The Bullpen with J.D. Greear

By J.D. GreearReligion & Spirituality Christianity

Favorites
208
Followers
Typical duration
54 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

The Bullpen with J.D. Greear episodes

April 08, 2024Should Christians Support Israel?
Show Notes:
Matt: J.D., this week we’re pivoting from our series on spiritual disciplines and we’ll be tackling some one-off questions our listeners have been sending us for the next few weeks. One of the topics we’ve had several people ask about is how to process what’s going on in Israel and their conflict with Gaza…
—
J.D.: Yeah, Matt, wow. Well, there are a lot of very intense views on this subject. And that makes sense, because it’s a topic that combines worldview with theology—particularly eschatology, or the part of theology that concerns the end times and modern politics.
And we won’t get into a full blown “end times” episode here, but we do need a little help understanding some of the terms that get thrown around.
“Premillennialism” is the belief that part of God’s plan for the end times involves a 1000 year reign of Jesus that is still to come, and a physical Israel is a part of that.
The relevance to this discussion is this: Many premillennialists viewed the fact that Israel has their own nation – which happened in 1948, in case you failed your history class—as at least a partial fulfillment of biblical prophecy. God was reinstituting the nation.
And that’s led to the embrace of the Zionist movement, which, practically speaking, means that anything that advances Israel’s interests is correct and functionally, means you give them an automatic pass on most questions. Their destiny is to rule the world, at least that part of it, so anything they do toward that end we’re in support of.
Let me say this clearly: that’s not true. Whatever your view of eschatology, it’s never appropriate to wink at injustice. Whatever God does, we never need to “do evil evil may that good may come.” Where Israel, as a nation, commits crimes or acts unjustly, we should unhesitatingly call it out. We should always be on the side of justice.
Now, as a pastor, I typically don’t wade into the finer points of politics or world events—neither called nor competent—and I’m not going to do that here. What I do is talk about the principles that undergird our approach, and that’s what I want to do here: to talk about is a dangerous narrative that has entered the convo that I think it’s important for Christians to identify and reject, and that is:
That modern-day Israel has no right to the land they’re currently occupying; Israel is basically an occupying power–like Britain was in India, or even like European colonists were in parts of N America or Australia—and because they are an occupying power, whatever Palestinians do to get them out is ok. This is a decolonization project. The myth is that Palestinians were living happily in the land until GB came in and forced the colonization in 1948. And then some even like to say that the Jews there are white and it’s another example of white colonization of POC.
But that’s a completely fallacious comparison.
First, the Jewish presence in the land stretches back for centuries. Modern Israel is home to 9 million Jews MOST are descended from people who migrated back to the Holy Land from 1881 to 1949, before Israel became a state.So Britain didn’t bring them in.
In fact, Britain had turned against the Zionist movement in the 1930s, and from 1937 to 1939 moved toward an Arab state with no Jewish state at all
But in 1947, a compromise was made: the United Nations devised the partition of that area into two states, one Arab and Jewish. It was the “two-state solution” we hear a lot about today, BUT the reason it never happened was in 1948, Arab forces refused the two-state solution the UN sought to enact by attacking Israel. That led to the aborting the quest for a Palestinian state, because the claim was that Israel should have no part of the land, and there would be no rest until Israel as a state cEased to exist.
Which brings us to today. On Oct 7, without warning, more than 3,000 Hamas militants invaded Israel from Gaza, killing at least 1,139, including 766 civilians, a large portion of which were women and children intentionally targeted—even mutilating infants. They also took a minimum of over 250 more as captives.
Hamas is not a good faith group. It’s an Islamist militant group formed in 1987 whose charter calls for the genocide of Jews and the establishment of sharia law, and a call for unrestrained and unceasing holy war (jihad) to attain that objective,
They categorically reject any negotiated resolution or political settlement of Jewish and Muslim claims to the Holy Land
As such, what happened on Oct. 7 is no accident; rather, it’s completely in keeping with Hamas’s own explicit aims and stated objectives.
The attack was unprovoked, it was unspeakably brutal, and plainly genocidal. So, whatever you think the solution is over there, this was a horrendously unjust act, and Israel has, as most of us would think about ourselves, a right to defend themselves.
This is not to say that all of how Israel has responded has been right or just or appropriately proportional. I’m not saying that at all. I’m just rejecting the idea that any and all violence done by Palestinians is justified because it is the freedom battle of the oppressed against an oppressor. And with respect to those who say that the Jewish presence in the land of Palestine is just another example of white colonization, of course some of the Jewish people there have lighter skin as many Jews have intermarried with some Europeans, but many do not. The Jewish people are not an originally or primarily Anglo-European group–they were middle-Eastern, and then scattered because of all kinds of persecution, and now they have a pretty eclectic blind of secondary ethnicities mixed in with their Hebrew ethnicity.
There’s a great article in The Atlantic, written by Simon Montefiore, who writes, “In 2007, Hamas seized power (in Gaza), killing its Fatah rivals in a short civil war. Hamas set up a one-party state that crushes Palestinian opposition within its territory, bans same-sex relationships, represses women, and openly espouses the killing of all Jews.”
Of course, the events of Oct. 7 has led to an ongoing escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict— and my heart does grieve some of the reports of death being brought upon innocent lives in Gaza as collateral. Particularly innocent people caught up in it–especially heartbreaking pictures of infants and children–and then sometimes infuriating Israeli callousness about that. I have a Muslim friend who says that for the last 4 months he’s seen pictures of children and infants killed in the crossfire, and that almost every Muslim he knows has a first or second-degree connection with a non-combatant who has been killed over there.
