Ask the Pastor with J.D. Greear

At some point, we all deal with criticism of some kind. In this episode of Ask Me Anything, Pastor J.D. talks about how to deal with criticism when it comes your way. Show Notes: We’ve talked before about how to lead through criticism, but I’d like to tackle this more generally, because we all receive criticism. So, how do you deal with it? Get over your idolatry of others’ approval. Kabod , one of theHebrew words the Bible uses for idolatry, literally means weight.  So you’re giving something glory — you’re worshipping it — when you give it an undue amount of weight. The fear of man means that you depend on people—their opinions, their approval, their presence — as a source of life and happiness. (Ed Welch: When People Are Big and God Is Small) Don’t get super callous. Tim Keller said that for some people, totally ignoring criticism can be a sign of pride. A lot of people are immune to criticism because they so confident they are right and because they feel that others are so far beneath them. Learn from criticism. In 2 Samuel 16, there’s a story about a man named Shimei who criticized King David. David’s men said, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.” But David wouldn’t do it, because he thought perhaps God had appointed this man to keep him humble or teach him something. I have learned some really valuable lessons from critics — many of whom probably approached me with bad motives… but they were right. And upon reflection, I realized there was something good in that for me. That doesn’t mean what they did was justified or they did it in the right way, but I still want to be able to learn from it. Consider the source. People often assume the worst about your motives or the intelligence you use in your decisions. An accomplished historian once told me, “To understand someone is to forgive them.” Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, said to always keep the mentality that, “My co-workers are smart and have good intentions.” I have a handful of people whose opinions I trust and I know see my motives, and criticism from them means more than it does from anyone else. God is greater than my heart. The opinion of God is always more important than what others say. Like Paul said, if we sought to please men only, we wouldn’t really be servants of Christ. Maybe you’re your own worst critic, but know that God is greater than your heart. In him, you are his, you are forgiven, you have a purpose, he’s appointed you for good works, he’s anointed you to become fruitful and be useful in his kingdom… he’s made all kinds of promises about how he sees you once you’re in Christ, and the incredibly useful, gifted, beautiful, talented person he’s making you into. When your heart tells you you can’t do anything right, trust God’s opinion instead.   Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this episode, Pastor J.D. answers the question, “What do I do if there’s a sin I can’t shake?” and gives some practical ways to fight sin. Show Notes: If we’re honest, we all ask this question at some point because we all have seasons of suffering with sin. Now, let me say: for some people, the sins they can’t shake would fall into the addiction category, in which case you’d need additional resources to help fight that. We’ll talk more about that later. But even when dealing with addictions, some of the core things I’m saying would still apply. The Bible tells us that we’ll be locked in a struggle between our spirit when it’s been renewed in Christ and our flesh for our entire lives. Even the Apostle Paul was very honest about his struggles with sin—and that’s after doing so many amazing things for Christ! My advice would probably be three things: First, just never, ever give up the fight. The worst thing to do is to say, “I’ll never overcome this, so I’ll stop fighting it.” Tim Keller talks about how the Christian life feels like a battle we can never win, when in reality, it’s a battle we can never lose. When you re-believe the gospel and you preach it to yourself, that actually infuses the power of new life into you. Second, it’s important to realize that fighting sin is about learning grace. C.S. Lewis talked about this: God sometimes lets us struggle with lesser sins to keep us from the greatest one: PRIDE. So, God may let you struggle with certain sins so that you will stay closely tethered to his grace. That doesn’t mean you ever stop praying for victory, just that God is up to something good even in delaying the answer.In my library I have this book of letters by John Newton, the writer of the famous hymn Amazing Grace, and one of my favorites is one he wrote in his 80’s to a friend where he confessed that by this point in his life he had always assumed that after walking with God for 50 to 60 years he’d have gotten complete victory over his temptations. He said that some of those temptations, however, felt stronger than ever. And at first that made him depressed, wondering if something was fundamentally wrong with him spiritually–maybe not saved. But in this letter he told his friend that now he realized that God let him struggle with some of these sinful temptations and probably would until the day he died to keep him from the worst sin: pride. “True growth in grace, he said, this side of the resurrection, (listen to this) doesn’t mean getting to a place where you no longer feel like you need God’s grace, but growing in your awareness of just how desperate for God’s grace that you really are.” John Newton You learn to lean on God in failure, not in success. It’s like John Stott says, “Pride is your greatest enemy, humility is your greatest friend.” Finally, a great way to fight sin is to institute new spiritual disciplines.  You might not be utilizing spiritual weaponry… you read the Bible and confess your sins, but it’s like using a water gun to put out a house fire. Fasting is essentially you starving the flesh in order to feed and grow the spirit. Radical accountability Scripture memorization Counter talking Be killing sin or it will be killing you. Books:  Letters of Newton On the Mortification of Sin – John Owen Jerry Bridges: The Pursuit of Holiness; Discipline of Godliness Because We Love Him – Clyde Cranford Habits of Grace – David Mathis Saints, Sufferers & Sinners – Michael R. Emlet bradhambrick.com Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

