September 1, 2025 • 35 mins
What if your everyday complaints were actually a form of blasphemy? In this powerful exploration of Philippians 2:15-18, we discover the radical call to become "blameless and harmless children of God" in a world that values self-defense and righteous anger.
The ancient Greek word "akareos" paints a striking picture of Christians as defenseless lambs without horns – completely vulnerable yet protected by the ultimate Shepherd. This counterintuitive approach challenges our natural instinct to defend our reputation, "clap back" at critics, or vindicate ourselves when wronged. Through personal stories and biblical insights, we see how taking the high road isn't weakness but profound spiritual strength.
The episode concludes with a powerful reminder that our entire Christian journey begins and ends with simple trust in God. Just as the Israelites forgot God's mighty works and focused on their inadequacies, we too can lose our effectiveness when we shift the spotlight from God's power to our limitations. When facing impossible situations, our testimony should remain unchanged: "I trust God."
My hope is that this podcast helps grow your faith and equips you to accomplish your dreams and goals!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to another part of my Philippians study
that I have been doing with ourstaff at Staff Chapel.
If you haven't listened to theother parts, you might want to
go back deeper into my podcast,check out those episodes and
catch yourself up to join wherewe're at today.
Check out those episodes andcatch yourself up to join where
(00:29):
we're at today.
So okay, so we're inPhilippians 2, 15 through 18.
We'll read this section first.
It says let's go ahead and go14.
It says do all things withoutcomplaining and disputing.
Remember how, last time wetalked about how Christosom says
that grumbling is terrible andthat it's akin to blasphemy.
So literally, when we'recomplaining, it's the same as
(00:51):
being a blasphemer, which issaying God doesn't exist.
And if we carry that kind ofweight, that kind of perspective
of when we're complaining aboutservice times, when we're
complaining about traffic, whenwe're complaining about our kids
, about our spouses, complainingabout I have nothing to wear.
Complaining about what we haveto eat, complaining about our
(01:11):
seat, complaining about justfill in the blank, chris Austin
would say it's the same as beinga blasphemer.
I don't want to be a blasphemer.
And so do everything withoutcomplaining and disputing that
you may become blameless andharmless children of God,
without fault, in the midst of acrooked and perverse generation
(01:33):
, among whom you shine as lightsin the world, holding fast to
the word of life, so that I mayrejoice in the day of Christ
that I have not run in vain orlabored in vain.
Rejoice in the day of Christthat I have not run in vain or
labored in vain, yes, and if Iam being poured out as a drink
offering on the sacrifice andservice of your faith, I am glad
and rejoice with you all.
(01:54):
For the same reason, you alsobe glad and rejoice with me.
Okay, so we've got a lothappening here.
Verse 15, he says that you maybecome blameless.
Blameless, spurgeon says here.
He says heathens thought thatChristians the worst have been,
but were compelled to confessthem to be the best have been,
(02:17):
even though they were Christians.
You know.
Blameless literally meaninglike we shouldn't give people
ammunition of why they hateChristians.
Like it's actually hateChristians, like it's actually
the opposite.
Like we should live a lifethat's set apart, that's
different, and so don't armsomebody with more reasons to
hate you.
Like take the high road.
We should always be taking thehigh roads.
Like there shouldn't be, itshouldn't be easy to find
(02:39):
reasons to be against PastorTylan, like it should be
actually that we find himblameless, and so our goal is to
live our life in that way.
The word blameless here couldalso be harmless, and the Greek
word is akareos, and it's thepicture.
The word picture would havebeen like a lamb that doesn't
(03:02):
have horns or the ability todefend itself, and so, quite
literally, like a defenselesslamb.
That's what we're called to be.
Is that we're completelydefenseless?
And if we're a completelydefenseless lamb, who's our
defense then?
The shepherd, right?
So I'll just say this justbecause you can defend yourself
(03:24):
doesn't mean you should.
Just because you're clappingback at somebody doesn't mean
you should.
Just because you can postsomething catty or send a text
message about somebody else andgossip about them, doesn't mean
you should, are we okay?
Matthew 10, 16, jesus saysbehold, I send you out as sheep
(03:48):
in the midst of wolves.
Therefore, be wise as serpentsand harmless that word akareos
as doves.
And so this is literally God.
Jesus is describing it the sameway.
So, guys, here's the thing is,I'm not surprised when the world
acts like the world, but I amsurprised when you stop acting
(04:10):
like a Christian.
And just because somebody doessomething wrong doesn't mean
that you get to like defendyourself and start spreading
nasty things about people orsaying nasty things about people
.
We take the high road, justlike in full vulnerability.
There's a lady that she hasthis whole story she's crafted
about me and popped off at theEaster callback team.
(04:32):
And that's fine, that's totallyfine.
She has a story that she'swritten about me and to her.
I hurt her feelings and that'sreal, that's valid.
But we are going to take thehigh road and we're going to do
everything we can to make itright with her.
Now she does not want to doanything right.
She's still full of like vileand anger.
(04:53):
But I'm taking the high road.
And so, again, I'm not surprisedwhen the world acts like the
world.
I am disappointed whenChristians start acting like the
world and I could just aseasily pull out an arsenal and
start defending myself.
That's not the goal.
Husbands, wives, like.
The goal isn't that You're athome beefing with each other and
if your marriage looks likejust as toxic as the world, if
(05:16):
you wouldn't get on stage andtalk to each other the way that
you talk to each other at home,what the freak are we doing,
emily, if somebody recorded yourdorm conversations and played
them over the speakers, wouldyou be embarrassed or would you
be blameless?
If somebody KK like recordedhow you talked about the Easter
(05:36):
set and how everything went andit got played back to your team,
would it be blameless?
Are we good, like our words?
He's saying hey guys, like I'msending you out into the world
and there's going to be wolvesout there, but as you're amongst
wolves, don't start acting likea wolf, you're a dove.
He's picking in both of these.
(05:58):
When Jesus is talking about andPaul is talking about it's the
most defenseless two animalsthere is.
And Paul is talking about it.
It's the most defenseless twoanimals there is.
And I remember there was a timemy dad like he, my biological
dad he like did this wholecampaign against me, which is
like so comical, and he wasposting all these Facebook posts
about me.
He even wrote a book about melike, which is so interesting
(06:24):
I'm still curious how many itsold, just out of curiosity and
it's like his story of mychildhood and how he's like the
Messiah basically, and like thathe raised me in all things
godliness, and I think that'sgreat, like I love that.
That's his story.
I love that.
That's his perspective.
And my sister kept going aren'tyou going to stand up for
yourself?
Like he's posting all thesethings and like doing all these
(06:45):
things, I'm like I don't have todefend myself, because if I'm
defending myself, god isn'tgonna defend me.
And all these people are likejumping on board with him and
they're like, oh my gosh, Inever knew this.
Like she's such a liar, shescripted you so wrong.
And I'm like, okay, that's fine.
(07:07):
Like I never commented on asingle post.
He kept sending me messages.
He kept doing these things.
Are y'all following me?
Like either I'm defending me orI'm going to let God defend me.
There's people that are writinga story about you, and the story
that they're writing about youis none of your business.
You just keep being harmless asa dove, harmless as a sheep
without horns.
You just keep doing the lastthing that God's called you to
do, because either I'm defendingmyself or God's defending
(07:29):
myself.
And it's like one church peopleare the most scrappy people,
because if they start scrappingabout the church one church
people they want to roll uptheir sleeves and get in there
and start throwing punches andlike here's the thing, guys, you
don't have to defend us.
God will defend us.
Like, just let people saywhatever they want.
I think it takes more strengthto do that than to clap back.
(07:49):
Are we good?
And at some point in yourjourney you're going to have to
learn this.
And Paul's saying hey guys,you're going to become blameless
and harmless.
Like do I do more harm in roomsthat I go into or am I building
up?
Am I destroying what God'sbuilding?
And a lot of times we'redestroying it with our words,
with our actions.
(08:10):
But I want to be harmlesschildren of God, without fault,
in the midst of crooked andperverse generation.
Yeah, the world is bad, but itdoesn't give me permission to
act like them.
