In this episode I interview Steve Carter, the bestselling author of The Thing Beneath the Thing, a book about learning to allow God to heal our triggers, insecurities, and past wounds so we can experience spiritual health and wholeness.
Our goal with The Post-Christian Podcast is to reframe, simplify, and focus on our mission to make disciples in a post Christian culture. We discuss reaching new people and raising up leaders while removing the barriers of churchianity.
Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter at www.ericbryant.org for a chance to win future book giveaways and assessments!
She shares about ministry in Portland, a healthy succession, and helping people grow in their faith.
THE POST-CHRISTIAN PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
Our goal with The Post-Christian Podcast is to reframe, simplify, and focus on our mission to make disciples in a post Christian culture. We discuss reaching new people and raising up leaders while removing the barriers of churchianity.
Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter at www.ericbryant.org for a chance to win future book giveaways and assessments!
In this episode, we discuss how crisis always proceeds renewal, how in 2017 Mark warned us to be ready for a pandemic, and future trends and the church.
THE POST-CHRISTIAN PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
Our goal with The Post-Christian Podcast is to reframe, simplify, and focus on our mission to make disciples in a post Christian culture. We discuss reaching new people and raising up leaders while removing the barriers of churchianity.
Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter at www.ericbryant.org for a chance to win future book giveaways and assessments!
This book is so moving and so profound I hope it becomes our generation’s My Utmost for His Highest!
Oliver shares about making the transition from an attorney into the world of theology, some of the insights found in On Earth as in Heaven, and ministry in the U.K.
THE POST-CHRISTIAN PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
Our goal with The Post-Christian Podcast is to reframe, simplify, and focus on our mission to make disciples in a post Christian culture. We discuss reaching new people and raising up leaders while removing the barriers of churchianity.
Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter at www.ericbryant.org for a chance to win future book giveaways and assessments!
In this episode I interview Filipe Santos the new lead pastor at Echo Church (previously called South Bay Church).
Along with Andy and Stacie Wood (now at Saddleback Church), Filipe and Mandy, and two other couples moved cross country to start a church in one of the most unchurched cities in the United States. Echo meets in North San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Fremont. They also have an online campus.
THE POST-CHRISTIAN PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
Our goal with The Post-Christian Podcast is to reframe, simplify, and focus on our mission to make disciples in a post Christian culture. We discuss reaching new people and raising up leaders while removing the barriers of churchianity.
Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter at www.ericbryant.org for a chance to win future book giveaways and assessments!
Things aren’t always as simple as black and white. So how do we navigate the gray? In our series Timeless, we explore wisdom in a nuanced world. Drawing inspiration from popular sayings and proverbs worldwide, each message aligns them with Biblical wisdom. Maneuvering life’s complexities, we want to bridge the gap between human insight and the guidance that God’s Word and His Spirit offers us.
“The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat.” – Nigerian Proverb
We are wise when we learn from everything and everyone.
Digging Deeper:
Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own, and get together with your running partner, life group, or friends and family to talk through what you are learning.
When I was new to following Jesus, my most common prayer was for humility and boldness. In part because I was judgmental and anxious. I’ve come to realize those are generational sins passed down from generation to generation.
I discovered early on that if you don’t choose humility, you might still get to the same place by experiencing humiliation.
Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself but choosing to think more highly of others. Being willing to learn from others, serve others, and not looking down on others.
I knew I was making progress one time when I asked my pastor in Los Angeles how I could improve in my role along with what I was doing well. He said: “you know, Eric, you are really good at working with people more talented than you are.”
Thank you?
He went on to explain that some people only want to lead people they are more talented than, which leaves a very small number of people that might follow them, but the number of people I could serve and influence and lead was unlimited.
Even after being in ministry for over 30 years, every week I ask my wife how I could have improved my message. In between services I ask some of the production teams what I need to tweak in the message. I try to help with set up or clean up at home or at the church when I can.
Just as in recovery, we say that you need to work the steps the rest of your life or else you will relapse into destructive habits, I don’t want to relapse into a mindset in which I don’t see the image of God in other people or I miss out on the wisdom of others’ perspectives because their experience has been different than mine.
I wish I could say I was always like this, but I relapse into thinking I know best from time to time. From time to time, I can get defensive. Even though I know that the proverbs says: “A rebuke from a friend is like a kiss on the lips.” It still stings like a slap to the face at first.
We have people around us who try to guide us to learn from the wisdom of those who have gone before us.
Are we listening to them?
Or are we easily offended?
Are we quick to become defensive?
Or are we willing to get past our feelings to see the truth they may have to offer us?