In this episode, Pastor J.D. continues through our series on Psalm 23. This week, he answers, “What if God is using your pain to bring you closer to him?” Show Notes: God uses your pain to bring you to him Here’s the question Naaman’s story should make you ask: What if God was trying to send you a message in your pain?  I’m not saying this is true for all the pain we go through, but it’s a question some of you should at least ask?  You see, up until the moment that Naaman discovered this spot on him, he had felt on top of the world. The story says he was “on the kings’ arm,” which means he was the king’s right hand man. It says he was “highly regarded,” which meant he was “a celebrity.” Everybody in Syria loved him. He was a national hero, trending on Twitter.  And all that was taken away in a moment, by one small spot. One small spot brought the mighty Naaman crashing to the ground. One small spot showed him how fragile everything was. What if God was doing something similar in your pain? Again I’m not saying for sure that is what is happening, but… What if that “problem” had been put there by God to wake you up to a bigger problem—the problem that you’re not right with God and don’t know him?  I know a lot of athletes that point to a debilitating injury as the thing that finally woke them up to the really important things in life. I once met a professional athlete who had just signed a multi-million-dollar contract to play in the pro’s, but then got into an accident doing something dumb that totally destroyed his future career. This guy didn’t know God; his career was his god. He told me with tears in his eyes, “I lay there on the ground, my legs broken, saying to myself, ‘I can’t believe I threw away my entire career for a few foolish seconds of fun.’” I said to him, “Respectfully, I think God may have been up to something bigger in your life. I think I might have been trying to say to you, ‘You are throwing away your entire eternity for a few seconds of glory in an athletic arena.’” To make a long story short, God ended up using this to bring him to Christ. What if God, in your pain, had something for you beyond—better than—even the cure that you seek? And what if this thing he had for you was so valuable that after you found him, like Naaman, you find yourself failing to mention the healing–so great is the treasure you have in God?  So, again, I ask: Has God revealed a spot in your life that tells you that you’re not as together as you have thought? Maybe the ‘spot’ is a wrinkle in your marriage—your marriage is falling apart and you can’t do anything about it;  Maybe it’s a problem with your kids and you feel helpless. That’s maybe where I see this most. You are worried about them, or maybe they are wandering. Or maybe you have no more relationship with them and you keep asking, “How did we get here?” Maybe it’s a habit you can’t break (alcoholism, pornography, a bad temper) Maybe it’s a personal failure you’re humiliated by Maybe it is a dull, aching unhappiness you just can’t get rid of.  Maybe it’s the inability to figure something out. You feel paralyzed, unsure of which way to go. A health scare. In a sense, all of us have this same spot–it’s our mortality. We are all going to die. Your body has an expiration date on it. It’s like you walk around with a stick of dynamite in your hand with no idea how long the fuse it. It could be a week or it could be 70 years, but at some point you will die. Even with all our advances in modern medicine, the death rate is holding steady at 100%. These spots can all wake you up to a bigger problem–that is, where you stand with the God who created all of us. You see, leprosy, throughout the Bible, you see, symbolizes sin. Like leprosy, sin deadens. It grows in you and corrupts you over time. Because of it, you slowly lose feeling in your life—parts of you die. Your innocence; your joy; your optimism; your compassion for others. You become grotesque. Scripture says, “the wages of sin is death.” Our souls have a spot of sin on them that is corroding us from the inside out. And sometimes these lesser spots–the problems in our lives–can wake us up to the ultimate spot we should be worried about.  Not that every leper who heads out to the Jordan River will find healing for his skin disease; the point is to show us that God sometimes uses suffering to open up your eyes to your need of him. Again, I’m not saying that is the case with you–as we saw with Job and Joseph, a lot of our suffering doesn’t have a root cause in our lives. But, sometimes God is trying to get our attention. As the writer of Psalm 119 says, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I obey your word” (Ps 119:67) (God used affliction to bring me back to himself.) So, our first point is that God often uses our pain to bring us back to him. And Naaman shows us that all we need to respond to God, if he’s doing that in our lives, is humility and faith.  Humility: That’s the one thing God keeps going after with Naaman. Naaman in this story keeps trying to go to the top: “Let me see the prophet. Here’s an enormous amount of money. Ask me to do something hard.” Yet God keeps sending Naaman to the bottom. Talk to an intern. Do something humiliating.  The path to God is the path of humility. You can’t get there any other way. If you are going to be saved, the one thing you absolutely need is a sense of absolute need. Eph 2:8–9: For by grace you have been saved through faith–faith not in what you have done, but what Jesus has done. It is the gift of God–this healing has nothing to do with Naaman’s might or strength. It is not given as a reward for anything in you. It is the gift of God.  