"What's The Point?"

0:07[music]

0:12>> Welcome to the Road to Shalom,

0:13>> [music]

0:14>> a podcast channel devoted to

0:16understanding the way things are

0:17supposed to be, why they're not, and

0:20what it [music] looks like when they

0:21are,

0:21as well as how to get there.

0:24Hi, I'm Fran Shawka, the director and

0:26lead teacher of a ministry [music]

0:27called Hands of Hur, and I'm also the

0:29host of the Road to Shalom. You know,

0:32you've tuned in [music] to episode two

0:33of a three-part introductory series that

0:36sets the table for this entire channel.

0:38Welcome.

0:39In the [music] first episode, we

0:40explored life's second most important

0:42question,

0:44"Who do I [music] say that I am?"

0:46Diving into the enormous topic of

0:48personal identity.

0:50In this second episode, we're going to

0:51take a deep dive into the notion of

0:53whether there's any plot [music] to

0:54life.

0:55You know, we all need a story to be a

0:57part of. And what if there really is a

0:59single story that has [music] meaning

1:01because it has a plot, and it has a plot

1:03because it has an author. And what if

1:04this story [music]

1:06is so grand that it's completely

1:08inclusive? I mean, what if it's a story

1:10that reaches [music] so far back behind

1:12the curtain of the past that it fades

1:14into the mist of what [music] can be

1:15known, but then it also passes through

1:18the present into the future that extends

1:20even beyond death. And what if this

1:23[music] story was so completely

1:25adequate,

1:26but it wasn't exhaustive?

1:28>> [music]

1:28>> I mean, what if it provided enough

1:30answers to keep us sane, but not enough

1:32for us to become [music] arrogant? And

1:34what if what if your own purpose was

1:37inseparably intertwined [music] with the

1:39plot of this story because your design

1:42fit the fabric of the tale?

1:45Well, that's where we're headed [music]

1:46in this next episode.

1:48And you know what? You're going to want

1:49to make sure your seats and tray tables

1:50are in the upright and locked position.

1:53Let's [music] go.

2:00>> [music]

2:00>> Okay, we're going to kind of go back. I

2:02like to kind of revisit where we went.

2:04And we had talked about this idea of

2:08understanding this first question. And I

2:10had made the statement that the order of

2:12all this stuff is very, very important.

2:14All right, when it comes to life's

2:15getting up the an answer to life's

2:17second most important question. All

2:19right, the first one is what are you

2:20going to do with Jesus?

2:22And I said the order of getting the

2:24facets right was really important. We

2:26spent last night talking about the whole

2:28notion of identity. The issue kind of of

2:32who do I say that I am?

2:34And I said that identity leads to

2:37purpose. The idea of what's my point?

2:41Individually, what's my point?

2:44Corporately, what's the point of life?

2:46What's the point? And from that, if I

2:49get the first one right,

2:51the second one can come. And if I get

2:54the second one right, I promise you, if

2:56we can get the second one right

2:58tomorrow, what we're going to talk about

3:00in terms of mission, what's my place?

3:03What do I do?

3:04If I really understand who I am, if I

3:06have an adequate answer to that, and I

3:08cannot I cannot say that too many times

3:12and stress it too much. The things that

3:13I laid out in that ladder, the ladder's

3:15cute, all right, but get rid of the

3:17ladder.

3:18The the rungs on the ladder are vital.

3:22They're vital. And I hope I hope you've

3:23wrestled with some of that. But if I can

3:25get that right, then out of that's going

3:28to come some sense of purpose if if I

3:32can find what the point is.

3:35And the point's got to be connected to

3:36who I am and what I'm made to be. All

3:38right? Identity is the human side of the

3:41issue I said last night that design

3:42determines purpose.

3:45And fulfillment comes from following

3:46design. That means that fulfillment

3:49comes from following my identity. And

3:52that's going to lead us into purpose.

3:53And that's kind of where we're headed.

3:54That was the first thing we said. Second

3:56thing I mentioned last night was that

3:58getting adequate answers is dependent

4:00upon asking adequate questions.

4:04Getting adequate answers is dependent

4:06upon asking adequate questions. And I'm

4:08going to say this I we don't have time

4:09to get into this. I could talk to you

4:11for a week and that's no joke. Matt

4:12knows this. I do a lot of teaching on

4:14the impact of technology on faith

4:18and on our culture.

4:20And you are coming of age

4:23in a culture that no longer knows how to

4:27ask questions.

4:29A culture that's obsessed with the

4:31immediate and is becoming a highly

4:34sensual culture. I don't mean sex. I

4:36just mean noise, sights, fragrances,

4:39sounds, music, video, and so on.

4:43Matter of fact, if I could deviate from

4:45the notes just for a second. If you want

4:47to rock your campus,

4:49you want to rock your campus, cultivate

4:53the virtue of curiosity

4:57when it comes to people.

5:00If you do an audit on the last week of

5:03your life, matter of fact, if you do an

5:04audit, beloved, on today,

5:08I would be interested to know

5:11how many questions you asked of the

5:14people that you have rubbed shoulders

5:16with in the last 12 to 16 hours

5:20that were more than

5:23um

5:23who or what questions, but were why

5:25questions.

5:28We we have a culture that's the

5:30technology is all self-promoting. We are

5:32becoming a culture of self-promoting

5:34dialoguers rather than curious

5:37dialoguers. And I promise you, if you

5:40start to ask sequential questions of

5:43people that get into their hearts and

5:45get into their lives, there will be

5:47people hanging on your screen door.

5:49You'll have to buy one of those things

5:50that

5:51Sam's that says now serving number.

5:54And you can hit the little flipper in

5:55your room. I mean that. People are not

5:58used to it. They just flat out aren't

6:00used to it. Servers in restaurants

6:01aren't used to it. Clerks are not used

6:03to it.