But I do believe that even as we grieve those reports, and as we rightly call upon Israel to act justly in their response, the narrative that Palestinians should have free reign to enact as much violence as possible as a means of decolonizing is something we can and should reject. Some of what we’re seeing in even mainstream places—chants of “From the River to the Sea,” which is just a thinly veiled call for the expulsion or genocide of all Jews from the Jordan River to the Mediterannean Sea—is egregious.
To sum this up, I think Christians have a responsibility to pray and advocate for true justice and peace in the Middle East.
But we can call acts like those carried out by Hamas what they are—irredeemably evil, inhumane violence that does nothing to reflect the reality of the historical situation in the Holy Land, and does nothing to further a solution towards peace.
We can say all of that without considering ourselves “Zionists,” and even without fully endorsing all of Israel’s actions or their regime.
We can call out injustice where we see it.
—
Matt: To finish out the spring semester, we’re going to answer questions you’ve sent in throughout the year so far and then we’ll tackle another big series in the fall. Next up: we want to know Pastor J.D.’s thoughts on the Israel/Gaza conflict.
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
18 min
April 01, 2024Spiritual Disciplines Recap + Q&A
Show Notes:
MATT: J.D., we just wrapped up the last of the spiritual disciplines we wanted to cover, and it’s been a great 8-part series. But before we move on, we wanted to answer a few more questions from our listeners and kind of recap what we talked about. A lot of these are more general questions about the disciplines as a whole, and some focus in on certain ones. We’ll keep this a little more “rapid fire.”
First up, from Ashley: How to help my teens practice the spiritual disciplines?
J.D.: I feel that, and as a parent of teenagers, we obviously want to see them grow in all the areas and habits God wants them to. And at the same time, once they’re that age, it’s hard can’t make them do anything.
I’ve said this before, but a friend of mine told me… (mechanic vs farmer)
Prayer is a big key here.
It never hurts to have conversations with them, to check in about these things. To share what the SD’s look like in your life. To model them for the whole family and explain why you’re modeling them.
Practically: a book list (My Essential Christianity; A Praying Life; for boys: JC Ryle’s Thought for Young Men and Kent Hughes’ Disciplines of a Godly Young Man; for girls, 7 Lies and the Truth that Sets them Free; Rebecca McLaughlin’s 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask; Tactics by Greg Koukl).
MATT: From Tiffany: How do we avoid guilt as we fail and succeed in practicing the disciplines?
This is such an easy trap to fall into. The enemy wants us to feel guilty.
It’s a relationship: (my dad’s story)
It’s an invitation: he doesn’t love you more when you do or less when you don’t
Long obedience in the same direction
MATT: From April: Are all spiritual disciplines equal?
Yes and no.
Yes, they’re all important. They’re all talked about and taught to us in Scripture.
But at the same time, there are certain ones more essential.
Scripture is life and the anchor to the others. Jesus suspended fasting for a while with the disciples–doesn’t mean we shouldn’t practice diligently, but there are seasons where it is more appropriate or even not appropriate. But never suspends Scripture. It’s what you live by.
Pray always, like breath.
—
Matt: To finish out the spring semester, we’re going to answer questions you’ve sent in throughout the year so far and then we’ll tackle another big series in the fall. Next up: we want to know Pastor J.D.’s thoughts on the Israel/Gaza conflict.
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
15 min
March 25, 2024Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 7: Worship
Show Notes:
MATT: J.D., our next spiritual discipline is worship. What do we mean by the “discipline of worship?”
—
J.D.: Matt, good question. I’m excited to talk about this one because I think it’s perhaps the least-understood spiritual discipline. When I say “worship,” what’s the first thing that pops into your head? Probably the 3 or 4 “worship songs” we sing when we gather at church—or even just the genre of the music itself. But Jesus said the Greatest Commandment was to love God with all our hearts and souls and minds, and this is the heart of everything else we do. This is worship, and it’s the center of the Christian life. The center of the Christian’s life, plain and simple, is worship. The center of our discipleship is not community or mission or evangelism or justice work; it’s worship.
And that’s because we were created for God. One of my favorite devotional writers, Chris Tiegreen, said: “Worship is not part of the Christian life; IT IS the Christian life.” You could be really busy with all the other stuff, but if it doesn’t come out of a heart of passionate love for God, it’s all just dry, dead, religious formality
At TSC, we attach two important disciplines to the identity of ‘worshiper’: 1. weekly, corporate worship (as in, coming to church each weekend, just like Jesus commanded–he says in Hebrews, “Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together”); the second is daily personal worship (a daily time where you meet with God, like we see exemplified in the life of Jesus). I hope you practice both.
MATT: From Dalton: “What is the importance of worshiping together instead of online?”
Listen, I get it. Sometimes health considerations keep you at home. And if you’re sick, please, skip a week. But I think of it like this; sometimes when I’m sick, I will quarantine in my room so I don’t get the rest of my family sick. And I’ve even FaceTimed into family dinner so I could be a part! That’s like “Super Dad.”
But if every night, even when I’m healthy, I go up to my room and FaceTime into dinner for a few minutes, then you would be right to suspect my commitment to our family. Be in person.
You can’t follow Jesus and not be connected with his family.
—
Matt: Next week, we’ll continue our series on the spiritual disciplines by recapping everything we’ve talked about and answering a few new questions, too! Don’t miss it next week.
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
13 min
March 18, 2024Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 6: Giving
Show Notes:
Matt: J.D., today we’ll cover our next spiritual discipline, and this week, we’re talking about giving. Everyone loves talking about money, right?
—
J.D.:
Let’s start with the assumption that God doesn’t need our money. In Psalm 50, God says, “I don’t have needs… and if I did have one, I wouldn’t come to you.” God owns the cattle on a thousand hills… The question of money is what it shows about where your heart is.