And it's like sometimes theLord's literally me.
Like, if social media iscausing you to clap back, then
you need to get off social media.
Like, if social media ischanging how I see marriage and
(08:32):
my function as a woman in theworld, as a Christian, then I
need to get off social media.
Like the world is crooked andperverse.
It doesn't give you permissionto live with the same crooked
and perversity that they have.
Is this okay?
All right, holding fast to theword of life.
So what am I holding on to?
I'm holding on to the logo, zoe, like I'm holding on to what
God says, like God's word is mystandard.
(08:54):
The standard is not the word,the world.
The standard is the word.
So I hold fast to what the wordof God says.
The word of God says that I'mnot going to be a gossiper.
The word of God says that I'm apeacemaker.
The word of God says that I'mthe one who goes first in
forgiveness.
That's what the word of Godsays.
And so I'm not a bridge burner.
(09:16):
I'm not.
I'm not.
I don't keep score on people.
We good Hold fast to the wordof life.
So that I may rejoice, we'vegot a joy count in 16.
We're at joy count number five,that I may rejoice, in the day
of Christ, that I have not runin vain or labored in vain.
(09:38):
You are Paul, you are Paul.
How do you think that you mightrun in vain?
Because his race has determinedhow well people run around him.
And guys, let me just tell you,this race that we're called to,
it's a corporate sport.
So if Rance doesn't get acrossthe finish line, I'm not getting
across the finish line.
(09:58):
If Shaq doesn't get across thefinish line, I'm running in vain
.
If Ashley doesn't do what God'scalled her to do.
I'm running in vain, and a lotof times this is what we start
doing.
Well, I'm just doing my thingand I don't care about anybody
else, like it doesn't matterwhat anybody else is doing, I'm
doing my thing.
No, there is no solo race.
(10:20):
This is a race where we're alltogether and Paul says listen,
if you don't walk in this way,I've run in vain.
Like when I get to eternity,I'm missing out on the full
reward.
If anybody is justified ingetting a full reward when they
cross the finish line, I wouldsay it's paul.
Anybody else agree.
But paul's saying guys, churchat philippi, how you run impacts
(10:42):
whether or not I ran in vain.
What if we looked at our teamwith that same kind of burden,
that our eternal reward ishinged upon their success, them
becoming who God's called themto be?
What if we looked at it in thatsame way?
And that's what Paul'sillustrating here is this
communal faith, and even allthroughout Paul's letters, it's
(11:03):
an inclusive.
He talks about our faith, ourpursuit, our running, our
prayers, our praise.
It's a communal type thing, andso, if ever I'm disconnecting
my faith from other people'sfaith, I've run into a solo
journey, and a solo journey isnot the win.
The win is that we all comeacross the finish line together.
Okay, so he says, yes, that I'mbeing poured out as a drink
(11:27):
offering on the sacrifice andservice of your faith, your
faith, the sacrifice is whattheir faith.
I am glad and rejoice with youall.
We have another joy, countnumber six.
But I think this is interestingbecause Paul repeats the same
kind of verbiage in secondtimothy 4 2.
He says for I'm already beingpoured out as a drink offering
(11:50):
and the time for my departure isat hand.
This is amazing because A drinkoffering we see it for the
first time in genesis, chapter35 Jacob pours out a drink
offering to the Lord, and drinkofferings oftentimes were
thought of as waste.
Because every other time that wesee blood being done within
(12:11):
Leviticus what's up?
One College, you littleLeviticus scholars what do we
often see it happening?
What do we see?
Like sprinkling and it's put oncertain things strategically.
But a drink offering looks likewaste because you collect the
blood from the animal and it'sjust poured out on the ground in
front of the altar, and so themain show of what's happening is
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the sacrifice that's gettingburnt up on the altar.
The blood seems to be justbeing wasted, just being poured
out.
And so in Leviticus 15, we seea drink offering of a lamb, a
ram and a bowl.
And then in Numbers 26, we seeeach offering includes a drink
offering.
So what's interesting is, whena lamb was offered, this would
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be the least amount of bloodthat would be offered as a drink
offering, which would be oneand a half gallons.
And so you pour out, they arepouring this out and they would
pour it out for their homes.
It actually has biblical roots.
And so you're taking your drinkand you're pouring out before
God, and they would bring a henof wine or blood, a quart to a
(13:17):
half gallon of wine, and itwould look like waste to the
world, but to God it looked likeworship, like to the world it
looks like a waste, but it wasalways with.
The main show would be theoffering that's being presented
on the altar and then this wouldbe poured out.
It seems like waste.
Paul is saying your faith is theoffering to God.
(13:39):
I'm the one that's just beingpoured out, and a lot of times
in leadership we think we're themain offering and the people
are the waste.
We think I'm the star andthey're the ones that are the
extra.
And Paul says is actually theopposite.
(14:01):
Your faith is the offering.
I'm the one just being pouredout, I'm the one that you're
looking at it and you think it'sa waste of a life, because I've
been shipwrecked, I've been inprison, I've been beaten, I've
been rejected.
It looks like waste, but to Godit looks like worship.
And if ever we stop startelevating our sacrifice above
(14:26):
the sacrifice of others, of lookat how much I've given and
we're promoting our sacrifice asthough we're the one on the
altar and our team is just thedrink offering.
I serve all these hours, I doall these things, I'm giving up
all this stuff, I'm doing thisand my team.
But Paul had opposite view.
(14:48):
The church at Philippi didn'teven know the persecution that
Paul had been through.
I would say Paul had sacrificedmore in the natural.
In my mind, he's the one on thealtar, philippi is the extra,
but Paul says the reverse.
And I just think that justspeaks of the humility of Paul.
And guys, we're going to leadwell when we have that
perspective.
And if ever you start elevatingyour sacrifice above the
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sacrifice of your team, youstart elevating what you're
doing above what your team isdoing.
You're missing the whole thing.
And so you're getting somethingout of this Wine is a metaphor
for the blood of Christ beingpoured out at the cross.
On the sacrificial offering, theanimal was burned and they
would pour the wine.
And he's saying you, philippi,are the lamb, you are the one
(15:34):
that is a pleasing sacrifice toGod.
I am just the cup, I'm justbeing poured out.
I don't have a high view ofmyself and a low view of others,
and I think this is where weneed to stay, where we need to
remain.
And what's amazing is Pauldoesn't even know that the blood
that is inside that lamb theymeasure it out and that would be
(16:00):
about the amount of blood thatis inside of a human and Paul
doesn't even know that theyhadn't even gotten to that point
in science yet to know that thesame amount of blood.
So, when he's saying this,under the unction of the Holy
Spirit, that I'm being pouredout, it would have been the same
measure that was being pouredout as a drink offering.
So his blood literally beingthe sacrifice that's being
poured out.
How beautiful that is.
And thinking about how he'ssaying I'm the blood that's
(16:23):
being poured out, like I'm doingthis, but you may see it as
waste, but God sees it asworship.
Can I just say you may see yoursacrifice that you've done as
waste, but God sees it asworship.
You may God does, like peoplemay not see all the things that
you're doing, but God does andhe sees it as worship.
Verse 18, for the same reason,you also be glad and rejoice,
(16:47):
joy, count number seven with me,and so, and he's saying
basically, like all this, likebe excited, don't be sad that
I'm being poured out as a drinkoffering.
This is great.
Then we go into Philippians 2,19 through 24.
If you're doing notes in yourbrackets of your Bible, this is
a nice little chiasm we havehere.
(17:08):
We have in verse 19,.
We have 19a would be a on yourchiasm structure, and it says
but I trust in the Lord Jesus tosend Timothy to you shortly.
That I may also be encouragedwhen I know your state.
That's B, for I have no onelike-minded who will sincerely
(17:34):
care for your state.
That's C.
Verse 21,.
For all seek their own, not thethings which are of Christ.
That's D.
That's the point of ourchiasmic structure, chiastic
structure.
And then we have 22,.
But you know his provencharacter that as a son with his
(17:55):
father, he served with me inthe gospel.
That's C.
