Ep. 78 I Will Do It

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Not to understand or not to have a knowledge of. And again, it's very important, like the Hebrews, you know, you go back to the Hebrew scriptures and to know something was to experience it. It was. It was. It was to live it. And sort of the American Western mindset of knowing something is being able to repeat it on an examination or being able to write a paper about it. And so that. That's that great disconnect from, you know, separation, connection. Other authors have talked about that. And so he says, to experience. So we're talking about experiencing union with Christ, not just like, oh, I get it, I get it. [00:00:43] Speaker B: Right. [00:00:43] Speaker A: No, no, no. To experience our union with Christ, it starts with revelation. It starts with my eyes being opened, enlightened, illumined, and it's only by him. And so no matter. No matter what you say or I say or someone says to us. [00:00:59] Speaker B: Right. [00:00:59] Speaker A: It's the Holy Spirit who opens the eyes. [00:01:04] Speaker B: Hello. Thanks for joining us. This is. Let's talk Life. Carl and Zach here, lifelong cousins and fellow travelers in this incredible life journey. Capital L. Life. Life in Christ. We are all about equipping the saints, strengthening our brothers and sisters to know and experience Christ as life. Most of our lives was spent with good intentions. Ministry really became our life. I think you can say that too, Carl. I'm kind of speaking for you. [00:01:30] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. You know. [00:01:32] Speaker B: Well, you know that ministry as life really sounds good. It sounds like it's what we want. Sounds like it's the goal, the plan, the purpose. And so certainly you can, if you're listening back up to our first few episodes, to hear our stories. But, man, even thinking about that, Carl, it was. That was 77 episodes ago. So is it fair to say. Here's the first question. Is it fair to say that maybe things have changed a little bit or our perspective or revelations or. [00:02:00] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, even. Even the things I say today will be interesting in three months, six months. [00:02:06] Speaker B: Sure. [00:02:06] Speaker A: Looking back and say, oh, yeah, wow. And I think that's the freshness of the Holy Spirit. That he gives us what we need for today. Right? That he gives us what we need today. I mean, if I go back seven years and he showed me all these things, I'd say, I'm not getting out of bed. You know, I'll just stay. I'll just stay here. Because the fear of the. Wow. Wow, Really? I have to walk through that. But it's like he gave me enough mana, right? He gave me enough bread for today. And, you know, with. With Jesus, the untapped resources Of Christ in me. [00:02:36] Speaker B: Yep. Right. [00:02:38] Speaker A: Yeah, it's. It's beautiful. [00:02:39] Speaker B: Yeah. Very beautiful. So, yeah, we're. We're jumping in. Our topic today is I will do it. God declares this in a pretty straightforward manner and. [00:02:49] Speaker A: Hold on a second. Hold on. So I will do it. Doesn't mean you and me got to do it. And we gotta. [00:02:54] Speaker B: You. You got it. Well, it's okay. So, yeah, I used to think so. [00:02:59] Speaker A: Right. Let's do it. You know, And. And. And so I'm, you know, when we talk about what we used to think, just my interactions and conversations with pastors and. And you as well, We. We can definitely see. Oh, yeah. That's where I used to be. Yeah, that's where I used to be. [00:03:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:15] Speaker A: And so I just wanted to. Right away, before we got to Ezekiel 36, just. Sure, sure, I will do it. Doesn't mean you and me or the listener. [00:03:24] Speaker B: Yeah, it's so. [00:03:25] Speaker A: Something better. [00:03:27] Speaker B: Yeah. So much better. Well, I don't know. Before we even get there, I'm gonna have other things in my notes, I guess, because I pulled some things out of that chapter, the Swing Again, with the rest of the Gospel. And mostly just because I've been chewing on that for the last couple of weeks. I'm studying this with some. With a group of guys last night. We actually discussed this chapter two weeks ago. We didn't. We were planning to, but then we just didn't. We just talked life together. And so that was good. But I came across this, and I just. It's kind of. I marked it, and I don't know if I've done anything else, but I marked it in the book as this is a cr. Crucial point to just understanding life in Christ. And I just love the way that he puts it because he says that to experience a union with Christ, the Holy Spirit has to give us revelation on two different truths. So we need these two truths. And these are truths that I can't tell you and get you to understand it is something that you have to receive by revelation from God. [00:04:24] Speaker A: Right. [00:04:24] Speaker B: And they're both truths that I think we talk about often. The first one is that we have died with Christ, that we are dead to sin. I've been crucified with Christ. We're dead to sin. We're dead to the law. We're dead to ourselves as a point of reference. And that's how he labels it all here. And I just love that. The second