6:04>> [snorts]

6:05>> And we're made in the image of a God

6:06that relates face-to-face. When you

6:07start relating back face-to-face, fight

6:10fight

6:12fight

6:13the cultural wave.

6:16Don't be the people when you walk out of

6:18class that do one of two things that

6:20college students do. They pop their

6:22phone open or they stick the white wires

6:23in their ears.

6:25Don't be those people.

6:27You are You are moving among a sea of

6:30lost, lonely, and desperate people who

6:33all have a story to tell.

6:35Ask questions.

6:37Ask questions.

6:38And that's true of the real questions

6:40that have to do with point and place.

6:42And that's kind of where we're headed.

6:43Here's our little quote. We're going to

6:45go back to this again. Most middle-class

6:46Americans worship their work, work at

6:49their play, and play at their worship.

6:52As a result, their meanings and values

6:54are distorted and their relationships

6:55disintegrate faster than they can keep

6:57them in repair.

6:58Their lifestyle resembles a cast of

7:01characters

7:02in search of a plot. That last word is

7:06where we're going tonight.

7:07We're going to spend some time talking

7:09about purpose, and it's going to be

7:11connected to the whole notion of plot.

7:14All right, so let's Let's go into it.

7:15Let's take a look at this second

7:17question.

7:18What's my point?

7:20What's my point?

7:21All right. Now, we happen to have I'm

7:24not sure why,

7:26but we happen to have kind of an

7:28insatiable

7:30uh interest

7:32in the notion of plot. We have this kind

7:34of built-in desire to connect the dots.

7:38Kind of this insatiable, built-in,

7:41hardwired belief and longing that there

7:44is some point out there, that life has

7:47some plot, has some purpose, and just

7:50maybe

7:52the plot is big enough

7:55to include me.

7:57Maybe there's a place for me

7:59in it.

8:00All right? And this notion of plot is

8:03huge. It's very, very, very important.

8:05All right? Because purpose is dependent

8:09on non-randomness,

8:11non-randomness,

8:13and plot. Purpose.

8:15No one ever walks up or runs up to a car

8:19accident at an intersection and talks to

8:21the person in the car and says,

8:24"What do you think the purpose of this

8:26was?"

8:30I mean, they'll check you in the rubber

8:31Hilton about that time you ask a

8:33question like that.

8:35The purpose? It's a wreck, for crying

8:37out loud. It was an accident. It was

8:40random. Hello?

8:43You can't get purpose out of randomness.

8:46Purpose can only come out of

8:48non-randomness, linearity

8:51in the world of events,

8:54in the world of people, in the world of

8:56stories. We call that a plot. That's

8:59very important. Second thing, individual

9:01purpose. For you, for me, to have any

9:04sense of purpose in this life

9:07is dependent upon us having a role in

9:11this plot. If life is a line, my meaning

9:15and purpose can only come from being a

9:16dot on it.

9:20So, your purpose,

9:21my purpose, all right? is dependent upon

9:25us having a role in this plot, all

9:27right? And this is part of our Adamic

9:29nature. It's not a modern idea. What do

9:33I mean by that?

9:34I mean, there's so much stuff that

9:36there's just flat out so much stuff we

9:37have no idea that we just assume

9:40as believers. I'm not sure what your

9:42take is on the Bible. That's what we're

9:43going to be talking about tonight.

9:45But, uh

9:46you know,

9:47I happen to believe it and I happen to

9:51take it literally the way it was

9:52intended to be taken.

9:54Uh which is a whole 'nother story. But,

9:56you know, uh we just assume a lot. We

9:59assume that the speed of light has

10:00always been the same.

10:02We assume things about the human genome

10:04that there's nothing about Adam in the

10:06human genome cuz scientists don't talk

10:08in that language.

10:10I think that we have an Edenic memory. I

10:13think that there's a part of us that

10:15deep down in our human-ness understands

10:18some of the stuff that went on in the

10:20garden.

10:21And I think we have some sense that

10:24there's something bigger than us and we

10:26have this longing to be a part of this.

10:28And you see this It's not just a modern

10:30idea. You see it in primitive cultures

10:32as well. Uh the Aborigines in Australia

10:36have this whole thing called dreaming

10:39tracks or songlines.

10:41And the dreaming tracks

10:43were the paths

10:46that the the ancestors, the creative

10:49beings that they call them, walked all

10:51over the continent.

10:53And they sang into creation. They sang

10:56into being all these different entities,

10:59rocks, trees, geography, topography, and

11:01all this sort of stuff.

11:03And the Aborigines have memorized these

11:05songs and when they walk, they sing them

11:07and it's blasphemous to get the get them

11:09out of order because they have a sense.

11:12All right? It's called the ways of the

11:13ancestors, the the paths of the

11:14ancestors. They have a sense that this

11:16is the way life is supposed to be and

11:18you can't deviate from it. All right?

11:21And Hollywood understands this.

11:22Hollywood really knows this whole notion

11:24of plot. They use it

11:27and they abuse it

11:29with us.

11:30They know that deep in the human psyche

11:32we've got all kinds of needs. They know

11:33that. They know that you were made in

11:35the image of God. We talked about that

11:36last night. What does that mean? That

11:38means that you have a deep sense of

11:39justice.

11:40You do because you're made in the image

11:42and likeness of a just God. Hollywood

11:44might not preach that, but they sure

11:46bank on it. They make billions of

11:47dollars every year by creating movies

11:49where the bad guy gets it in the end.

11:51Because people long for justice, all

11:53right? But we also long for narrative.

11:56We long for plot.

11:58And they like to tease us with the

12:00notion of plot, all right? So they

12:02create movies like The Truman Show, all

12:04right? Where you've got a a contrived

12:06plot.

12:08And it's kind of funny, but at the end

12:09when that boat runs into the back of the

12:11deal, you you feel bad. I mean, if it's

12:14possible to feel bad for Jim Carrey as a

12:16person. You feel bad cuz he's always the

12:18comedy guy, all right?