If we aren’t careful we find ourselves repeating the same mistakes instead of learning from others and avoiding those troubles.
In week one of this series we learned that God is the source of wisdom and He has revealed himself to all of creation. We see this in Psalm 19: 1-4.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. – Psalm 19: 1-4
We know this is true when we are someplace remote and we look up at a perfectly clear night sky and see billions of stars overhead. Something deep within us cries out inviting us to consider our smallness and think about a power higher than ourselves.
Because we are made in the image of God we have the ability to live out God’s attributes here on earth. We can create, discover, and grasp wisdom. The proverbs we find that have been written down throughout all of time are evidence that humans have tapped into the heart of God. Societies who know God and those who don’t all seem to discover and point to the same wisdom that we find written in scripture and demonstrated in the life of Jesus.
In this series we are exploring proverbs from all around the world that point to different aspects of wisdom. We have looked at a proverb from China, one from India, and today one from Nigeria.
The proverb we are looking at today is a Nigerian proverb: “The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat.”
It’s meaning is pretty straightforward. The sayings, or proverbs, of the wise and old are there for us to learn from, so we don’t have to repeat all the mistakes they have made on their way to becoming wise!
So are you a person who learns from everyone and everything around you, or do you have a thing or two to learn when it comes to wisdom?
There are 3 books in the Bible that are written as wisdom literature. They teach and point to wisdom over and over. These books are Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. Read together they give us a holistic view of what “the good life is” and how to be wise. We also get pictures of wisdom throughout the stories we read in the rest of the scriptures. These stories are found all over the Old and New Testament. Ultimately, Jesus comes and lives a perfect life of Wisdom and embodies all the truth that has come before him.
There is a passage in one of the wisdom literature books, Proverbs, that hits on the same theme that the Nigerian Proverb points to.
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise. – Proverbs 26:11-12
If you have a dog and have for any length of time you know that this is true and disgusting. An important thing to point out for us modern people is that to the ancient Isrealites, not all dogs were household pets. Instead they were dangerous and wild and thought to be unclean. So, don’t picture your cute little rescue dog who you take to get a teddy bear haircut, has a flowery collar with their name on it, and sleeps on a fluffy dog bed. Instead, imagine a more sinister animal as the reference here, that will help you with this imagery.
It is in a dog’s nature to return to its vomit, just like a person who is foolish by nature is bound to repeat their mistakes and decisions.
You’ve experienced this as true haven’t you. There is that neighbor, co-worker, or fellow student who doesn’t ever seem to learn from their mistakes and missteps. But be a little more honest and this has been you at times hasn’t it?
We all have room to grow. None of us have arrived!
The proverb then progresses to say, but this fool has more hope of change than a person who thinks they are wise, but in reality they are deceived about who they are. Another way to translate “think they are wise” is “wise in their own eyes”.
So, there is hope that they could have someone come to them with correction, or make a mistake so painful that they choose to learn- then change is possible.
Reality check here everyone- We all play a fool sometimes.
We are born into the world as fools and it is only through humility that we change. Think about kids. Most kids say things like, “I got this” or “I know.” Ever hear your kids say that?
We all have foolishness in us and have the potential to be a fool, and if ignored, foolishness has the ability to turn to self-righteousness where you feel justified and lack the wisdom to see clearly your reality.
I don’t want to be a fool, and I definitely don’t want to be a person who thinks I am wise, when I am not!
The way to avoid this is to develop and maintain a growth mindset, Because, the wise are open to learning wisdom from everyone and everything that God may put in their path.
Coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, a growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and the right kind of encouragement.
This is a contrast to a fixed mindset, where people believe their talents and abilities are innate gifts and unchangeable.
Those with a growth mindset embrace challenges, perceive effort as a pathway to mastery, and view setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow.
Those with a growth mindset learn from their mistakes, while those with a fixed mindset, do not.
A Growth mindset looks like someone who is given feedback that they complain when plans change, so they decide to grow in this area and actively work towards shifting the way they respond.
They ask for feedback and believe they can get better at this.
Someone with a fixed mindset with the same feedback would say something like, “well that is just how I see it, I don’t like change, so that’s how it is.”
God has made us thinking, learning, curious beings. So, by design we have the ability and opportunity to always be growing and becoming more wise!
We have the ability to stop and observe, learn and grow no matter where we are or who is around us. In fact we see this in Jesus himself in Luke 2:52 as, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
Do you have a Growth mindset or are you stuck and feel like change is impossible?
