The Zack Evans Podcast

One of the things that separates humans from animals is their ability to acquire knowledge. Therefore, a failure to make decisions based upon a clear perception of the truth leads me to an animalistic life based upon impulses. But acquiring knowledge is difficult. It requires consistent effort. It's easier to make decision impulsively, and dress up our ignorance in Christian lingo like, "I just feel led to do this." Often our expression of leading are simply admissions of ignorance. This week, we will learn why we have a grave personal responsibility to consistently acquire knowledge because knowledge is the buffer between impulse and action.

Solomon said that everything is vanity and vexation of spirit. Well, almost everything. The wisest man who ever lived only preached one sermon. It's theme? Why the human search for meaning and fulfillment is futile without God. This week, we will learn how Solomon was uniquely positioned to test every possible way of life "under the sun" and in so doing found all them void of fulfillment. Solomon concluded that only a deep devotion to "the whole duty of man" can satisfy his desire for meaning.

We hear phrases like "Love is Love." or "Hate the sin, but love the sinner." all the time in our modern culture. But what exactly do we mean by love? The definition of love has suffered a slow degradation over the past many centuries and is now barely recognizable as such. The Bible provides us with a clear definition of love that must be reclaimed and given its rightful place in our vocabulary and life. In this episode we will attempt to draw a distinction between what most people assume love is, with what the Bible says love is in actuality.

John perhaps knew Jesus better than any other disciple, but he had never seen him like this. When Jesus appeared to John in his vision in the Isle of Patmos, it struck fear deep into John's heart. He fell to the ground and was sure he was going to die. But Jesus placed his hand on John's shoulder and said, "Fear not, I am..." This week, we will discuss the relationship between the nature of Jesus and our fears and why although the full revelation of God would be something truly terrifying (and deadly) to fallen humanity, it is the contemplation of that same nature that is the remedy of our greatest fears.

God's will is worth the wait! In this week's episode, we examine the lives of those who grew impatient in God's will and instead of waiting patiently on His direction, pressed forward without His blessing. As we will learn, getting ahead of God can lead to disastrous results. It's easy to grow impatient as we wait on the Lord, but we must trust His timing. Not every opportunity is from God and so we must approach each stage of life prayerfully and patiently taking special care to not get ahead of His will.

Wisdom was revered as a principal virtue among the Jews. Unfortunately, our society has replaced wisdom with a milieu of lesser virtues, namely success or wealth. Job's friends got a lot wrong, but the youngest, Elihu was right when he said, "Great men are not always wise..." (Job 32:9) We have confused greatness with wisdom and to our own detriment. We must reclaim wisdom and place her upon her rightful pillar at the top of our society. To do this, we must first explore what wisdom is and isn't and how one is to acquire it.

This week, we examine the story of Lot's wife and how it impacts us today. 2,000 years after her death Jesus invoked her story as a warning against turning back from the command of God. As her deep attachment to Sodom caused her to turn from God's command many today are divided in their hearts between the world and God's will and find themselves tempted to turn away from God. But lest we be tempted, once called to leave this world and sanctify ourselves, to turn back to our old life, let us first "Remember Lot's wife." This episode is an encouragement as well as a warning that should motivate us to press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus and never look back.

Sometimes our prayers go unanswered simply because we are too far away from God to pray effectively. In this episode, we will examine three stories in which men of God received the answers to their prayers simply because they first drew nigh unto God in close communion. The key to successful prayer is being so close to God that we can pray in hushed tones like John at the Lord's Supper table. Join us as we explore the importance of our proximity to the presence of God.

Paul had written a harsh letter to the Corinthians. And although in the end, they repented and made things right, Paul worried at first that he had been too harsh. But he came to see that the Holy Spirit used his letter to introduce them to something he called, "godly sorrow." Paul takes the conception of sorrow and splits it into two categories: godly and worldly sorrow respectively. Paul explains why only godly sorrow pleases God and produces a changed life. In a world where many Christians seem to think that God never wants them to feel bad, it is important that we rediscover the truth of godly sorrow. In this episode, we will explain the difference between the two types of sorrow and why the sorrow worked in us by the Holy Spirit as a response to the Word of God is superior to the natural guilt worked in us by our carnal heart.

It's myth busting time! One of the common idioms of our culture is, "You can be anything you want to be?" We will examine how the Myth of Endless Possibilities has created much anxiety in our culture and led to a lack of depth and specialization. The Apostle Paul stands as a stark contrast. He was an example of someone who narrowed himself and devoted himself to a single purpose as he "counted all things but loss that I may win Christ." Paul told the church at Philippi, "...this one thing I do...I press toward the mark." Paul had a single-mindedness and purpose that served him well. The Christian is called to narrow his focus by looking unto Jesus and avoid the common mistake of splintering himself into a thousand endless pursuits.

Text: Philippians 3:1-14