12:20So they do that. They they do a

12:21contrived plot. They do the Matrix

12:23trilogy where they they have a virtual

12:25plot, all right?

12:27But two of the best filmmakers

12:29two of the best films, 10 years apart,

12:31that really deal with the notion of plot

12:33and how vital it is and how awful it

12:35feels when it gets screwed with and

12:37messed up was Christopher and Jonathan

12:39Nolan, two British uh film writers and

12:42writers that did in 19 2000 they did a

12:44film called Memento.

12:46All right? Crazy film.

12:49Drive you nuts if you watch the film.

12:51Because why? BECAUSE THERE'S TWO PLOTS.

12:53There's two narratives. There's one

12:55running backwards

12:57in a series of increasingly long

12:59flashbacks and there's one running

13:01forward, all right? As Leonard Shelby's

13:02trying to find out who raped and killed

13:04his wife. And you're stuck in the middle

13:05watching these plots go back and forth.

13:07And you really get to the end and you

13:08think the only way I can understand this

13:10is to watch it backwards, but you you

13:12don't want to do that, all right? And if

13:14it wasn't enough that they messed us

13:15over in 2000, they came up with another

13:17film in 2010 that

13:21you know?

13:26You can't even plot?

13:29I read Wired magazine and they've got a

13:31whole graphic in there on trying to un

13:33unravel the unravel Inception. You know,

13:35a dream within a dream within a dream

13:37within a dream and you know, is that

13:38thing going to tip over at the end of

13:39the movie and bang, it's over. You you

13:41know, so we really have this sense we

13:43need we need a narrative. We need a

13:45plot. We long for it. We It gives us

13:47security, but it also creates purpose.

13:49And regarding that, there's only three

13:51options when it comes to this. We talked

13:53a little bit about these last night. The

13:54first one is that there is no narrative.

13:56There is no purpose. Life is

13:58meaningless.

14:00And beloved, that's more than just kind

14:01of a philosophical bypass. My wife,

14:05Jill, her first day in college as a

14:08freshman in an existentialism class,

14:10professor told the class that a true

14:12existentialism existentialist will

14:15commit suicide because life has no

14:17meaning.

14:20And when you're 18 years old and you're

14:22away from home and you're you're you're

14:23you're you're sitting at the feet of

14:24these learned men, this stuff makes a

14:26whole lot of sense.

14:29And if you've ever been around anyone

14:31that has

14:32taken their own life,

14:35you know, when you teach high school

14:36students as long as I did, I had 14

14:38students die in 14 years.

14:40So, I'm deeply saddened but no longer

14:42shocked. Had a girl die on her

14:44honeymoon.

14:45Snorkeling in the Florida Gulf.

14:48Husband was snorkeling. She was on a air

14:49mattress on the top. He came up. She had

14:51aspirated and drowned in a tablespoon of

14:53water.

14:54And uh

14:55you don't ever expect to take your wife

14:56home in a box when you go on your

14:58honeymoon.

14:59And you get close to death and you

15:00sometimes you you you get around people

15:02that give up hope. I had a girl I had a

15:03girl

15:04younger than you guys that had been on

15:06two mission trips that blew her head off

15:08in Colorado Springs because she believed

15:09that her life had been wasted.

15:12You can't waste your life by age 21.

15:14Really, you can't. I don't care where

15:16you've been or what you've done. God can

15:18restore the locust years.

15:20That's a promise. Take it to the bank.

15:22Joel 2:25.

15:23But she had really come to believe, she

15:25had lost hope. She believed there was no

15:27purpose for her. That's one option.

15:28Second one, we talked about this, that

15:30there is a narrative, it's mine.

15:33Choose your own adventure. Life is a

15:35choose your own adventure.

15:37And sadly, we have the same version of

15:39in Christians, in the Christian world.

15:41We have a choose your own adventure

15:42Christian edition.

15:43All right? How does it work? You invite

15:45Jesus into your heart, you go to heaven

15:46when you die. What do you do in the

15:47meantime? You be good.

15:50You be good. You just don't beat your

15:52wife, you pay your taxes, you do all the

15:53things everyone else does. You give God

15:55a tithe bone.

15:57Throw him a tithe bone, which is really

15:58kind of a Christian way of keeping God

16:00from breaking your knees.

16:02But you do you do what you want.

16:04And uh I I taught a ton of students that

16:07thought that way.

16:09Follow your dreams. Ask God to bless

16:11your dreams. When you get to the end of

16:12your dreams, you turn around, what do

16:13you do? You tithe.

16:16Or you teach Sunday school, you sing in

16:17the choir, you put your kids into

16:18Christian school.

16:20But you follow your dreams. I was in I

16:21was on on a roof in Guatemala tying

16:23steel at an orphanage.

16:25With a a high school senior, and he

16:26said, "Meshach, would you pray for me?"

16:28I said, "Sure." I said, "Why?" He said,

16:29He said, "I'm trying to figure if God

16:31wants me to be a doctor." I said,

16:32"Okay." I said, "Let's pray something

16:33else." He said, "What's that?" I said,

16:34"You need to figure out where he wants

16:35you to practice medicine."

16:38I said, "If God wants you to be a

16:38doctor,

16:40that's step one." I said, "Step two is

16:41you got to figure out I said, if you

16:42think that asking God whether or not you

16:44should be a doctor automatically means

16:46that you live in the suburbs, have 2.8

16:47kids, have air conditioned cars and

16:49houses,

16:50and go to church." I said, "You're

16:52missing it."

16:55It isn't a choose your own adventure,

16:56all right?

16:57And the American church has bought this

16:59one big time. Third one is that there

17:00really is an eternal story. There really

17:02is.

17:04It has an author.

17:08It has a storyline.

17:10There really is a plot.