If we choose to have a Growth mindset then there are several key factors that will help us to become people who, like the Nigerian proverb said, Learn from the proverbs of the wise and don’t repeat their mistakes:
1. Be a person open to learning from everyone and everything.
God has made us thinking, learning, curious beings. We have the ability to stop and observe or learn no matter where we are or who we are with.
Paul, was a pharisee who persecuted Christians and was stopped in his tracks by Jesus, then set on an opposite path actually sharing the good news of Jesus and ministering alongside the very people he used to oppose.
Near the end of his life he wrote a letter to the Philippian church. In it he says this about who he is:
“although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ….” – Phil 3:4-8
Paul, was a man who through humility and a steady pursuit of Jesus was changed and made into someone Christians all around the world are impacted by today.
Before coming to know Christ He had all the right accolades and awards for a Jewish man. He was of a good tribe, the highest level of holy (a pharisee), Zealous for his religion, and blameless from the outside looking in, but when he found Jesus he realized that all of those exterior things don’t matter.
In verse 8 He says, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus! He gave up status and money and still says that he is living the BEST life! Paul had all the titles and accolades, but he chose to learn from all kinds of people. The Jewish leaders who persecuted him after he came to know Jesus, the Gentiles, those who he persecuted, the rich and the poor. Through humility he became wise.
This is true of us as well. You can learn from anyone in your life!
You can learn from people who are from different cultures than you, and those who are of a different socio-economic status.
That’s one of the reasons I love how diverse our church is. We have so much wisdom because we come from so many different places with so many different experiences!
Again, do you have a growth mindset where you are open to learning from those God has put in your path?
We can learn from what is around us. If we are humble and open to gaining wisdom, then God will use anything around us to instruct us and transform us. This is true of nature, of circumstances we find ourselves in, and I would argue, especially in times of suffering.
Back in Philippians in chapter 4 of his letter he shares wisdom he has learned through life:
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. – Phil. 4:11-12
Now often in western culture we pull out verse 13 and put it on EVERYTHING. It sounds really beautiful, but what is it really saying? Is it saying that your rec team, who is the worst at softball, can go out and win the tournament, because God is on your side? No, no it is not.
Paul has learned how to be content in every kind of circumstance, whether good or bad. His contentment is not found in himself, but in Christ. He knows he can face anything because Christ is his everything. He has nothing to lose! And in case you don’t know, Paul spent quite a bit of time in prison and he was even stoned and left for dead once.
We also see in James 1:2-4:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4
Our circumstances don’t have to be perfect or easy for us to grow and gain wisdom. In fact, scripture speaks more about trials and hardships as the path to the “good life”.
Do you count it joy when you meet trials?
But when we go through trials in relationship with Jesus they have the ability to produce steadfastness and as that grows in us we become mature (or moving toward the perfection of Jesus who we were designed after).
We can have courage to go through trials because Jesus has promised never to leave us, in fact he said, I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (Matthew 16:33).
In fact, Jesus went before us in suffering (Hebrews 5:8), so when he says “you will have trouble, that is from a place of personal experience. We know and love a God who has experienced suffering and can comfort us when we suffer.
2. Learn from your mistakes and failures.
We don’t have to be afraid to make mistakes and fail! Failure is a part of learning. You know that don’t you? So then why do we try our hardest to avoid failure?
What if a child decided that they never wanted to fail, so they refused to learn new concepts at school? We’d all say that is ridiculous!
So, let me say this to us as adults – we are still learning, so that means we will make mistakes AND we will fail. That is how we keep growing!
But how, how can I have the courage to learn from everyone and everything. That takes a lot of humility and can be really hard in practice.
How can I press through the fear of failure and try new and hard things knowing that I will make mistakes and maybe look stupid or be embarrassed? Well that leads us to the most important part to becoming a wise person and avoiding being a fool.
3. Learn that your identity is in Jesus and nothing else.
When we have our identity in Jesus we can feel as Paul did when he said he counts all of his accolades in life as trash compared to what he has in Jesus.
We can say what Paul did in Philippians 4 – “I’m content in all things”, because we know the maker of all things.
We can count it all joy when we go through trials, because we know that God is good and he won’t leave us AND that one day all things will be made right.
So, do you know your identity in Christ if you have given your life to Him?
You are His child that he knows by name
You are forgiven
You are chosen
You were worth it to Jesus to endure the worst death and rejection in order for there to be a path for us back to God.
You are given the Holy Spirit (God himself) to dwell with us.
And One day you’ll be united with God and live in perfection with him forever.
Our proverb from today is, “The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat.”
So it’s time for an honest evaluation.
Do you have a Growth mindset or are you stuck believing change isn’t possible?
What aspect of wisdom from today could you apply and begin growing again?
