The Coworkers Podcast

Our friend JD Greear, best-selling author, preacher, and pastor of The Summit Church RDU, joins us to share wisdom on longevity in ministry: how do we continue thriving spiritually and in ministry as we age, especially as we see so many ministry leaders experience moral failures? 

I (Shanee) have been studying Deuteronomy all summer, and wanted to share with you a special lesson from the Lord from Deuteronomy: We must guard our souls diligently, lest we fall into idolatry and disobedience, by being obsessed with God's Word and holding fast to God. I also share some ways that this lesson has helped me to re-intentionalize rhythms for guarding my soul and our family's souls diligently as we start a new school year. Enjoy!

How we respond when we fail reveals a lot about our hearts and how well we are believing and applying the gospel to our lives. Listen in as Jesse shares about how God unexpectedly used a recent "failure" in Jesse's life to reveal pride and shame in his heart, and to open up some powerful communication in our family on how we should respond when we fail.

There is a lot of discussion in the missions world on "multiplication vs. maturity" or "movement vs. healthy church." How should we think about these 2 different emphases in the work? Which is more important? Listen in as Jesse shares from Colossions that all missionaries must be furiously committed to both. 

Shame is a universal emotion, but God does not want His beloved children to live in ongoing shame. Listen in for 3 necessities to be delivered from shame- Know you are acceptable to God; see yourself as God sees you; and tell the hard parts of your story to others. 

Psalm 34:5- “Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.”

Resources Mentioned:

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Shame  and being set free from shame is such a hot topic, in both Christian and secular circles. Resources abound, but what does the Bible actually say? As we completed a biblical survey on shame, we were surprised at how much the Bible had to say on this topic! Listen in as we share key biblical principles that are necessary in order to deal with the universal emotion of shame.

Biblical Survey on Shame:

I. Genesis 2-3- Naked and unashamed… No sin, nothing to hide from one another or God, perfect unity in relationships, acceptance of one another. After sinning, they hid and covered themselves and were afraid… shame leads to fear, hiding parts of ourselves, isolation, and disconnection. Shame came when sin entered the world. 

II. Appropriate shame due to sinful behavior in Proverbs and prophets:

Proverbs: There are ways of foolish or sinful living, such as dishonesty, gluttony, and laziness, that are shameful, that bring shame on oneself and one’s parents or spouse. 
-Prov 10:5

Sometimes shame is due to both sin and resulting defeat from enemies and/or God’s judgment:

III. Shame not directly due to personal sin, but due to perceived failure, deficiency, or defeat:
Barrenness was considered shameful by society:

Being defeated by enemies feels shameful:

Now let’s see how God responds.

IV. When shame is an appropriate response to sin and a part of true confession and repentance, God is always ready to receive His children, welcome them into His Presence, replace their shame with gladness, and heal their faithlessness. 

The book of Jeremiah ends with God’s judgment on foreign nations and Israel’s enemies who rejected God and continued in shameless sin, pride, and idolatry (Jer. 46-51). Their sin and idolatry led to their shame, disappointment, and God’s judgment. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise that His enemies would be ultimately shamed, and His people would be ultimately honored. 

Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Zechariah all continue the theme of unrepentant idolatry leading to shame and God’s judgment, and when repentant, to restoration with God. 

Ez. 7:18; Ez. 16:61, 63; Ez. 32:24, 25, 30

NT examples of God shaming prideful, unrepentant, shameless people:

VI. God promises not to let His people be put to shame (be ultimately defeated, ridiculed, or proven wrong), but to in the end to defend them, give them justice, honor, and eternal life. God’s enemies will ultimately be put to shame. 
-Psalm 25:2-3, 20

VII. Jesus was shamefully treated (ridiculed, mocked, considered a failure, embarrassed, dishonored)- by others and b/c of our sin- in our place on the cross. On the cross he took not only our sin, but also the accompanying shame, for us. On the cross, he defeated Satan and all his enemies, putting them to shame.

IX. Believers have been set free from sinful lifestyles that lead to shame, unfruitfulness, and death. Believers should live honorable lifestyles that will not put them to shame, but that results in fruit, sanctification, and eternal life, and puts their opponents to shame.

X. Sometimes believers need to rebuke one another for doing shameful things.

XI. Sometimes, people “shame” others in order to express their anger, contempt, or criticism, and when it is unfair, we can refuse to be ashamed.

Many times believers will say, "All Christians are missionaries," probably in an effort to encourage believers to preach the gospel to the lost. While all believers are evangelists and disciple-makers, all believers are not missionaries. The Bible teaches that some believers are set apart by God to be sent out to take the gospel to the unreached (aka missionaries).

In this episode, we look at 3 passages in the New Testament that refer to the missionary calling: Acts 13:1-3, Romans 1:1-15, and Galatians 1:15-17.