17:12And it's inclusive and adequate. What do

17:14I mean by that? There is a place not

17:16only for you in it.

17:18All right, I don't mean a vacancy. All

17:20right, look up here. I don't mean a

17:22vacancy.

17:23I mean there is a storyline, there is a

17:26narrative, and you have a play a part to

17:30play.

17:32It's not that God's looking. This isn't

17:33God isn't recruiting.

17:36This isn't like the Marines. There is

17:38There is a a role for you to play.

17:41And not only you, but it also fits all

17:43of human history. It provides, and I'm

17:45going to be honest with you, it provides

17:48ragged

17:49and sometimes

17:51inadequate from my vantage point, but

17:54adequate when when the rubber hits the

17:56road, it provides ragged but adequate

17:58answers to life's toughest issues.

18:01Pain and suffering,

18:04tsunamis, all this stuff, there is some

18:08answer in this narrative. It's

18:10inclusive, and it's what I was made for.

18:13It's what I was made for.

18:15Now, we're going to go make an end run

18:17go around the room in a very real sense

18:19and come back to this at the very end.

18:21If you have a Bible, I want you just to

18:22put it on your lap for a second. I want

18:24you to take a look at it. I want you

18:25just to look at, all right?

18:27>> [snorts]

18:28>> And I'm going to ask you what your view

18:29of the Bible is.

18:31When you think of the Bible, there's

18:32really three ways that Christians look

18:34at the Bible.

18:35And they've been more or less popular

18:37depending on what what era you're

18:39talking about. When you think of your

18:40Bible, what goes through your mind when

18:42you think of your Bible? Do you think of

18:43your Bible as a citadel of truth?

18:46That it's full of propositions, it's

18:48it's got the truth about everything

18:50that's important in there, and that your

18:52responsibility is to know it, to study

18:55it, and to defend it?

18:56Because there are enemies of truth.

18:59And so we have this citadel, and our job

19:01is to protect the walls of the citadel.

19:05And so we have books, and we have

19:06conferences on apologetics and how to

19:08defend the truth. We have of on cults.

19:13Valid? Absolutely.

19:15Is

19:16the Bible a source of truth that needs

19:19to be studied, known, and defended? Yes,

19:21it is. Yes, it is.

19:24But I'm going to set that lower on the

19:26totem pole, all right? Secondly,

19:28do you look at it as kind of a

19:29discipleship manual?

19:32All right? What do I mean by that? Well,

19:34kind of this is sounds irreverent,

19:36but if our hearts be known, sometimes

19:38this is the way it is. Kind of like that

19:40DVD manual you have.

19:43Printed on real thin paper,

19:45and you go to it when you have specific

19:48needs.

19:50But after a while, when you get to be

19:5240, 50 years old, you don't go to it

19:54much anymore because you really know it

19:56pretty well.

19:57You know, it it it's kind of the kind of

19:59like the idiot's guide to faith, or the

20:02idiot's guide to Christianity. Is the

20:04Bible really just a manual on how to

20:08live as a Christian? Is my

20:09responsibility to know it, to study it,

20:11and to obey it?

20:13And I'm going to say, yeah, it is, but

20:15I'm going to set that one aside, all

20:17right?

20:19Third possibility is that the Bible is

20:21really a divine narrative. By the way,

20:24if you've never read this book, it's a

20:25good book to read, all right?

20:27He's dead now. He's with the Lord.

20:30Guy can

20:31write your shorts off. I mean, this guy

20:33can write, all right?

20:35Now, here's the bad side about being

20:37around me is I added this material this

20:38afternoon, so it's not in your notes.

20:40So, if you can write really fast, you

20:41can get it, all right? Number one, under

20:43this idea of it being a divine

20:44narrative,

20:46we have the single grand narrative

20:50without old and new divisions. I'm a big

20:52fan for getting rid of the idea that

20:54there's an Old Testament and a New

20:56Testament. Those words do not work

20:58anymore. They come from the Latin

21:00Vulgate, and back in the day they meant

21:01something that made sense. Testamentum

21:04in Latin meant covenant.

21:05Testament in modern English has to do

21:07with dead people.

21:10And old is really not a good word to be

21:12using in your generation right now.

21:15And we're going to talk about this

21:16tomorrow. I'm I want to I want to break

21:18down the barrier in your mind. I want to

21:20change tonight the way you look at the

21:22Bible. I'm going to go back to it

21:24tomorrow and out of that we're going to

21:26come up with a sense of mission that I

21:27think is compelling, unavoidable,

21:29and real.

21:31All right?

21:32The Bible is a narrative

21:35without old and new divisions. Second

21:37thing about it that I think is really

21:39important, all of history fits in it

21:43and derives its meaning from it.

21:47I'm arguing for the fact that this is

21:50really

21:52the only story. This is the one story.

21:55It's an explanation

21:57of everything that matters.

22:00All right?

22:02And your purpose, my purpose,

22:05our purpose as a group, our purpose as

22:07individuals is inseparable from this one

22:09story of the one God.

22:12My responsibility, and I want you to get

22:14this. This is radically

22:16different.

22:17You may have heard

22:19somewhere, depending on how long you've

22:21been around the Navs, you've heard the

22:23idea of lordship. You've heard the idea

22:25of full surrender to Jesus.

22:28I think

22:29I'm really pretty sure this is what I'm

22:31about to say is true.

22:33All right?

22:34Um I really am.

22:38Some This is relatively new to me within

22:41the last couple years, but I believe

22:43it's true.

22:45I believe if I have an apologetic or

22:47citadel of truth approach to the Bible

22:49or if I have a discipleship manual truth

22:51to the Bible, it will not be sufficient

22:54to carry me the distance when it comes

22:56to my relationship with God and Jesus

22:58Christ.

23:00I think this one will. All right? Why?

23:03Because my responsibility is to do the

23:05same thing, to study it,

23:07to know it, and to submit to its

23:10storyline.

