S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: I really hope and trust that you're experiencing some healing
S2: from God today with whatever has pained you going through
S2: a moment of difficulty challenge. Maybe there's a health concern
S2: that you have. God just minister powerfully to this person
S2: right now who's just going through it. Let it begin today.
S2: You know, it's an interesting thing because the church has
S2: shifted radically for about 1700 years. We went from home
S2: church where we needed each other, and everybody needed to
S2: bring their gifts to the table because, hey, we're a
S2: group of ten, 12, 20 people huddled up. Who's going
S2: to bring the word? Who's going to administrate stuff? Who's
S2: got that gift of mercy? Who's got that gift of healing? What?
S2: Who's got what gifts? And are they going to bring
S2: them to the table here? And in about 300 AD
S2: it went from small church in a home to main
S2: stage consumers. And that was both good and it had
S2: some inherent challenges. And what it's created is we get
S2: some interesting stats here this morning that are quite shocking
S2: to me, I might add. Um, is a big gap
S2: between people who know their gifts versus those who don't.
S2: And I think probably a bigger gap between those who
S2: employ their gifts, even though they know them and don't.
S2: What do you say here, Ali? You're finding some good stuff.
S3: Yeah. I'm looking at a Barna report. This is from 2022,
S3: and it looks at the breakdown of. How well do
S3: you know and understand your individual gifts by generation. Now,
S3: this may surprise you. The youngest among us are the
S3: most likely to know their own giftings extremely well. 27%
S3: of Gen Z say they know their own giftings abilities
S3: skills extremely well. 38% or 36% of millennials. When you
S3: get to Gen X, Gen X, and boomers, it drops
S3: down to about 20% who know their own giftings extremely well.
S3: Does that surprise you?
S2: Yes. But the more I cogitate on it, the more
S2: intrigued I am with this. I think boomers, we come
S2: out of an age in a stage where it was
S2: there were there was more of a dependence upon the
S2: master teacher, the guy up front on Sundays. And I
S2: do think that with these millennials and Gen Zs, I
S2: think there is a great growing understanding that, hey, we
S2: are the body of Christ. And I think there's a
S2: move away from the main stage into the home. Church
S2: movements are springing up everywhere, by the way.
S4: Yeah, absolutely. Another thing, I'm just ideating here. I don't
S4: have numbers in front of me. But I wonder this too,
S4: in terms of work ethic between generations, there has always
S4: been a difference of some of the older generations have
S4: had more of the work ethic of I. I pick
S4: a job that maybe I don't necessarily love, but I
S4: do it to get by and support my family. And
S4: a lot of younger generations say no. I need to
S4: believe in the the mission of my job. I need
S4: to know what my job is doing and that I
S4: can stand behind it in order to take it. And
S4: I wonder if maybe that mentality makes them ideate about
S4: what their spiritual gifting could be a little bit more?
S2: Yeah, I mean, we've had stats here about Gen Z
S2: and that their work ethic is a lot higher than millennials.
S2: Millennials crack up over that one. I'm not sure they're
S2: all too fired up about that. But it's it's interesting
S2: because there's a shift I'm stunned by these numbers.
S3: Well you know I think that I mean I'm a
S3: millennial and I, I feel like our generation grew up
S3: with a, a heightened sense of wanting to know kind
S3: of how we're wired. You know, I remember taking like those, like,
S3: 17 magazine quizzes when I was a kid like that. Like,
S3: what is your type of this or what career should
S3: you go into? So there was a lot of that
S3: that I grew up with, that you would take these
S3: simple little quizzes that promise to tell you a little
S3: bit about yourself. And I mean, they were usually pretty
S3: generic and and broad, but I do sense a greater desire.
S3: And then like when I look at my kids and
S3: like even younger generation, they want to know there's it's
S3: a self-focus that can be good and bad. So, I mean,
S3: the bad side of it, obviously, if you're too focused
S3: on self, your eyes are taken off of God. But
S3: the good side of that is like, no, I want
S3: to know how I'm wired. How has God made me?
S2: Yeah, I love that. Yeah. It's interesting. I'm just cogitating
S2: sitting here thinking, oh, now what's going on? Even on
S2: our two campuses here in Chicagoland, what's going on there?
S2: You know, it's interesting. I can honestly tell you we've
S2: got way more Gen Zers per capita jumping in to
S2: serve than we do Boomers. Boomers. Isn't that fascinating?