Is it learning from everyone and everything?
Is it being open and courageous to learn from failures and mistakes?
Or maybe you need to get in the scriptures and in a group and really figure out your identity in Jesus or if you aren’t sure about God yet, explore Him with others in a group.
Gateway, imagine what we would look like as a community if we all applied what we are learning in this series. We would be people who are marked by wisdom. We would look more and more like Jesus with each passing year. We’d have deeper contentment and make a greater impact in the world. That sounds pretty good to me. And you know what, that is the vision that God has for us, His people, the church. Let’s press in over the next few weeks and grow in wisdom.
Things aren’t always as simple as black and white. So how do we navigate the gray? In our series Timeless, we explore wisdom in a nuanced world. Drawing inspiration from popular sayings and proverbs worldwide, each message aligns them with Biblical wisdom. Maneuvering life’s complexities, we want to bridge the gap between human insight and the guidance that God’s Word and His Spirit offers us.
Digging Deeper:
Work through the following questions and scriptures on your own, and get together with your running partner, life group, or friends and family to talk through what you are learning.
We’ve all felt the reality of the proverb: “What goes around comes around.” Or you reap what you sow.
But our prevailing Cultural Proverb is the opposite and much louder, “Do what feels right for you, today—live for today—do it your own way.” But is this wise? Or in fact foolish? Is it wise to not consider “What are the long-term effects of my decisions?” Maybe you’ve felt this in school when you cheated, then got caught, and you paid the consequences. Or maybe you stole something because others were too, and you wanted that thing so badly, but you got caught. Or maybe started getting high, because “Everyone’s doing it” only you couldn’t stop—the alcohol, the drugs, were addictive, and you felt the consequences of enslavement to them. Or maybe you were promiscuous and got pregnant, or you got someone pregnant—you couldn’t believe it—why would God do this to you? You never thought your actions would have consequences like they did. Or you “shaved the truth” at work, and you got fired. Everyone was doing it, why did God punish you? Maybe you ‘suddenly’ found yourself with more monthly debt payments than you had income to cover, but you never thought about the long-term consequences when that living room set was on “sale.” You can probably think of your own scenario of reaping and sowing, we all can, and my gasoline mistake was not my only or my worst.
When we feel the consequences of our actions, we sometimes blame God. Or we assume God is punishing us, but the truth is God has put laws in motion—physical laws like the law of Gravity, cannot be ignored without consequences. And Spiritual laws like the law of Karma, or sowing and reaping cannot be ignored without consequences. But God has given us wisdom to guide us because He loves us. And you see God’s moral laws in every culture. Romans 2 says this:
“Even when Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, instinctively follow what the law says, they show that in their hearts they know right from wrong. They demonstrate that God’s law is written within them.” Romans 2:14-15
In all of the major World Religions, we see evidence of this similar Moral Law that God has written in our hearts and that comes out in our Religions.
C.S. Lewis, Oxford literary scholar, gives a summary of what they all say Morally: The Moral Law:
Don’t do harm to another human by what you do or say (the Golden Rule)
Honor your father and mother
Be kind toward brothers and sisters, children, and the elderly
Do not have sex with someone other than your spouse
Be honest in all your dealings (don’t steal)
Do not lie
Care for those weaker or less fortunate
Dying to self is the path to life
–adapted from C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
There’s some variation, the Buddhist 8-fold path is even more morally rigorous—The 10 commandments add the first command—to put God first and not let anything else become an idol around which you order your life. But all Religions pretty much agree on these moral laws. And in most, you find the law of Karma, or sowing and reaping, or “What goes around comes around.”
Since people throw around the word Karma, I want to take a minute to explain what it is and isn’t, and how that relates to the Bible and God’s moral law. Like Taylor Swift came out with a song this year, called Karma, pretty confusing–she sings, ‘Cause Karma is my boyfriend, Karma is a god, Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend, Karma’s a relaxing thought, Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not? Karma is your checks ’bout to bounce,Karma is the fire in your house.” No mercy—wow! Somebody feels good about herself. I guess Kelce is her well-deserved karma. But Karma is not a god, Karma is just the consequences of your actions—like “If you date Taylor Swift, your consequence is to get more camera time in the Superbowl than the MVP quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.” Did you notice that? You’d think the MVP was Travis Kelce or Taylor herself from all the air time the couple got.