23:12If there is only one story, beloved,

23:15and if there is only one God who has one

23:17story,

23:18then Lordship is the submission of my

23:21life to that storyline.

23:25Which means that one of the one of the

23:27prerogatives, one of the things, one of

23:29the initiatives, one of the the visions,

23:31the passions, the convictions, the goals

23:33that each of you needs to have is to

23:35know this story.

23:38Lordship is Jesus. Jesus demonstrates us

23:43in the Garden of Gethsemane.

23:45Jesus lays out the possibility of a

23:47second storyline, doesn't he?

23:50What does he say to the Father about

23:52what was headed what he was headed to?

23:55He's He's in the garden.

23:57Capillaries in his face have ruptured

23:59and gotten into his into his sweat

24:01glands, so he's he's sweating drops of

24:03blood. It's a medical condition called

24:04hematidrosis. It's happened to soldiers.

24:08And he prays and he says, "Father,

24:10let this cup pass me by, but what?"

24:14Not what?

24:15>> Not my will.

24:15>> Not my will, but what?

24:17>> But yours be done.

24:17>> But yours be done. Do you understand

24:19that? Two stories, he said. Father,

24:22there's two stories. There's the

24:23storyline

24:25and there's my story.

24:27My my desire. This is This is the

24:28incarnate Son of God struggling in his

24:30humanity. All right? And he says, "Not

24:33my will, but thine be done. If it's

24:36possible, let this cup pass it by.

24:38Father, if there's an alternate route in

24:40this story, I want it." But he said,

24:44"Not my will, but thine be done." That,

24:46beloved, is submission to the storyline.

24:50That is the model that we are to follow.

24:53But if I have the notion that the Bible

24:56if I have the notion that the Bible

24:59is kind of a discipleship manual where I

25:00go to get principles on how to live, how

25:02to raise my kids, how to do all this

25:03sort of stuff, or if it's just a bunch

25:05of stuff that I got to argue about with

25:07atheists on the college campus, you will

25:09not go the distance. It will be

25:11entertaining or interesting for a

25:13season, but until you have really

25:15submitted your life, your values, your

25:17goals, your future, everything to this

25:19story,

25:21we've got the wrong view of what it

25:22really really is, right? So, this this

25:24is this I think is the proper way for us

25:26to look at this, all right? So, what is

25:27the story, all right? And we're going to

25:29kind of work our way backward here.

25:31We're going to work our way backward.

25:32We're going to go to the end of the

25:33story. If the If the Bible is a story

25:36without old and new divisions, we're

25:38going to go to the back end of the

25:40story, which is a book called

25:41Revelation.

25:43And you find out some really weird

25:45stuff.

25:46You find out that you have people

25:48showing up in the end of the book

25:51that were there at the front end of the

25:52book.

25:54And we have to deal with. This is

25:56interesting. The book ends with what?

25:58The book ends with people singing the

26:00song of Moses and the song of the lamb.

26:04The song of Moses.

26:06We're going to be singing it in

26:07eternity.

26:09But this guy named Moses,

26:11all right? What's such a big deal about

26:13that? Well, this guy's introduced 64

26:15books earlier, and he's at the end.

26:19Moses is at the end of the story, not

26:22the beginning of the story.

26:23Where does the story end? Where are you

26:25going to spend eternity, by the way?

26:27So, where are we going to spend

26:28eternity?

26:30With God, where?

26:33Heaven?

26:34You're going to go to heaven and spend

26:35eternity in heaven?

26:38Where does the story end? The story does

26:39not end in heaven, beloved. The story

26:41ends on Earth.

26:43The story ends. There's a new heaven and

26:45a new Earth. Heavens. New heavens and a

26:48new Earth.

26:49My undies get in a bundle the way this

26:51is taught.

26:54From pulpits and everywhere. I mean it.

26:57This, if you if you teach people that

26:59they're going to spend eternity in

27:01heaven, is is a denigration of the

27:03central doctrine of the Christian faith,

27:05which is the resurrection of the body.

27:09You are going to be spending eternity

27:10fellowshipping with David.

27:13And Jeremiah, and John Calvin and

27:16Luther, and your grandparents if they

27:18preceded you. Real relationships with

27:21real people. That's why Paul can say

27:23that godliness is of greater value than

27:25physical training because it holds value

27:27not only for this life, but the life to

27:29come.

27:32There's an unbroken continuity in your

27:35life.

27:37When you die, you don't cease to exist.

27:40And you're going to get

27:42a resurrected body.

27:45There's a This is a real story, beloved.

27:48All right, this isn't just VeggieTales.

27:52It ends talking about 12 apostles and 12

27:55tribes in the same breath, even though

27:57they lived 1,500 years apart. This new

28:00Jerusalem comes down.

28:03And the foundation stones have the names

28:05of the 12 apostles. The gates have the

28:07names of the 12 tribes of Israel. It's

28:09one story. The tree of life is back in

28:11the garden in Revelation, the same one

28:13that was in the the in Genesis chapter 1

28:15and 2.

28:17You can't even understand the book of

28:20Revelation

28:21unless you and I spend time

28:24understanding the story from the front

28:26end.

28:27The cool thing is, and this is where

28:29we're going. This goes back to the first

28:31question I asked you that you've

28:32forgotten by now, all right? The end of

28:34this story,

28:36the Bible says that the end of the story

28:38is the fulfillment of a thing called a

28:41mystery. Here's God's favorite genre, by

28:42the way.

28:44That God had preached.

28:47It's the same word that you that Paul

28:49uses for the gospel. Euangelizo. All

28:52right? It's the It's the preach the

28:54proclaim the good news.

28:57A mystery that had God had preached to

28:58the prophets.

29:00And the best mystery writer in the story

29:04is a converted rabbi

29:06whose name

29:08is Paul.