S3: What do you make of that?
S2: I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I
S2: think I think boomers were trained on the I go
S2: to church to get fed from the master teacher. And
S2: I think Gen Z and millennials have more of a
S2: that's not the only that's not the main reason I
S2: go there. I see this as a launching pad, not
S2: a landing pad, which is really healthy if the church
S2: can go that way.
S3: Yeah. And I think, I mean, again, this there's, there's
S3: the good and the bad side of this, I think
S3: the younger generation, there's a higher questioning of authority, less
S3: of an assumed authority just because there's a position or
S3: a title.
S2: So give me that ball. Right. Give me that.
S3: Ball. And again, that can be problematic I get that.
S2: Yeah.
S3: That can be the good side of it. Is that
S3: maybe not just an assumption that that guy is the
S3: only one who's gifted?
S2: Yeah, I love it, I love you. Yeah. This is
S2: a great discussion. Okay. Coming up here in a little bit,
S2: we're going to take this discussion a little bit further.
S2: Because no matter where you're at on this gifts discovery,
S2: getting you equipped is everything. Hang on.
S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but
S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: You know, when you get that mindset, it's like, My God,
S2: can I am a vessel. I'm going to lay down
S2: my life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Okay,
S2: we get that posture and then we begin to go, God,
S2: how do you want to use me? What are the
S2: spiritual gifts you've given me? And I'm. I'm so encouraged
S2: by these stats you found. Ali. This is one of
S2: the best things going. I think you could look at
S2: it with a jaundiced eye like, ah, boy, those those
S2: Gen Zers, man, they they want to do it their way.
S2: I think the, uh, I, I firmly believe that there
S2: is a personal ownership of the church with this new
S2: generation that we have not seen in a while. And
S2: the numbers don't lie. Ali.
S3: Yeah. I mean, the knowing and understanding individual giftings Gen
S3: Z and millennials are are ahead in terms of knowing
S3: the how, how they're wired, wanting to know how they're
S3: wired at a greater, higher degree than Gen X and boomers.
S2: I love that. So the question is what do you do?
S2: And I want to I want you to hear me
S2: on this one right now. This is so important. There
S2: are not in a group of 3 to 500 disciples
S2: of Christ. There are not 1 or 2 teachers. There
S2: are far more. And there's some of you that feel
S2: like you've got a gift of teaching. Or you wonder,
S2: do I have a gift of teaching or leadership? And
S2: some of you I don't. Whatever age and stage we
S2: might have more Gen Zers respond to this per capita
S2: than we have boomers, but I'm calling you every age
S2: and stage of life to consider. Has God given me
S2: some gifts that I need to cultivate. Coming up, we
S2: have got someone who's going to give us some low
S2: hanging fruit for what to do if you think you've
S2: got some certain gifts. Right, Ali?
S3: Yes. Particularly if you feel called to teach the Word
S3: of God.
S1: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
S1: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
S1: Karl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: How in the world can they hear if someone doesn't
S2: tell them it's Karl and crew mornings. One of the
S2: key elements of the good news is Proclamation Ali. We
S2: sometimes sell short the preaching of God's Word. Today we're
S2: going to put a fork in that notion.
S3: And Moody has something really exciting to help strengthen the
S3: proclamation of God's Word. I'm going to give you the
S3: name of it. It's a mouthful. It's the Moody Bible Institute,
S3: Moody Theological Seminary, center for compelling biblical old preaching. We've
S3: got Doctor Eric Redman, who is the executive director. Explain
S3: the name. The center for Compelling Biblical Preaching. What is that?
S5: So the Lilly Foundation gave a grant called the Compelling
S5: Preaching Grant. They gave it to 140 institutions to help
S5: make preaching more engaging and more effective around the country.
S5: Most of the institutions picked up some element of that,
S5: but we added biblical to ours because that's who we
S5: are as the Moody Bible Institute. So our goal is
S5: to help Bible Expositors be the most compelling in explaining
S5: the scriptures, helping people apply them, and pointing people to Jesus.
S2: I got to tell you, doc, here's the thing for me.
S2: There's a lot of people that are on the bench
S2: that God wants to call off the bench. In most churches,
S2: we think we got a preacher per thousand, a couple
S2: preachers per 2000. The way, the gifts of the body work.
S2: There's got to be way more people that have been
S2: gifted with communication of the gospel than we've identified. Number one,
S2: and that we've equipped. Number two, what do you say
S2: to that?