So let’s clear up some confusion, what is Karma? Karma is a Hindu idea originally. Karma is a Sanskrit word which literally means “action.” Generally speaking, karma is considered to be a force that promotes cycles of positivity or negativity. In other words, positive thoughts, words, and actions are rewarded by positive consequences, and negative thoughts, words, and actions are followed by negative consequences. In this most basic form, it is an example of God’s Moral Law written in our hearts, coming out in our Relgious/Moral codes. But there are many variations and distortions of this basic Law.
In it’s basic form, it’s what the Bible teaches: The Wisdom of Proverbs says:
“If you set a trap for others, you will get caught in it yourself. If you roll a boulder down on others, it will crush you instead.” Proverbs 26:27
Now, as we’ve been saying, with wisdom of proverbs is generally true. Is it always true that if do something terrible to someone, you’ll feel the consequences—not immediately—some people get away with murder—literally. But not forever. In the New Testament:
Do not be deceived:God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8
This is called the The Law of Sowing and Reaping.
It’s God telling us of his moral law that if we ignore God’s will and ways, his moral laws, we should not be surprised if we feel the negative consequences. And as we’ve been saying, this wisdom is generally true. If you plant goodness and kindness toward others, generally you’ll reap goodness and kindness back. If you plant honesty in your relationships, you’ll reap trust and loyalty back. It’s generally true, not always. In our lost, broken world, sometimes evil people plant extortion and corruption and get rich off it—it appears like they’ll get away with it. But not forever. Jesus said, we will all give a personal account to God. And we will be rewarded, he said, for the good done to please God.
And on the positive side, Jesus reiterated the Law of Love as a positive command:
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12.
If you do this—you are fulfilling the point of all other moral laws—this is what love does. So this basic idea in Eastern Culture of Karma is an example of the general moral law of Sowing and Reaping that the Bible talks about.
But Karma is not a god, even if Taylor says so, and Karma can be a brutal doctrine to live out if you’re honest with yourself. And here is where the Eastern idea of Karma gets tied to another doctrine that is not aligned with the Bible:
The Sanskrit term Samsara – cycle of death and rebirth. It’s the idea of the transmigration of the soul, or reincarnation, from one life to the next.
And tied to Karma, it means you’ll either pay for the bad or be rewarded for the good in this life by what you experience in the next life. If you think about it, Samsara is a brutal god to live under. We all make mistakes, sin, have issues, suffer—yet if this is true, you deserve it all—it’s a consequence of your past lives that you can’t remember. So if you can’t remember, how can you improve? And if we’ve been cycling through 1000s of lives, I don’t see many people evolving toward no bad Karma very quickly. Plus, if you really believe this, then the impoverished, the diseased, the starving—they deserve what they’re suffering, so don’t help them—they have to work off their bad Karma.
You may think that’s a harsh overstatement, but my good friend Jaya who we helped build a hospital with, adopted two girls who survived a car crash in which both their parents were killed. No one would take in these two baby girls because they obviously had bad Karma that would follow them. Jaya and Lakshmi adopted and raised them because they came to faith in Jesus, and he taught to love and serve the least, the lost, the marginalized and forgotten. Interestingly, Jaya came to faith after reading the Vedas—the oldest Hindu scriptures—which did not talk about Samsara or reincarnation, that came much later in Hinduism, near the time of Jesus birth. But Jaya was seeking, and read about the God of Light who would come as the Purush Prajapati, a man who would die to take away the affects of Karma. Jaya kept seeking this God of Light, and in a vision, he saw a brilliant God of Light who revealed himself as Jesus. Jaya passed away earlier this year—He didn’t have to pay for his Karma, Jesus paid for him—and all his good works, Jesus will reward.
And that’s the big difference with what the Bible teaches about what Jesus did for all humanity. Most moral and religious law says “If your good works outweigh your bad deeds, you’ll go to Heaven, or reach Nirvana, or Enlightenment.” But there’s a problem with that. IMAGINE if my I gave you a giant bowl, And for every good deed you crack a good egg and put it in the bowl. You showed compassion to a Jr. High outcast, good job, one good egg. You showed kindness to your sister rather than smacking her in the face, another good egg. You gave at money to help people, crack one more. And over your short life, you probably have quite a few good eggs in that bowl.
But, now let’s say you’re handed a box of stinking, rotten eggs to put in for every wrong done so far (some of us might need a whole truckload?). So when you told that first lie, one smelly egg goes in the bowl. You berated a kid in Jr. High, crack a brown one. You cheated on your income tax, put one in. If every time you lied, cheated, stole, hurt another person, or generally fell short of God’s moral standard, you had to put in a stinking, rotten egg. How would your bowl smell? I can tell you what mine would smell like – not pretty.