First of all, money reveals, more than anything, what we treasure and trust most. Our mouth can talk a big spiritual game all day long, but it’s what we do with our money that shows where our heart actually is
Which is why Jesus talked about money all the time. It was his most frequently addressed subject. 16 of his 38 parables were about money. He talked about handling money more than he did about relationships; talked about money than he did about heaven and hell. 500 verses in the Bible are about prayer; less than 500 are about faith. More than 2000 are about money. An astounding 1 out of 10 verses in the Gospels talk about money!
Jesus didn’t talk about money because he needed it–I mean, he could multiply bread loaves and fish or pull gold coins out of fishes’ mouths whenever he wanted–no, he talked about money because he knew money was the most reliable indicator of where our heart actually was.
In Matthew 6, Jesus warned that money ends up serving as the PRIMARY substitute in our hearts for God. He said, in no uncertain terms, that we couldn’t serve God and money. (That’s the only thing he ever spoke like that about! He never said that about power or sex or anything.) Money is the one thing, he said, that if you love it, you won’t care about God; and if you love God, you won’t care that much about it.
MATT: That brings up a comment from a listener named Rita, who said one of the things she’s been learning regarding the spiritual discipline of giving is how “James urges us to consider why God gave us our money in the first place.”
JD: Yeah, that’s right. And also in Matthew 6, Jesus talked about two different personality types and different ways they have problems with money.
For some, money is their security. It’s their safeguard against tragedy or a rainy day. And so, when they get an extra $1000 in their paycheck, they want to save it. For others, money is their significance, their means of a happy and pleasurable life. So, when they get an extra $1000 in their paycheck, they want to spend it. New TV. New drapes. Go on vacation. Btw, in God’s providence, these two different personality types always marry each other! And here’s the irony—each think the other has a problem with money. But Jesus said they actually have the same problem—in that both look to money to provide something only God can provide.
To those who think of money as security, Jesus says, “Consider the ravens…” To those who think of money as significance, he says, “Consider the lilies…”
To both of them he says, “Seek first the KoG…” “All these things” means all the security or the significance we crave.
So one of the reasons Jesus talked about money all the time is that it reveals the truth about what we treasure and trust most. Where your money is, Jesus said, that’s where your heart will be, also.
The second reason Jesus talked about money so much is that what we do with our money shows whether or not we see ourselves as owners of our lives or stewards. At our church, we often talk about the “Five Identities of a Disciple.” One of them is steward. And that’s very different than owner. An owner believes his resources belong to him. A steward sees all his resources as belonging to God—he’s merely the caretaker. When you become a disciple, you cease to see yourself as an owner of anything in your life, only a steward. How you approach your money shows whether you’ve made that shift.)
So when we talk about money, we talk about something that centers on the most basic questions of discipleship—What does your money show about what your idols are? What does it reveal about your understanding of who owns what in your life?
I will often tell our congregation, in fact, “If you feel this is manipulative—like my preaching on this is all an attempt to get money out of your pocket and into mine, and that’s all you can think about when I’m up here saying this and you can’t get over this, maybe you’ve seen this really abused somewhere—I’d ask you to apply this teaching by giving somewhere else. It’s more important to me that you become an actual disciple than that you let a bad experience keep you from fully following Jesus. God doesn’t need your money and we don’t either. We’ll be fine. God will provide for us. But the only way you can become an actual disciple of Jesus is by giving sacrificially, and it’s more important to me that you learn to give to him than it is that you give here. So, if suspicion that this is about us getting wealthy off of you is an issue for you, I urge you to obey this teaching by giving somewhere else.”
We always make clear in any giving initiative that our goal is not some financial metric, but 100% of our people responding faithfully to God in their finances.
—
Matt: Next week, we’ll continue our series on the spiritual disciplines by discussing the discipline of giving. Don’t miss it next week!
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
14 min
March 11, 2024Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 5: Fasting
Show Notes:
Matt: J.D., our next spiritual discipline is fasting. J.D., tell us about it…
J.D.: I mentioned this in our prayer episode, but as we’re recording this, our church is in a season we do every year called 21DOP and fasting. Fasting is basically eliminating something from your life – traditionally, food is what gets eliminated – in order to focus the time and energy you would’ve put into that thing on God.
Fasting is sometimes relegated to the “varsity level” of Christianity, as if it’s only for super-Christians.
But that’s not true. Fasting isn’t given to us as an option. Jesus in Matt. 6 says, “WHEN you fast…” – not “If you fast.” So how do we do it?
Years ago, I wrote a blog post called “I Hate Fasting.” The title is a little tongue-in-cheek, but many Christians, in honest moments, agree with me. Fasting days put you in a bad mood. You rarely come out feeling more spiritual, you come out feeling like you could eat a raw goat.
The reason for that is that though many Christians know they ought to fast, they don’t know why they fast. They know it is connected to prayer, but they don’t know what the connection is and they end up fasting in a way that is completely out of step with the gospel.
Often, we fast because we assume that “punishing” ourselves somehow makes us and our prayers more acceptable to God. Fasting shows God how badly we want and deserve whatever we are asking for. God is moved, we believe, by our culinary flagellation and he grudgingly grants us what we ask for, since we’ve suffered so much in our fast.
That, of course, is a not-even-very-well-veiled version of works-righteousness, and a flagrant denial of what the Gospel teaches us about God. Rather than making God more willing to answer our prayers, it offends God by acting like Christ’s work is not sufficient
So the question is, why do we do it?
Bottom line: it’s not to put God in a better mood to hear us; but to put us in a better position to God.