29:10Now, let me show you that verse from

29:11Revelation. Look at this verse right

29:12here. But that in the days of the

29:14trumpet call to be sounded by the

29:16seventh angel,

29:18the mystery of God would be fulfilled.

29:24Just as he announced to his servants,

29:27the prophets. At the end of the story,

29:31we're given a clue about the nature of

29:33the story itself, the nature of the

29:35plot. And if my purpose in life depends

29:38on finding my place in the plot, I need

29:40to understand this thing that's called a

29:43mystery.

29:45Because God preached it to the prophets.

29:50And the end of the book says it's

29:52fulfilled. It's finally fulfilled.

29:55So, we're going to go back. We're going

29:56to spend some time. This is a little bit

29:57of Greek, but it'll be good for you. All

29:59right? We're going to talk about this

30:01thing that Paul calls ta mysterion. It's

30:03the It's the That's the word for

30:05the mystery. The mystery.

30:08And Paul had a little wreck on the way

30:10to Damascus. Got knocked off his horse

30:13if he was on a horse, or he may have

30:14just got knocked off his feet. Big

30:16difference would have been how far he

30:17fell, but the same thing happened. He

30:19lost his eyesight and all this sort of

30:20stuff. All right? So, we're going to

30:21We're going to We're going to look at

30:23what God did to enlarge enlarge this

30:26rabbi's story. Paul had to learn some

30:28stuff. All right? And it's It's

30:31important that you and I understand what

30:32happened to this guy on the on the way

30:33to the persecution. All right? Kind of

30:34funny thing happened on the way to the

30:35persecution. All right?

30:37>> [clears throat]

30:38>> What didn't happen is that Paul did not

30:40become a Messianic Jew by inviting

30:42Yeshua into his heart.

30:44No one showed up on the road and said,

30:46"God loves you as a wonderful plan for

30:47your life and then you invite Yeshua

30:49into your heart, you can go to heaven

30:50and be with him forever when you die."

30:51That you don't say that to Paul.

30:54Something much bigger than that

30:55happened. What happened to Paul was that

30:57he realized that what he thought was the

30:59whole story, which is what? Judaism of

31:01of the first century, turns out to just

31:03be a chapter

31:05in God's story. In God's story.

31:10Turns out to just be a chapter in God's

31:12story.

31:13This was radical for Paul and it got him

31:15in so much trouble with the Jews.

31:17Because they didn't buy it. Paul had to

31:19deal with the fact that from the very

31:21beginning of time

31:23the the the the the covenant

31:26relationship with Yahweh was for the

31:29nations.

31:31Was for the nations. It wasn't just for

31:33Israel. And if you go back, it makes

31:35perfect sense. We'll look at this

31:36tomorrow.

31:38But that's what God called Abraham. So

31:40so the Lord said to Abraham, "Leave your

31:41country and your kindred and your

31:42father's house and go to the land that

31:44I'll show you. And I'll make of you a

31:45great nation and I will bless you and

31:47make your name great so that you will be

31:50a blessing." And later on it says, "In

31:52you all the families of the earth will

31:55be blessed." That's why beloved, I do

31:56not want to divide Old and New

31:58Testament. You are children of Abraham.

32:00You are you are you are the descendants

32:02of that promise.

32:03That is your spiritual history because

32:05it's our spiritual narrative. Very very

32:07real, all right? 20 times Paul called

32:10this story a mystery.

32:12It permeates his writings. It was a big

32:14deal to Paul. A huge deal to Paul. Huge

32:18deal to Paul.

32:20And he says it was something hidden for

32:23ages.

32:25Even from the prophets

32:27and from angels themselves. Peter tells

32:29us this.

32:31Peter says that when the spirit of God

32:33motivated the people to write the Bible

32:34that you have on your lap, they asked

32:36him, "What in the world is this?" The

32:37prophets did. And God said, "It's none

32:39of your business."

32:42I've got this group of students in

32:43Chickasha Springs

32:45that really need to understand Isaiah

32:48and understand Jeremiah.

32:50And Peter says that with things that

32:51angels long to look into. And Paul says,

32:53"These things have been hidden for ages,

32:55but they've now been revealed to us."

32:59To us.

33:01And he began to realize that it didn't

33:03begin with Abraham. It began with Adam.

33:05And it didn't end with the Jews. It

33:07ended with all

33:09things. It ended with all things.

33:13Now, the early church

33:15and Paul had a name for this mystery. Do

33:17you know what they called it? They had a

33:19name for this mystery.

33:21They called it the gospel.

33:24They called it the gospel. Paul asked

33:27some people to pray for him that

33:29utterance and courage would be given to

33:31me that I might proclaim the mystery of

33:34the gospel. This story. This story

33:39that had been hidden for ages. Paul says

33:41in Galatians, this blew my mind when I

33:43saw this for the first time. Paul says

33:46that this

33:47mystery. This was the gospel that God,

33:51Yahweh,

33:53preached to Abraham. He says it in

33:54Galatians.

33:56He says, "Yahweh or the scriptures is a

33:58synonym there."

34:00Preached the gospel to Abraham

34:02beforehand saying, "In you shall all the

34:04nations of the earth be blessed." He

34:06goes all the way back to Genesis and he

34:08says that is the gospel. All right? So,

34:10this affected Paul. Paul's purpose now.

34:14Paul's purpose is driven and defined

34:19by this story. Hidden for ages. Now

34:22revealed to him.

34:24Hidden from the prophets.

34:26You guys believe this? Do you understand

34:28that you know more about this than

34:30Isaiah did? and he wrote it.

34:35We love to read Isaiah 53.

34:38We love to hear Isaiah 9:6 at Christmas,

34:41"Unto us a son is born."

34:43You know, Prince of Peace, Mighty God,

34:45and all this.

34:46He didn't

34:48have a clue.

