Church On The Move Podcast

One of the most well-known Proverbs is Proverbs 3:5-6. But we rarely stop to grasp the weight of its meaning. It says to trust God with your heart, not trust God in your heart. Entrusting your heart to Him is altogether a different thing. Trust is complete and total surrender. When you lean on your own understanding, you’re putting your weight on something that can't support it. To acknowledge the Lord is to have a daily reliance on Him, built on a deep and intimate knowledge of His character.

We have easier access to people than ever before, yet we are more isolated in so many ways. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the need for friendship and community – not a generic kind of friendship, but biblical, life-giving friendship. We need to be around people with whom we can be truly vulnerable and receive encouragement and correction. A friend isn't just someone who doesn’t leave, but someone who moves towards you in all seasons.

This week in Proverbs, we dive into the topic of money and how we tend to have a distorted lens around this topic. Through the teachings in this book of wisdom, we can develop a new lens to view money. When we learn to see money as a gift from God and a way to honor Him, we can find a joyful and meaningful experience with our finances.

The closer we get to the Lord, the more we will accurately understand justice. Justice is an attribute of God, but it’s also something we’re called to reflect on. As Christ-followers, we ought to be the most compassionate people because we’ve had unfathomable compassion shown to us. The promise we can hold onto is Jesus is coming back, and He will deal with evil once and for all.

Pastor Marty Sloan, Lead Pastor of Calvary Church in Naperville, IL, explains a divided heart is a heart torn between two different loves: a love of God and a love of the world. God will not be second in your life. Luckily, our God is faithful even when we’re unfaithful, and redeeming us even though we don’t deserve it. 

Over and over in the Bible, we're given the command not to fear. But the beginning of all wisdom is to fear the Lord. How do we hold these two things in tension? The fear of the Lord is a fear that puts God at the center. We have a healthy fear of the mountains and the ocean yet often we don’t fear the God who made them. If we want to live well in a God-made world it requires the fear of the Lord through trusting Him, knowing Him, and obeying Him.

We often don’t get the weight to which our words matter. There are times when we should refrain from speaking and times when we should have difficult conversations. But how do you know when & how to speak? Luckily, Proverbs gives us a roadmap for navigating these nuanced situations with wisdom.

In week three of our Series on Proverbs, Pastor Whit shared insights from Proverbs 1 on what the pathway to maturity looks like. Proverbs tells us that wisdom is available for anyone who wants it, we just have to pursue it, but it may not always look like what we think it will.   In this message, we dissect the tension between submission and agency. As we make space to listen to God and have the courage to step out of our comfort zone, God will lead us into wisdom and the plans He has for our lives.

We desperately need wisdom, but there are external and internal obstacles. Our culture values speed and busyness, but wisdom requires patience and perspective. Pride and shame also keep us from the wisdom that’s available. Luckily, Everything that you need for life and godliness is in Jesus. Proverbs is the voice of Jesus in your life. Will you let Him speak?

Join us for week one of our series on Proverbs: Wisdom for Every Day Life. To know God is to know His ways. Man’s ways are informed by personal understanding and experience. But God’s way is submission to His Word and His Voice. His ways are where we find true and life-giving wisdom.

Sometimes, life doesn’t go as expected. Joseph certainly didn't expect for his life to turn out the way it did. But God never leads you to a dead end. Throughout Scripture, we see that He provides a way for His people over and over again. God never promised a life without trouble, but He can give your pain purpose and work all things for the good of those who love Him.

Forgiveness and reconciliation are two concepts not only central to the story of Joseph but central to the Christian faith.  Forgiveness is about coming to the Lord with the fullness of your feelings and trusting Him with them. It's inner work between you and God. Sometimes, this inner work leads to repentance and reconciliation with others. What God desires above all, is reconciliation with you.

In Genesis 42-44, Joseph tests his brothers. He gives them a chance to enter back into a relationship with him on the basis of trust. We all have to face different tests and trials that form something in us. God never tempts you, but he does allow you to walk through difficult seasons. Tests reveal who you truly are and allow you to change. When you pass a test, you're released into a new level of intimacy with God and effectiveness for His Kingdom.  

God never speaks and gives a word without giving confirmation. Joseph received confirmation from God time and time again and rose to the challenge of staying diligent no matter how challenging his circumstances got. Spiritual laws give us a pathway to both vindication and success. There are going to be times when you do the right thing but don't get your just reward. Take heart: your breakthrough almost never comes when you want it to, but it always comes when it's supposed to.

God has a way of bringing us to in-the-meantime seasons – a place where you feel stuck in the middle of where you used to be and where you want to go. In Genesis 39,  this is where Joseph is at. God often does His most significant work in our lives during this time if we let Him. But it can be hard to trust that He’s working even when we don’t see it. What God has for you is better than what you could ever imagine for yourself. But how do you follow Him in the meantime?

The story of Joseph is the story of a family and God’s faithfulness to them. What does it mean to have God working in and through your family? The reality of family is that you’re connected to a people whether you realize it or not, and where you come from shapes you in significant ways. Unless you allow your relationship with God to shape and refine you, all of your outward faith will have very little impact on your family, and unhealthy patterns will persist. But the good news is God is faithful in spite of your unfaithfulness. What could happen in your family because of your obedience? 

We shouldn’t just go back to our lives after Easter. The resurrection changes everything. Erwin McManus said, “Eternal life is not something we get when we die. Eternal life is something Jesus has already given us that can never be taken away." Because of the resurrection, we can have courage over fear and a life of purpose.

In Ephesians 2, Paul explains our condition: we were dead in our sin, buried in shame and brokenness. We have to be willing to face the reality of our condition. A lot of people believe in Jesus but have never actually received the free gift of grace through faith: this is a gift of resurrection. God being rich in mercy has made us alive in Jesus. And when you meet the real Jesus, there’s no going back.

Fasting is an unreasonable habit to draw us closer to God, and prayer is how we turn our physical hunger into spiritual hunger. When we pray and fast it gives us the opportunity to run after God in a way that we typically don’t; it increases our level of dependence. God wants you to pursue Him. Every time God calls His people to seek Him, He promises that they will find Him.

There’s tension in the Christian life: the already and the not yet. Our view of the future determines how we live. We're not called to obsess over the future, but to be faithfully obedient in the present. Spiritual disciplines like fasting help us stay obedient in the present, worship God with our best, and prepare for what’s next.