You see, the cross absolutely destroys our pride. The cross declares that God’s verdict on our lives was death. Some of you have always lived for report cards. You always want the “A,” the “high pass.” The “graduated with honors.” The “pat on the back.” On the report card of life, the only one that really matters, all of us received a failing grade. And to receive healing from Jesus, we have to admit that. Embrace it. So, I ask again: Do you have the humility to come to Jesus?  Think about how much humility it took for Naaman to cross that border into Israel, a place he regarded as inferior to Syria, to seek salvation; to admit that the healing he sought could not be found among his own mighty Syrians but among the despised Jews. I say this because maybe this is where you are: you never thought you’d be in a place like this, with people like these. A church of born-again Christians? For some of you, we are in the same category as knuckle-dragging Neanderthals for you. Do you have the humility and courage to question your convictions, to consider these things with an open mind? God can save anybody, it just takes humility and faith. Faith means just believing what God says and taking a chance on it. Like Naaman did. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

This week, we continue our series taken from a recent sermon series Pastor J.D. did at The Summit Church on Psalm 23 where he answers: “What does waiting on God actually look like?” Show Notes: When the Duke of Wellington fought Napoleon at Waterloo, the fate of Europe hung in the balance, and everybody knew that. So everyone in England waited anxiously for the news of the battle. Of course, there were no cell phones or TV or telegrams. The quickest way news would get back to England would be by ship. And so, on the day of the battle, a large mass of people stood on the shore waiting on news. Many were parents or loved ones of English soldiers fighting in the battle. Well, a ship came into view and began to signal by semaphore (where you spell out letters by flashing lanterns). It was a foggy day, however, and the message received on land was “Wellington defeated.” The people began to wail in despair, and weep, because they had lost. but after almost an hour, the fog cleared and they saw the rest of the message, “Wellington defeated… THE ENEMY.” When Jesus died, the demons screamed out “Jesus defeated,” but when the fog lifted on that bright Sunday morning, we got the rest of the message. Jesus defeated… THE ENEMY.  When your loved one dies, when you’ve been betrayed by the friend or let down by the spouse or you are languishing in prison like Joseph, the demons scream into your heart, “You are defeated…” When your kid is wandering, when your body is sick, when you don’t make the team or get passed over, “You are defeated…” But there is a day coming when the fog lifts and you see that NOT ONE THING was out of God’s control and not one thing was wasted and that Christ was victorious over all of it. God is always good, but the arc of God’s goodness is longer than we typically think. That’s how it has always been.  We should wait confidently. Think about all the things Joseph’s story demonstrates God’s sovereignty over: The jealousy of Joseph’s brothers led to Joseph’s being sold into slavery–God was sovereign over their jealousy; the fact that Joseph just so happened to be bought by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s army, set him up to be held in the prison for royal prisoners, where he would meet the butler–God was sovereign over that; the fact that the butler had a poor memory led to Joseph being right where they would know to find him when Pharaoh had his dream 2 years later. God was sovereign over the butler’s poor memory. Even what appeared just to be bad luck was under the control of God’s providence: Think about it (let me have a little artistic license here): When Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph’s coat, I ask, what if he had worn his nicer coat that day–the one that was double stitched and wouldn’t have ripped so easily? Without the evidence, Potiphar may not have believed her, which means Joseph would never have gone to prison, and thus never met the butler and thus never met Pharaoh and thus never been in a position to save Israel. That means that in a way, Israel’s entire future hinged on a piece of cheap Egyptian fabric. God was sovereign over that. Scripture presents God as in control of everything: The wind, the rain, lightning, earthquakes, tsunamis, the flight of a sparrow, the blooming of a lily, the hairs on your head, good kings, wicked kings, every roll of every dice, the outcome of battles, the placement of every one of the billions and billions and billions of stars, your thoughts, my thoughts, angels, demons, even Satan himself. All of it is under the providence of God. (This doesn’t mean God is the one acting in those things or that he is behind evil, just that he is orchestrating all of them for the accomplishment of his purposes.) Now, I know what some of you might say, “Well, what about the ways I have messed things up?” If you have committed your way to God, he uses even those things, providentially, as part of his good work in your life.  I have to think that in that first stint in prison, Joseph said to himself, “Why did I have to be so braggy about my dreams? What if I’d been more humble, more discreet?”  But Joseph came to the same realization that David did in Psalm 23. It’s not just goodness that follows me, but mercy. Steadfast mercy, Joseph says. Mercy means that even when we mess up, God responds with never-stopping, never giving up, love. Which covers even our mistakes.  And so, we wait not only patiently, but confidently, too…  We should wait intimately. The theme running through Joseph and David’s life is that even in the worst of times, they communed with God. They feasted upon God. Which is what this sponge is about.  