We're going back down on theother side C, c, negative.
And then we have 23,.
Therefore I hope to send himthat at once.
So as soon as I see how it goeswith me, that's B negative.
And 24 it says but I trust Inthe Lord that I myself Shall
(18:18):
also come shortly, so that's Anegative.
So we have our book, our footsof our mountain.
There Is going to be trustingin the lord, um, jesus to be
sent, and I love that.
He says that I'll come shortly.
Okay, come shortly.
When I think of like comeshortly, I think about people
that live like five minutes froma grocery store.
What would that be like?
I don't know that life, um,because we live 30 minutes from
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everything at our house, and sohe's like I'm going to come
shortly.
The come shortly he's talkingabout is an 800 mile one way
journey.
800 mile, one way journey.
My brain doesn't compute that.
I don't call that come shortly,I call that go longly.
But again you see this low viewof himself that he's not.
(19:06):
Have you ever had somebody dosomething for you.
And then they're talking abouthow difficult it was to do it.
And you're like oh, thank youfor dinner.
And they're like oh, I had togo to three stores and the line
was so long and then it tookforever.
And then I got to the car, itwas raining, it was actually a
hurricane and it blew all thegroceries away and I chased them
down.
(19:26):
And then I came in.
I had to dry off all thegroceries and then like and
you're like, by the time theyget to the end of it, and
they're like huffing, andthey're like now I have to clean
the whole kitchen.
And I'm so glad you came though.
And you're like I'm sorry, Ishowed up, paul goes, I'm just
(19:47):
going to come shortly.
Now it's 800 miles one way.
So it means you go 800 milesand then, guess what, you have
to go back 800 miles.
And he's like Timothy's going todo this.
And Timothy's just like yeah,I'll go shortly, I'll go run to
the store real quick.
What if we stopped huffingabout, oh, I got to go to Costco
for, uh, for fast track.
Oh, so hard.
Now I'm just going to comeshortly.
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It's not a big deal.
It's my joy to get to do this?
Like I get to do this.
Oh, I got to get there earlybecause I got to meet up with
team and we got to tear down thechairs in the worship center
because we got legacy lunch andoh, so hard.
No, I'm just going to comeshortly.
Are y'all feeling me?
800 mile journey.
This would have taken a longtime to go 800 miles, but I love
(20:29):
this because he says he's goingto come to you shortly.
That I may be encouraged.
When I know of your state, he'slike listen, guys, I'm so
excited to find out how you'redoing.
Like, think about the joy I'mgoing to go on.
I'm going to send somebody on a1600 mile journey just because
I'm so excited to see how you'redoing.
I'm so excited to meet with you.
I'm so excited to hear what'shappening in your life, for I
(20:50):
have no one like-minded who willsincerely care for your state.
I love this so much becausePaul's saying when I send
Timothy, it's like I'm sendingme.
Like when I send Timothy, he'scarrying the same heart, the
same passion, the sameenthusiasm.
I want to ask you do you have aTimothy that can sit in rooms
that you're not in?
Like, our goal is that we haveTimothys, right that the goal is
(21:15):
that, as we grow, paul wouldn'thave been able to manage all
these churches if he was the onedoing it all.
But he's like guys, timothycarries the same heart as me.
So, in other words, if you'rerejecting Timothy, you're
rejecting me.
Can I just say, like a staff,like as we grow, like you're
(21:36):
representing Brian and I, right,like you're, you're, yes, you
have direct reports, but likeyou're carrying my heart, you're
carrying our heart in everyroom.
So can I just say to oneanother when you reject other
staff members, you're rejectingme.
When you're judgmental andcritical about Pastor Tylan,
you're judgmental of me.
When you're judgmental andcritical about fill in the blank
Ranchito or Matt, you'recritical of me because no one
(21:59):
has my heart like them, nobody'sgonna carry it like them, like
you're not just entrusted, liketo your task, to your role, but
it's that same kind of caringthat Paul's like, if I can't be
in the room, I'm okay because Iknow Zach's going to be in the
room and he's going to carry theheart like me.
So how you greet people is howthey see me greeting them.
(22:19):
So if you're rude and short,they're like Pastor Brian's rude
and short.
If you're too busy and you'relike like I've got bigger things
to do, then they see it not asShaq's that way, they see it as
Pastor Brian's that way, andhe's like nobody carries my
heart like him.
So how he walks in a roommatter.
(22:39):
How you walk into that lobbymatters.
How you respond to peoplematters.
How you reply to emails matter.
You're not replying as Courtney, you're replying as Brian Wade
Sparks, and that's the waypeople see it.
But even more so, they see itas Jesus and it's their view of
the church, whether we like itor not.
Because when they have a badinteraction with Emily they
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didn't have a bad interactionwith Emily, they had a bad
interaction with Brian.
Bigger one church, even biggerGod, and so we have to be
careful, right.
And so he says nobody carriesmy there, my heart, like Timothy
.
And he says for all, seek umtheir own, not things which are
of Christ Jesus.
I think this is interestingbecause he's saying that
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selfishness is the antithesis ofChristianity.
Christ thinks of others first,and often we're thinking of
ourselves first.
Timothy was chosen not becauseit doesn't say anything about
his giftedness, doesn't sayanything about his talent, it's
that he was selfless.
(23:42):
That's what Paul says.
As staff, let me tell you weshould be the most selfless
people here.
And if we're thinking, where'smy seat, where's my position,
where's my accolade, where's my?
Nobody just told me thank you,nobody's what, are we okay?
And if ever we start like thatselfish mentality again, I
(24:06):
expect that in the world.
I don't expect that from you.
Hey, one College, you should bethe most selfless people.
You should be the first to giveup your seat.
You should be the first likehey, rance, you need somebody
this weekend.
I'm your person, man, put me on, put me anywhere.
Like what Emily was saying.
Like, is there ways that Godcan't use you?
And if there ever is ways thatGod can't use you, please give
(24:26):
up your seat to somebody else,because there's a line of people
who'd love to take your spot,they'd love to do what you do.
Are we okay?
Like I expect people that comein on Sunday to be selfish and
act like the world, I expectthem to say I want hot coffee, I
want my seat.
But when staff and collegestudents start acting that way,
I'm disappointed.
(24:47):
But he says the reason Timothywas selected is not because he
was the most talented.
You may be the most gifted, butGod can't use you because
you're so.
You've got your mind on you andif you got your mind on you,
you're not going to make adifference in others.
Are we doing?
Okay?
You still love me.
Praise God, amen.
So his he says.
But you have you know this byhis proven character that as a
(25:11):
son with his father, he servedwith me in the gospel.
I love that so much.
Again, he's using familiallanguage and you think about a
son with a father.
I want to be a son of the house.
Well, think about what does theson of the house mean?
It means you haveresponsibility.
A son carries responsibility.
My son has differentresponsibilities in my house
than if somebody else walkedinto my house.
(25:31):
I have no problem asking my sonto take out the trash and I
don't do a parade when he doesit, it's just take out the trash
.
Now, if you're a guest in myhouse and I ask you to take out
the trash, I'm gonna be likethank you so much, like you're
the best, you're awesome, highfives, like nobody takes out
this trash like you.
But to my son I'm like Ositoget in here and take out the
(25:52):
trash and then when it's done,it's just done.
I'm still doing the thing.
Oh, and after you're done doingthat, clean the toilet in the
half bathroom.
Oh, and, by the way, pick yourdrawers up off the floor.
But my sentences are short.
Why?
Because a father and a son.
You don't need flowery languageIf you're offended because you
wanted to be a son of the house.
But then you're offended becausethe sentences got short.
You didn't want to be a son,you just wanted to be a guest.
(26:15):
And if I have to be like, noone's like you, ty, no one's
like you because you made theroster.
Congratulations, you're a son,are we okay?
Okay, second thing about a sonis you get rebuked.
(26:36):
And if you're not beingcorrected and you don't respond
well to correction, I'll justsay you're not a son, you're a
hireling.
And it's like what's your heartposture when you're corrected?
What happens in you?
Do you get offended?
Well, that's not fair.