truth is that there is a difference between soul and spirit. And that's like, for. I Think both of us is like, I could never figure this out. I could never understand it. That's what this chapter really is tackling. And it can be overwhelming. But until these two truths become fixed in our spiritual consciousness, we're never truly going to live out of union. That's. That's all to say. Exactly. Kind of what you said. When we get into our topic, I will do it. It's not about me doing it all. It's about me being in union, trusting the One in me to do it. [00:05:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:05:15] Speaker B: And it changes everything. [00:05:16] Speaker A: Right. And again, this. This matters. Like, this is so important. This is so He. He says to experience our union with Christ, not. Not to understand or not to have a. To have a knowledge of. And again and again, it's very important. Like the Hebrews, you know, you go back to the Hebrew scriptures and to know something was to experience it. It was. It was. It was to live it. And sort of the American Western mindset of knowing something is being able to repeat it on an examination or being able to write a paper about it. And so that. That's that great disconnect, you know, separation, connection. Other authors have talked about that. And so he says to experience. So we're talking about experiencing union with Christ, not. Not just. Not just like. Oh, I get it. I get it. [00:06:10] Speaker B: Right. [00:06:11] Speaker A: No, no, no. To experience union with Christ, it starts with revelation. It starts with my eyes being opened, enlightened, illumined, and it's only by Him. And so no matter. No matter what you say or I say or someone says to us, Right. It's the Holy Spirit who opens. Right. The eyes. [00:06:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:06:32] Speaker A: Open the eyes of my heart. I mean, that's. Right, that's where it starts. Right. [00:06:36] Speaker B: It really does. And I think, man, I mean, we've sung that song even a million times over in the past. Right? Like, that was a popular song during, I don't know, probably my college years and maybe before that. But that verse is the very passage of Scripture that really gripped me and, and altered my whole life, my whole ministry, my whole thinking on everything. [00:06:57] Speaker A: Right, right, right. [00:06:59] Speaker B: But I was singing that song years ago, but I didn't get it. No, it was like, what was that? So, and this is the reality. I was probably most of the time playing the guitar on that song. And so I was just. I was focusing on playing the guitar in that song and enjoying myself playing guitar in the song. So I wasn't really praying the prayer. I wasn't really asking. [00:07:16] Speaker A: Right, right. Okay. And. [00:07:18] Speaker B: And I think that's so Think about what he says. [00:07:21] Speaker A: He doesn't see that. That your eyes would be open so that you understand Jesus died for you. Because I think that I. I do think. [00:07:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:28] Speaker A: That. That that's where revelation begins. That God opens our eyes to our nature, our sinfulness and our need for a savior. Like. Like no matter how many times someone can preach or how well they preach, I mean, just like King Agrippa says. Oh, you almost persuaded me, Paul. No, no, God still has to open that. But he's not saying, open your eyes that you understand Christ died. He says, open your eyes that you understand when you died. [00:07:54] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:55] Speaker A: And that you died with Christ. [00:07:57] Speaker B: Right. [00:07:57] Speaker A: And that's why the whole book is called the rest of the Gospel when the partial gospel has worn you out. So not, Not. Not. Not only because it is true. Christ died for us. It is beautiful. Yeah. But it's also that I died with Christ. [00:08:10] Speaker B: Yes. So, yeah. Crucial point. So important. And I love. Thank you for going there. Thank you for pulling in the Western mindset, you know, earlier. Like, just all of those things are the things that actually keep us from true victory in our life, true healing, true freedom, just walking out of who we truly are. Because we're not seeing those things. Because ultimately that's not what's being taught. It's not what's being preached. And it's not being preached because it's not being taught within our Bible colleges and seminaries, unfortunately, either. [00:08:38] Speaker A: Right. [00:08:40] Speaker B: It's what we were equipped with. And so that's what we were teaching. Teaching, too. And so when you actually do receive this, this understanding and the opening of your eyes, this revelation, I don't know, it's. It changes everything. And I, And I hate. I hate to even say it like that, because it's not like we're better than anybody else. No, this is. No, this is for anybody who asks. [00:09:01] Speaker A: Yes, yes. [00:09:02] Speaker B: You know, God wants all to know. [00:09:04] Speaker A: Yes. Right. 