It’s to show you how Joseph was able to respond with confidence and kindness and forgiveness even in the worst situations.  In the prisons, Joseph, like David, kept embracing that God was with him. God prepared a table before him in the presence of his enemies, and he feasted on God (dip sponge)…  He got sold by his brothers–he feasted on God.  He was wronged by Potiphar’s wife–he feasted on God. Isn’t it amazing how when life squeezed Joseph, what came out of him was joy, confidence, integrity, and forgiveness? You want to know why? It’s because in times of waiting he feasted at the table of God, so that when life squeezed him, what came out of him was God.  When you squeeze something, what comes out of it is what’s in it.  Now, compare that to this sponge (Dry). Same sponge! Why? It’s not soaking in water. If you want God to come out of you when life squeezes you, you have to feast on him. So, what comes out of you in a moment of trial? Is it trust and joy and integrity and forgiveness, or when you go through a trial do you respond with (to quote Tony Evans) ‘cussing, fussing, complaining and blaming’?   You want to know why those things come out at your moment of trial?  Because of what you feast on when you wait. You nurse disbelief and anger and self-pity, so that’s what comes out of you when life squeezes you.  If you want to respond like Joseph responded, you have to soak where Joseph soaked, and feast where he feasted.  You want to be soaked in God’s promises that when life cuts you, you bleed God’s word. Finally…  We should wait expectantly. I’ve told you that you may not get to see the culmination of goodness in your lifetime, and that is true.  But, you might get to see glimpses of it. Joseph did. Job did.  God is a good God who loves to bless people. A verse I love:  Psalm 27:13, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!” IOW, now, while I live now, before I get to heaven. It’s not JUST in the sweet by and by that I want to experience God’s goodness, but now. How many of you would say, “I need to experience it now in my marriage, in my children, in my relationships–NOW.  And while, by God’s grace, I’ll wait patiently–until eternity if that’s what it takes–if God wants to “Job” me or “Joseph” me, and I have to wait, that’s fine—but I don’t want to give up yearning for, asking God to pour his goodness out now, in the land of the living.  Waiting in these 4 ways activates the promises of God. Not only does waiting in these 4 ways give you Joseph’s indomitable spirit, it activates God’s saving power! A lot of places in Scripture: The woman with the hem of the garment; Syro-Phoencian woman (according to your faith). Jacob. Matt 13:58 I asked you at the beginning: How would your life change if you believed that in all things God was with you?   Let me add this now: And How would your perspective change if you believed that in all these dark chapters, God was unfailingly pursuing a good plan? That even though the arc of God’s goodness is longer than we expect, it’s always there and he’s always pursuing it?  I heard a talk a while back by Steve Saint, whose father Nate Saint you may know was murdered on the beaches of Equator several years ago. There was a particularly hostile tribe there, called the Aucas, that was untouched by civilization. 5 men, called the “Auca 5,” tried to establish contact with them and they were all murdered. Later, Steve was part of a group that went back to that same people and ended up making friends with them. He led to Christ the man that murdered his father.  In fact, in one of most remarkable grace stories I’ve ever heard. He baptized the very man who killed his father, Mincaye, and adopted him as his kids’ grandfather.  He said: “Why is it that we insist every chapter to be good when God promises only that in the last chapter he will make all the other chapters make sense?” Y’all, I love that story for so many reasons. In trial, God is working. And one day we might see it. He’s working in your group. The Psalmist wants to: I want to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Ps 27:13).  In the meantime, I know that God is always good.  …Even when I can’t see it, you’re working; even when I can’t feel it, you’re working. You never stop, you never stop working.  And not one thing–not one single thing–is wasted. All of it has meaning. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

This week, we dive into a short series taken from a recent sermon series Pastor J.D. did at The Summit Church on Psalm 23. First, Pastor J.D. answers: “What does faith look like in a season of suffering?” Show Notes: “The faith of desperation.” Job expresses this faith in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” God, I know you’re good. And I can’t understand what you’re doing but I know you’re working a good plan. And so even though everything around me is falling apart, I’m still going to trust that you are good. “Even though you slay me, yet will I trust you.” Many people never make it to this stage. They live on the faith of propriety. And it makes them judgmental. When something goes wrong in someone else’s life, they think, “Well, I wonder what they did wrong?” Their marriage isn’t going well, and you think, “Well, they’re different behind closed doors than what we see of them.” Or their finances are a mess and you think, “Well, they must not be very good money managers,” or, “They must not be putting God first.” One of their kids starts to wander and you think, “I wonder what they did wrong in their parenting? Unlike me over here who is just killing it as a parent, which is why my kids are doing so well.” You think that way because you only know the faith of propriety. But then God sends you through a Job chapter. And some people fall away, sadly. But others go on to develop the faith of desperation. It strips you of your judgmentalism and you say, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.”  Is this where you are? Have you ever been forced to develop this kind of faith?  