Like to dig your heels in whenyour direct report gives you
feedback like, hey, i's not fair.
Like to dig your heels in whenyour direct report gives you
feedback like, hey, I'm noticingthis.
You can like get sold up.
(26:56):
Or you can say no, I'm a son,I'm a daughter of the house and
a son and a daughter.
My kids get corrected.
My kids are held accountablefor the behavior that they have.
You can come in my house andyou can have a terrible attitude
and that's fine, like as aguest, but as my daughter, you
won't, in Jesus name, like you,you are accountable for how you
treat people.
(27:16):
You are accountable for how youreact.
You are accountable for thosethings.
And he says that his characterhas been proven.
Which it's been proven, whichmeans it's gone through tests
and trials.
You don't, you don't become ason in the faith by attending a
few weeks or being around for awhile.
It's character over time, it'sfaithfulness for the long haul.
And so he says therefore, Ihope to send him at once as soon
(27:39):
as I see how it goes with me.
I love that so much becausehe's like guys.
I really love Timothy.
I don't want to let him go, butI'm going to send him to you.
It says but I trust in the Lordthat I myself shall come
shortly.
And so Paul's emphasis frombeginning to end was I trust in
(28:01):
the Lord Jesus.
Our goal, guys, everythingGod's called us to do, is to
trust in the Lord.
And I was thinking about thestory in Numbers and the.
I don't think I have time forthis, I'm going to go just
really fast.
Is this okay In Numbers?
Whenever they go in to spy outthe land and they come back, we
all know the story.
This is the land, here's itsfruit, but the giants in the
(28:24):
land are big.
Okay, remember, we talk aboutnarrative in one college.
When you know the overall story, you get the point.
The point in everything is toremain a faithful witness.
Okay, so I was reading, I wasthinking about this story the
other day and I thought aboutthis.
The problem with, in that moment, the problem wasn't there.
(28:47):
What they saw, the problemwasn't the fruit.
And I thought about it this wayit's.
They started to think they'rethe ones that parted the Red Sea
.
They started to think they'rethe ones that making manna fall.
They started to think thatthey're the ones that were
making all these things happen.
They forgot that every miraclethey had seen up into this point
(29:11):
was never measured by theirability.
But for some reason, they gotthe spotlight off of God and
they got it on themselves.
And, guys, let me tell you he'ssaying from beginning to end I
trust in the Lord Jesus, andfrom beginning to end.
We trust in the Lord Jesus.
Nobody can do it.
You can't make a roster withoutthe Holy Spirit.
(29:32):
You can't do what God's calledyou to do without the Holy
Spirit.
You can't lead a song set listwithout the Holy Spirit.
You can't do a kid's classroom,especially if it goes over time
, without the Holy Spirit.
Like you need the presence ofGod, and that is the main thing.
And when the children of Israelgot the spotlight off of God and
got it on themselves, itlimited them.
(29:56):
And when the children of Israelgot the spotlight off of God
and got it on themselves, itlimited them.
And it was because they stoppedbeing faithful witnesses to
what they've seen God do.
And then we got to remindourselves what we've seen God do
, his faithfulness in everyseason, and you see this with
Joseph, that he remained afaithful witness, even in the
pit, even through all the things, he remained faithful to what
God's called him to do.
And so then we're linking thisin.
(30:16):
We see this theme of like beinga faithful witness throughout
scripture, but this has beenjust on my mind is in Revelation
, chapter 21, verse 8, 21, verse8.
It says but the cowardly, theunbelieving, the abominable, the
murderers, the sexual, thesorcerers, the idolaters and the
liars all have their part inthe lake, which burns with fire
(30:37):
and brimstone, which is thesecond death.
It's wild to me that the firstis the cowardly.
And it's this theme of beinghello faithful witnesses that
we're called to be.
Faithful witnesses, which meanshow I'm a faithful witness is.
I keep the spotlight on God andI keep it off of myself.
(30:59):
And if you ever start thinkingthat it's your talent that opens
doors, it's your faithfulness,it's your goodness, it's your
ability.
No, it's our trust in God.
God is the one that's faithful.
You can't grow your team onyour own.
You can't make this thinghappen without.
And he says from beginning toend I'm just gonna let you know
here's my plans and what I wantGod to do, but I trust God and
(31:20):
it's gonna end in trusting God.
We start every youth servicewith we trust God.
We end every youth service withI trust God.
We start every Sunday with Itrust God and we end every
Sunday and I trust God.
When did you start making itabout you?
And whenever I step into me,I'm always going to feel
insufficient.
Whenever I step into me, I'mgoing to go.
I don't know that I have thetalent.
(31:40):
I don't know that I have theresources.
I don't know that I have theability, and I'm just like cause
.
We can talk about the childrenof Israel with those grapes and
coming in and telling themhere's the fruit.
But how many times have we beenguilty of the same thing?
Because we start measuring whatGod's asked us to do on our
ability and we got to remindourselves.
I never parted the Red Sea inthe first place.
I never swallowed Pharaoh'schariots in the first place.
(32:02):
I didn't make the plagueshappen in the first place.
I didn't make the manna come inthe first place.
I'm really not that good.
And when we start getting thespotlight on us and we forget
everything that God's done, wecease to be faithful witnesses,
which means we become cowards,hello.
So let's get our, let's get ourfocus back.
(32:23):
Let's get our focus back and,as team, as we go into this next
week and as we go into thisSunday, let our, let our hearts
cry be.
I trust God, like frombeginning to end.
I don't know how this is goingto work out, but I trust God.
I don't know how to pay off $11million worth of property, but
I trust God, and how are yougoing to do it?
One dollar at a time, one actof God's faithfulness at a time.
(32:44):
I don't know how we're going toget our team to the next level,
because I know three servicesare coming here in Caddo.
But you know what I trust God.
I don't know how we're going todo all the things that God's
got in May.
The month of May is crazy, but Iknow this, I trust God, and if
I look at my own talent, my ownability, come on, some of you
have got some things you'repraying for and you're measuring
up your own natural ability.
(33:05):
Look back at what God's done,look back at the testimony of
his faithfulness, because inthat season of seeing the next
impossibility, I need to be afaithful witness of the things
I've seen and the things I'veexperienced.
That, god, you've been sofaithful, You've been so good.
This has never been about me,and so I'm going to hold the
fruit of the land I'm going topossess, and I'm not possessing
(33:26):
it because I'm that good.
I'm possessing it becauseyou're that good.
I'm not possessing it becauseI'm skilled for army, but I'm
possessing it because you'reskilled for army and you're the
Lord of the battle, and so Iknow that if you call me to it,
you're gonna get me through it.
And so I'm just gonna keeptrusting you, one day at a time,
reminding myself of the lastmiracle I saw, and then
somewhere in that time, godshows up and he does the next
(33:48):
miracle.
I trust God.
I just trust God.
Let that be our heart's cry asa team.
Amen, can I pray as we closeout.
Father, we trust you, lord.
Let us be faithful witnesses.
God, lord, even as the wordsays, it's a crooked and
perverse generation.
This isn't a new problem thatwe see in the world today.
It's just the fallen state ofhumanity.
(34:09):
But, god, let our light shinebright for you, lord, any area
where we cease being a faithfulwitness.
God, would you just reignite ourhearts again, lord, would you
remind us that we're called toact like Christ followers, not
like the world?
Lord, smite our hearts anytimethat we take even a step off the
path that you've called us toLord.
(34:30):
Remind us, lord, of yourfaithfulness, how you've been so
good in every season, even asPastor Jimmy was talking about
where him and Mamaw came fromthat, god.
I thank you that, lord, we allhave testimonies of your
goodness.
Will you remind them to us thisweek?
Will you call them to ourremembrance how, every time
you've been faithful.
So, lord, I thank you that everydollar that we need is already
(34:52):
there.
Lord, we thank you that everyteam member that we need, it's
already there.
Lord, we thank you for everypiece of land that belongs to
one church is already ours,because we trust in you.
You're the Lord of the battle,god.
We just have to look to you andso, father, we love you, we
praise you.
Thank you that we get to dothis.
