PODEP2 - PT2

The main ideas from this information are: - Jesus is invited to dinner by the Pharisees and criticizes their focus on external appearances rather than inner purity. - The story of the greedy farmer in Luke 12 illustrates the importance of building one's life on God rather than material possessions. - It is important to have a strong foundation in God, as the world is unstable and can't fulfill our needs. - Our identity and fulfillment come from having a relationship with God. - God's love is unconditional and nothing can separate us from it. - When becoming a Christian, it's important to confess our sins and not be ashamed, as God offers forgiveness and a new life. - The speaker at a camp shared about leaving his past behind and finding a new life in God. Alright, so I wanted to read from Luke, I'll start with Luke 11 and I'll go to Luke 12. Easy. It's basically Jesus talking to the, he's invited to dinner by the Pharisees and he's, they're shocked when Jesus doesn't like ceremonially awash before the meal. Yeah, yeah. And he says to them, I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so they spark on the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil. Jesus said to the Pharisees, didn't the one who made the outside also make the inside? Jeez, that's like a massive might drop there. I think what's cool about that verse, I just want to quickly say, is how, a lot of like, the way we live in the Bible completely goes against the world, or like the way we're called to find our identity, God, goes completely against what everything in the world would tell you to find your identity. Yeah. If you don't find out treasures in the world, it's just going to like, fade away. Yeah. And that's also a good lead up to Luke 12, where it's the story about the greedy farmer who just has so much grain and he's building all these bigger storehouses and at the end of it, when he dies that night, and it says, that's what happens when you fill your barn with self and not with God. Jeez. Yeah, if you're not filling yourself with the truth of Jesus, and living accordingly, then it's just, you're not going to, you're just going to like, fade away with the rest of the world. It reminds me of another part of the Bible where it speaks about like, the men that built their house, one of them built their house on sand, one of them built their house on a rock, and one of them built, what was the other one? You built... Maybe there's only two. Yeah, there's only two. But I remember it was something like, the foundation of like, what is your foundation? Like that's the most important part of it, I'm saying like, I think Jesse said like, more than me this time. Maybe. The counter? Heck no. But yeah, it's like, sand isn't stable, the world isn't stable either. Like you were saying before, it can be, if you're basing yourself on what other people's opinions are, then you're just, it's going to be like, fluctuating, it's not going to be stable, and when trouble comes, and when those people leave you, then what have you got? Yeah, you have to have like, that strong foundation, it's asking that question, what's the foundation of your life? Like, when we say foundation, we're not meaning like, oh, what are you building your house on? Well, we are in a sense of like, a metaphorical way, but when we say that, it's saying how, like what are you building your life around? Like what are you basing your life, your ideas, like what you want in your life, what you believe is right, what are you building that around? And that could be so many different things, it could be your job, it could be your culture, it could be even what your family wants, or what everyone around you wants, but I think it's really strong that the foundation of your life has to be God, otherwise, as you said, it's not going to be stable, and nothing in this world is stable, like nothing in the world is perfect, nothing in this world will even match what we need in this life to live correctly, or to find an identity, and it's so important that you have to have your life built on something that's going to keep you stable, and obviously there'll be ups and downs, because we live in a world that isn't stable, but we can find stableness in having a foundation in God. And just because you do have a foundation in God doesn't mean things aren't going to be 100% right. Yeah, fact. Like, a good part of that is God gives you trials, like yeah. 100%. You can, and through those trials, then you can learn to trust and build your faith in Him. Yeah, yeah. I feel like that's, as we were speaking last week, in trust and faith, it's really important to have that foundation, and as you've now said, that there's going to be still things that are going to hit us, there's still going to be ups and downs in life, but when those actually come into your life, you can rely back onto a stable foundation, and go back to the roots of it all, and say, you know, I'm with God, I have my identity in God, I can be found in God, I'm loved by God. Like, there's so many verses in this, as we just said, we're a creation in God, I'll find the ones we'll speak about later, we have a new life in God, loves us, He loves us no matter what, He's forgiving, there's another one, we're absolutely complete in Christ, it says in Colossians 2.10, that, so you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority, and that really, really says that without Christ, like, your identity isn't, like, completed. Like, you can't actually find yourself, who you are, who you're meant to be, your plan for your life, and a life that actually fulfills you, cannot