It gives God a chance to purify our hearts from idols–to remind us that we need God’s voice more than we need anything else in the world, including food. It demonstrates to God that we understand that, that we crave it, and trains our own souls to think that way.
It also gives us a greater sensitivity to the “voice” of the Spirit.
In short: Fasting doesn’t change God; fasting changes us.
Matt: We had a listener question from Shannon who asked, ” Should fasting be food like it was in the Bible? Can you explain food fast vs abstaining?”
So, Shannon, great question. Like I mentioned, many people at our church are fasting right now—and we encourage them to start with food, but we don’t limit it to that.
I know many, many people who have benefited greatly from fasting from all kinds of things.
Social media
TV
This is not unbiblical, btw–Paul talked about a married couple abstaining from sexual activity as a kind of fast. There’s a principle at work–I am depriving myself of something I desire to train my soul how much more I desire, and am desperate for, God and his power
But like I said, I personally think fasting from food is the “best” option.
There are a lot of things our minds and our bodies enjoy, but food is one thing the body needs.
To deprive your body of its usual “fuel” very quickly creates a noticeable void, and if we’re fasting correctly, we’ll fill that void with both dependence and communion with the Holy Spirit.
(Obviously, you have to do this safely. You should only do it if you are physically or psychologicaly able)
I’ve heard fasting from food described as “Praying with your stomach,” and “temporarily starving your body so you can better feast with your soul.”
Matt: Alex asks: “In Isaiah 58, (God) speaks of fasting (one of my fav passages). What’s the right way to fast? You’re awesome!” (Make a joke about “You’re awesome!”)
Alex, hopefully I’ve answered some of what you’re asking by talking about the right way to fast earlier in this episode – but I think the passage you’re talking about, Is. 58, is a great example of how not to fast.
In Isaiah 58, God addresses hypocrites. They sin, and go on sinning, like the fast pays off their sin.
That is an abomination to God.
It’s like God said to Saul, “i’d rather have simple obedience than lavish sacrifice.” Better to just do what he says than to disobey him and try to pay him off with the most extravagant offerings.
Matthew Henry said about this passage, “A fast is a day to afflict the soul; if it does not express true sorrow for sin, and does not promote the putting away of sin, it is not a fast.”
So there’s an incorrect heart posture being shown here – and then there’s the correct heart posture, which is to fast in order to draw yourself closer to God who has already fully received you, in order to know and enjoy him more.
—
Matt: Next week, we’ll continue our series on the spiritual disciplines by discussing the discipline of giving. Don’t miss it next week!
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
13 min
March 04, 2024Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 4: Sabbath
Show Notes:
Matt: J.D., our next spiritual discipline is practicing the Sabbath. That’s something that I think a lot of people have varying views on – talk to us about how to “keep the Sabbath.”
J.D.: So look, Matt… I’m not very good at this. This may shock you, but I’m a very type-A “Achiever” kind of guy. My wife says I’m an Enneagram 8 to the max, the 8iest 8 who ever 8ted.
I do NOT like carving time out of my schedule where I’m not getting something done
It just doesn’t come naturally to me at all.
But like we’ve talked about, these are spiritual disciplines – they don’t come naturally to us. And in the case of “keeping the Sabbath,” they’re sometimes counter-cultural.
We live in a fast-paced world. Every bit of media tells you to utilize every minute of every day to accomplish as much as you can, so that you can obtain as much as you can. And practicing a Sabbath is completely contrary to that – Sabbath is stopping the work that you’d usually do, trusting that God is in control, and focusing on what he wants you to focus on.
So, let’s dig in here.
First, we believe that God has instituted into creation a 7-day rhythm or work and rest/worship.
Second, we believe regular corporate gathering on the Lord’s Day is an essential, non-negotiable element in the life of a disciple.
Verses such as Hebrews 10:24-25 tell us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
Matt: J.D., let me stop you and ask Mackenzie’s question: “The Sabbath is commanded to the Israelites as part of the Old Testament law. So because we’re no longer bound by the OT law, do we still have to Sabbath?”
This is where the Sabbath gets confusing for people. It’s true that we’re no longer bound by the OT law… but the design reflected in those laws advises us to set aside a day every week for rest and worship.
It’s built on a principle, the same principle as tithing: one day a week we stop and declare our dependence on God
BTW, no other society did this… they all felt they had to work to the max., especially in ancient Israel. Survival was often a day-to-day, season-to-season affair. Crops had to be harvested daily. Water had to be drawn daily. To cut your productivity by 1/7 could make the difference in life and death!
By taking a Sabbath, they said, God, I’m doing less than I’m able to do because you commanded me to, and so I’m depending on you to make up for what I’m missing here.”
(Same principle as tithing)
The OT laws are fulfilled in Jesus, so we no longer are bound to the particulars, but the principle behind is the same.
We see this principle of flexibility reflected in the early church, who seem to use Sunday as their primary day of gathering.
Matt: Speaking of, here’s a question from John: “What’s up with the sabbath being Saturday or Sunday? Your thoughts?”
Early church took the principle of
But Paul says in Romans 14:5: “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”
When the early church changed it from Sat to Sunday they were showing that it wasn’t a particular day that was essential.
When non-Sunday might be helpful:
Some people work on weekends, including pastors and many people in ministry, so observing the Sabbath on Saturday makes sense in those cases.
Dubai example
Churches with other service times…
I think for most of you it should be Sunday–that is the “standard” set by early church, and practicing that is consistent with 2K years of church history, but what’s important is to set aside one day a week where you cease from your labors and enjoy God and the gifts he has given.
Matt: So, after all that, how to apply?
One day a week for rest, renewal and relationships
One day to be rather than to do. To focus on God, relationships, and enjoy his creation.
It doesn’t have to be on a Sunday.