May we be faithful witnessesfor you in Jesus name.
And somebody who believed itsaid amen.
(35:13):
Thanks so much for hanging outhere on my podcast.
Do me a favor and hit thesubscribe button if you haven't
done so already, so you nevermiss out on anything here on my
podcast.
Also, one of the best ways forus to begin to reach other
people is by you sharing.
So if you do me a favor andshare this podcast with a friend
(35:34):
, family member or maybe on yoursocial media, help us get the
word out so we can help others.
Welcome to another part of my Philippians study
that I have been doing with ourstaff at Staff Chapel.
If you haven't listened to theother parts, you might want to
go back deeper into my podcast,check out those episodes and
catch yourself up to join wherewe're at today.
Check out those episodes andcatch yourself up to join where
(00:29):
we're at today.
So okay, so we're inPhilippians 2, 15 through 18.
We'll read this section first.
It says let's go ahead and go14.
It says do all things withoutcomplaining and disputing.
Remember how, last time wetalked about how Christosom says
that grumbling is terrible andthat it's akin to blasphemy.
So literally, when we'recomplaining, it's the same as
(00:51):
being a blasphemer, which issaying God doesn't exist.
And if we carry that kind ofweight, that kind of perspective
of when we're complaining aboutservice times, when we're
complaining about traffic, whenwe're complaining about our kids
, about our spouses, complainingabout I have nothing to wear.
Complaining about what we haveto eat, complaining about our
(01:11):
seat, complaining about justfill in the blank, chris Austin
would say it's the same as beinga blasphemer.
I don't want to be a blasphemer.
And so do everything withoutcomplaining and disputing that
you may become blameless andharmless children of God,
without fault, in the midst of acrooked and perverse generation
(01:33):
, among whom you shine as lightsin the world, holding fast to
the word of life, so that I mayrejoice in the day of Christ
that I have not run in vain orlabored in vain.
Rejoice in the day of Christthat I have not run in vain or
labored in vain, yes, and if Iam being poured out as a drink
offering on the sacrifice andservice of your faith, I am glad
and rejoice with you all.
(01:54):
For the same reason, you alsobe glad and rejoice with me.
Okay, so we've got a lothappening here.
Verse 15, he says that you maybecome blameless.
Blameless, spurgeon says here.
He says heathens thought thatChristians the worst have been,
but were compelled to confessthem to be the best have been,
(02:17):
even though they were Christians.
You know.
Blameless literally meaninglike we shouldn't give people
ammunition of why they hateChristians.
Like it's actually hateChristians, like it's actually
the opposite.
Like we should live a lifethat's set apart, that's
different, and so don't armsomebody with more reasons to
hate you.
Like take the high road.
We should always be taking thehigh roads.
Like there shouldn't be, itshouldn't be easy to find
(02:39):
reasons to be against PastorTylan, like it should be
actually that we find himblameless, and so our goal is to
live our life in that way.
The word blameless here couldalso be harmless, and the Greek
word is akareos, and it's thepicture.
The word picture would havebeen like a lamb that doesn't
(03:02):
have horns or the ability todefend itself, and so, quite
literally, like a defenselesslamb.
That's what we're called to be.
Is that we're completelydefenseless?
And if we're a completelydefenseless lamb, who's our
defense then?
The shepherd, right?
So I'll just say this justbecause you can defend yourself
(03:24):
doesn't mean you should.
Just because you're clappingback at somebody doesn't mean
you should.
Just because you can postsomething catty or send a text
message about somebody else andgossip about them, doesn't mean
you should, are we okay?
Matthew 10, 16, jesus saysbehold, I send you out as sheep
(03:48):
in the midst of wolves.
Therefore, be wise as serpentsand harmless that word akareos
as doves.
And so this is literally God.
Jesus is describing it the sameway.
So, guys, here's the thing is,I'm not surprised when the world
acts like the world, but I amsurprised when you stop acting
(04:10):
like a Christian.
And just because somebody doessomething wrong doesn't mean
that you get to like defendyourself and start spreading
nasty things about people orsaying nasty things about people
.
We take the high road, justlike in full vulnerability.
There's a lady that she hasthis whole story she's crafted
about me and popped off at theEaster callback team.
(04:32):
And that's fine, that's totallyfine.
She has a story that she'swritten about me and to her.
I hurt her feelings and that'sreal, that's valid.
But we are going to take thehigh road and we're going to do
everything we can to make itright with her.
Now she does not want to doanything right.
She's still full of like vileand anger.
(04:53):
But I'm taking the high road.
And so, again, I'm not surprisedwhen the world acts like the
world.
I am disappointed whenChristians start acting like the
world and I could just aseasily pull out an arsenal and
start defending myself.
That's not the goal.
Husbands, wives, like.
The goal isn't that You're athome beefing with each other and
if your marriage looks likejust as toxic as the world, if
(05:16):
you wouldn't get on stage andtalk to each other the way that
you talk to each other at home,what the freak are we doing,
emily, if somebody recorded yourdorm conversations and played
them over the speakers, wouldyou be embarrassed or would you
be blameless?
If somebody KK like recordedhow you talked about the Easter
(05:36):
set and how everything went andit got played back to your team,
would it be blameless?
Are we good, like our words?
He's saying hey guys, like I'msending you out into the world
and there's going to be wolvesout there, but as you're amongst
wolves, don't start acting likea wolf, you're a dove.
He's picking in both of these.
(05:58):
When Jesus is talking about andPaul is talking about it's the
most defenseless two animalsthere is.
And Paul is talking about it.
It's the most defenseless twoanimals there is.
And I remember there was a timemy dad like he, my biological
dad he like did this wholecampaign against me, which is
like so comical, and he wasposting all these Facebook posts
about me.
He even wrote a book about melike, which is so interesting
(06:24):
I'm still curious how many itsold, just out of curiosity and
it's like his story of mychildhood and how he's like the
Messiah basically, and like thathe raised me in all things
godliness, and I think that'sgreat, like I love that.
That's his story.
I love that.
That's his perspective.
And my sister kept going aren'tyou going to stand up for
yourself?
Like he's posting all thesethings and like doing all these
(06:45):
things, I'm like I don't have todefend myself, because if I'm
defending myself, god isn'tgonna defend me.
And all these people are likejumping on board with him and
they're like, oh my gosh, Inever knew this.
Like she's such a liar, shescripted you so wrong.
And I'm like, okay, that's fine.
(07:07):
Like I never commented on asingle post.
He kept sending me messages.
He kept doing these things.
Are y'all following me?
Like either I'm defending me orI'm going to let God defend me.
There's people that are writinga story about you, and the story
that they're writing about youis none of your business.
You just keep being harmless asa dove, harmless as a sheep
without horns.
You just keep doing the lastthing that God's called you to
do, because either I'm defendingmyself or God's defending
(07:29):
myself.
And it's like one church peopleare the most scrappy people,
because if they start scrappingabout the church one church
people they want to roll uptheir sleeves and get in there
and start throwing punches andlike here's the thing, guys, you
don't have to defend us.
God will defend us.
Like, just let people saywhatever they want.
I think it takes more strengthto do that than to clap back.
(07:49):
Are we good?
And at some point in yourjourney you're going to have to
learn this.
And Paul's saying hey guys,you're going to become blameless
and harmless.
Like do I do more harm in roomsthat I go into or am I building
up?
Am I destroying what God'sbuilding?
And a lot of times we'redestroying it with our words,
with our actions.
(08:10):
But I want to be harmlesschildren of God, without fault,
in the midst of crooked andperverse generation.
Yeah, the world is bad, but itdoesn't give me permission to
act like them.
And it's like sometimes theLord's literally me.
Like, if social media iscausing you to clap back, then
you need to get off social media.
Like, if social media ischanging how I see marriage and
(08:32):
my function as a woman in theworld, as a Christian, then I
need to get off social media.
Like the world is crooked andperverse.
It doesn't give you permissionto live with the same crooked
and perversity that they have.
Is this okay?
All right, holding fast to theword of life.
So what am I holding on to?
I'm holding on to the logo, zoe, like I'm holding on to what
God says, like God's word is mystandard.