be completed without Christ. Like, you need it to be in your life, you need Him to be there to actually live a life that serves Him, and actually is a life that really lives life to the fullest. Because a lot of people now think that living life to the fullest is just knocking around, doing crazy things, you know, having fun on a Friday night, which I'm sure you have fun with it, but it doesn't fulfill you, like, it doesn't make you feel any better on a Saturday morning. Yeah. And I also got a verse to build on that, it says, I don't know where it's from, but I was just taking notes from that camp that I was on, and it says, but the world's approval doesn't matter, you have a heavenly Father who loves you more than anyone on this earth ever could, and His love for you doesn't change, it never fails, and it's eternal. How good is that? Yeah. How good is it to know that the Creator... Oh, I said flops. Oh, no! No, no, but how good is it to know that the Creator of all things actually loves you and I? And He's got a plan as well. Yeah. In a world of, like, what, seven billion, and He recognizes you for who you are, like, you don't have to be some, like, really famous person to be recognized by God, or you have to be, like as we said, a massive pastor, or a really renowned person, He knows you for who you are, whether you are even known by people around your area, or even known by everyone, like, He still knows you. And also, for, if there are Christians, or people who want to become Christians listening, I encourage you not to be ashamed of speaking out in your faith, I feel like, if, when you have an identity in Christ, it's so important to, like, tell other people about it, and Yeah. Not hide away. Yeah, it says, like, go and make disciples of a nation. Yeah, yeah. Which is, I got all these verses from this camp that I was on, and bro, it's so good, it's got, like, from Romans 8, 1 to 2, I'm free from condemnation, it's got Philippians 3, 20, I'm a citizen of heaven, 1, 1 John 5, 18, I am born of God and the evil one cannot judge me. Yeah, yeah. How good. Yeah, it's so good. And I think, as we were saying, with love, it says in Romans 8, 30 to 39, when I find it, because I'm on the wrong page, You're good, you're good. What's it about? So it's about how God loves us, no matter what. Romans 8, 38 to 39, it says, And I'm convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today, nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below, indeed, nothing in creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Wow. That's so good. That's cool. And that love isn't just for people, like, you know, that are really, like, you know, really close to God, have a full relationship with God. That's absolutely everyone on this earth, whether you know him, hate him, love him, don't know anything about him, or you know everything about him, he loves us. I think Trey wants to say something. Yeah, I just want to add something. So this is for the people who are either just becoming a Christian or a non-Christian, right? When you're becoming a Christian, don't feel like that you have to hide your past sin or the sin that you are still struggling with away when you're becoming a Christian. Yeah. Like, tell someone about it, because it's the best thing I've ever done. Go and tell someone about a sin that you're still struggling with, and it can help you so much. It's also in the Bible, about confess, confess your sins. Also Acts and Romans, I don't know where it is, but it says something about, don't be ashamed of your sin, because then you can help other believers to overcome their own sins. Yeah, because when you move into a relationship with God, you have a new life. It's spoken about in the Bible. It says in Romans 6, verse 4, it says, And I think that's good. A lot of people think that they've messed up and they're never going to be able to have a relationship with God because of their sins. But now, you leave your past life, it's still there, you know what's happened, you know the mistakes, but when you find a relationship with God, you leave your past life behind and you move into a new life. There might be many times when you have to move into a new life in your entire lifetime, but He still loves you, He still loves you as you are, as calm as you are, like the Nirvana song. But it really is speaking that you can always find a new life in God, and the new life can only be found through God and the relationship with Him. Yeah, and the speaker on the camp that I was on, I'm going to keep talking about him. Yeah, it sounded like it was amazing. He had a very difficult past, and he was basically saying once he became a Christian, his old self just died, and it doesn't affect him now in his faith, and he was pretty much telling us it doesn't affect him at all anymore, it's not his personality, he doesn't consider that as who he is now. Yeah. Pretty cool. Yeah. The last thing I'm going to add is, so if you're like, again, becoming a new Christian, even the stuff, the sins that you've done in the past and the stuff that you've been through in the past, that can still help you, even though you might be like, oh, I went through that, I don't want to go through that again. I'm not saying you'll go through it again, but I'm saying you can help people that are going through the same struggle that you are, because God has put you through those struggles. Yeah, it's like keeping each other accountable. Yeah, exactly. I think I've always noticed with the people around me that, I don't know, it can be relatable with people that know what you've been through, so sometimes the past, yes, it hurts, but you can also help other people not get drawn into things like that as well, which is really good. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, that's so good. Yeah. It's just crazy how the unconditional Jesus' love is for us. It's just, imagine you just lie to someone every day and just disobey them, that you tell them you're going to do one thing and you just do another thing, and you do something and you don't do it. Yeah, yeah, and I feel like sometimes we can make Jesus' love conditional, not because it is, but because we think it is. I feel like sometimes it just seems like, unconditional seems so, it's almost like heaven. You can't fully take a grasp of it. No one on your earth is going to love you unconditionally. Your parents aren't going to love you unconditionally. Your siblings aren't going to love you unconditionally. Yeah, yeah. But Jesus will, and it's such a, it's difficult to get your head around, but also especially after you do a sin or something like that and you feel condemned by the Spirit, or not condemned, maybe condemned, but like afterwards, but it's so important to remember that Jesus' love for us is unconditional. Yeah, yeah. It's also important to keep stepping forward and trying to break free from whatever is holding us back. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it reminds me of another parable in the Bible. It talks about the parable of the prodigal son, which basically talks about this son and he goes away from home and I think he takes some riches with him. He takes some inheritance, yeah. Yeah, yeah, from his father and he like uses it all, gets super lost, makes a bunch of mistakes and he ends up going back to his father, weeping, like he's like, I've made all these mistakes and he thought that his father was going to be absolutely like so angry. And rude and make him a slave. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But then he welcomes him with open arms, gives him the biggest hug, has a massive like party for him in celebration that his son has come back to his father. And it also shows an aspect of his brother saying how, like, how can this be? Like he's done all this stuff. And it's that thing of, there's another parable that talks about the wandering sheep. Yeah. How the shepherd was more happier to find the one sheep than the other 99, which is important. Like God is happier to find you, like a lost person that might not even like him or hates him, has no love for him. He's happy to see you come to him than the thousands and millions of people that already know him. Not because they're not important, not because he doesn't love him, because he wants you to be found. He wants you to, he's happy, like we've already found, like me and Seb and Trent are found and he wants to see more people be found. Like the whole point of being a disciple is helping that happen as well and helping God have the access by planting the seeds into people's life for him to find them again. And do you have like a personal testimony or something that you wanted to share about your identity? Yeah, I think with identity with me is not necessarily me not being like a Christian or like, I've always grown up in a Christian family, like I said. But a lot throughout like my life, I was always trying to be validated by people. Like with how I looked, like I was very like, I wanted like compliments to keep me going and wanted people's like opinions to keep me going. I've heard that as well, yeah. Yeah. And I felt like that I built so much of a foundation of my life and my identity on like my public image and like what people thought I was. Because I wanted people to like me, I wanted to be like the popular kid in school. Like during like getting into high school, like the end of like primary school, I always wanted to like, just people, I wanted to have that popularity. I wanted people to like me, I wanted people to want to be around me and hang out with me and be friends with me and think I'm like really good looking and be like, you know, like hot and stuff like that. But I think with that is I made it such a priority in my life to get people's validation on like me being happy in my own skin. Like that when I wasn't getting it, like I would say like, oh, I'm ugly, I'm like this and that, I have to go to gym, like I'm fat and stuff like that. People don't like know like we're made in God's image, like it's kind of like an insult to, like as bad as an insult to God's creation, like he hand made you, he took you from the womb, he made you, crafted you, like we talk, it talks in the Bible about being sculpted and stuff like that, like we're an excellent like sculpture that is made and with that we're made in God's image. And I felt like in a way I was betraying God through the way I was talking about myself and the way that I found confidence in my own skin is by recognizing that I'm made in God's image. Like God, if God made me this way, then I don't have to worry about what people are going to think about me. And obviously I still do because I'm not perfect, but I don't have to worry about like people not liking me or anything. Yeah, that's so good. I've gone through the same thing as well. And it definitely, yeah, 100% takes you away from God's love for you and what you think he thinks about you. If you're thinking the whole, the whole world is judging you on your appearance, then it could lead you to thinking that like, it's just, that's what your worth is on. Yeah. Maybe even what God thinks your worth is based on. Yeah. It's such a lie. I feel like sometimes I was just building