For most of you it should be, but it’s at least one day a week where you cease from your labors and enjoy God and the gifts he has given.
Public worship should always be a part of it, because your relationship with God is central in your life.
But it’s also a day to be with family, and be outdoors, and to do things you enjoy that are life-giving.
Daily rhythms
If you know it all doesn’t depend on you, you don’t have to work at such a frenetic place and can slow down and adopt creaturely rhythms.
Another form of confident rest is building in daily rhythms. One Christian counselor I was reading said that you should build 3 types of rest each day:
Mental (disengage—Churchill);
Social (those who have a daily rhythm of gathering friends, 3x a week had lower rates of heart disease;
Time with your spouse: BTW: According to this study, SEX counts as social rest—“this is the best AGM sermon ever!” Teens, don’t get any ideas. This doesn’t apply to you yet.
Physical (a recent study found that a 30-minute nap three times a week cuts your heart attack risk by 40%.
A recent CNN study showed that those who work 11-hour days are (get this) 250% more likely to become depressed than those who limit their work 8-hour days.
The reason is that when you are under work stress your body releases a certain amount of chemicals and hormones to deal with it—which is fine in normal rhythms but when you work too much it literally poisons your body, throwing off your levels and leading you more anxiety and depression.
Other studies have shown that people who nap are actually more productive.
Matt: One more listener question, this one from Vicki: “I just finished The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry book. The author has a different list of spiritual disciplines. 4 S’s. silence and solitude, sabbath and simplicity. All taken from the life of Jesus. Based on this, is it still important to observe the Sabbath and what does that look like.”
Vicki, I’m glad you asked this, because the author of that book, John Mark Comer, has some really insightful views on the Sabbath. He just released another book called Practicing the Way which talks about the spiritual disciplines, which I haven’t had a chance to read yet.
In Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, he lays out how he and his family practice the Sabbath, and that book was pretty influential in the way many people think about Sabbath in their own lives.
He recommends Sabbath-ing in a way that more closely mirrors the way the Israelites did in the OT (sundown to sundown), phones away… a bit more rigid than I am with what you don’t do and more intentional about the restful and life-giving activities that you practice.
Some on our staff Sabbath in a way that reflects what JMC lays out.
JMC would agree, I think, that there are various ways of practicing Sabbath and we’re not bound to OT customs and there’s some freedom here, but bottom line is that Sabbath is something our bodies, minds, and souls were designed by God to practice.
—
Matt: Next week, we’ll continue our series on the spiritual disciplines by discussing the discipline of fasting. Don’t miss it next week!
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
19 min
February 26, 2024Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 3: Community
Show Notes:
Matt: J.D., today we’ll cover our next spiritual discipline, and this week, we’re talking about the “discipline” of surrounding yourself with Christian community.
J.D.: Yeah, this is a good one. The first two spiritual disciplines we covered – Bible study and prayer – are kind of intuitive. While it’s sometimes easier said than done, most people understand that part of the Christian life involves prayer and Bible study and spending time with God.
But a lot of us don’t think of being in community as a “spiritual discipline.”
We think “If I show up to church most of the time, I’m all set.”
Or, “I got friends. I’m not lonely.”
Or, “I go to my small group most times, so I’ve checked the box here.”
And I hear a lot of people say, “Well, I love Jesus, and I have a strong relationship with God, I’m just not that committed to the church.”
Hmm. How do I say this? That’s not true. I know that you think it’s true, but it’s just not. You might have great respect for Jesus, but Jesus very clearly said that if you loved him you would be committed to his church. He says it in John 15. You’re to love each other so much that you lay down your lives for each other. You can’t do that for somebody you’re not connected to or in relationship with. Jesus told Peter in John 21, “If you love me, show that by how well you take care of my sheep.”
You can’t say you’re obedient to Jesus if you neglect those he commanded you to love.
The church is the bride of Christ. You can’t love someone and hate their bride.
How do you think I’d react if you said to me, “PJD, we love you. Can you come over to our house for dinner? And here’s the keys to our mountain house, please enjoy it. But… these invitations are not for Veronica. We like you, but we don’t care for her.”
That conversation is not going to go well. I’m not coming for dinner! If you love me and want to be friends with me, you have to love and be friends with my life. Thankfully, btw, with my wife, that’s easy. People always like her better than me. People always notice me first because I’m up here, but if we get invited back to someone’s house a second time, it’s always because of her.
Let’s stop for a second and talk about how Jesus demonstrated loving people well.
He lived among them
He served them.
He spoke personally into their lives
Now let’s walk through those quickly and apply them to our lives…
Jesus lived among people.
He walked with them. Gave real time instruction. He commented on conversations he heard them muttering to each other. He confronted them in their mistakes and comforted them in their failures
We see this demonstrated in Paul’s life. In Acts 20, when Paul speaks to the Ephesians elders–
He says, “You know how I lived with and ministered to you night and day, available to you at all hours” (vs. 31). His speech to them included very specific counsel
Secondly, he personally served them.
John 13. He didn’t do that for everybody, but those 12
He spoke personally into their lives…
Me with Paul Tripp on why megachurch pastors fall
Living in community has added richness to my life even though it’s messy.
Prov. 27:10 says “Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away,” and we have an opportunity to be that for people through the church.
There’s also a limit to what God can do in your life if you’re not connected to the body. In 1 Cor. 12:25, Paul compares us in the church to members of the body. And at some point he asks, “How does the body care for it’s members?” answer: through other members!
Say my left elbow itches, so it sends a message up to my brain, “I’m dying over here. Please help.” And what does my brain do? It doesn’t send down a magic “brain power zap” to fix it. No, it sends a message to the fingers on my right hand, “Go take care of your brother left elbow.”
