Known, Grounded, and Led by the Spirit

Yo, what up family? Uh, so I want to jump on the Student of Life, under the Student Life umbrella, just kind of share what I believe God's been putting on my heart, man, what we're striving to, to build, uh, what's coming up, uh, with, with this concept. Um, so lately, man, I've been deep in some certain books and passages that I believe that the Lord has been speaking to me through, just, just sitting with those. And asking God for language for this generation. I've been very vulnerable with my camp. I have a biblical counselor. I just think it's important to have a counselor that can do therapy but have a biblical worldview. And then with my wife, and then just with a small community of brothers and sisters, but in my inner circle, just to help sharpen, test, challenge. Am I seeing this? the right way? You know, am I saying it the right way? Uh, because a lot of times I believe when God gives us things, uh, it still comes through this humanity. Uh, this humanity— God is perfect, all-knowing, but we're not. Uh, through him, yes, but, but we have to, uh, wrestle the things. So anywho, um, one of the things that I'm real big on is that, um, and, and I'm doing this, you know, striving to do it at my home church My home local church, I should say, at Willard Chapel. Um, you know, driving down from Conway to try to be every other Sunday. And then of course fellowship consistently, uh, plugging in online, uh, through the week. Uh, and then of course, you know, at my second home, Lively Stone, um, down in Stuttgart, is just like community, uh, man, a reverence For both. And I talked about that in the video earlier about we need— like, yes, we need the Holy Spirit. I will not deny that. And we also need the scriptures, a deep commitment to examining, praying, studying the text. We do. It's both and not either or. And I think with— I was sharing this with my wife. Sometimes the intellectual term gets thrown down because you have a lot of people that really just come off arrogant. Let's be honest, not all, but a lot of people, they search the text and they examine it, and man, it's just like something is off in their posture. And scripture talks about this, people being puffed up, and you see it and it's like, okay. It's almost like this negative and critical posture that takes place. Look, I've been there. Truthfully, man, I used to— boy, man, I was just so like, this is not of God. And some of it is true, no lie. But then you have people on the other side of it, and it's like, man, it's just emotionalism. I mean, it's almost like where we have made the church experience God himself. Now, I'm not saying the local church experience should be boring by any means, but also too, it's more than just having a good time and a high time. It's actually the transformational work, the transformational work of Jesus Christ. Again, that does not mean that it has to be boring. There's a culture and everything, a rhythm that people have. Some ministries are loud, some are quiet, some are more expressive, some Some are not. Just because a ministry is loud and one is less expressive does not mean the glory of God is present in the loud ministry. And again, just because someone is loud does not mean that they don't have a deep regard or reverence for Scripture. So again, man, it's just things that I think that— so that's one area. Let me say that. I don't want to go down a rabbit hole. The other one, again, is just the community. So at my home church, and we were talking, some of us came together, and we was just like, man, in this artificial intelligence age, we've always been in the social, you can call it whatever you want, the knowledge age, the digital age, social media age, and now the AI age. It's like we're connected to so many people, but we don't deeply know anyone, and we're not deeply known. And even in the context of the local church, sometimes it's like, hey, come, worship or whatever, corporate worship, whatever you want to call it, pray, hear the word, go home. Not everybody. But then it's like, hey, what was the word about? Did you see anybody? What's going on with your sister or brother that you pray for? And you're just like, we get caught up in just this state of busyness. And so that's the other thing that it brings me to. I've been talking to my wife about, man, just, I really— when I say slow down, people might think that means Absolutely do nothing. But really what I'm saying is like moving at the pace of peace, the pace of grace. Like I want to slow down to sit with people, be with people, hear them, pray with them. You know, just just that. And so it's slowing down and not. Jim Rome said it best. You know, it's so easy to get caught up in being busy, but it's just as easy to get faked out because busy doing what? And I probably just butchered that. But the concept as he was saying. is that busyness is not the measurement of effectiveness. And a lot of times we're very busy, but we're not effective. And so where God has put it on my heart is to talk to our leadership and was like, hey, can we kind of start training, discipling some people on how to facilitate safe spaces? And not only that, but then starting to vet and build relationships and rapport with biblical counselors, uh, because some people, they need help. And when I say this, it might rock the boat with some of you. Uh, I understand that the word of God is the final authority, and it is. However, some people need more. I believe that we are the only ones to say things like, it's, it's only by the word, okay? Like, but the— in the scriptures that I read, it's the word of God. Yes, the final authority that we should submit to Scripture, but you also see community. You see healing through confession of community with our brothers and sisters, and then you know we get into the practical sense of it of qualified people. I'm not saying everybody needs a a licensed therapist or a psychiatrist or something like that, but you do need community. You you don't need to just run to your pastor for everything. Like there should be you know I don't know where this came from where like. Everything is just like, my spiritual father, my spiritual mother, just