(08:54):
The standard is not the word,the world.
The standard is the word.
So I hold fast to what the wordof God says.
The word of God says that I'mnot going to be a gossiper.
The word of God says that I'm apeacemaker.
The word of God says that I'mthe one who goes first in
forgiveness.
That's what the word of Godsays.
And so I'm not a bridge burner.
(09:16):
I'm not.
I'm not.
I don't keep score on people.
We good Hold fast to the wordof life.
So that I may rejoice, we'vegot a joy count in 16.
We're at joy count number five,that I may rejoice, in the day
of Christ, that I have not runin vain or labored in vain.
(09:38):
You are Paul, you are Paul.
How do you think that you mightrun in vain?
Because his race has determinedhow well people run around him.
And guys, let me just tell you,this race that we're called to,
it's a corporate sport.
So if Rance doesn't get acrossthe finish line, I'm not getting
across the finish line.
(09:58):
If Shaq doesn't get across thefinish line, I'm running in vain
.
If Ashley doesn't do what God'scalled her to do.
I'm running in vain, and a lotof times this is what we start
doing.
Well, I'm just doing my thingand I don't care about anybody
else, like it doesn't matterwhat anybody else is doing, I'm
doing my thing.
No, there is no solo race.
(10:20):
This is a race where we're alltogether and Paul says listen,
if you don't walk in this way,I've run in vain.
Like when I get to eternity,I'm missing out on the full
reward.
If anybody is justified ingetting a full reward when they
cross the finish line, I wouldsay it's paul.
Anybody else agree.
But paul's saying guys, churchat philippi, how you run impacts
(10:42):
whether or not I ran in vain.
What if we looked at our teamwith that same kind of burden,
that our eternal reward ishinged upon their success, them
becoming who God's called themto be?
What if we looked at it in thatsame way?
And that's what Paul'sillustrating here is this
communal faith, and even allthroughout Paul's letters, it's
(11:03):
an inclusive.
He talks about our faith, ourpursuit, our running, our
prayers, our praise.
It's a communal type thing, andso, if ever I'm disconnecting
my faith from other people'sfaith, I've run into a solo
journey, and a solo journey isnot the win.
The win is that we all comeacross the finish line together.
Okay, so he says, yes, that I'mbeing poured out as a drink
(11:27):
offering on the sacrifice andservice of your faith, your
faith, the sacrifice is whattheir faith.
I am glad and rejoice with youall.
We have another joy, countnumber six.
But I think this is interestingbecause Paul repeats the same
kind of verbiage in secondtimothy 4 2.
He says for I'm already beingpoured out as a drink offering
(11:50):
and the time for my departure isat hand.
This is amazing because A drinkoffering we see it for the
first time in genesis, chapter35 Jacob pours out a drink
offering to the Lord, and drinkofferings oftentimes were
thought of as waste.
Because every other time that wesee blood being done within
(12:11):
Leviticus what's up?
One College, you littleLeviticus scholars what do we
often see it happening?
What do we see?
Like sprinkling and it's put oncertain things strategically.
But a drink offering looks likewaste because you collect the
blood from the animal and it'sjust poured out on the ground in
front of the altar, and so themain show of what's happening is
(12:34):
the sacrifice that's gettingburnt up on the altar.
The blood seems to be justbeing wasted, just being poured
out.
And so in Leviticus 15, we seea drink offering of a lamb, a
ram and a bowl.
And then in Numbers 26, we seeeach offering includes a drink
offering.
So what's interesting is, whena lamb was offered, this would
(12:55):
be the least amount of bloodthat would be offered as a drink
offering, which would be oneand a half gallons.
And so you pour out, they arepouring this out and they would
pour it out for their homes.
It actually has biblical roots.
And so you're taking your drinkand you're pouring out before
God, and they would bring a henof wine or blood, a quart to a
(13:17):
half gallon of wine, and itwould look like waste to the
world, but to God it looked likeworship, like to the world it
looks like a waste, but it wasalways with.
The main show would be theoffering that's being presented
on the altar and then this wouldbe poured out.
It seems like waste.
Paul is saying your faith is theoffering to God.
(13:39):
I'm the one that's just beingpoured out, and a lot of times
in leadership we think we're themain offering and the people
are the waste.
We think I'm the star andthey're the ones that are the
extra.
And Paul says is actually theopposite.
(14:01):
Your faith is the offering.
I'm the one just being pouredout, I'm the one that you're
looking at it and you think it'sa waste of a life, because I've
been shipwrecked, I've been inprison, I've been beaten, I've
been rejected.
It looks like waste, but to Godit looks like worship.
And if ever we stop startelevating our sacrifice above
(14:26):
the sacrifice of others, of lookat how much I've given and
we're promoting our sacrifice asthough we're the one on the
altar and our team is just thedrink offering.
I serve all these hours, I doall these things, I'm giving up
all this stuff, I'm doing thisand my team.
But Paul had opposite view.
(14:48):
The church at Philippi didn'teven know the persecution that
Paul had been through.
I would say Paul had sacrificedmore in the natural.
In my mind, he's the one on thealtar, philippi is the extra,
but Paul says the reverse.
And I just think that justspeaks of the humility of Paul.
And guys, we're going to leadwell when we have that
perspective.
And if ever you start elevatingyour sacrifice above the
(15:11):
sacrifice of your team, youstart elevating what you're
doing above what your team isdoing.
You're missing the whole thing.
And so you're getting somethingout of this Wine is a metaphor
for the blood of Christ beingpoured out at the cross.
On the sacrificial offering, theanimal was burned and they
would pour the wine.
And he's saying you, philippi,are the lamb, you are the one
(15:34):
that is a pleasing sacrifice toGod.
I am just the cup, I'm justbeing poured out.
I don't have a high view ofmyself and a low view of others,
and I think this is where weneed to stay, where we need to
remain.
And what's amazing is Pauldoesn't even know that the blood
that is inside that lamb theymeasure it out and that would be
(16:00):
about the amount of blood thatis inside of a human and Paul
doesn't even know that theyhadn't even gotten to that point
in science yet to know that thesame amount of blood.
So, when he's saying this,under the unction of the Holy
Spirit, that I'm being pouredout, it would have been the same
measure that was being pouredout as a drink offering.
So his blood literally beingthe sacrifice that's being
poured out.
How beautiful that is.
And thinking about how he'ssaying I'm the blood that's
(16:23):
being poured out, like I'm doingthis, but you may see it as
waste, but God sees it asworship.
Can I just say you may see yoursacrifice that you've done as
waste, but God sees it asworship.
You may God does, like peoplemay not see all the things that
you're doing, but God does andhe sees it as worship.
Verse 18, for the same reason,you also be glad and rejoice,
(16:47):
joy, count number seven with me,and so, and he's saying
basically, like all this, likebe excited, don't be sad that
I'm being poured out as a drinkoffering.
This is great.
Then we go into Philippians 2,19 through 24.
If you're doing notes in yourbrackets of your Bible, this is
a nice little chiasm we havehere.
(17:08):
We have in verse 19,.
We have 19a would be a on yourchiasm structure, and it says
but I trust in the Lord Jesus tosend Timothy to you shortly.
That I may also be encouragedwhen I know your state.
That's B, for I have no onelike-minded who will sincerely
(17:34):
care for your state.
That's C.
Verse 21,.
For all seek their own, not thethings which are of Christ.
That's D.
That's the point of ourchiasmic structure, chiastic
structure.
And then we have 22,.
But you know his provencharacter that as a son with his
(17:55):
father, he served with me inthe gospel.
That's C.
We're going back down on theother side C, c, negative.
And then we have 23,.
Therefore I hope to send himthat at once.
So as soon as I see how it goeswith me, that's B negative.
And 24 it says but I trust Inthe Lord that I myself Shall
(18:18):
also come shortly, so that's Anegative.
So we have our book, our footsof our mountain.
There Is going to be trustingin the lord, um, jesus to be
sent, and I love that.
He says that I'll come shortly.
Okay, come shortly.
When I think of like comeshortly, I think about people
that live like five minutes froma grocery store.