100. [00:09:07] Speaker B: It's not a second blessing. [00:09:09] Speaker A: Right. [00:09:09] Speaker B: It's not some, Some secondary thing that you get, you know, along the way. It's. It's for all believers. That's good, man. That's what we really want to see and equip believers to understand and know about who they are and what they have in Christ. Not something that they're going to get in the future, but something that they have right now. [00:09:30] Speaker A: Right. And to experience it. Right. To experience union with Christ. So the first revelation, again, just repeating what you said. [00:09:37] Speaker B: Yep. Y. [00:09:38] Speaker A: Is that. Is that we died in Christ and we're also dead to sin and we're dead to the law and we're dead to ourselves as our point of reference. So it's no longer like Paul says in Galatians 2, it's no longer I, but it's Christ in me. [00:09:51] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:51] Speaker A: Like, that's the first. [00:09:53] Speaker B: Right? [00:09:53] Speaker A: That's the first. And then the second truth is, is the difference between soul and spirit and how to manage it. [00:10:00] Speaker B: Y. And both of those are like so a. Monumental. [00:10:04] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:06] Speaker B: And I think there's like for both of us too. [00:10:09] Speaker A: This. [00:10:09] Speaker B: That whole soul and spirit thing still something to process and chew on and think about. And so I don't think you. I love the way that you explained it. It's not about understanding. Like, I don't understand it all, but I'm beginning. Not even beginning. It's every day I'm. I'm learning to just experience and I'm learning to trust. And it's causing me to experience these truths in my life. Yeah, I don't have it all figured out. I can't convince anybody of it because it's not me. It's not my job to convince anyways. So, man, let's dig into Ezekiel 36. I mean, it's been a favorite verse now in this whole walking in the life of Christ, because I never saw it before. I never knew what to do with this type of verse, but I just love how it ends. God is just saying, hey, I will do it. Yeah, I will do it. But let me just read the passage. It says. So this is Ezekiel 36:25 to 27. Then verse 29 and 36. I'm just going to read all those. I will also sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. A soft absorbent heart is kind of added. That's not actually in the Bible, but I will put my spirit within you and. And cause you to walk in my statutes and to carefully observe my ordinances. I will be your God and I will save you from all your uncleanness. I, the Lord have spoken and I will do it. Yeah. So beautiful. [00:11:48] Speaker A: So, so what would you have done with Ezekiel 36 in the past? [00:11:51] Speaker B: Well, I probably wouldn't have even read it because it's like prophecy and I don't understand it. And then, and, and, but, but ultimately, anything with prophecy and anything with eternal life, even was always something far in the future. It was like when I get to heaven. [00:12:08] Speaker A: Right. [00:12:09] Speaker B: It was never something that I thought that I had experienced or have a taste of right now in life. That's one point for sure. Yeah. But I just. I couldn't. I couldn't believe that I would. So I. Yeah, I could believe that I was going to be given a new heart. But I. I read it just as the tense is in this verse, because it's future tense. [00:12:28] Speaker A: Right. [00:12:28] Speaker B: And for me, presently, I would still put it as future tense. Say, but I don't have a new heart. And I don't have it because I don't feel it all the time. [00:12:35] Speaker A: Because I don't feel it all the time. So when would you. When would you feel you had a new heart? Was it Sunday mornings? [00:12:41] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Was it going on a retreat? [00:12:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:12:44] Speaker B: Go on a mission trip. I feel like. Well, yeah, right. We want to carry this into the rest of our life, and then we fail to do that the next week, you know? [00:12:52] Speaker A: Right. So there are glimpses. Right? There are glimpses, yeah, all the time. [00:12:56] Speaker B: Right. [00:12:56] Speaker A: That you. That you had it. I mean, you've talked a lot about. I think it was, what, third grade or nine or ten years old. [00:13:01] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:01] Speaker A: And so you had glimpses of that. Of that new heart, that yearning. [00:13:07] Speaker B: Right. [00:13:07] Speaker A: For the awareness, for the freedom. [00:13:10] Speaker B: Yep. Even my favorite verse all along the way was Titus 2:11 and 12. And I couldn't even tell you why, because I thought. I thought that it's. Because it's what I needed. I didn't know that it was because I already had it. [00:13:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Wow. [00:13:24] Speaker B: And that the grace of God was already there to teach me and equip me to just to live this life. I was putting it on as if it was something I needed to strive for. So I loved the verse because I really, really desired to live that out. Little did I know that Christ in me actually is already living it out in me and through me. So it's. Yeah, it's beautiful. What about you? How would you have taken this? [00:13:46] Speaker A: I would have said this was not for us. I would have said, oh, this is. This is like Israel. This is. This is not. This has nothing to do with, you