The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

What Spiritual Poverty Looks Like

How often do we say we believe in God, but do not trust Him enough to provide for us? If we face difficulties, whether minor or major, and believe that God will not help us, thinking we have only ourselves to rely on, we are suffering from a poor vision of who God is. This poor vision is not only a shame, but it is also dangerous, as it leads to spiritual poverty, lack of faith, mistrust, and bitterness. As Jesus reminds us in Luke 11, if even we as sinners will give to our beloved children, then how much more will the Lord, who loves us so much that He shed His own blood for us, give to us. If we correct our poor vision of God, we will see that He cares more about our flourishing than we ever will. He will provide; all we have to do is ask. 

Submitting to God’s Plan A

We are often aware of God’s promises for us, but sometimes there are temptations that influence us to make plans of our own instead of waiting for His promises. In the moment, it can feel as if we’re struggling too much for God’s plan for us to be worth it, so we start to lean towards our own plans. The truth is, even if we can’t see the entirety of God’s plans, sometimes God will put us through a trying time to discipline and grow us in order to grow us into deeper people. Given that he wrote our lives and created the universe, we can entrust to him the plans for our own lives.

Dependence

Who does the kingdom of heaven belong to? Jesus encountering the rich young ruler in the gospel of Matthew leads us to consider his question of whether good deeds would help him gain eternal life. However, the reasoning that heaven is for good people who keep commandments is challenged by Christ who, previously, in the presence of children, stated that the kingdom belongs to them - those who depend on salvation by the goodness of the Father. The measure of our good works holds no weight compared to a salvation dependent on the goodness of God, because by faith we recognize our saving grace, and through God, all things are possible.

Our Spiritual Inheritance

Our lives are informed by more than just psychosocial factors; they are impacted by the degree to which we accept truths about God's character and our identity in Him. As long as we fail to trust that God will give us better than what we can get ourselves, we will succumb to self-fulfilling prophecies about how our lives will fall short of our dreams. The truth is, we are children of a Father who loves us and wants to prosper us, who has already overcome all sin and generational brokenness. When we entrust to Him our deepest fears and desires, we lay claim to the spiritual inheritance He has promised us.

Spiritual Direction

In the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Jesus warns us that if we do not forgive others, we will experience pain and torture, just as a wicked servant would from a rightfully angry master. This may seem forceful, but the real question is, what is going on in our hearts if we cannot bring ourselves to forgive others? Heaven and Hell are both as much directions as destinations. If we constantly harbor self-righteousness and bitterness, we are harboring Hell in our hearts, and Hell becomes both our direction and destination. However, when we choose to love and forgive, just as God loves and has forgiven us, we are choosing to experience Heaven now and forever.

Why Our Struggle is Not Against Flesh and Blood

Many of us may dismiss resistance and suffering as a natural yet unexpected part of life. We should expect resistance, especially when we are trying to share the Gospel to others, because there is also a spiritual force - known as the enemy of God - that is at war against us. When the enemy inevitably tries to discourage us in our moments of triumph, joy, and spiritual breakthrough, we should recognize the resistance we feel as spiritual warfare and as an encouraging reminder that our actions are moving us towards God.

How to Overcome Pettiness in Community

People are involved in every community that we are a part of: people who are ontologically and by nature flawed. Conflicts can arise from unmet expectations, and pettiness finds its way into relationships. However, despite the petty conflicts that can arise from mismatched expectations, every opportunity to bear with one another as Paul states in Scripture, is an opportunity to grow in love. As people in community, we should expect human error in one another, never waste an opportunity to allow love to heal, and be people of a spiritual community who go the extra mile to let love accomplish its mission.

The Value of Forgiveness in Our Identity

Forgiveness is foundational to the Christian faith. Being a disciple of Christ means more than just accepting forgiveness for our sins because Jesus died on the cross for us; it means we also forgive others when they wrong us. But extending forgiveness to others doesn't come naturally, and when we're hurt or angry, we tend to revolve our lives around what happened instead of surrendering it and moving on. While forgiveness doesn't mean allowing others to continue hurting us, it also doesn't mean remaining captive to the past and our bitterness. When we forgive and surrender control over the situation to God, we become free from what has already happened and embrace the fullness of the future God has planned for us.

Our Identity as Emotional Beings

In today's success-driven society, we are pressured to be calm and collected no matter the situation, in effect repressing our emotions. However, doing so is not only difficult, but also dangerously unhealthy. In fact, it is perfectly normal, and even biblical, to express our emotions. That said, we should also avoid the other extreme and allow our emotions to run rampant. Instead, we should experience our emotions honestly, process them, and lay them before God. In doing so, we invite God to guide us through our emotions and towards a full and emotionally healthy life.

The Sovereignty of God and the Ekklēsia

The Church is commonly seen as an institution for a community of believers with its own rituals and flaws. Sometimes we are blind to the true beauty of the church because we forget to see it as more than just an imperfect community. Instead, it is the bride of Christ, something Jesus was willing to die for, and indestructible throughout its many iterations in history because of its eternal character. When we understand how Jesus sees the church, everything with regard to our relationships with God and each other has greater significance.