Matt: Brad asks “What should I do if I want to find community, but I’d consider myself a big-time introvert?”
Great question. And listen, I get it. While I wouldn’t consider myself extremely introverted, there are times when I just don’t want to be with people… and I’m a pastor!
But there are two things I would say:
First, this is exactly why we’re talking about the “discipline” of community. Discipline sometimes requires us to do things we don’t want to do or wouldn’t normally do. You don’t discipline yourself to do what comes naturally.
Second, though, I think it’s important to be kind to yourself: Some people legitimately have a higher “people capacity,” and that’s OK, as long as you are still disciplined enough to maintain consistent community.
Matt: Alright J.D., one more question: This is one we’ve gotten a lot through the years and I know you’ve heard asked. What about the person who says, “It’s hard to find community at my church because there are a lot of hypocrites and a lot of judgmental people?”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said that there are three stages of growth when it comes to Christians engaging with the church:
The first is disgust at the sins of others.
The second is disgust at your own sin. On their own, those first two stages push us away from the church.
But the third stage is where we recognize that we can re-enter the church as an instrument in the hands of the Redeemer—a Redeemer who has, in fact, redeemed us from being the self-righteous Pharisee committed to judging everyone else.
—
Matt: Next week, we’ll continue our series on the spiritual disciplines by examining what it looks like to observe the Sabbath. Don’t miss the first episode in that series next week as we talk about what a healthy prayer life looks like.
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
17 min
February 19, 2024Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 2: Prayer
Show Notes:
Matt: Today we want to talk about our second spiritual discipline. This time, prayer.J.D., there’s a lot to be said about prayer, and you’ve written books on it, you have several Ask Me Anything episodes on it, but I want to start with a listener question from Stephanie, who asks, “How does prayer ‘move the hand of God?’”—J.D.: Wow, strong start. Yeah, Matt, I have spoken a lot about prayer
Can’t do it enough
21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. We always want to be a praying church, but we set aside times throughout the year to really emphasize it in our church and our own lives.
So, to Stephanie’s question, why do we do that? Why emphasize prayer? Does it really change things?
Let me give you three quick points about why we believe prayer “moves the hand of God.” First, the Bible makes it clear that God’s purposes are unchanging.
Verses like Numbers 23:19 are clear: God is not a man. He never learns anything new. He doesn’t wise up with experience or change his mind.
He knows the end from the beginning
So, it seems clear that God’s purposes are unchanging, but, like I said, we have to hold this in tension with another truth, which is that God’s plans are unfolding.
There’s a story in Exodus 32 says that God changed his course of action based on Moses’ prayer. But here’s the irony of the story: God is the one who tells Moses to go down and see the situation (v. 7). Moses didn’t know the people had corrupted themselves. God showed this to him.
Furthermore, the very thing that Moses uses to “change God’s mind” was God’s own promise. (And God, of course, hadn’t forgotten his promises.)
God had put Moses into a situation so that he would see the problem God already knew about, remember God’s promises, and petition God to change his course of action. Moses’ prayer itself is a result of God’s plan. God wants Moses to ask this, so he sovereignly puts him in a situation where he will ask for it.
But here’s the key: Our prayers are instrumental.
The text is clear: Without this prayer, God would have destroyed Israel. The prayer was instrumental in getting God to change his course of action. And that’s consistent with the pattern of prayer throughout Scripture. As I’ve heard it said, “Prayer moves the arm that moves the world.”
Now, many people might ask at this point, “Well, what if Moses had refused to pray? Would that mean that they would not have been saved, and would that mean that it was not God’s will to save them after all? And what does that mean if I fail to pray for something God wants me to pray for? Does that mean that the thing that I didn’t pray about wasn’t God’s will after all? Or would God have just gotten someone else to pray it?”
You may begin to feel your head aching. It’s understandable.
Those kinds of questions are the wrong ones to ask about these situations. Scripture never teaches us to think about the will of God that way.
The 19th century Princeton theologian A.A. Hodge put it this way (my paraphrase): “Does God know the day you’ll die? Yes. Has he appointed that day? Yes. Can you do anything to change that day? No. Then why do you eat? To live. What happens if you don’t eat? You die. Then if you don’t eat, and die, then would that be the day that God had appointed for you to die?
“Quit asking stupid questions and just eat. Eating is the pre-ordained way God has appointed for living.”
So, when I wrestle with this, I tell myself to quit asking stupid questions and just pray.
You see, however impossible it is for our puny minds to understand, God has sovereignly placed us in certain situations for the express purpose of praying his promises and “changing his plans,” so to speak. He wants us to employ divine power to create a different destiny than the one everyone is heading to.
That’s why we say God’s Word is not just a textbook to be learned but a book of promises to be claimed.
Like Moses, we are supposed to say, “God, remember you said …” Don’t just read your way through Scripture. Pray your way through it.
And trust in the Spirit of God to guide you as you pray, to show you where and how to extend God’s kingdom. He is willing and waiting and wanting to answer!
Fed by word/led by Spirit
Matt: You mentioned praying through Scripture, which leads me to another question, this time from Sivad: “You mentioned praying through the Bible. This may sound silly but what does that look like?”
Not silly at all! There’s no other book that we “pray through.” At first, it seems foreign: How do I take these written words on a page and pray through them?
But the key is to take what you’re reading and keep the “line of communication open” with God through prayer.
If you’re reading through the 10 commandments, for example, you could confess wherever you’ve broken them to him, and ask for strength to keep his commandments.
If you’re reading through the Psalms, they’re almost written as if they’re prayers (some of them are prayers), which makes the connection a little easier.
