Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Good morning and welcome to let's Talk Life. Today I am going solo.
[00:00:07] So I've titled episode 28 here to match specifically Han Solo, just because I can. Maybe in honor of May 4th that just passed this last weekend. Maybe it's because the name Han actually means God is gracious. Did you know that?
[00:00:26] Is he ever. God is so good. Did you know also, though, in Star Wars. Here's a little geek knowledge for you. In Star Wars, Han Solo was actually given that surname Solo when he joined, I guess, like the Navy is called the Imperial Navy, I think. So he's given that name by an officer because he was alone. He had no family, had no connections. He really had no name. And so they gave him the name Solo. Interesting what you might think about that if you're a real Star wars geek. Is it geek or is it nerd? I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm a little bit of that, but I'm not that much. So do you ever. Here's the question.
[00:01:07] Feel alone in that time of aloneness.
[00:01:12] Trust then that God is gracious and so much more.
[00:01:17] He sent his son to be the ultimate gift of grace to the world.
[00:01:22] And when we receive that man, it changes everything. So let's talk about this today. My co host, Carl records he's out of town with a death in the family. And by the time you're hearing this, the week has already passed.
[00:01:37] But be in prayer for his family.
[00:01:39] So Carl may not be here on the podcast today, but he's able to talk life, you know, with families, what we do in every aspect of our lives.
[00:01:50] But he's able to talk life with his family and his friends of Aunt Carol, his Aunt Carol, not mine. We are cousins, but this is the other side of his family.
[00:02:01] Celebrating life, celebrating a life and proclaiming Christ as life, because she, of course, knew Jesus personally. So we can rejoice in those things.
[00:02:13] All right. But Han Solo, being alone, that wilderness walker, has that been you?
[00:02:21] I know what it's like to feel alone. In the past couple of years, I've walked my family actually right into the wilderness.
[00:02:31] Please don't do it just because I did it. That's not what I'm saying.
[00:02:36] But at the same time, it was exactly where I needed to be.
[00:02:41] It's where our story, our story really began.
[00:02:45] And my story is our story. But who is our.
[00:02:49] It's likely not who you might think it is.
[00:02:53] I was learning this life message, as I call it, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27. That's just one part of it.
[00:03:02] But every single Wednesday afternoon and into the evening, I was doing a more extensive study and I was getting into writing, and I was doing a lot of different things. I had a vision, but God was really taking me on a journey. So here I was at a cafe, and I was getting myself set up and sitting down, and I asked a very intriguing question. I said, what are we doing now? From everybody looking. I was alone. I was by myself.
[00:03:38] Probably even looked a little bit crazy because I actually said this out loud. And I was at this stage, really stepping into a new perspective.
[00:03:49] I had new life when I received Christ at nine years old.
[00:03:55] I had new life at that very time. But I didn't step into the reality of what that really meant personally until I was, at this time, 43 years old.
[00:04:06] So what does this really mean?
[00:04:09] What does it really mean, this new perspective, this new life? The reality is it's union.
[00:04:18] Christ in me, I in Christ. And theologically, most believers are going to agree with this.
[00:04:25] However, like me, for 43 years, a biblical concept is all that it was.
[00:04:33] You can agree and yet not be living from that union.
[00:04:38] Many are.
[00:04:39] As a result of not living from union, we're not teaching it either. And again, that was me for all those years.
[00:04:49] It's all I knew. And so you can only teach what you do know.
[00:04:54] Our story really was and truly is still a prayer at rest and in trust in Father God. I pray, and I hope that, that this will help you as it has helped me to understand how we live the Christian life.
[00:05:14] Because that's a question so many people have. So what do I do from here? Where do I go from here?
[00:05:20] My eyes being opened to my union with God changed how I prayed. And I have to be honest, in the beginning, I was praying like this. God, I don't know how to pray.
[00:05:34] I no longer understand. I don't know if I ever understood how to pray.
[00:05:40] And so I'm not that far removed from that, truly, if I'm even more honest. But I have learned something so significant.