Dallas Willard says, “Often God allows us to reach the point of desperation so we can learn how to trust. It is a hard lesson, but an essential one. The “life without lack” is known by those who have learned how to trust God in the moment of their need. In the moment of their need. Not before the moment of need, not after the moment of need when the storm has passed, but in the moment of need. For it is in that moment, when everything else is gone, that you know the reality of God.” Is that where you are?  Ah, but, believe it or not, there was still another level of faith for Job–it’s the faith of Psalm 23, and Dallas Willard calls it “The faith of sufficiency.”   I used to think that the faith of desperation was the ultimate expression of faith, but Dallas Willard showed me there was a 3rd kind of faith, an even higher type, and it appears right at the end of the book of Job. It’s the faith that rejoices, sits silently and calmly, in the presence of the Shepherd. You see, throughout the book of Job, Job has been protesting his situation before God. “God, I did it all right! I obeyed you! I put you first in my marriage, my parenting, my finances, and look what happened! When are you going to come through for me?” Throughout the book of Job, Job keeps saying, “I want to appear before God. I want to see God and talk to him face to face.”  And so, at the end of the book of Job, God grants him that audience. Job sees God. He stands in his presence. And when that happens, Job says, “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer you? “Vile” here doesn’t mean what we think it means. It doesn’t mean “nasty” or “evil.” A better translation of the word “qalal” there would be “insignificant” or “unworthy.” Because I am so insignificant, “I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further” (Job 40:4–5).  Job says, “Seeing you, I see how utterly small-minded and unwise I am and how utterly sovereign and good you are.”  Job continues: “(Before this) I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear (IOW, I knew the doctrines about you–I knew how to answer the theological questions–you are powerful and good), but now my eye sees you (beholds you); therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Surely I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” Job 42:5–6 And at that point in the book, Job stopped pressing his case. He rested. He saw with his eyes the goodness of God and knew he could trust him in all things.  In fact, did you see where he said the word “repent”? “I repent in dust and ashes.” What was he repenting of? You see, the writer of the book of Job says repeatedly that throughout this whole ordeal Job had not sinned with his lips, so what is he repenting of? He’s repenting of not feasting upon and resting in the goodness of the Shepherd.  But now, you see–now–Job’s vision of God was so full and so satisfying that what happens to him from this point on doesn’t matter. He can trust in the goodness of God; content just to be in the presence of the Shepherd where goodness and mercy surround him and follow him and satisfy him all the days of his life. This is called the faith of sufficiency.  A lot of us are where Job was. We’ve heard about all these things with the hearing of our ears, but our eyes have never seen them and our souls have yet to feel them. Some of you are Bible-scholar level in you perception of the doctrines of God, but kindergarten in terms of your experience of them. You say, “Well, what exactly did Job see, and can I see it too?” Ah, now you’re asking the right question. Job gives us a pretty important clue to what he saw in chapter 19: “I know my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand on the earth… and I will stand with him!” (Job 19:25) Job saw how committed God was to reconciling him and how secure his future was with God. He saw his Redeemer–alive, after being slain, and standing on the earth.  Where do you learn the faith of sufficiency? “At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away, it was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day.” Not “happy” as in “I have no troubles,” but “happy” as in “filled to overflowing in the presence of my Shepherd.” Looking at the cross, you see, is not only the way we’re saved from sin, it’s the way we’re sustained in suffering. When we see a God willing to go to the cross on our behalf–willing to go to the depths of suffering to redeem us–that casts a transformative light on our own sufferings. A God who would not forsake us then, at the cross, will not forsake us now, in our hour of trouble, and we know that someday he will keep his promise to turn it all for good and make everything sad come untrue. We’ll stand with him. At the very end of the book of Job, in the final verses, God restored all that Job had lost, 7-fold in some cases–and God did that because God is good and he loves to pour out his goodness in the land of the living–but the point of Job is, and don’t miss this–Job’s joy came before that restoration. Job’s faith of sufficiency was founded on the fact that his Redeemer lives and stands with him. You stand by my side because you stood in my place! Let me ask you again: What do you think you lack this morning? What do you fear? Do you fear marriage going south? Your kids wandering? Still being single this time next year? Your health deteriorating? The death of your spouse? Loss of your job? The collapse of your finances? Nuclear war with Russia? No matter what it is, you can live without that fear. You do not have to be afraid of anything. Because God is with you, you have no lack, and so you can live without fear. Here’s my dilemma: I can’t teach you this. I couldn’t even teach myself. I can tell you stuff that you can hear with your ears, like Job heard, but only the Holy Spirit can open the eyes of your heart.  Philip Keller says that there’s one thing shepherds sometimes do that outsiders cannot understand. When a sheep continues to wander… the shepherd breaks the legs of the sheep. Carries that sheep on his back for the next 3 months as he heals, and when he puts him down that sheep never wanders again. Why? Because that sheep has learned that all that needs for fulfillment and security is to be close to the Shepherd. Maybe that’s what God is doing to you. Maybe that pain is not to punish you, but to teach you to learn more fully on him, so that your joy is unshakeable, because you know the greatest and most secure joy in the Universe–the joy of knowing that the Lord is your Shepherd and he is right beside you, knowing when even a hair of your head falls to the ground. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