Now, we all know this is the state of things – we all do good, and we all do wrong. And our solution to the rotten egg problem is to add more good eggs to the bowl – right? But how many good eggs do you have to add to get rid of the smell? You can’t. And here’s the point. God says, relationship with Me is not based on Sowing and Reaping—it’s a gift.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:8-10
Saved means “set right with God.” It comes from trusting what God says he did through Jesus to pay for your wrongs. Notice—it’s not based on your good deeds at all, it’s a gift from God. You either receive it, or reject it.
God loves you. And he wants intimacy with you. And he wants to help you become all he made you to be. So he says, “If you’ll let me, I’ll remove all the rotten eggs – I’ll pay the price to have them removed from your life, past, present even future ones. And then you and I can be together from now until forever – and as you follow my Spirit, I’ll help you grow to do the many good deeds I created you to do.
There’s a reality to Karma (not reincarnation), but the Law of Sowing and Reaping, you can’t mock God saying “I can do what I want, and there won’t be consequences”—even when we are forgiven by God, right related to God forever, there’s still the Law of Sowing and Reaping. But it is not God doing it to you, it’s you doing it to yourself. God warns us not to ignore the law of Sowing and Reaping. You may be saved, but sleep around, get pregnant—God didn’t do that, you did. Cut ethical corners, or blow up at someone, get fired—don’t blame God. Sowing and Reaping is real. But God is merciful, and that’s not the end of the story. Here’s how it goes on in the NLT version:
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. Galatians 6:7-10
Have you accepted God’s gift of salvation from your bad Karma, your sins, your “doing things your way” and all the rotten eggs of your life? If not, just tell him today “I want this gift of relationship with You—I want what Jesus did to count for me, forgive me and lead me.” You can be confident that God will never leave you or forsake you, even when you fail at Sowing and Reaping.
WE: And for those of us who have a relationship with God through Jesus, don’t ignore the law of Sowing and Reaping. That’s not wise. God won’t just pluck you from the fire if you keep playing with matches. But He will help you to survive it, stronger on the other side. If you’ve struggled with addictions, don’t keep sowing partying and hanging with the wrong crowd, reaping slavery and destroying your life—sow habits like joining our Heal Recovery group, learn to depend on God, and start to reap freedom. If you are watching online, I want you to join me today for a Q&A online. Just register for Online Starting Gate. This is a way to help you connect to our community. If you’ve sown habits of credit card consumerism, don’t keep charging and reaping bankruptcy…sow by getting in our Financial Peace class, and with God’s strength, walk out a plan to get out of debt. God’s Spirit wants to guide you, and we as a church can support each other, to sow good things, and reap a better life in due time. What action can you sow today—to reap good in your future?
In this episode I interview Andy Reese. Andy has served or worked as an ex-military officer, an engineer, a writer, a serial idea entrepreneur, and a longtime church leader.
Our goal with The Post-Christian Podcast is to reframe, simplify, and focus on our mission to make disciples in a post Christian culture. We discuss reaching new people and raising up leaders while removing the barriers of churchianity.
Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter at www.ericbryant.org for a chance to win future book giveaways and assessments!
Gateway Church in Austin hosted Dr. Salim Munayer, founder of Musalaha, a faith-based organization that teaches, trains and facilitates reconciliation mainly between Israelis and Palestinians from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds, and also international groups, based on biblical principles of reconciliation as taught by Jesus.
Salim shares the award winning process for reconciliation that can help in marriage, in business, in churches, in our communities, and in the Holy Land.
Our goal with The Post-Christian Podcast is to reframe, simplify, and focus on our mission to make disciples in a post Christian culture. We discuss reaching new people and raising up leaders while removing the barriers of churchianity.
Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter at www.ericbryant.org for a chance to win future book giveaways and assessments!
Things aren’t always as simple as black and white. So how do we navigate the gray? In our series called “Timeless,” we will explore wisdom from different cultural proverbs and how they connect to the truths of God in the Scriptures as He seeks to lead us to Him.
Digging Deeper:
Work through the following questions with your roommates, family, or community group in order to apply the insights from this message:
If we are often our biggest problem then wherever we go, our problems go with us!
We kicked off the year with a series on prayer. Our hope was that we would be equipped with ways to connect with God when we mess up, when we don’t have words, when we consider the future, and our last one was a prayer for wisdom.
We need God’s wisdom.
Things aren’t always as simple as black and white. So how do we navigate the gray?
Today we kick off a series called Timeless where we will explore wisdom in a nuanced world. We will be drawing inspiration from popular sayings and proverbs worldwide. You see, we believe God loves people from all nations and has created everyone in His image. He is pursuing each and every one of us! And there are elements in every culture that connect to the truths of God as He seeks to lead us to Him.