[00:05:50] I've learned this, that since I'm in union with God, I no longer seek help from Him.
[00:05:59] Instead, the helper is in me. He's with me.
[00:06:05] He's. He's speaking, he's working.
[00:06:08] And so I asked instead, lord, what are we doing?
[00:06:14] So I sat at the cafe to write and to, you know, study. And I'm asking, what is our story? As I pondered the thoughts of what am I going to share today on this podcast in A different way and by myself. And. And I'm in the same spot saying, okay, well, what's our story?
[00:06:35] Because I'm in union. It's a from not for mentality. That's the makeup of my present ministry. 100.
[00:06:44] No longer am I living for God. Here's something from Carl. I'll steal this from him so he still gets to be part of this podcast. Jesus isn't my priority.
[00:06:54] He's my life.
[00:06:57] You get that Jesus isn't my priority, that I put number one, he's my life.
[00:07:03] So no longer am I living for God. Instead, I live from who I already am, and now I equip others to do the same. And it is so riveting. It changes everything.
[00:07:18] It has for me. It has for other people. And it's been so exciting to be a part of. So I want to talk about this word trust, specifically a phrase. I actually heard it twice in the last week here.
[00:07:34] Something that I heard before, really read before and then heard along the way. And then it was just brought back to my attention this last week. Here's the phrase Truth trusted transforms.
[00:07:51] Truth trusted transforms. So I first heard this, or at least the. The concept of it, out of the book the Cure, which is written by three different men.
[00:08:03] And that book really set me on a different path to really understand the gift that I have, the gift of grace and God's love in my life. It's been so amazing. And so that's the first place. And so then I. John lynch is one of the authors, and he was at a conference I was at just this last weekend. And he said this very phrase in one of the times that he spoke. Truth trusted transforms. So Bill Thrall is another guy that is the author and the Cure out of the three guys. And I was. The very next day I came back from the conference, I was driving here to my office, and I put on his podcast, if this one's not good enough for you, go to Bill Thorold, Living Influence. And he again heard the phrase, I just heard it this weekend. And he. Here's Bill saying, truth trusted transforms.
[00:08:57] So I'm stealing it from those guys and I'm bringing it to you that are listening.
[00:09:03] What does this mean? I want to. I want to begin really with the last word, transformation.
[00:09:10] What happens when I seek after transformation?
[00:09:17] Because I think that much of the Christian life is thought of as a quest for seeking transformation.
[00:09:27] Church has even taken on this mission to help you get there, designed to keep you on track. So plug in so you can see Transformation books, especially self help books. And I have to be honest, a lot of Christian books are really just that, self help books to keep you on track so that you can see transformation. A lot of them are answering like questions similar to, how do I be the person that I so desperately want to be? And why am I struggling with these things? How do I deal with hurt and pain and trauma or sin that remains in my life? And we're really kind of trying to answer this question.
[00:10:05] What am I to do?
[00:10:06] Tell me what to do. So born again believers as a result of these books and this kind of teaching, as a result, believers, true believers, are seeking after transformation. And honestly, they're coming up empty.
[00:10:23] Brother, sister, in Christ.
[00:10:27] Being in Christ means you have been transformed, so live from who you are.
[00:10:38] So let me stop and say this.
[00:10:40] It's not a matter of what you're missing in life, it's who you are missing.
[00:10:49] While so many godly men and women would agree, again with this statement, theologically they would agree they simply are not trusting this as the answer for their own life. And so it's not what people are really being equipped with.
[00:11:04] When we can trust this truth, transformation happens. Trust is tough.
[00:11:12] Trust is tricky because I have to be real with me, and a lot of us don't want to do that. But in order to really find transformation out of the truth, we have to trust.
[00:11:26] So back to this question. What happens when I seek transformation? Realistically, I remain unchanged. I There is change, I'll give you that. There is no question about it. A change will take place, but it's not lasting.
[00:11:40] I slip back to where I was. How many times have you seen it in people's lives? How many times have you seen it in your own?