What would that be like?
I don't know that life, um,because we live 30 minutes from
(18:41):
everything at our house, and sohe's like I'm going to come
shortly.
The come shortly he's talkingabout is an 800 mile one way
journey.
800 mile, one way journey.
My brain doesn't compute that.
I don't call that come shortly,I call that go longly.
But again you see this low viewof himself that he's not.
(19:06):
Have you ever had somebody dosomething for you.
And then they're talking abouthow difficult it was to do it.
And you're like oh, thank youfor dinner.
And they're like oh, I had togo to three stores and the line
was so long and then it tookforever.
And then I got to the car, itwas raining, it was actually a
hurricane and it blew all thegroceries away and I chased them
down.
(19:26):
And then I came in.
I had to dry off all thegroceries and then like and
you're like, by the time theyget to the end of it, and
they're like huffing, andthey're like now I have to clean
the whole kitchen.
And I'm so glad you came though.
And you're like I'm sorry, Ishowed up, paul goes, I'm just
(19:47):
going to come shortly.
Now it's 800 miles one way.
So it means you go 800 milesand then, guess what, you have
to go back 800 miles.
And he's like Timothy's going todo this.
And Timothy's just like yeah,I'll go shortly, I'll go run to
the store real quick.
What if we stopped huffingabout, oh, I got to go to Costco
for, uh, for fast track.
Oh, so hard.
Now I'm just going to comeshortly.
(20:09):
It's not a big deal.
It's my joy to get to do this?
Like I get to do this.
Oh, I got to get there earlybecause I got to meet up with
team and we got to tear down thechairs in the worship center
because we got legacy lunch andoh, so hard.
No, I'm just going to comeshortly.
Are y'all feeling me?
800 mile journey.
This would have taken a longtime to go 800 miles, but I love
(20:29):
this because he says he's goingto come to you shortly.
That I may be encouraged.
When I know of your state, he'slike listen, guys, I'm so
excited to find out how you'redoing.
Like, think about the joy I'mgoing to go on.
I'm going to send somebody on a1600 mile journey just because
I'm so excited to see how you'redoing.
I'm so excited to meet with you.
I'm so excited to hear what'shappening in your life, for I
(20:50):
have no one like-minded who willsincerely care for your state.
I love this so much becausePaul's saying when I send
Timothy, it's like I'm sendingme.
Like when I send Timothy, he'scarrying the same heart, the
same passion, the sameenthusiasm.
I want to ask you do you have aTimothy that can sit in rooms
that you're not in?
Like, our goal is that we haveTimothys, right that the goal is
(21:15):
that, as we grow, paul wouldn'thave been able to manage all
these churches if he was the onedoing it all.
But he's like guys, timothycarries the same heart as me.
So, in other words, if you'rerejecting Timothy, you're
rejecting me.
Can I just say, like a staff,like as we grow, like you're
(21:36):
representing Brian and I, right,like you're, you're, yes, you
have direct reports, but likeyou're carrying my heart, you're
carrying our heart in everyroom.
So can I just say to oneanother when you reject other
staff members, you're rejectingme.
When you're judgmental andcritical about Pastor Tylan,
you're judgmental of me.
When you're judgmental andcritical about fill in the blank
Ranchito or Matt, you'recritical of me because no one
(21:59):
has my heart like them, nobody'sgonna carry it like them, like
you're not just entrusted, liketo your task, to your role, but
it's that same kind of caringthat Paul's like, if I can't be
in the room, I'm okay because Iknow Zach's going to be in the
room and he's going to carry theheart like me.
So how you greet people is howthey see me greeting them.
(22:19):
So if you're rude and short,they're like Pastor Brian's rude
and short.
If you're too busy and you'relike like I've got bigger things
to do, then they see it not asShaq's that way, they see it as
Pastor Brian's that way, andhe's like nobody carries my
heart like him.
So how he walks in a roommatter.
(22:39):
How you walk into that lobbymatters.
How you respond to peoplematters.
How you reply to emails matter.
You're not replying as Courtney, you're replying as Brian Wade
Sparks, and that's the waypeople see it.
But even more so, they see itas Jesus and it's their view of
the church, whether we like itor not.
Because when they have a badinteraction with Emily they
(23:00):
didn't have a bad interactionwith Emily, they had a bad
interaction with Brian.
Bigger one church, even biggerGod, and so we have to be
careful, right.
And so he says nobody carriesmy there, my heart, like Timothy
.
And he says for all, seek umtheir own, not things which are
of Christ Jesus.
I think this is interestingbecause he's saying that
(23:22):
selfishness is the antithesis ofChristianity.
Christ thinks of others first,and often we're thinking of
ourselves first.
Timothy was chosen not becauseit doesn't say anything about
his giftedness, doesn't sayanything about his talent, it's
that he was selfless.
(23:42):
That's what Paul says.
As staff, let me tell you weshould be the most selfless
people here.
And if we're thinking, where'smy seat, where's my position,
where's my accolade, where's my?
Nobody just told me thank you,nobody's what, are we okay?
And if ever we start like thatselfish mentality again, I
(24:06):
expect that in the world.
I don't expect that from you.
Hey, one College, you should bethe most selfless people.
You should be the first to giveup your seat.
You should be the first likehey, rance, you need somebody
this weekend.
I'm your person, man, put me on, put me anywhere.
Like what Emily was saying.
Like, is there ways that Godcan't use you?
And if there ever is ways thatGod can't use you, please give
(24:26):
up your seat to somebody else,because there's a line of people
who'd love to take your spot,they'd love to do what you do.
Are we okay?
Like I expect people that comein on Sunday to be selfish and
act like the world, I expectthem to say I want hot coffee, I
want my seat.
But when staff and collegestudents start acting that way,
I'm disappointed.
(24:47):
But he says the reason Timothywas selected is not because he
was the most talented.
You may be the most gifted, butGod can't use you because
you're so.
You've got your mind on you andif you got your mind on you,
you're not going to make adifference in others.
Are we doing?
Okay?
You still love me.
Praise God, amen.
So his he says.
But you have you know this byhis proven character that as a
(25:11):
son with his father, he servedwith me in the gospel.
I love that so much.
Again, he's using familiallanguage and you think about a
son with a father.
I want to be a son of the house.
Well, think about what does theson of the house mean?
It means you haveresponsibility.
A son carries responsibility.
My son has differentresponsibilities in my house
than if somebody else walkedinto my house.
(25:31):
I have no problem asking my sonto take out the trash and I
don't do a parade when he doesit, it's just take out the trash
.
Now, if you're a guest in myhouse and I ask you to take out
the trash, I'm gonna be likethank you so much, like you're
the best, you're awesome, highfives, like nobody takes out
this trash like you.
But to my son I'm like Ositoget in here and take out the
(25:52):
trash and then when it's done,it's just done.
I'm still doing the thing.
Oh, and after you're done doingthat, clean the toilet in the
half bathroom.
Oh, and, by the way, pick yourdrawers up off the floor.
But my sentences are short.
Why?
Because a father and a son.
You don't need flowery languageIf you're offended because you
wanted to be a son of the house.
But then you're offended becausethe sentences got short.
You didn't want to be a son,you just wanted to be a guest.
(26:15):
And if I have to be like, noone's like you, ty, no one's
like you because you made theroster.
Congratulations, you're a son,are we okay?
Okay, second thing about a sonis you get rebuked.
(26:36):
And if you're not beingcorrected and you don't respond
well to correction, I'll justsay you're not a son, you're a
hireling.
And it's like what's your heartposture when you're corrected?
What happens in you?
Do you get offended?
Well, that's not fair.
Like to dig your heels in whenyour direct report gives you
feedback like, hey, i's not fair.
Like to dig your heels in whenyour direct report gives you
feedback like, hey, I'm noticingthis.
You can like get sold up.
(26:56):
Or you can say no, I'm a son,I'm a daughter of the house and
a son and a daughter.
My kids get corrected.
My kids are held accountablefor the behavior that they have.