34:49And Paul had his eyes open. I think

34:52that's why in the in the account in

34:53Acts,

34:54scales fell from Paul's eyes. Scales

34:57fell from his eyes. I think God wanted

34:59Paul to understand, "I'm giving you new

35:01eyes, man. I'm not just restoring your

35:03sight."

35:05You're going to see things that

35:06I don't think he ever learned another

35:08verse of scripture, by the way.

35:09All right? Paul was a Sanhedrist. He was

35:12on the Sanhedrin. He was a Pharisee. He

35:14had the first five books of the Bible

35:15memorized. We know that for sure.

35:18So, he didn't come across a verse and

35:20say, "Oh my gosh, I've never seen that

35:21before." You know?

35:23Didn't.

35:25What happened was his eyes were opened.

35:27And all of a sudden, when he READ

35:29ISAIAH, HE UNDERSTOOD IT.

35:32AND IT CONSUMED HIM.

35:34PAUL SAYS, "I DO NOT CONSIDER MY LIFE of

35:36any value or precious to myself, if only

35:39I may finish the race and complete the

35:42task of TESTIFYING TO THE GOSPEL of

35:45God's grace."

35:48It drove him.

35:50It drove him. And his passion that he

35:53was directing towards eliminating the

35:56church was redirected towards those who

36:00restricted, edited, or ignored the

36:03story.

36:06Paul said in Galatians, "If anyone

36:09preaches a different story to you than I

36:11brought to you, let him be damned."

36:15He said.

36:17And I shudder, and I'm not exaggerating,

36:19and I'm I'm really not. I shudder

36:23what's happened in this country, how the

36:24gospel,

36:26this story, this plan for the fullness

36:28of time to unite all things in heaven

36:30and things on earth in Christ has been

36:32hijacked

36:35as a means for personal wealth

36:39and power

36:41and success for GOD'S PEOPLE.

36:44GOD HELP US.

36:47IT'S NOT ABOUT US.

36:50THIS IS THE STORY THAT'S BEEN hidden for

36:52ages and it's now been manifested to us.

36:55And Paul taught something. I want you to

36:57get this. If you don't get anything else

36:58tonight, I hope you get this. Paul

37:00taught that those were who were in

37:02Christ were now in the story

37:05and they're entrusted with the story.

37:08PAUL SAID, "THAT'S HOW PEOPLE SHOULD

37:09REGARD us

37:11as stewards of the mystery of God."

37:15Sorry, I'm getting worked up. But I feel

37:17so deeply about this. I really do.

37:20When you heard the gospel, if you're a

37:22Christian as you sit in this room, when

37:24you heard the story and you responded to

37:28it and God's grace washed away your

37:31guilt,

37:32all right? THAT WASN'T JUST A STORY that

37:34someone told you, it was a story that

37:38you were drawn into.

37:41You weren't on the in this river and

37:43this person came along and reached out a

37:45pole and pulled you out of the river.

37:47You were ON THE SHORE

37:49AND GOD REACHED OUT OF THE RIVER,

37:52THIS RAGING TORRENT OF GRACE, and he

37:55pulled you INTO IT.

37:57THAT'S WHO YOU ARE IF YOU'RE A

37:58CHRISTIAN. You are in the story. You're

38:01not storytellers, you're story dwellers.

38:05That's why your purpose is inseparable

38:07from it.

38:09You've been crucified to the world and

38:10the world's been crucified to you.

38:12You're not on the bank anymore.

38:14And your role

38:18your burden

38:21has to be connected to the story.

38:24God has foreordained

38:27think of it as writing into the script

38:31three key things for those of us that

38:32are in the story. Three key things.

38:35If you're in the story

38:37if you're not, I'm telling you God wants

38:39you in it.

38:41God wants you in it.

38:45Three things. Number one, if you're in

38:47the story first one is the reversal,

38:50spiritual reversal of your Adamic

38:52nature. We talked about this yesterday.

38:54God, and I want you to hang with me on

38:56these three things. They are abs- they

38:58are they are they are identical triplets

39:01or Siamese triplets. You cannot separate

39:03these three. One of the things God wills

39:06for you

39:07is the reversal of your Adamic nature to

39:09make you more like him and less like

39:12Adam. More like him and less like Adam.

39:15Those whom he foreknew, he also

39:17predestined to be conformed to the

39:20likeness of his son that he might be the

39:22firstborn among many brothers.

39:24Elsewhere Paul says, "We all with

39:26unveiled face beholding the glory of the

39:28Lord are being transformed into his

39:31likeness from one degree of glory to the

39:33next." And this comes from the Lord who

39:35is the spirit. And where the spirit of

39:37the Lord is, there is freedom.

39:41You know, I do a lot of speaking to

39:42men's groups. And one of the thing I

39:43tell Christian men, I say, "We're going

39:45to have a funeral today for the

39:47favorite excuse of Christian men."

39:50"That's just how God made me."

39:53"I might not be the most sensitive or

39:55good listener, but you know, it's just

39:56how God made me." No, you're going to

39:57we're going to put that puppy in the

39:59ground.

40:01Cuz here's the truth. Here's the truth.

40:04God made you like himself.

40:07And if you're not acting like Jesus

40:09that's how Adam made you.

40:11You can take that to the bank.

40:15And God wills God wills for the spirit

40:19of God to slay Adam.

40:21If by the spirit you put to death the

40:25deeds of the body, you will live.

40:28You probably have read in your New

40:29Testaments, those of you that have read,

40:30Paul talks about the old man all the

40:32time. All right? That's me. No, he's

40:34talking about the old man.

40:37All right? The Greek word is palaios.

40:38It's not old as in kind of elder, it's

40:40ancient. The ancient man, Adam.

40:44You read old man in Paul, it's Adam.

40:48And the spirit is the Adam slayer.

40:51God wants to reverse the nature. That's

40:54why you invite Jesus into your heart and

40:56go to heaven when you die. That's the

40:57standard idea of what a Christian is.