This week, Pastor J.D. talks about whether or not Christians should listen to secular music. Show Notes: While I know it’ll frustrate the listeners, I’m going to have to give a “yes and no” answer. First of all, songs like the national anthem are secular songs — there’s really no way to avoid them. But let’s start with reasons why Christians might want to be very cautious or even want to mostly avoid secular music: The wrong kind of music leads to the wrong thought patterns. I heard someone a long time ago say that music affects us even more deeply than we realize, because it’s tied into our thought patterns. Proverbs (23:7) says that “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” John Mark Comer, in his book Live No Lies, writes: “If you sow a thought, you reap an action; if you reap an action, you reap another action; sow several actions, you reap a character; sow a character, you reap a destiny — either in slavery to the flesh or freedom of the spirit.” I listened to a fairly compelling YouTube video about this a few years ago, where this guy named Alan Parr was arguing that Christians generally should not listen to secular music. He said to ask yourself a few questions: Does the music I’m listening to promote an ungodly message? Am I being a light to others if I look just like them? Is this music hindering or helping my spiritual growth? But on the other hand, if you gave a “hard no” to this, you’d have to cut a lot of other things out as well: TV, movies, etc. Jesus tells us to be “in the world but not of the world.” Paul, in 1 Cor. 5, says that it’s impossible to totally separate yourself from all immorality in the world. That doesn’t mean you should participate in it, but that it’s impossible to separate yourself from all contact with it. That’s why I think it’s important to make a distinction between “non-Christian” music and “un-Christian” music. In other words, it’s one thing to say nobody should ever listen to a song that illicitly promotes sex, violence, etc. It’s another to say nobody should ever listen to Faithfully by Journey, or any Taylor Swift songs at all, etc. John Piper says: “There is such a thing as worldly music. One of the marks of worldly music is the exultation in a worldly view of life. A worldly view of life is a life that leaves Christ out and approves of what he disapproves. That is worldly. Worldly isn’t a sound; worldly is leaving Christ out. That is why it is called worldly and not Christly. And it approves of what he disapproves. It is called worldly because it treasures the world above the one who made the world. It revels in the very self-centeredness that gives rise to the miseries of the world.” I think about this similarly to how I think about the question: “Should you go to a party hosted by unbelievers?” It depends on what kind of party. At some parties, the whole point is to sin — I’d apply that to music and movies also. If the whole point is the glorification of sin, I don’t know if that’s the kind of thing our Savior delights in. After all, how could you love somebody and then delight in what led to their murder? What mood is the music you’re listening to putting you in? I don’t know about you, but the mood I need to dominate my heart is one that glorifies God and promotes goodness, truth, love and beauty, and that’s what I want to saturate myself with. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

This week, Pastor J.D. answers a question about whether or not we should give out our own pronouns when asked. Show Notes: We have actually talked about this topic a couple of years ago from another angle, and this may be a good time to revisit that. The podcast from several years ago got a lot of attention and a lot of people asked questions about it. I think it’s good to bring that back up, both to continue the conversation and also to clarify some things I said. I’d actually like to start by discussing that previous question (“Should we use someone’s preferred pronouns when asked?”). The conversation in our culture has shifted even since then. Also, I’ll be candid: as I’ve wrestled with this, some of my own thinking on this has crystalized and, I’d even say, matured. There are several dynamics at play when we think about a question like this. One of those is is truth. Our job as witnesses is to stand uncompromisingly on the truth, to rebuke our society, to stand against untruth and darkness. Another dynamic are the relational aspects of knowing someone and maintaining a relationship with them. We’re not just called to defend truth but to win people. So, if someone has transitioned and wants to be called different pronouns, should you consent to that? Let me first use a phrase I first heard from Andrew T. Walker: “The answer to that question begins and ends with no.” The reason I say that is because I think, as believers, we have to be crystal clear on the truth. I did make this point on our previous episode, talking about the necessity of being crystal clear on truth, but I think I should have been more clear and I want to do that now: there can be no ambiguity in our testimony to the world. This is not ambiguous in Scripture, it’s not unclear, and part of our calling is to speak to culture when culture does not align with what God has said. I understand there’s a lot of brokenness, dysphoria, and complexity to this for a lot of people, but we have to be honest about