In each message we start with a cultural proverb and then show how it aligns with Biblical wisdom. In order to maneuver through life’s complexities, we want to bridge the gap between human insight and the guidance that God’s Word and His Spirit offers us.
Next week we will look at some wisdom from India with “What goes around comes around.”
And then the Nigerian proverb “The wise create proverbs for fools to learn, not to repeat.”
Then a modern proverb which says: “Words once spoken cannot be taken back; like an arrow released, they find their mark.”
Finally the Latin American Proverb “Con los años la viña da mejor vino.” (With years, the vine yields better wine)
Today we are looking at the Chinese proverb “When you drink the water, remember the spring.”
This Chinese proverb reminds us to not just appreciate what you have but where it came from. To remember the source of what you’re benefiting from. We need to be grateful for the people, places, or circumstances that have contributed to our well-being or success.
This is good advice, right? It reminds us that everything has a source and to cultivate a mindset that remembers and is grateful for the provision of and the people who labored to provide you this luxury. Ideally, this proverb would cultivate a heart of thankfulness and draw it away from self-sufficiency toward dependence.
I want to press into this a little bit more and with a spiritual lens.
Biblical wisdom is knowing our source is God.
There are a great number of proverbs throughout the Scriptures. Proverbs follow the rule of “this is generally how the world works” They are principles for living, not promises. Proverbs are short, pithy statements of general truth. They are meant to be memorable and to stick with us.
Wisdom is no minor theme or character in the Scriptures. Often “wisdom” is the way the Bible describes itself. There are a handful of books in our Old Testament that are considered wisdom literature, which, altogether give us a picture of what a wise life looks like. Wisdom is seen as precious, of great value, and worth seeking after.
Most of these little nuggets of wisdom are found in the book of Proverbs and in the letter to followers of Jesus from James, the half brother of Jesus. James was skeptical that his half brother was the Messiah until he saw him crucified and resurrected from the dead. He actually became the leader of the Jerusalem church and he said this:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” – James 1:17
Ultimately, the One to whom we should be most grateful is the One who created us and the One who pursues us in order to adopt us into His spiritual family – God, our Heavenly Father. Ultimately, He is the source of all we need to become the person He created us to be. Ultimately, He is the source for our wisdom.
Two weeks ago we pointed out that biblical wisdom assumes these premises: Truth is deeply embedded in who God is, how He created the world, and how He has designed us (His image) to live in it. Remember the definition of biblical wisdom is “truth applied in context.” It isn’t about flashes of brilliant insight, it’s about knowing “Truth” in context, combined with the discipline to act.
The world does not operate by God’s design, so life is messy and complex. We need God’s wisdom to navigate the complexities of life.
Are you looking to God for wisdom? Are you asking Him to just bless what you are doing or are you telling Him what to do? Or are you even going to God at all?
James also said: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. – James 4:8a The level of intimacy in your relationship with God is up to you!
God is inviting you into a level of spiritual intimacy and closeness that you need.
Here’s what’s fascinating: most of the time we don’t even know we need it because we think we are getting along just fine as we are, but I’m here to tell you: there is so much more God has for you!
The deepest longings of your heart can be met in communion with God.
The healing you need from the painful losses in life can be healed in relationship with your Heavenly Father.
The meaning and adventure in life you desire can be found as you grow in intimacy with the Spirit of God.
The sense of identity and confidence and clarity can be discovered in Jesus.
When we pursue God, He reveals Himself to us!
When we go on with life without pursuing God, we drift. He seems more and more distant but it’s not because He’s gone anywhere. He’s right there waiting for us to turn back to Him!
I think back to a quote from my sabbatical last summer from Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Haley Barton.
A quote that jumped out at me was this:
“Spiritual intimacy with God…. involves bringing more and more of myself into God’s presence and receiving more and more of God’s being into myself…. Intimacy always leads us to a place where we are not in control…. Relinquishing control can be difficult or even impossible. If we have a high need to be in control in our human relationships (and most of us do), intimacy with God will be very challenging for us.”
– Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms
Last summer, on one of my walks in the 105 degree heat, I was walking in the wilderness and I was asking God to show me my blind spots to show me how he wants to grow me. All of a sudden I heard a rustling up ahead of me. I looked up into the tree about 20 yards away and a huge owl jumps out of the tree and starts flying towards me!!
I couldn’t help but ask God: “Is this the answer to my prayer? Does my blindspot have to deal with this owl? Because when I think of an owl, I think of the word wisdom.”