Read Acts 13:1-3:

Read Rom. 1:1-15:

Read Gal. 1:15-17:

From this study, four foundational truths about the missionary calling emerge:

1. The missionary calling comes from an encounter with God and His heart for the nations.

2. The missionary calling comes through faithful engagement in God’s work where we are.

3. The missionary calling produces a godly ambition to be a part of God’s mission among the nations.

4. The missionary calling includes affirmation by God’s people.

Download the full biblical study, along with helpful resources, from the website.

Our 4th and final NT norm is the centrality of prayer in the life of the early church. Listen in as we share 4 "P" observations on prayer - It was a Priority; It Preceded the filling and work of the Spirit; It was the church's response to Persecution; and it was Personal and Persistent.

4 P’s:

1-Priority. Begins the book of Acts—“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers" (1:14). 

In Ch. 2, the church was praying when the Holy Spirit filled them. 

Acts 6: We see the priority of prayer even more strikingly when the apostles single out prayer alongside of the ministry of the Word as their primary responsibility. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

“I stand here to confess frankly that from my inmost heart I attribute the large prosperity which God has given to this Church vastly more to the prayers of the people than to anything that God may have given to me. I know it is so.” - Charles Spurgeon

Acts 4- The believers are gathered together praying in the midst of persecution—praying specifically for boldness. “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness" (4:31).

Acts 13- The prophets and teachers of the church in Antioch were gathered and they were worshipping the Lord and fasting. Just then the Holy Spirit calls out Barnabas and Saul. And after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 

These are pretty pivotal moments in the history of the gospel—especially in Chapters 2 and 13. And we see that God’s people had been devoting themselves to prayer in the time leading up to these great events—these experiences of the Spirit’s work. Prayer had paved the way for these people to respond when the Spirit showed up. 

3-Persecution- Prayer was the church's consistent response to persecution.

Acts 4- Peter and John have just been threatened by the high-priestly council. "When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord. . .” (4:23-24). Their immediate reaction to the threat of violence from the ruling authorities was to pray. And hear what they prayed: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 

Acts 12- Peter is in prison and miraculously rescued by an angel of the Lord. When he is rescued, it says “he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.” Again, the response of the church to the persecution of her people is to pray. 

Acts 16- Paul and Silas in prison. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” In the midst of persecution, we find these two workers praying and singing hymns. 

Prayer is what we do when we are persecuted. It is the response of God’s church to the threats and persecutions. In each of these moments, God miraculously answered.

4-Personal and Persistent.

In Acts, we don’t get much details about the personal prayer lives of the apostles. Many references are to the church praying corporately. However in Paul’s epistles, we find Paul talking about his own prayer life all over the place – way too many to reference, will just name a few-

Paul was not voicing prayers for believers every moment of every day. He was sometimes preaching the gospel; he was sometimes sleeping; he was sometimes eating or traveling. But he had such a habit of prayer that he described it as day and night, constant. 

Eph. 6:10-20- Paul teaches us that we are in a spiritual battle and prayer is an essential weapon. Paul commands us to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

Prayer was seen as part of the work of the church. It was at the center of their ministry. We have a saying among our teams here that prayer is the greater work. We believe that because we ultimately believe that this work we’re doing is His work. It doesn’t move forward unless He moves and the Spirit grants repentance and life. Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gives the growth.” Prayer is an admission of our helplessness and a plea for God to do what only He can do. That’s why we see the early church devoting themselves to it. Prayer was necessary to them—it was just a part of their lives, and of their gathering together.

If you are listening and feel like you’re a terrible pray-er, don’t give into discouragement or paralysis or accusations --- just start! Read a good book on prayer. Make sure you’re spending daily time with God alone in the Word and in prayer. Use your drive or shower to pray. Post a prayer list by your bathroom mirror and pray as you brush your teeth. Set a timer for a certain time each day. 12:12, 3:10. And ask God for help! 

This concludes our series on NT norms – daily ministry, the Word, the Spirit, and prayer.

We continue our series on norms in the early church with "The Word." The Word (or a synonym for the Word) is mentioned at least once in every chapter in Acts 1-20. The Word was increasing; the Word was preached boldly, broadly, and consistently; preaching the Word was the main work of sent-out-ones. Whatever we are doing, let's saturate it with the Word. 

Three Themes on the Word in Acts: 

Acts 6:7: And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem . . . (Jerusalem)

Acts 12:24: But the word of God increased and multiplied. (Samaria and beyond)

Acts 19:20: So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. (Ephesus)

This should encourage us and build up our faith in the inherent power of the Word, apart from our own abilities!

3 Suggestions for application:

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Listen in as we continue our series on norms in the early church according to the book of Acts. The filling of the Holy Spirit is a prominent theme in the early church and the advance of the gospel. In this episode, we share insights from Acts into how to be filled with the Spirit. 

Spirit-filling is mentioned at least 10 times in Acts. These instances fall into two categories: 

-Eph. 5:18 – “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

Books Referenced:

The Ministry of Intercession by Andrew Murray.
The Baptism and Gifts of the Spirit by D. Martin Lloyd-Jones.

Connect with us:

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Email: [email protected]