what the Bible says. After that has been made clear, some of these other relational dynamics kick in. In that previous episode, I was hypothesizing about a situation where I’m sitting in my office with a dad and his transgender child, coming to me for clarity and so I make clear to them what the Bible says. But, if in the course of conversation I used the child’s self-referential pronoun as I talk with and about them, just to keep them in the conversation, I don’t think that would represent a capitulation or compromise of truth if someone chose to do that, assuming they’d been clear about the truth on the front end and the back end. That should never be done in a way that implies acceptance or affirmation, even for a second. The easiest thing, honestly, is to use their name, even if that forces you to word things awkwardly. Again, we’re trying to balance two things: clearly testify to the truth, and doing our best to keep our relationship with the other person in order to engage with them at the heart level. Let me add a third thing we’re balancing: to fight the battle at the right location. Being clear and truthful about gender is a battle we have to fight, no matter how unpopular. But that doesn’t mean that I fire shots or draw battle lines in every other sentence when I’m trying to get the conversation focused on what we need to get it focused on. Our goal is to engage the issue in a way that engages the heart, and to speak truthful about God’s design without apology. So that’s why I say the answer to the question begins and ends with no. Now, back to whether or not you list your own pronouns when asked (like on a name-tag at work, for example).  Different dynamics are at play here. On the one hand, saying that my pronouns are he/him is a true statement. I’m not telling or affirming a lie. But, what obviously is being done here is an attempt to normalize the idea that pronouns are a choice. And for me to clarify what my pronouns are, I’m normalizing the question and we believe that’s not even a valid question. So, when I point out my pronouns, in one way, I’m making a true statement but in another way I’m normalizing a question that should not be normalized. For that reason, I would resist giving my pronouns wherever I could because I don’t want to normalize the gender confusion or recognize this as legitimate question. If a job requires this, or the government requires it one day on our ID, should we refuse that even if it means losing our job or going to jail? I’m not sure I’d want to give one answer that would just be applicable at all times and all places. I think you’d have to discern what is best for witness and truth and your calling to be somewhere. Lastly, while we’re talking about things you said in the past, we’ve gotten a number of questions about a sermon you preached a few years ago. You used the word “whispers” in relation to how the Bible speaks about homosexuality. So, can you explain what was happening in that statement, and would you still say that today?  The short answer is no. In a message on Romans 1:24-32 called “How the Fall Affects Us All,” I said that in comparison to how Jesus talks about the sins of religious pride and greed, it’s as if God whispers about sexual sin while he screams about pride and greed. It was a comparison by analogy. I regret the word choice. It was a rather clumsy way of making the point. The point I was trying to make — that Jesus seemed to save his “loudest thunder” for religious hypocrites — that point is one that I stand by. But in the end, the language that I used to make that point probably obscured more than it illuminated, and I know that as a communicator, I bare the responsibility to speak clearly. Scripture says that teachers receive a stricter judgment, and I take that very seriously. In this case, my words confused some on a very vital topic which desperately needs clarity today. At no point was I trying to imply that sexual ethics are muted in Scripture or that Scripture is unclear about them, or that they’re less important than other sins and that we should not speak clearly and boldly about them or be embarrassed by them. I do seek to build bridges where I can, but I don’t believe we should ever undermine the Bible’s teaching to do so. I was speaking directly to the members of The Summit Church in that clip, highlighting a problem that I feel is pervasive in congregations like ours, which is that we treat gospel ministry as if it is primarily a culture war, speaking condescendingly about the sins of others while overlooking the sins at work in our own hearts. Failures in communication are almost always the fault of the communicator, and so, for any confusion that my wording may have caused, I do sincerely apologize. In that message and many others, I’ve been clear about the seriousness of sexual sin and I’ll continue to do that. I also want to be sure we link to that sermon, as it has helped a lot of people asking questions to hear the broader context. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

This week, listen into one of Pastor J.D.’s recent sermons where he explained a question based on John 20:23: “Did Jesus give Peter the ability to forgive sins?” Show Notes: John 20:23 sounds startling at first: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” This can be a difficult verse because it almost makes it sound like Jesus is giving us the authority to forgive sins. But that can’t be true. I’ve said before that you always interpret hard verses in the Bible by easy ones? Well, multiple verses in the Bible say that only God can forgive sins. Think about it this way: If anybody in history would ever have had the authority to forgive sins, it would have been Peter (who Jesus said this to). He was standing in that original group that heard these words and he was recognized as one of the main leaders of the church. And some today do indeed claim that Peter and his successors have the authority to forgive sins. But not one time in the Bible do you ever find