You can come in my house andyou can have a terrible attitude
and that's fine, like as aguest, but as my daughter, you
won't, in Jesus name, like you,you are accountable for how you
treat people.
(27:16):
You are accountable for how youreact.
You are accountable for thosethings.
And he says that his characterhas been proven.
Which it's been proven, whichmeans it's gone through tests
and trials.
You don't, you don't become ason in the faith by attending a
few weeks or being around for awhile.
It's character over time, it'sfaithfulness for the long haul.
And so he says therefore, Ihope to send him at once as soon
(27:39):
as I see how it goes with me.
I love that so much becausehe's like guys.
I really love Timothy.
I don't want to let him go, butI'm going to send him to you.
It says but I trust in the Lordthat I myself shall come
shortly.
And so Paul's emphasis frombeginning to end was I trust in
(28:01):
the Lord Jesus.
Our goal, guys, everythingGod's called us to do, is to
trust in the Lord.
And I was thinking about thestory in Numbers and the.
I don't think I have time forthis, I'm going to go just
really fast.
Is this okay In Numbers?
Whenever they go in to spy outthe land and they come back, we
all know the story.
This is the land, here's itsfruit, but the giants in the
(28:24):
land are big.
Okay, remember, we talk aboutnarrative in one college.
When you know the overall story, you get the point.
The point in everything is toremain a faithful witness.
Okay, so I was reading, I wasthinking about this story the
other day and I thought aboutthis.
The problem with, in that moment, the problem wasn't there.
(28:47):
What they saw, the problemwasn't the fruit.
And I thought about it this wayit's.
They started to think they'rethe ones that parted the Red Sea
.
They started to think they'rethe ones that making manna fall.
They started to think thatthey're the ones that were
making all these things happen.
They forgot that every miraclethey had seen up into this point
(29:11):
was never measured by theirability.
But for some reason, they gotthe spotlight off of God and
they got it on themselves.
And, guys, let me tell you he'ssaying from beginning to end I
trust in the Lord Jesus, andfrom beginning to end.
We trust in the Lord Jesus.
Nobody can do it.
You can't make a roster withoutthe Holy Spirit.
(29:32):
You can't do what God's calledyou to do without the Holy
Spirit.
You can't lead a song set listwithout the Holy Spirit.
You can't do a kid's classroom,especially if it goes over time
, without the Holy Spirit.
Like you need the presence ofGod, and that is the main thing.
And when the children of Israelgot the spotlight off of God and
got it on themselves, itlimited them.
(29:56):
And when the children of Israelgot the spotlight off of God
and got it on themselves, itlimited them.
And it was because they stoppedbeing faithful witnesses to
what they've seen God do.
And then we got to remindourselves what we've seen God do
, his faithfulness in everyseason, and you see this with
Joseph, that he remained afaithful witness, even in the
pit, even through all the things, he remained faithful to what
God's called him to do.
And so then we're linking thisin.
(30:16):
We see this theme of like beinga faithful witness throughout
scripture, but this has beenjust on my mind is in Revelation
, chapter 21, verse 8, 21, verse8.
It says but the cowardly, theunbelieving, the abominable, the
murderers, the sexual, thesorcerers, the idolaters and the
liars all have their part inthe lake, which burns with fire
(30:37):
and brimstone, which is thesecond death.
It's wild to me that the firstis the cowardly.
And it's this theme of beinghello faithful witnesses that
we're called to be.
Faithful witnesses, which meanshow I'm a faithful witness is.
I keep the spotlight on God andI keep it off of myself.
(30:59):
And if you ever start thinkingthat it's your talent that opens
doors, it's your faithfulness,it's your goodness, it's your
ability.
No, it's our trust in God.
God is the one that's faithful.
You can't grow your team onyour own.
You can't make this thinghappen without.
And he says from beginning toend I'm just gonna let you know
here's my plans and what I wantGod to do, but I trust God and
(31:20):
it's gonna end in trusting God.
We start every youth servicewith we trust God.
We end every youth service withI trust God.
We start every Sunday with Itrust God and we end every
Sunday and I trust God.
When did you start making itabout you?
And whenever I step into me,I'm always going to feel
insufficient.
Whenever I step into me, I'mgoing to go.
I don't know that I have thetalent.
(31:40):
I don't know that I have theresources.
I don't know that I have theability, and I'm just like cause
.
We can talk about the childrenof Israel with those grapes and
coming in and telling themhere's the fruit.
But how many times have we beenguilty of the same thing?
Because we start measuring whatGod's asked us to do on our
ability and we got to remindourselves.
I never parted the Red Sea inthe first place.
I never swallowed Pharaoh'schariots in the first place.
(32:02):
I didn't make the plagueshappen in the first place.
I didn't make the manna come inthe first place.
I'm really not that good.
And when we start getting thespotlight on us and we forget
everything that God's done, wecease to be faithful witnesses,
which means we become cowards,hello.
So let's get our, let's get ourfocus back.
(32:23):
Let's get our focus back and,as team, as we go into this next
week and as we go into thisSunday, let our, let our hearts
cry be.
I trust God, like frombeginning to end.
I don't know how this is goingto work out, but I trust God.
I don't know how to pay off $11million worth of property, but
I trust God, and how are yougoing to do it?
One dollar at a time, one actof God's faithfulness at a time.
(32:44):
I don't know how we're going toget our team to the next level,
because I know three servicesare coming here in Caddo.
But you know what I trust God.
I don't know how we're going todo all the things that God's
got in May.
The month of May is crazy, but Iknow this, I trust God, and if
I look at my own talent, my ownability, come on, some of you
have got some things you'repraying for and you're measuring
up your own natural ability.
(33:05):
Look back at what God's done,look back at the testimony of
his faithfulness, because inthat season of seeing the next
impossibility, I need to be afaithful witness of the things
I've seen and the things I'veexperienced.
That, god, you've been sofaithful, You've been so good.
This has never been about me,and so I'm going to hold the
fruit of the land I'm going topossess, and I'm not possessing
(33:26):
it because I'm that good.
I'm possessing it becauseyou're that good.
I'm not possessing it becauseI'm skilled for army, but I'm
possessing it because you'reskilled for army and you're the
Lord of the battle, and so Iknow that if you call me to it,
you're gonna get me through it.
And so I'm just gonna keeptrusting you, one day at a time,
reminding myself of the lastmiracle I saw, and then
somewhere in that time, godshows up and he does the next
(33:48):
miracle.
I trust God.
I just trust God.
Let that be our heart's cry asa team.
Amen, can I pray as we closeout.
Father, we trust you, lord.
Let us be faithful witnesses.
God, lord, even as the wordsays, it's a crooked and
perverse generation.
This isn't a new problem thatwe see in the world today.
It's just the fallen state ofhumanity.
(34:09):
But, god, let our light shinebright for you, lord, any area
where we cease being a faithfulwitness.
God, would you just reignite ourhearts again, lord, would you
remind us that we're called toact like Christ followers, not
like the world?
Lord, smite our hearts anytimethat we take even a step off the
path that you've called us toLord.
(34:30):
Remind us, lord, of yourfaithfulness, how you've been so
good in every season, even asPastor Jimmy was talking about
where him and Mamaw came fromthat, god.
I thank you that, lord, we allhave testimonies of your
goodness.
Will you remind them to us thisweek?
Will you call them to ourremembrance how, every time
you've been faithful.
So, lord, I thank you that everydollar that we need is already
(34:52):
there.
Lord, we thank you that everyteam member that we need, it's
already there.
Lord, we thank you for everypiece of land that belongs to
one church is already ours,because we trust in you.
You're the Lord of the battle,god.
We just have to look to you andso, father, we love you, we
praise you.
Thank you that we get to dothis.
May we be faithful witnessesfor you in Jesus name.
And somebody who believed itsaid amen.
(35:13):
Thanks so much for hanging outhere on my podcast.
Do me a favor and hit thesubscribe button if you haven't
done so already, so you nevermiss out on anything here on my
podcast.
Also, one of the best ways forus to begin to reach other
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So if you do me a favor andshare this podcast with a friend
(35:34):
, family member or maybe on yoursocial media, help us get the
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