know, the body of Christ, the church, age. [00:13:57] Speaker B: Sure. [00:13:57] Speaker A: And I would have just dismissed it all because. Yeah, that's. I don't have a new heart. Like, I'm, you know, I'm desperately wicked. You know, that's. That's who I really am. Dismiss. So think about this. So when. When you. When you're stooped into this systematic theology. You. You actually. You actually dismiss Paul's use of these verses and where he says that he's a minister of the New Covenant. And he's like, well, I don't know what that means. So that's. That's future. And so he says, no, I will. I will give you this. I will give you a new heart. I will put a new heart, and I will remove your heart of stone. I'll give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you. Yes, I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. The Lord has spoken. I will do it. I mean, that's. Yeah, that's. That's telling you who's doing it. [00:14:49] Speaker B: Right. [00:14:49] Speaker A: And what he's doing. Really. Right. What he's doing and who's going to do it. [00:14:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:14:53] Speaker A: Amen. [00:14:54] Speaker B: So I'm reconnecting here. My phone is recording and it overheated. [00:15:00] Speaker A: Okay. [00:15:00] Speaker B: In any case, now I'm gonna look a little different on the camera, but that's all right. Life goes on, I guess. [00:15:06] Speaker A: That's right. That's right. [00:15:08] Speaker B: That's. That's us just living this out. [00:15:10] Speaker A: That's right. [00:15:11] Speaker B: Is it just gonna stay sideways? Hey, there it is. Whatever it is. Whatever it is. No, I. I love. I love just this topic. I love, you know, processing through where we were at and how we can see things differently now. But I just. You know, the thing that I did on the piece of paper that I don't even have in front of me, this was from our Sunday morning study. And I just c. I circled all the I wills in this. In this verse, and there's so many of them. I will do this, I will do that. I will. And it's like. Yeah. The very first thing that you mentioned when I mentioned our topic, it was, who's gonna do it? [00:15:44] Speaker A: Right? [00:15:45] Speaker B: It's like, man, God is. God is not goofing around here. He's saying it over and over again that he's the one that's doing it. It is not us. So the significance of those I wills is so, so crucial because I thought, yeah, I mean, I'll just take a few of the things that are in this passage. Yes, you will be clean, he says, and I thought I needed to clean myself up. Like, all right, so it's my job to clean myself up, and then I'll be clean. The same thing with cleansing of impurities and idols is something that I had to do. I had to clean my act up. I Had to do better. I had to refocus the new heart, the new spirit. I thought that I had to stay with it in order to receive this. I thought, you know, like, boy, I better. And it was all fear based. And like, boy, if I don't stay the line, what's going to happen? And then walking out my statutes and ordinances. I thought that was really interesting. It's like, oh, we're just going back to the law now. But then you recognize what Jesus really is really teaching. And it, the reality is there's a new law that's put on our hearts, on our new hearts, like we're a new creation. It's. [00:16:47] Speaker A: It. [00:16:47] Speaker B: Oh, it's so beautiful. Wow. To recognize that it's the law of Jesus Christ. It's the law of love, Right? [00:16:52] Speaker A: Yes. [00:16:53] Speaker B: And he places it on our hearts. [00:16:55] Speaker A: Yes. [00:16:55] Speaker B: And it's so different. So it's not like I'm trying to follow these 10 commandments and try to do these things right. I'm just. I'm trusting the One in me to live through me. [00:17:06] Speaker A: Well said. Well said. Because it's no longer external, is now internal. Jesus actually. So Jesus actually says these things right. To the disciples, like, hey, it's to your benefit. [00:17:15] Speaker B: I'm leaving. [00:17:15] Speaker A: Because the Spirit is going to come in you. Look, there's one that's coming in you. And although it's, you know, Paul, maybe you could say Paul clarifies it more. But it's, it's Jesus saying that these things that Ezekiel prophesies, it's gonna happen with you. [00:17:31] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah. It's so beautiful. So, yeah. The other question I had here coming off of this passage is when will he do it? So he says he will do it, but when will he do it? And I already kind of said, for me, it was always a future tense thing. [00:17:44] Speaker A: Right, Right. Someday. Right. Someday or when you die. Because then it's. Everything's complete. [00:17:53] Speaker B: Yeah. So it's, it's so interesting because. Because even just processing, I think it's in the Psalm somewhere. Right. That says to taste and see that the Lord is good. And I think there's a number of verses. I did actually look this up last night, but I don't have that in front of me. It just took me on this, on this venture of just studying so many different things. That's what I really love about the Word of God. It just is so alive. [00:18:12] Speaker A: Yes. [00:18:13] Speaker B: Because. And the reason it's alive is not because the Word