has to be the pastor or the lady of the house or whatever. And it's just like, why not just partner up with a more mature believer that has been faithfully walking with God for 30-something years? They might be the janitor of the ministry, or they might not have no title at all. And that person might be the best person for you. But no, it's like, my pastor has to be my spiritual father or my daddy, or the lady of the pastor has to be my spiritual mother or my mommy. And it's just like, man, anywho, I digress. But the thing is, what about community? What about other people becoming mature and growing in the things of God, man? Really sitting with people and say, hey, man, We're just going to do our own Bible study, like you and I or 3 people. Hey, let's examine what our pastor has been teaching and see if this lines up with the text. What's wrong with that? And so that's like the direction, whatever, with this Student of Life. It's just really getting back, man, to the foundational principles. Romans. God has really been with Acts 2 and Acts 4 deep in my heart, along with the book of James. What does it look like? What does a Christian life really look like from a practical sense? Oh my God, Romans. But that's the thing, really studying, examining the life of Jesus versus this Jesus that we have constructed in our head or Jesus that we've constructed through denominational preference. What are you going to do when scripture contradicts what your denomination has taught you? What are you going to do when scripture contradicts maybe the way that you've been molded? It's not to go literally just tear everybody down or start just being hypercritical, but it's like it should be a conversation. This is what we should be doing according to Acts 17, and in my opinion and what I think of the text. And that's another thing. Like, when I say I think, my thinking is heavily influenced by the scripture. Like, it is. So I have the right to think and use my mind, but it's when my thinking goes outside of scripture, then, hey, I need to be corrected and I need to renew my mind because something is off. And so, like, with me, it's just in this world— help me, Holy Spirit. I think I'm rambling, jumping over the place. But in this world, I'm deeply concerned, man, because Like going back to my kids, even my daughter, like, and some of their friends, like the questions that they are asking, man. And, um, you know, sometimes, man, like certain things, like I'm pretty much consistently examining the text and studying my Bible and ask the Lord for understanding. And sometimes it's like, I'm not— it's not always this deep insight. It's like, hey, Sometimes it's just, I understand this paragraph, what I've been studying, a little bit more than I understood yesterday. It's not always this glorious revelation just leaps off the text. It's wrestling and sitting with it. And in that, so sometimes when questions come, it's like, oh, let the Holy Spirit, he brings the things back to my remembrance. And I'm like, okay, I can navigate that. We can navigate that through the power of God. And then sometimes, man, it rocks me. I'm like, oh man, I haven't looked at that in a while. Like, let me pray and go visit that and spend some time studying it. And typically, like, you know, I carve out an hour or 2 just to look and pray, or I'll consult someone else. Like, I have some people that, um, like, man, I'm like, hey, I, I know my brother, my sister is well versed in this area, and, and they, they are trusted. I'm still going to test it, but I'll go to them. And, and again, going back to that community thing and examining it according to scripture. And then I come back to my kids and it's walking them through it, uh, versus just saying like, you just need to believe because that's just what it's about, you know. And it's like, okay, what, what happens when they confront someone that now wants to take them through, uh, this level of, uh, I mean, take them through deconstruction because they don't have a solid biblical foundation because it's just been pure emotionalism. And so now they're just being tossed and turned by whichever whichever wind comes and turn just to and fro, you know, or whatever. And man, so we want that solid foundation. And, uh, that's the area that God's really been like just convicting me in, um, with myself, with my wife and my kids. And, um, and so anywho, it's just something that carry over. So I think we need to slow down like for real and get back to the, the foundations of the text. Again, not what we have been shaped by or conditioned, but getting back to the text, the Bible, the text, the scriptures, uh, examining them. Like, and this is what's crazy, like, truthfully, this is boring to a lot of people. It used to be very boring to me. I'm serious. Like, I, I absolutely hated it. Um, like, just being straight up. And so, um, like, going forward, man, like, here at this local house, um, I'm trying to make sure the background is clean because my wife might forgive me, uh, if I, if I'm recording this, I'll send something this off. But, uh, it's just really getting back into again the foundation of the text, man, like truly prioritizing Jesus. Um, like there's a difference in reading a Bible and studying it. And then again, like I say, there's going to be secondary things that we disagree on. Like, like I, I get it. I'm, I'm neither here nor there. Now I also often ask people, you know, what is secondary to you? Because you might have something secondary that is foundational to me. Like, there are certain things with— when I think about Jesus being God and fully, uh, he was also fully man, fully God, uh, but he also, um, you know, you have the Father, you have Jesus himself, the Son of God, and you have the Holy Spirit. Like, I— that, you know, some things I'm like, hey, you don't believe in this, then that's foundational to me. Like, that is what I'm going to teach my kids. I'm not going to teach them again a denominational preference. I'm going to teach them the text and what the Bible says. And so I just think that it's very important, man, we get back to that. We truly come with a posture of corporate worship. We come together collectively, and I