40:59You know, you do this at the beginning

41:01of your Christian life, you do this

41:02just, you know, at the end when you get

41:03your new body. What have we left out?

41:05Not much, just our whole life.

41:08What's God want to do? He wants to make

41:09me more like Jesus and less like Adam.

41:11Second thing he wants to do

41:14is to take the story to the nations.

41:17Paul talks about the that the love of

41:19Christ controls him.

41:21And he's come to believe that all have

41:22died.

41:24And he doesn't look at people the same

41:26way anymore.

41:27And that those who died died that they

41:29might no longer live for themselves but

41:30for him who for their sake died and was

41:32and was raised again.

41:35And Paul wants to take the message to

41:37the nations. You read that over and over

41:39and over. Third thing is God has

41:42specific

41:44blessed deeds for you to do.

41:48He has specific blessed deeds. What do I

41:50mean?

41:51You know the passage that we talk about

41:53Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have

41:54been saved through faith, it's not your

41:56own doing, it's a gift of God, not by

41:57works, lest anyone should boast."

42:00There's not a period there, there's a

42:01comma.

42:03And that's 2:8-9. 10 never gets quoted.

42:06Verse 10, "For we are God's workmanship,

42:09masterpiece. We are God's workmanship,

42:12created in Christ Jesus to do blessed

42:15deeds,

42:16which God has prepared in advance for

42:20you to do.

42:23This may seem wild, but I believe this

42:25with all my heart. I believe there are

42:27people that now that you are in the

42:29story and it's God's story, not yours,

42:31there are people that God already knows

42:34and has on the on the path ahead of you

42:36for you to meet.

42:38People that you have yet to meet.

42:41Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that

42:43sometimes, and this is not a comfortable

42:45to say, but it's true, beloved,

42:47sometimes we suffer.

42:49We suffer for people we have yet to

42:52meet.

42:53It's what he says, 2 Corinthians chapter

42:541, you can read it yourself, verses 2

42:56through 4.

42:57There are people that you're going to

42:58meet that are going to need someone that

43:01has gone through the same pain that they

43:04have gone through in order for them to

43:06find their way into the story. And so

43:07God is going to take you through the

43:09fire, so that when you meet that person,

43:12you'll have something of substance to

43:14say to them.

43:16Even your pain has purpose in the story.

43:21You know, Jesus died so you wouldn't

43:23have to, but he suffered so you'd know

43:25how to.

43:26It's an important thing.

43:271 Peter 2:21 says, "For to this you've

43:29been called because Christ also suffered

43:33for you, leaving you an example that you

43:34should follow in his steps." It all

43:37fits. Your life fits. That's what it

43:39means. He causes all things to work

43:40together for the good of those who love

43:41him, to those who are called according

43:43to his purpose. Your whole life has

43:45meaning because every bit of it has

43:47purpose in the story.

43:49Your money. Paul says in 2 Corinthians

43:518:9, "Some Christians have more money

43:53than they need." Why? Because they're

43:55going to run into Christians who have

43:56less money than they need.

43:58Here's the deal, we're at the end.

44:00We're at the end. There is only one

44:01story.

44:03There is only one story. It's the one

44:05story of the one God, and he calls it

44:07his plan for the fullness of time. This

44:09is Paul's statement in Ephesians.

44:12To reconcile all things,

44:15unite all things in himself, things in

44:17heaven and things on earth.

44:19Here's the two questions I'd like you to

44:21think about. I'm going to close here.

44:22I'm done.

44:23The point of what we're looking at

44:24tonight has to do with your

44:25understanding

44:27number one of the Bible. How do you look

44:29at the scriptures? And I will tell you

44:31without apology, and I wished I'd have

44:33known this when I was your age. To be

44:36honest, this is something I have

44:37actually fallen into in the last 2 years

44:39of my life.

44:41But if you understand the the scriptures

44:43to be a narrative, and you understand

44:46that this was a mystery hidden hidden

44:47for ages and now been revealed to you,

44:51and that you are a steward of this

44:52story,

44:53and you're in the story,

44:56and that your spiritual reversal,

44:59and taking the story to the nations,

45:01and bringing ministry to people that

45:03need it, are all connected

45:07to your place in the story.

45:09Then you will look at the scriptures

45:11differently

45:12because your life choices are going to

45:15be made in light of the storyline,

45:19rather than can I find a verse to

45:20support this or find a verse to support

45:22that.

45:24So, here's two questions for you to

45:25ponder.

45:26First one is this.

45:28What's my view of the Bible?

45:31Do I look at it as truth to be defended,

45:34principles to follow, or the one story

45:36of the one God for the fullness of time?

45:40That's kind of a multiple-choice

45:42question. Pretty simple.

45:44Second one's a little more penetrating.

45:46As a believer, when I think of my

45:48future,

45:49am I trying to determine how to fit God

45:52into my story, or find my place in his?

45:55I think that's a serious question to

45:57ponder. Let's spend some time doing

45:59that.

46:03>> [music]

46:05>> Our view of the Bible sure has an

46:07enormous impact on what we think a

46:08Christian is and what we believe God's

46:11doing in the world, doesn't it? You

46:12know, I hope this second [music] episode

46:14challenged your thinking and really

46:16honestly took you to some uncomfortable

46:18places in your heart, things that you'll

46:19[music] think about for the weeks ahead.

46:22You know, at the end of the day, we're

46:23always faced with the same question and

46:25it's whether or not we're going to try

46:26to squeeze God into our own story or

46:28find [music] our unique place in his.

46:30Next week when we conclude our

46:32three-part introductory series, [music]

46:33we're going to come full circle and

46:35discover just what this story of his has

46:38to do with shalom.

46:39>> [music]

46:39>> And then what we have to do with the

46:42story. Hope to see you next week. Take

46:44care.