Peter taking upon himself the authority to grant forgiveness. Not once. In fact, in Acts 10, when Peter preaches the gospel to a group of Gentiles, he says to them–notice this– Acts 10:43, “To him (Jesus) all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Peter didn’t say, “I forgive your sins,” he said, “The Bible says if you believe in Jesus you will receive forgiveness of sins and I’m just here to tell you about it.” So, if this phrase doesn’t mean that we have the authority to forgive sins, what does it mean? Well… this is a little nerdy, so hang with me for a minute: (v. 23) the expression “if you forgive someone’s sins, they are forgiven” is in the perfect-tense verbs in Greek, which means you could translate that phrase as: “they have already been forgiven.” You could really read that statement as, “If you forgive any one’s sins they have (already) been forgiven.” In other words, Jesus was saying that Peter and the Apostles were given the ability to recognize when God had saved someone, and the authority to validate their acceptance of it, assuring those new Gentile believers, when they believed, that they were indeed fully included in the family of God. The Apostles could recognize when someone’s sins were forgiven, and make it official. Even more importantly, it was through the apostles’ preaching that others heard the message and believed. God will forgive the sins of anyone who believes, but, it’s like Paul said, “How can they believe on him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear unless we preach to them?” We hold in our hands the power to share the only message by which people can be forgiven. Jesus died to forgive the sins of everybody, but that death doesn’t do any good unless they hear about it. It’s like Martin Luther said, “It wouldn’t matter if Jesus died 1000x if nobody ever heard about it!” Or the theologian Carl F. H. Henry: “The gospel means ‘good news,’ but it is only good news for somebody if it gets to them in time.” Jesus purchase of their forgiveness doesn’t do them good if they never hear about it, and we are the only ones they can hear about it from. So, SENT people recognize God’s role and their role in the Great Commission.  Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Recently, Pastor J.D. got to host a special “Live AMA” with college students from Hardin Baptist Church in Hardin, KY. Listen in as Pastor J.D. answers questions submitted by the audience, including, “Should Churches Sacrifice Doctrine to Appeal to More People?” Show Notes: Should Churches Sacrifice Doctrine to Appeal to More People? I don’t see any way other than to say, yes, you should be critical of these churches. Now, does that mean you should become a social media warrior? Probably not. That’s mostly unhelpful. But I will say, sometimes, not everything is as it seems with other churches. Sometimes, there are genuine reasons behind things other churches do that are admirable and laudable. However, you don’t ever do anyone any favors by backing down from the truth. Just like there’s a time to know when not to speak, there’s a time to be really clear. If I’m Called to Ministry — Now What? Let’s just acknowledge one thing: everyone is called in some way. Every Christian is called to leverage whatever God gave them for the Great Commission. The question is no longer if you are called, but where and how. We always challenge all of our college graduates to spend 2 years on church planting teams… a lot of times, they’re beginning their careers over there! Another phrase we use: To follow Jesus means to figure out what you’re good at, and then do it well to the glory of God, somewhere strategic for the mission of God. Our Summit College team encourages students to do this, but our North American Mission Board does this, also: go to Go2Years.net to get in on this. How Do You Counsel Someone Called Overseas? Well, just go. Check out either a short-term trip through your local church, or even something like the International Mission Board’s Journeyman program. Those are great ways to find out if this really is what God has for you. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Recently, Pastor J.D. got to be a part of a special “Live AMA” with college students from Hardin Baptist Church in Hardin, KY. Listen in as Pastor J.D. answers questions submitted by the audience, including, “How much should you dwell on your sin?” Show Notes: How much should you dwell on your sin? From a pastoral perspective, most of us don’t hate sins enough. One of the main things to do is to pray for God to give us a hatred for sin. Having said that, the Puritans used to say, “For every one look at yourself, you should take 10 looks at Jesus Christ.” In fact, where you learn to hate sin is by looking at the purity of Christ. The Bible says that the righteous man falls seven times and gets back up — can you imagine walking behind somebody who fell seven times? The point is, even the righteous man falls all the time. But he shows his righteousness not by never falling, but by looking to Christ when he falls. Growth in grace is not growing in how much you actually need grace, growth in grace is growing in your awareness of how much you actually need it. How do you go about addressing friends who are clearly in sin? Practically speaking, you have to say something. Some of us struggle with not wanting to confront anyone. Some of us struggle with wanting to say too much. Ultimately, you have to say that you can’t see the fruits of the gospel in their lives. And I’ve seen God use conversations like that in people’s lives before. But some of you will want to say that too many times. And the key is to find balance in speaking the truth into someone’s life while not trying to force them to change. You have to let the Holy Spirit do that. Want to ask J.D. a question? Head to our Ask Me Anything hub to submit your question. As always, don’t forget to rate and review this podcast! Find Pastor J.D. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.