[00:11:47] So easily, right? Why do we so easily fall back? I believe it's because we're grabbing hold of the truth, which is good.
[00:11:55] And then we, as a result of that truth that we see, oh, God has given this incredible gift, then we turn to striving after transformation.
[00:12:06] And it actually turns a bad direction for us because any, any amount of striving, any amount of striving that we do to earn what we have from God is going to cause us to fall flat on our face. Truth is essential.
[00:12:25] So we have to stand on this principle. God's word is that truth. How do we let it transform us?
[00:12:32] Colossians 2, 6 says, just as you received him, so walk in him.
[00:12:40] Trust is the word I use there. You received him by trust, you walk in trust. That's the journey Live at rest in who you are. I can live at rest in who I am, or I can live overwhelmed, trying to be something that I'm already.
[00:13:04] That I already am.
[00:13:07] Isn't it true that we feel so overwhelmed trying to do something and to be something that we already are?
[00:13:16] Upon receiving Christ, we are transformed. Done.
[00:13:21] It's finished.
[00:13:23] Do you feel new all the time now?
[00:13:27] No, but it doesn't take away from the fact that you are.
[00:13:32] Galatians 2:20. I have been crucified with Christ, who lives no longer. I. Christ lives in me.
[00:13:40] So the life that I do live is his life, that resurrection life.
[00:13:46] 2nd Corinthians 5:17. I'm a new creation.
[00:13:51] Where's the old? It's gone.
[00:13:53] I am new.
[00:13:55] And Ephesians talks about living as children of light. And we can, because it's who we are, trust these truths and find transformation in the past. I have to be honest here. I've taught some of these biblical principles in the wrong way.
[00:14:19] Take one like the mind of Christ.
[00:14:22] I taught this all the time. Put on. It was a good challenge. It preaches really well. Put on the mind of Christ.
[00:14:31] So I taught put on. But the Bible clearly states, you have.
[00:14:36] You have the mind of Christ, know what you have, and live from there.
[00:14:43] The light of the world, the salt of the earth.
[00:14:46] I always taught this too, is strive to be light. What can you do to. To better be a light and to be salt? What needs to change, what needs to adjust? And the Bible clearly says you are.
[00:15:01] So when there are adjustments that need to be made, when you're walking in the Spirit, the Spirit's saying, yeah, we can. We can fix that.
[00:15:09] That's the reality. Trust what you have. Trust who you are.
[00:15:15] And then when it comes to this whole idea of. Of even victory, another thing is like I. I always taught, strive towards victory, right? Finish the race strong.
[00:15:29] When the Bible clearly states, Jesus is our victory, trust these truths.
[00:15:38] It will transform everything.
[00:15:42] Everything.
[00:15:43] And you know how it's done?
[00:15:45] It's not through trying to be transformed. It's done by trusting in the finished work of Christ. The Christian life is not about trying to become something that we're not.
[00:15:58] The Christian life is all about maturing and into who we already are.
[00:16:04] Are we in a race? Yes, we are.
[00:16:06] But we get to start at the finish line. Are we in a battle? Yes, we are.
[00:16:14] But we get to start from victory.
[00:16:18] These are such beautiful truths, and sadly, as beautiful as they are, they sound foreign to so many believers because they are foreign to so many believers. Most believe Christians have not been equipped to trust in a work done.
[00:16:33] They've been equipped to strive for something that they've already got and since they don't know what they have already got they remain on this treadmill of striving all of their lives and they can't measure up and they're so burnt out and tired. It's the number one reason why people aren't staying in the church because they're tired. They can't measure. They're tired of striving. When Jesus says come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest, that's where we're to operate from, from rest.
[00:17:09] And in that place of rest that's where you're trusting.
[00:17:14] Trust is amazing. It's scary. It's frightening. But truth trusted transforms.
[00:17:24] Stand on truth. Trust the truth with yourself, with your life.
[00:17:31] Look back then down the road and you'll see incredible transformation.
[00:17:39] Amen. Let's talk life shortened version or over and out.