might be saying it wrong. Please forgive me. Somebody correct me. Trust me. But when we come to fellowship, In the local house, man. Let that be a true posture, a true posture that this is something that we have been doing all through the week. I'm not advocating for perfection. Most people that rock with me on my podcast hear me teach and preach. Look, I've gotten it wrong. Man, look, I've cussed. I've said things I shouldn't have said. Now, that's not a habitual practice. I've gotten so upset, it's words that have come out of my mouth that absolutely shouldn't have. But man, you talk about a level of conviction and repentance and, and this reliance, and then also showing me that, hey, like, you, bro, you full dependency on me. You cannot do this in your own strength or your capacity, Tim. Um, and so again, I don't habitually practice that, um, and I'm not given a license for that at all by any means, um, because I, I It's just— it's anywho, you get it. Um, but the thing is, man, it's, it's that— it's the consistent surrendering of, uh, to the Holy Spirit. And then the last thing is this, man. Um, the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit. Um, you know, filling is a continuation. I, I wish I could pull the verse up, but I can't think. I know it's in Ephesians, how Paul words it. It doesn't just stop with someone laying hands on you 10, 15, 20 years ago, or last night, or last Sunday, or yesterday. Filling is a continuation. We have to consistently be shaped and formed by the text, formed by community of people that are totally seeking Christ and asking God to just renew our minds through the text. Again, submitting to Scripture. The indwelling, you know, to me is instant, but filling is a continuation. And so I just believe that as we move and navigate through this life, man, you know, we leak. And so we need community. I'm not saying you always need a building per se. That's not what I'm saying. But you need community. But however, I don't think it's anything wrong with, with going to the building, you know, whether your worship is on Sunday, Tuesday, or Wednesday midweek. Or whatever, but go deeper than that. Form some communities within, um, like some brothers and sisterhood things. Like meet up at the coffee shop, get on Zoom. Like do more than just a standard 2 hours on a Sunday and maybe an hour through the week. That's 3 hours. That is the only time that you're examining the text and hearing, uh, from the Lord per se. I'm telling you, like, it's, it's It's not enough. It's not. Your intimate, your personal time, man. Like we need to take it serious and get back to it. And so because like I say, man, I know I jumped around, but these kids, man, like how are we going to be able to walk them through some of the questions that they asking? Or are they going to go start getting their answers from AI? And you know, and AI can make stuff sound real good, and trust me, like, I've played with it. Even how much I train mine, either— even people's tools that they have built that's supposed to be like, no, this is really grounded in the text, has kind of said some stuff, uh, that I'm like, oh boy, I'm so glad that I examined that and I have a posture of practicing what, uh, they did in Act 17. Because boy, if I would have took that and ran with it, it's— hey, it sounded good, but it wasn't It didn't hold up to the overarching teaching of the Bible. But again, if we send our kids down that way, they're going to be shaped more by AI. The congregation that you might be serving or leading is going to be shaped more by AI. I think I said this, like, I'm seeing more and more people have these things out more than their Bible, consistently testing and examining. And so when the hype goes away, when all of that stuff comes down, like, what are they consistently being pointed to? Because even unintentionally, man, we can build conveyor belts to ourselves, to our leadership. And, uh, and again, sometimes it's not even intentional. But this is why with me, hey, open up your Bibles, examine the text. There are times I get happy, I reflect, and I think about the goodness of God. Look, my dad— both of my dads are extremely charismatic but love God. Uh, and I mean, I'm sorry, and love God and love— and, and, um, so I have that element. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm not— trust me, I'm not arguing against that by any means. But with me also too, in the way God has given it to me, uh, there'll be moments like that. I've had them. You know, some people still perceive them That's them. They just probably wrap me up as here's another pure emotionalism. It is what it is. But I'll say 8 or 9 times out of 10, hey, open up your Bible. You're going to get some scripture today and we're going to examine the text. We're going to teach the text. And I pray that you go back and look it up and study it, the supporting verses and everything, and make sure that it lines up with the Bible. And so, man, I think again that's where we need to be. I know I'm going around and around and probably, as they say, beating a dead horse, but that's my prayer for us, man. And just some things that again I'm striving to do on the Student of Life platform, I'm striving to do just in my personal, and then, you know, in the local church that I attend, and then of course my second home When I'm not at Willer, and so, man, I love you all, man. Just continue to do what you're doing, man. Be encouraged. And like I said, maybe you know there's going to be tension regardless because if you truly love Jesus and standing on his word, it's going to be conflict. Like it's just inevitable. Like it's going to happen. But also too, keep in mind that there are some people that are thirsty, that they're hungry, that That are hungry. My prayer is that you continue to find that tribe of people that are hungry and thirsty for God's word, that wants God's presence, his glory. Man, I'll leave it at that. So again, once again, love you all, man. Be blessed. Praying for you all. If I could do anything to help you, man, just don't hesitate to reach out. And if I don't know it, trust me, I can definitely point you into somebody that I believe will, by the power of God. Be blessed.