itself or the pages in front of me are alive, but because the spirit in me, Christ in me is alive and he's stirring. Right? [00:18:23] Speaker A: Right. [00:18:23] Speaker B: And he's speaking and he's teaching. And so my mind was just going to all these different things, and I was. I sat back in my chair last night. I was kind of, like, overwhelmed. Like, God, I can't process all this right now. It's just taking me to the next thing and to the next thing. [00:18:37] Speaker A: Right Thing. [00:18:37] Speaker B: And I want to know more, and I can't process it all. And so there's a point to where in. In your humanness, you just have to stop and take a break. And like, okay, I need a brain break. But to recognize that it's not just this. We don't just get this little taste. It's. It's like. [00:18:53] Speaker A: Like a sample, you know? [00:18:54] Speaker B: You know? Oh, man. I have it on my phone. I should have pulled that up. And I don't. I don't have it, but it's so beautiful. I read it this morning from Wayne Jacobson, and it was just such a beautiful picture of. And. And Brett here, the pastor of our church here, he shared with me a while ago, like, eternity. He has an idea about eternity. You know, we're. It's all speculation. We don't really know what heaven's going to be like. But he's like, every single day that I live in this life, or I would say maybe every week, I have these new understandings, these. These verses like this. I'm going to chew on this all week long. Ezekiel 36, you know? [00:19:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:26] Speaker B: And understanding what we're talking about, I'm just going to chew on. I'm going to share it with other people, and it's. It's exciting, it's fresh, and it's beautiful, and it's just a new revelation, a new understanding, I think. And just what Brett was saying, I think that that's what heaven's going to be like. But it's going to be every day. [00:19:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:42] Speaker B: We're gonna wake up and we're gonna be like a new understanding, a new perspective, seeing something in a new and a beautiful way. But he said at the same time, there's not going to be any flesh in the way. So there's not going to be anything to skew my thinking. There's no emotional ups and downs. It's just gonna be every single day. So he's. [00:20:02] Speaker A: He. [00:20:02] Speaker B: He really just thinks that eternity is not going to be. All of a sudden you're in heaven and boom, you just know everything. Okay. He thinks that it's Going to be a continued every single day, this kind of revelation. And I can really relate to that because that's the joy and that's the life right now. And is it really going to be that way? I don't know, but I could do that. That, to me, sounds more exciting than standing there singing, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty all, you know, for eternity. But at the same time, when I have a new revelation, what am I doing? I'm praising God. [00:20:32] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:20:33] Speaker B: So that's. I think it really fits. And maybe it's just speculation. That's kind of a rabbit trail I just went on. But. [00:20:41] Speaker A: Well, I. I'll bring us back to the significance of God will do it is he is the initiator. [00:20:48] Speaker B: Oh, man. [00:20:48] Speaker A: Paul says to Timothy, I'm convinced that he's going to keep doing it. He'll complete it, that he who started it will carry on to completion, that he's faithful even when we're not. Like, yes, thank you, God, that, that it's on you. I mean, even the covenant God made is with himself. [00:21:04] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:04] Speaker A: And so it just. It just is like a beautiful. A beautiful reminder that God will do it. And we're willingly participants. And so my part is to say, okay, okay, let's do it. [00:21:16] Speaker B: Yep. Yeah. [00:21:17] Speaker A: Like, all right, Jesus, what are we up to today? I think that's the comment you've talked about before, right? [00:21:22] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. And that really clarifies, like, even the meaning of my statutes, my ordinances. Like, and this is what I love about that verse. He says, I will cause you. Yes, I will cause you to follow these. So it's not. It's not about me trying hard. It really is about man just trusting, like you just said, trusting and believing. Receiving. Yeah. And the overflow is. The overflow really does end up looking like I'm following the law, but my focus isn't on I'm going to obey the law and then I obey the law. No, if I focus on the law, I'm going to fail at the law [00:22:00] Speaker A: time and time every time. [00:22:01] Speaker B: But if I'm focused on I'm a new creation in Christ, I can live from that reality, then my life is going to look more like following the law, even though it's not my focus. And it's just because now I'm living out of that law of love, which is Christ in me. So it's really amazing. So unless you have anything else, Carl, I think that's a wrap for today. It was a good one with a little technical difficulties and if you're not watching on video, you don't even have a clue. [00:22:31] Speaker A: That's right. [00:22:33] Speaker B: Awesome. Over and out.