S5: I think you're absolutely right. In an older generation, and
S5: maybe as far back as 70s, late 70s, early 80s,
S5: there would have been moments in our corporate worship services
S5: where we would have invited people who felt they had
S5: a calling to preach, to consider answering the call and
S5: getting training. Maybe even going to Bible school or to seminary.
S5: And that has kind of fallen off now. I think,
S5: like you, there are many more people sitting in our
S5: pews who in whom the Spirit of God is working.
S5: They are gifted as teachers and God wants to use
S5: them to explain His Word to many, so we can
S5: reach the billions of people around the world who still
S5: need to hear about Jesus.
S3: Now we know that the Word of God does not change.
S3: It hasn't changed. And that's what we stand firm on.
S3: What has changed about how it needs to be proclaimed?
S3: Why is this necessary?
S5: So we have in our society people who are more cynical,
S5: who are more skeptical. Of course, there are questions about
S5: faith and whether or not religion is even true. With
S5: all the scandals all over the place. And we could
S5: go on for days talking about that. We need people
S5: to first understand, you know, the preacher has the character
S5: of someone who's following God. That's the most important part.
S5: And then they need to hear the Word of God
S5: explain in a way that doesn't seem like a lecture,
S5: or go on and on for a long time because
S5: our listening abilities are lesser in there. And so we're
S5: trying to help preachers understand these changes that have come
S5: to society and say, how can we still take that
S5: word of God that has not changed and be most
S5: effective in communicating it to others?
S2: I love that Eric Redman with us right now. It's
S2: called the center for Compelling Biblical Preaching, and we're going
S2: to give you a link in a moment here, because
S2: guess what? You ready for this, Katie? Bar the door.
S2: There is no charge. This thing has been underwritten. You
S2: need to show up with bells on, pencil in hand
S2: and ready to roll. And we're going to give you
S2: all the details coming up. Okay, Eric, I was mentored
S2: by Haddon. Robinson put his arm around me and said,
S2: I'm going to we're going to go to another level here,
S2: young man. And he wrote the book. He's famous for
S2: biblical preaching. Big idea. I think what helped me with
S2: biblical preaching even before I met Haddon was we look
S2: at preaching as, oh my goodness! And we begin to
S2: break down in our mind all the obstacles to getting there.
S2: When you just take simple ideas of this is spirit driven,
S2: God's got the content. We don't make God relevant. We
S2: reveal his relevance. All of a sudden, what seemed impossible
S2: Seems possible. That's what you want to tell people that
S2: are listening right now, right?
S5: It is. This is what I tell preachers as I
S5: prepare them. God wants his people to know his word
S5: more than you want to preach it to them.
S2: Oh that's good.
S5: God is the one who wants people to know his word.
S5: We get up there and we're all nervous, but God
S5: is the one who wants people to respond to him,
S5: to have his joy, to follow him in obedience, to
S5: have his peace, etc. we make it harder by looking
S5: at all the style and the rhetoric and saying, we
S5: need a certain amount of education. We need to make
S5: ourselves available to God, have a walk with God, and
S5: then ask the Spirit of God to use us and
S5: get some tools so that we can effectively communicate God's Word.
S3: Some of the offerings for the center for Compelling Biblical
S3: Preaching are going to be certification courses, podcasts, social media interviews,
S3: lunch hour, ministry trainings, workshops, and more. You've got a
S3: pretty big goal for how many aspiring and current preachers
S3: you want to be able to train, give us that.
S5: We're looking to train 6000 would be a reasonable goal
S5: for us to try to reach by 2030. That's just stateside.
S5: But we also know there are 2.2 million Christian leaders
S5: around the world who reside outside of the reach of
S5: formal Christian education. Well, as moody, we want to play
S5: our part. If we could reach 10,000 of those, that's
S5: the goal that we've set. If you can't get to seminary,
S5: you're priced out. You're geographically distant. We want you to
S5: take advantage of what we're offering so you can still
S5: be the best proclaimer of God's Word possible wherever you are.
S2: You know, it's interesting. I heard, um, I heard a
S2: guy who's pretty noted evangelist teacher, some views that maybe
S2: don't align with Moody Bible, but that's for another time. R.T.