like my happiness off like people saying good things about me. Yeah, 100%. And I was like, oh yeah, like I have to have the girl that I really like say good things about me and that will keep me like happy for like a week. Because as we said last week, that stuff is only like temporary, like it never lasts. And then it gives you full satisfaction that can be found. And the knowledge that God made me who I am, I can be happy. Yeah. And still like, I'd say not, not so much of a thing now, but sometimes I do struggle with stuff like that. Like self image just in general. Yeah, same. And it's, it's, it's difficult, especially as a teenager, I think. Yeah. It's something that a lot of teenagers struggle with. Yeah, because it's like so like broadcast around like social media or having to be a certain way, having a certain haircut, having a certain like style and look and stuff. It can be hard like to, to like not follow that and be yourself. Yeah. Everything on social media is just about trends and what you're, you're basically just looking at what other people, other people like and what they're doing. And then you put your, put your identity in that. I feel like you'll never look at a post or a TikTok or a reel looking at it like, oh yeah, like I'm perfect how I am. You will look at it being like, you have to be something more or you have to be more like them. You will never look at it like, oh yeah, I'm good enough. Yeah. Man, I cannot tell you how much like that. I compare so much and it's really bad. And I feel like that's the thing that I have. Like I compare a lot with like people around me, how people's lives are, how people's lifestyles and feats and looks and stuff like that. And it like, it's a way that the devil uses to put you down and not make you feel comfortable in your own skin and in your own life as well. Yeah. I think especially the, the teenage guys, the gym, the gym thing, I see so much on my Like the Sigma stuff. Yeah. Yeah. On my, on my feed. I just, I used to see so much gym, gym stuff. Yeah, I remember. I just, I just be, you just scroll and you're just looking at it and comparing yourself to it the whole time. Yeah. And by the way, we're not saying that gym culture is bad. I love going to the gym. I like that the body positivity part of it is really good. The body is a temple, right? Yeah, yeah. It's positive until you start comparing it to yourself and feeling like you're not good enough for it. Yeah. And I feel like, yeah, yeah. Like it's good to encourage people. Like if someone's absolutely built, like encouraged and like loved and like as you said, the body is a temple. Like God calls us to, you know, build our bodies up and be strong in Him and also who we are. But I feel like you don't want it to be a negative thing that every single time you're looking at photos and videos of like people you look up to being absolutely ripped and stuff like that. You don't want it to be like, oh, why am I not like them? You want to be comfortable in your own skin. Yeah. And I think that's, yeah, as you were saying, we should also be, I'll make sure that we're not just saying it's negative to be good at something or to enjoy doing something. I think it's important. It's important to build, like build your own, your own self as well in Christ, but also go to the gym. It's important to be healthy. Study. It's important to get, like gain more knowledge and like, yeah. But also at the same time, don't make it your God. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I feel like, yeah, it's not like a bad thing what people are doing, posting, like being confident and stuff like that. The bad part is you're just self comparing yourself to it. Like never try to make someone's looks put you down as who you are. Like if you're made a certain way and they're made a certain way, we're all made in God's images. Like nothing is like, there's no real like level of like ugliness and like attractiveness and stuff like that. Like of course people will be attractive to certain people, but like that doesn't make your identity. Like just because people don't have attraction to you doesn't mean like you're not attractive. It just means that there might be a different person out there for you. I mean, yeah. I'm going to go back to the cliff guy. He's so good. He was talking about how in our culture, it's just so stupid how if you're like, if you're as a girl, if your hips are like wide enough or not wide enough or something, then you're just, your whole personality is judged on that. Or if you're a guy, if you're like built to a certain amount, then oh, you're a stud or whatever. Yeah. I think, yeah. I feel like, yeah. And I mean like, look at how people with not being okay in their own skin, like, I keep saying like, my bad. You're good, you're good. But when you look at them, they're constantly like getting plastic surgery and constantly trying to make themselves look better and trying to make themselves like, I'm sure plastic surgery might do wonders for some people, but it's like, that's not who God created you to be. Like, be okay in your own skin. You're never going to fully be fulfilled in that and validated if you're constantly changing who you are. And they're constantly just building and building on it. Yeah. It's like building your foundation on like sand and it breaks and then building it up again, like the reason of it wasn't the sand. You're building, yeah, you're building like your own personality on a building that's already fallen and you just keep going. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like that analogy. So if you're, I see all these gym guys, like their personality on Instagram or whatever is just about going to the gym. I mean, it's great. It's good for them, but I don't think they're ever satisfied. I don't think they're ever satisfied with how they look. And I feel like, yeah, like, of course it's good to go to the gym, but do not make it your personality. Do not make like, I'm a musician, but I wouldn't want to make drumming my personality or you don't make art your personality. Don't make, I don't know, comedy your personality or YouTube and podcast your personality. Like, be who God calls you to be. That's the most important part. Yeah. I was thinking, if we want to go into more, how we can step out into our identities and what, how other Christians can, I guess, find the courage to do that. Because it can be pretty daunting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how many verses about like courage you said. Yeah. Yeah. I actually, I do. I just found one. Look how good works. In Colossians 2, verse 10, it says, when I can find it. So you will also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head of every ruler and authority. And I feel like you might be wondering, like, how the heck is that courage? You're complete in Christ. You don't have to be anything else. Like, don't try to make anything else in your life who you are. You're ready. If you know God, you're complete. You don't have to be anything else. You find your identity in Christ. You find everything in Christ. It's like the final missing piece in your puzzle or the cornerstone that speaks to the Bible will always be Christ. You'll forever only be complete in Christ. And I feel like sometimes we don't feel complete. It's because we're not like letting Christ fully complete us. Yeah. And sometimes, like, you can be, like, no God personally and still not fully be complete in Christ. I feel like for a while in my life, I wasn't fully complete in Christ, like I said last week, because I was giving people the role of Christ over my life. And I feel like when you're wondering, oh, why isn't everything being complete? And I don't feel like we'll ever fully get a complete life. I think God calls us to, like, the quiet life and to a life that's called to live for Him. And a quiet life doesn't mean, like, you live in the shadows and don't talk to anyone. Like, it might just be, like, you live a life and then, you know, there's famous people that still live a quiet life. But what I'm saying is you find yourself being complete in Christ when, you know, you live for Him, when you have identity in Him, and when you fully trust in Him. It's like, it's really, it's really important. And I feel like sometimes we can really struggle with that. What do you think about, like, obviously we can find identity in Christ and be complete in that. But what do you think about, like, when people come into our lives and they become identity, what do you think about that? Like our identity? Yeah. Well, as I was saying before, I think if, say, I guess a good example would be for a lot of people, your wife or your husband. For a lot of people, that can become their whole identity and their partner is just their identity. And obviously I don't know what it's like because I'm not married. I think it's a tough balance, especially as a Christian. Yeah. And it's not just your, like, your wife as well. It could be anyone. Like, even people you look up to, like, famous people, like, oh my days, people, like, will go crazy after, like, Taylor Swift. Stuff like that. Oh my days. You see all these girls, like, screaming and then I'm wondering if they actually saw Jesus, like, if there's Christian girls watching that, would they scream that much for Jesus? Yeah, I know. But, like, honestly, we're not saying being a Taylor Swift fan is bad. No, no, no. Like, we're not saying, like, Taylor Swift music is bad. Well, I don't personally like her music. But I'm not saying that listening to Taylor Swift is a bad thing, but don't make it your entire identity and don't, like, be so dependent on it as well. Just, like, there's people that, like, absolutely go crazy over Kanye West or Travis Scott or, I don't know, who's another famous artist, like, The Weeknd or Playboi Carti and stuff like that. We're getting in danger territory. Yeah, we're getting in danger territory. What do you think about, like, listening to that kind of music? Like, demonic type of stuff? Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah. Or just secular as a whole. I think, like, I know you don't listen to secular music, yeah. But with me, I feel like with secular music, like, it's not, like, a sin to listen to it. But if you let it get into your life, the secularness of it, like, the swearing and the cursing and the things of it, that is when it becomes a sin. Because you're letting it be an influence to the things that God has called us away from. And, like, if you listen to lyrics and you know it's, like, not good or I might be, like, worshipping Satan or something like that, like some artists do, then it would be wise to move away from it. Maybe, not because you're being, like, sinful, but because it could affect you and help lead you into sin. Yeah, and it's easy to listen to that kind of music and not, just listen to it for, not the lyrics, but just the sound of it and just secular music as a whole. And I think that for a long time, that's why I liked, like, listening to it. You don't actually, like, listen to the lyrics and what they're saying. Alright, we'll cut there. We're actually cooking. Yeah. My mic's dropping. Yeah, just go straight here.