 619 00:32:13,500 --> 00:32:15,700 I'm in the car for any length of time, part of that time will be 620 00:32:15,700 --> 00:32:19,300 given over to just listening to the Bible audio. 621 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,500 And I will, you know, I look at YouTube and I think the number 622 00:32:23,500 --> 00:32:27,700 of resources like what in the world, I would find someone that 623 00:32:27,700 --> 00:32:32,000 does devotions that you resonate with because then you're getting 624 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,400 to hear. How someone else that wouldn't 625 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:36,800 be my full diet. I'm just saying to be able to 626 00:32:36,808 --> 00:32:39,600 hear how someone else processes the scriptures and how 627 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:41,800 meaningful it is to them. There's just something that's 628 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:44,700 kind of unique about that and since it doesn't take, but one 629 00:32:44,700 --> 00:32:48,100 minute on the way to work, hit it and while you're driving, 630 00:32:48,100 --> 00:32:49,600 just listen, that's great, you know. 631 00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:52,800 And I would find the time of day when you can focus, when you can 632 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:55,600 concert to have your time. And I would Journal my thoughts 633 00:32:56,100 --> 00:32:59,900 that study Bible, listen read, I would Journal my thoughts. 634 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,600 You don't have to go back and read all your thoughts, it just 635 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:03,400 helps. You think it? 636 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,400 Just pulls things out of you from a deeper level? 637 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,100 I would do all of it. Is that how you talk about 638 00:33:08,100 --> 00:33:10,100 praying and reading? Sometimes we use those two words 639 00:33:10,100 --> 00:33:14,100 together is that is that kind of how you're praying meditating 640 00:33:14,100 --> 00:33:18,000 talking to God, are you, are you doing that as you're writing and 641 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,300 you're studying, or are you? I used to ride a Right, I write 642 00:33:21,300 --> 00:33:24,800 a lot less now I ride in fragments, I write in just 643 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,200 sentences. I used to write the paragraph 644 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:32,400 and I could, you know, I can but and then I have a white board in 645 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,400 my office with names on it. A people that I'm praying for 646 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,800 that, I'm keeping up with, I don't have to write out 647 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:38,600 everything they're going through. 648 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:42,600 I just kind of know those names this, he's got cancer, this is a 649 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:45,000 difficult marriage. And so I have that in front of 650 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:49,900 me, so that this time with God is not always just about me. 651 00:33:50,100 --> 00:33:53,700 Me you know and then also the scriptures in the point of 652 00:33:53,700 --> 00:33:56,200 suffering and in the point of interceding and caring for other 653 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:58,400 people and serving other people, the scriptures tend to make a 654 00:33:58,408 --> 00:34:01,000 lot more sense to when it's all about me. 655 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:04,000 There's lots of scriptures that just don't make any sense. 656 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:06,700 So when you're actually living trying to live a Christian Life, 657 00:34:06,700 --> 00:34:09,400 the scriptures do make a lot more sense in that moment. 658 00:34:09,699 --> 00:34:13,000 So I mean that's why it's not this suit definitely has to be a 659 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,400 super organized formula for everybody. 660 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:16,900 I think you need to find your time of the day. 661 00:34:17,100 --> 00:34:19,500 You need a Bible, some kind of devotion. 662 00:34:19,500 --> 00:34:22,800 I think the Along with that. But I just would not miss the 663 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:27,600 opportunity to listen to the scriptures because we can you 664 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:30,000 know, back in the day you got when you got a set of tapes, 665 00:34:30,100 --> 00:34:31,300 right? You're riding down the road. 666 00:34:31,300 --> 00:34:35,699 You like this amazing? Now we have weight was hunting a 667 00:34:35,708 --> 00:34:37,199 couple weeks ago in a deer walked out. 668 00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,600 I had to stop my phone. I was like, it's so loud in my 669 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,500 ears. Listen to something in, Psalms 670 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:46,300 had to stop it. So I could entertain this deer 671 00:34:46,300 --> 00:34:48,699 in front. It says, you can take it 672 00:34:48,699 --> 00:34:49,900 anywhere and you got it with you all the time. 673 00:34:50,100 --> 00:34:53,600 Um, yeah, I love that idea of just redeeming redeeming time. 674 00:34:53,699 --> 00:34:55,900 That's great. We waste a lot of time so that's 675 00:34:55,900 --> 00:34:58,200 helpful. Well Matt, thank you very much 676 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:01,200 for sharing some thoughts and giving us a strategy to be 677 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:02,900 biblically oriented this been great. 678 00:35:02,900 --> 00:35:04,800 Yeah, man. Thanks for the opportunity and I 679 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,200 just feel like the simpler. You can keep all this and the 680 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:12,500 more personal that you make it, the more sustainable, more 681 00:35:12,500 --> 00:35:13,500 meaningful. It is. 682 00:35:13,700 --> 00:35:16,300 It does not need to be a big complicated thing in your life. 683 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:19,500 And you should be the most simple basic part of your life 684 00:35:19,500 --> 00:35:21,900 that it is. Integrated deep into who you are 685 00:35:21,900 --> 00:35:24,300 and what you're doing on a daily and weekly basis. 686 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:26,200 Yeah. Well thanks again for joining 687 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:27,700 us, man. Thank you. 688 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,300 Thanks Chris. Well, as we wrap up today's 689 00:35:30,300 --> 00:35:32,300 conversation, we want to thank you for joining us. 690 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:35,400 We realize that listening to a podcast episode can be an 691 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,800 individual experience which we believe is only enhanced by 692 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,100 talking through it and applying it to life. 693 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:43,300 And this is something that we believe lots of people don't 694 00:35:43,300 --> 00:35:45,900 naturally seek out or have built into their lives. 695 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:49,200 So we want to encourage you to share this episode with someone 696 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:51,200 else. And ask them to share with you 697 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:53,700 any takeaways. They receive from listening and 698 00:35:53,700 --> 00:35:56,400 I would say be prepared to do the same and approach their 699 00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:00,100 feedback with a posture to learn and apply and this is a great 700 00:36:00,100 --> 00:36:02,300 way to move towards this discipleship issue. 701 00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:05,300 If you have questions or want access to any additional 702 00:36:05,300 --> 00:36:08,300 resources to help you, dive deeper into this subject, be 703 00:36:08,300 --> 00:36:11,100 sure to check out our podcast page located in the show notes 704 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,800 and if we can help you answer any questions about this episode 705 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:18,300 or want us to discuss something in a future episode, email us at 706 00:36:18,300 --> 00:36:21,400 why discipleship at Grace Church, Church SC dot org and 707 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,000 we'll get back to you. Thanks for joining us today and 708 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,300 we look forward to joining you on the next episode.