S2: Kendall is his name, and he was asked by a
S2: seasoned guy. He said, hey, listen, what would you tell
S2: someone if you could do it all over again from
S2: your youth? Humble guy, by the way. You know what
S2: RT Kendall said, Eric? He said I would tell him
S2: this quit worrying about seminary. It's not as big as
S2: you think it is, but what is big is looking
S2: at those early disciples who were recognizably exposed to Jesus
S2: because of the anointing that came from proximity to him.
S2: Read your Bible. Pray every day. And what's cool about
S2: this is whether you've got money for seminary or not,
S2: that gift that God's given you can be fanned to flame,
S2: and we want to help. Eric, I'm so pumped about this.
S2: How sweet. What's your vision for what God could do
S2: even beyond 10,000?
S5: So we make our offerings not just available for preachers,
S5: but a layperson can come and say, I'm interested in
S5: the topics you're talking about. Like this. Last fall, we
S5: had a session on preaching and sexual abuse, one of
S5: our most well attended ones in person and online, and
S5: many of the people in front of us We're not preachers.
S5: They were people who sit in the pew week to
S5: week and want to understand. How should preaching think of
S5: those being who have been sexually abused or who have
S5: experienced that? What should it consider are the examples in
S5: the Bible where we can talk about this and help
S5: them see that God cares about this? Our vision is
S5: to reach more than just the preachers. We want churches,
S5: people inside of churches better equipped in the Word of God,
S5: which is what the goal of preaching is. And so,
S5: however many people we can reach to take advantage of
S5: these offerings, we make them available to you.
S3: And we want to make them available to you. Just
S3: text the word center to 800 555 7898. It's the
S3: center for compelling biblical preaching. Text center to 855 five 7898.
S1: Do you feel stuck or paralyzed? Are you ready to
S1: break free? Here are your questions answered. It's time for ask,
S1: Pastor Carl.
S2: Okay. We stirred a good pot, and this is great.
S2: I'm going to give some backstory before I read this
S2: letter here. We've called for a fast at 180 Chicago
S2: at both of our campuses to skip a meal. One, uh,
S2: one meal a day for six days. And then Sunday
S2: is fast day. That means that you just go for it, man. Morning,
S2: noon and night. You can eat, but just skip a
S2: meal to begin to lean in to the spiritual discipline
S2: of fasting. Now we're going to. This is such a
S2: big deal that we're going to tackle all aspects of
S2: the great rewards of fasting and why we fast. And
S2: some of you are going to be so inspired this week.
S2: You're going to go, oh my goodness, I can fast
S2: for that. Yeah, but we got to get down to
S2: the basics here first because I've got to hide some
S2: of the details here. But someone writes me and says,
S2: Pastor Carl, I feel like such a failure when I'm fasting.
S2: I am so consumed with thinking about food I can
S2: barely pray at all. And then I find myself trying
S2: to assuage this need for food by popping a little
S2: something in my mouth or. And then I feel guilty,
S2: like I've blown it and it's just a mess. So
S2: I got more than one response about this, and I
S2: want to tackle this in the most practical way. It
S2: all relates to how God sees you kids. And let
S2: me be really clear. And I'm going to go full
S2: grandpa mode on you right now. My bride's been helping out.
S2: My daughter and son in law with little baby Kate
S2: are Catherine Josephine Kloss and I love this little girl. Man.
S2: To hold her in my arms was one of the
S2: most precious things in the world. And I got sent
S2: a video of little baby Kate. What is she now? Six,
S2: 6 or 7 weeks old? Something like that. Maybe eight,
S2: I forget. Time flies when they're babies, and it was
S2: one of the most precious things. My bride has really
S2: bonded with little baby Kate, and it's beautiful because she
S2: got this little video out and my bride is talking. Kate,
S2: how are you doing this morning? It's so good to
S2: see you. And Kate is now trying to form words
S2: desperately to talk back to grandma. And it's I'm going
S2: to try to do it here for you. So just
S2: hang on. I'm trying to go full baby Kate, but
S2: it's it's. And her mouth open and she's trying to
S2: move her tongue and get it, but it isn't in
S2: a way that something will come out. And it's one
S2: of the coolest struggles around. I love it, and she's
S2: fighting for all.
S6: She can to talk to grandma, and she's trying to say,
S6: I love you to grandma, but she can't say nothing.
S6: Nothing's coming out. Boom!
S2: I want to ask you a question. Is my bride
S2: ticked off or disappointed in baby Kate? Unable to form words? Nope. Ali?
S7: Of course not.
S8: No way.
S2: Is she like, oh, come on. Come on. You can move.