If you’re reading a narrative passage, you might struggle to see how to pray that passage – but that has to be done as you’re applying whatever you’re reading. It’s there for a reason – what is that reason? What is the text trying to show or teach you, about yourself, God, etc.? Ask that and then pray that way.
Donald S. Whitney’s “Praying Through the Bible” is a good resource.
Matt: Claire asks: “J.D., what are your thoughts on meditation?”
Well, it depends on what kind. Later in this series, we’ll talk about the spiritual disciplines of solitude.
Prayer and solitude go hand-in-hand, at times. Jesus did it. .
The Bible mentions meditating on Scripture over and over again.
BUT, I do want to point out that there’s a cultural version of “meditation” which could be confusing to some people.
Practices like mindfulness, or meditating while doing yoga (which you do every day, right, Matt?), or repeating some mantra – that’s typically what people think of today when they hear “meditation.”
Our minds need to idle sometimes, nothing wrong with that.
But that’s different from biblical meditation – which is time spent alone with God, meditating on his Word and who he is.
Meditation and stillness can be a replacement for the gospel?
Tim Keller: ”A lot of modern contemplative spirituality holds out a direct encounter with God apart from the gospel of grace. These kinds of mysticism call for us to find God through purgation or self-purification, kinds of self-salvation.” Christian spirituality is not just ‘be still’, but ‘be still and know that I am God.’
Best when it works like jazz. Some promises you are interacting with, as you let God move in your spirit.
—
Matt: Starting next week, we’ll dive into a series of eight episodes focused on the spiritual disciplines—the basic practices of the Christian life. Don’t miss the first episode in that series next week as we talk about what a healthy prayer life looks like.
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
19 min
February 12, 2024Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 1: Bible Reading
Show Notes:
Matt: J.D., we’re going to do something we’ve never done, and we’re going to take that question and camp out here on Ask the Pastor for the next several episodes, because you feel like this one is worth unpacking. Like we mentioned at the end of last week’s episode, we’re going to spend the next 8 weeks unpacking something I think a lot of Christians have heard about, but they may not know a ton about: the “spiritual disciplines.” What are some important spiritual disciplines to focus on as we attempt to grow in our faith in 2024?
J.D.: Yeah Matt, the “spiritual disciplines” – or the practices that every disciple of Jesus should follow and work into their lives – are definitely worth talking about, and rather than giving a short answer with a “checklist” of spiritual disciplines, I wanted to go in depth on a few different spiritual disciplines for the next few weeks here on Ask the Pastor, and we’re going to incorporate some of the many great questions we’ve received from our listeners on this topic.
So, starting today, we’re going to dive into an eight-episode series on the spiritual disciplines. Along the way, we’ll be sprinkling in a few different listener questions we’ve collected from you, our listeners.
By the way, you can always email your questions in to [email protected].
Or you can even message them to me on Facebook or Instagram.
So to start, I want to talk about one of the most foundational spiritual disciplines: Reading and studying your Bible.
This may seem elementary to some of you, but I’m a pastor… and I have a real sense that the practice of opening up your Bible, reading and studying it, and truly understanding what it says – and even why we read it at all – is unfortunately RARE.
We know from the example of Jesus and the Apostles this was a big deal.
And Jesus himself would go off by himself, early in the morning, to spend time with God.
He used Scripture against Satan
Acts 2, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
Acts 17:11 commends the Borreans for not taking Paul’s word for something, but “examining the Scriptures daily”
Matt: Let me stop you right there to ask a question sent in by a listener named Dalton who asks, “What time of day is best for Bible reading? Is there a time of day that bible reading ‘sticks better?’”
J.D.: That’s a good question, and I personally have found that the morning is the best time to read your Bible.
First, when i don’t, i find the day gets away from me and i just run out of time or feel too tired.
I also feel SO much more prepared for my day when I’ve spent time with God in the morning.
Orders my day. I can pray through my cal, and also hear from the HS about anything
Orders my mind, sets my mind right.
A way of giving God my first and my best
But one of godliest men I know liked do it better t night, maybe right before bed.
So there’s no “right answer,” but Dalton, I’m partial to studying the Bible in the mornings.
Matt: Here’s another from Josh: “Does not sticking to a consistent daily quiet time mean I am being disobedient?
Great question. My answer would be: MAYBE.
It’s clear that we’re commanded to spend time with God. To neglect that is to sin. But don’t go and beat yourself up if you missed a day.
Look, this question leads me to something pretty important, which is that I want to make sure that we all understand the WHY behind reading you Bible every day.
Yes, reading it will help you understand more about God, about biblical history, and it’ll make you more biblically literate. Yes, we’re commanded to hide God’s Word in our hearts. Yes, it’s a practice we take from Jesus himself.
But WHY do we do it? What is the #1 GOAL of Bible reading? To KNOW God by spending time with him.
If you ask me about Veronica… and I say, “She was born in… her siblings are named; her favorite music is… height/weight…”
Love this quote by AW Tozer: “The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.”
Matt: That’s good. Let me ask a question that’s a little bit more about the “nuts and bolts,” from Paul: “How do you pick which book of the Bible or section of the Bible to study in your time with God?”
Another great question. I just open it up and read whatever page it falls on…
No, but seriously, there are a LOT of great resources these days to help you plan out your reading. Of course, you don’t have to use one – I oftentimes don’t – but we live in an age where a fantastic Bible reading plan is only a Google search away.
If you’re a new believer/searching, start with the Gospels.
Summit App
Lectio 365
ESV Study Bible app
—
Matt: Starting next week, we’ll dive into a series of eight episodes focused on the spiritual disciplines—the basic practices of the Christian life. Don’t miss the first episode in that series next week as we talk about what a healthy prayer life looks like.