And then another thought came to mind, and it was a proverb which says:
“Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:7 (CEB)
I have not communicated enough on the importance of the fear of the Lord. Now this does not mean being scared of God.
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”- Matthew 10:28-31 NIV
In other words, we do not need to be afraid of people. Only “to fear God” means “to respect, honor, trust, and obey.”
We have no need to be afraid of God because He cares for us!
Now, obey is not a popular word or idea, but think of it more like this. Has anyone ever thrown you a surprise party? You follow them around and it doesn’t fully make sense but you trust that person so you do what they ask you to do. And in the end you are rewarded with your level of trust.
God is inviting us into an adventure, but we need to trust Him because He will ask us to do some things that go counter to what we want to do or even what the world says we should do.
All this starts with fearing God. When you don’t fully understand something in the Bible, it’s always good to look up other verses about the same subject. Let the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures.
In the book of Proverbs the fear of the Lord is a continual submission to God in humility and faith (Prov. 23:17) and consists of a hatred of evil and the desire to turn away from it (Prov. 8:13; 16:6). Fearing God is better than all earthly treasures (Prov. 15:16) and leads to greater love for and knowledge of God (Prov. 1:29; 2:5; 9:10; 15:33)….”
Here’s one of my favorite verses about fearing God.
“Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear him. With them He shares his secrets.” – PSALM 25:14 (NLT)
Fear keeps us from pursuing harmful things. It gives us a healthy respect for the things that are bigger, stronger, and mightier than we are. Solomon writes that if you want to be wise, you have to fear the LORD, and if you want to fear the LORD in the way He intends, you have to know Him.
“Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” (Proverbs 9:10 NLT)
Moving from Knowing about God to Really Knowing God.
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better [personally]. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.” (Ephesians 1:17-18 NIV)
The word “know” is the word “genosko.” It means to know deeply and personally. What Paul is praying for here is that you wouldn’t just know about God, but that you would know God intimately.
In a great article by David Lindell, he described how the great reformer Martin Luther struggled with the concept of fearing God. As Luther studied the Scriptures, he distinguished between two types of fear. One is called servile fear and the other, filial fear.
Lindell writes:
“Servile fear is a fear of punishment for wrongdoing. It’s a fear of getting caught; a selfish fear – one motivated by self-preservation. Filial fear, on the other hand, draws from the Latin concept where we get our idea of family and refers to the fear that a child has for his father.”
– David Lindell
Luther, regarding filial fear, thinks of a child who has tremendous respect and love for his father and who desperately wants to please him. He doesn’t want to offend the one he loves, not because he’s afraid of torture or even of punishment, but rather because he’s afraid of displeasing the one who is his source of security and love.
You see, when you fear God, you don’t have to fear God
The first fear is one that we have outside of knowing God through Jesus. It is the fear that every person who will be judged by God should have. When you see the mightiness, greatness, and holiness of God, how could you not be afraid?
Lindell continues:
“As followers of Jesus, servile fear is not what sustains us. It’s in Christ that we have filial fear. Your fear is not about the judgment of God, but rather a fear of being distant from Him. You want to be with your Father who is your security and love. Our fear of the LORD is then based on our knowledge of His love, mercy, and goodness. It rests on the fact that God is our Heavenly Father and it is our desire to please Him. Our fear is healthy, good, respectful, and driven by our love for Him.”
– David Lindell
To fear God is to take refuge in Him – to draw close to Him (Psalm 31:19). Those two things may seem like opposing forces as typically you run from the person you fear to your place of refuge.
But when we see that this fear is a fear, not of being punished, but of not being with the Father, it changes how we think about God.
Therefore, fear God. Because when you fear God (filial), you don’t have to fear God (servile).”
When we delight in fearing the Lord, we will be controlled by an unspeakable and glorious joy. Why? Because when we fear the Lord, there is nothing else to fear! When we acknowledge God for who he is and regard him as holy, and when we trust his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we can face whatever the future holds with our heads held high.
To fear God is to desire to live in harmony with His righteous standards and to honor Him in all that you do. We do not naturally seek to honor God, because our sinful natures lead us to pursue selfish pleasures instead of delighting in God and discovering the joy of knowing and loving Him.
God’s way is the best way. He will guide to the right decision that will bring more life and joy and hope and peace – even if how you get there is counter-cultural or even something you do not want to do.
In what areas of your life are you navigating things all on your own? In what area are you resisting surrendering the situation or the relationship or the problem over to God and asking for His wisdom?
To fear God is to center your life completely around Him including your thoughts, motivations, and actions.
I want to end with one of my favorite proverbs:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. – Proverbs 3:5-8 NIV