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear.
19 min
February 05, 2024Should Christians Emulate Taylor Swift?
Show Notes:
Matt: Welcome to Ask the Pastor with Pastor J.D. Greear. I’m your host, Matt Love. You might be thinking… “What happened to Ask Me Anything?” Well, I’m glad you asked. We’ve decided to really reinvest in this podcast, keep it growing, and we’ve decided to add a new format, a new structure, and a new name! Ask Me Anything is now Ask the Pastor, and the pastor we’re asking is none other than J.D. Greear.
J.D.: Yes, we’re very excited about the new name, new format. But there is one drawback: Matt has a face for radio and podcasts, so that’s the only downside to this and I know all of you watching on video will have to just overlook that.
Matt: J.D., let’s get right into it. Here’s a listener question from Madeline. She writes: “A friend of mine is a Swiftie. She has a Swiftie necklace she wears all the time, her lock screen is of Taylor, she wears Eras shirts, she brings up Taylor Swift any time she can. And she recently went to a concert…it is turning into an obsession. How can I help her see that as Christians, Taylor Swift is not someone we want to emulate?”
—
J.D.: Here’s what I want to say first and foremost: I am not anti-Taylor Swift. So, Swifties, don’t hate on me, OK? My family—my daughters, especially—listens to her music from time to time. I took them to see the ERAS movie.
I DO NOT think there’s anything inherently immoral about being a fan of hers.
We’ve talked before on the Ask Me Anything podcast about whether or not Christians should listen to any secular music at all. You can go back and listen, but the bottom line is that that’s an area where every disciple of Jesus needs to use their own conscience.
I know people who do not listen to ANY secular music at all. That’s a conviction they have for themselves, and I can’t blame them for that. Some of them even make pretty compelling arguments about why they choose not to do so.
There are many others (and I’d put myself in this camp) who do listen to secular music–the Apostle Paul seems to have, too, FWIW, based on how he quotes some of the poets of the day—and to you I’d say (and this applies to movies and TV shows as well), you HAVE TO keep your guard up for what gets past your “filter.”
There’s a difference between music that is not inherently Christian and music that is inherently “Anti-Christ”/”Anti-God.” That celebrates the things that God hates and centers the theme.
I always compare it with going to a secular party. You can go to a secular event with secular people and sometimes while you are there, they sin. That’s different from going with someone when the expressed purpose is to sin. To get drunk or do drugs or watch pornography or visit a prostitute, obviously.
In the same way, If the express purpose of the song, the theme, is sin, I wouldn’t touch it.
And then there’s also an awareness of which temptations you’re just particular susceptible to; ones you can’t get out of your head
It could a certain kind of sexual temptation that you know you are just particularly susceptible to. It could be materialism or even violence or focus on body image.
Luther, if your head is made of butter
Then there’s just the saturation question.
Proverbs 4: “As a man thinks in his heart…”
Colossians 3 tells us to “Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Again, I don’t personally take that to mean we should never consume any secular content. But the question is, what are we setting our minds on? What is consuming the majority of our thoughts?
Is Taylor Swift someone you should listen to? I can’t answer that for you—you need to make that decision on your own – but I can tell you for me and my family, we find MOST of her songs decently acceptable.
Now, let me address the real question here: “Is Taylor Swift someone we want to emulate?” That’s another question entirely.
Madeline here seems to be writing about a friend who’s made Taylor Swift into a hero of hers. I don’t know the girl she’s talking about, and I don’t know how far this emulation or obsession goes.
But I have seen this emulation of celebrities rise to an unhealthy level in other people’s lives that I do know personally, and I can speak to that.
First, let’s address Taylor Swift herself.
Does she write super-catchy, relatable songs? Yes. Are the majority of her songs inherently anti-God? No.
But I wouldn’t say she’s some kind of hero that Christians need to be emulating.
Taylor has been outspoken about her support of abortion, particularly after Roe v. Wade was overturned last year.
She’s been very, very vocal about her support of the LGBTQ+ movement, both in comments and in her music itself – including her song “You Need to Calm Down.”
She openly teaches karma, a very anti-biblical worldview.
I will say that in the “Eras Tour” movie, I was unsettled at how much focus was put on her and her amazing gifts, and how when those accolades were directed at her, she didn’t give glory to God, even in the shallow ways that some celebrities or pro athletes do when they point up to heaven.
She just stood on the stage and received it, and then for one of her final songs did “Mastermind,” which I know is about love, but at that moment in the concert it seemed to also point to her great genius.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m reading too much into that, but my spirit was bothered, I can at least say that.
It felt like that moment in Acts where Herod was making a speech and the people shouted, “It is not the voice of a man, but a god!” and Acts says that Herod stood there and just received it, and it was so grievous to God that God struck him down immediately.
But, again, I’m not just trying to bash Taylor Swift here. She makes no pretense about being a Christian. As Christians, we’d be hard-pressed to find ANY celebrity that’s truly worth emulating.
So when you latch onto a cultural icon, whether it’s Taylor Swift, or my favorite celebrity, Nicolas Cage, or anybody else – you have to approach them and their work with the understanding that we can APPRECIATE them without EMULATING them.
Idolatry should bother us.
—
Matt: Starting next week, we’ll dive into a series of eight episodes focused on the spiritual disciplines—the basic practices of the Christian life. Don’t miss the first episode in that series next week as we talk about how to actually read your Bible..
We’re now on YouTube; subscribe to @J.D.Greear
16 min

About The Bullpen with J.D. Greear

From the publisher's feed

Every sermon starts with more than can fit into a message. For years, Pastor J.D. Greear has filled his sermon notes with extra illustrations, questions, insights, and rabbit trails that never made…