S2: Move that tongue. Get the tongue up to the upper
S2: cleft of your mouth there. No.
S6: She's overjoyed.
S2: What? Grandpa, think when he saw that video. Oh.
S9: Teared up.
S2: Yeah, it sure wasn't me thinking. Yeah. Boy, she didn't
S2: quite have it yet.
S4: No.
S2: You see how absurd that sounds?
S10: Yeah, absolutely.
S2: I want you to know something when it comes to fasting.
S2: Very few people have a a spiritual discipline of fasting.
S2: And I am absolutely solid on this one. When you
S2: begin to take any spiritual discipline and wade into it,
S2: there is a learning curve. You don't go from no
S2: Bible reading to Bible exegesis for two hours, parsing Greek
S2: and Hebrew. In five weeks. You know what you do.
S2: You're getting your feet under you. Where is the Gospel
S2: of John? I remember one guy told me, um, he
S2: came to Jesus Christ at a church where I was
S2: pastoring up in Alaska. He said, uh, where should I
S2: be in the word? And I said, well, go to
S2: the Gospel of John, and here's what I want you
S2: to do. And I gave him really clear instructions, and
S2: he called me up. And he's just a dude that
S2: was just wired for sound. He goes, hey, I got
S2: a problem. I got one, two and three. John. But
S2: I don't have John. I don't have John 15. Should
S2: have I been ticked or was God ticked at him?
S9: No way. Nope.
S2: No way. I said, well, just thumb back a little
S2: bit left. I want you to hear me on this
S2: fasting thing right now. Our God is delighted with any
S2: attempt to position yourself more closely to hear his voice.
S2: And when you get hungry, when you're fasting and when
S2: you feel like. I thought I could do it, but
S2: I had to. I had to go get a burrito.
S2: Our God is not going, boy. They aren't seasoned pros
S2: at fasting. Look at this. Hey, angels, look at this knucklehead.
S2: That's not our God. Our God is looking at you
S2: like I looked at baby Kate and go, oh, you precious,
S2: you're fighting for it. You're doing all you can to
S2: try to form a word. And one day it'll come.
S2: And just opening the mouth like little baby Kate does
S2: and goes by you and see and wrestle with getting
S2: that tongue. You know what I'm saying? Guys with their
S2: mouth wide open. She happens to have Grandpa Klaus and
S2: my dad's grin. So she's got this huge open mouth.
S2: And so when she opens her mouth, you can see
S2: the tongue trying to get in a position where something
S2: will happen, and our God looks at you the same
S2: way and says, listen, don't you dare get down on yourself.
S2: I'm not. You're giving it a go, kid. Baby steps
S2: are awesome. And I don't care if a fast for
S2: you begins by nudging breakfast. 15 minutes later than normal
S2: and just sitting down with God, going, God, I'm hungry
S2: as all get out. I'm not used to this. Our
S2: God is gone. No problem. Let's take these few minutes
S2: that we got together, and then you go get yourself
S2: a couple eggs over medium with some bacon on the side.
S2: My heart goes out to anyone in any pastor worth
S2: his weight. Joins me in this to say, way to go, kid.
S2: So I'm talking about fasting here, but I don't care
S2: if it's Bible reading. I don't care if it's prayer.
S2: I tell men that have ever prayed with their wives before. Dudes,
S2: you do not have to be eloquent. Just bow your
S2: head and go, God, I'm not good at this. But
S2: I love this woman and I want us to. Grow
S2: up in you. And that that means me being a
S2: good man. And I just want to tell you I'm here.
S2: And I love this gal. In Jesus name, Amen. Oh.
S2: That's awesome. That's awesome. That's a great start. Satan wants
S2: to discourage you because you get hungry when you're fast.
S2: Satan wants to discourage you. And tell you your baby
S2: steps aren't enough. God is not saying that. That's a
S2: lot of yakking about a very important topic. And if
S2: you've got more questions about this, I want you or
S2: any topic I want you to reach out to me.
S7: And questions.
S3: About spiritual growth, particularly if you feel like you've reached
S3: a plateau or you're stuck in some way. Just text
S3: the word pastor. If you'd like to submit a question
S3: for our Ask Pastor Carl segment. Text pastor to 805
S3: 55 7898. Pastor to (800) 555-7898.
S2: We love you guys. God does too, and he's cheering
S2: for you. Little step at a time. You'll get your
S2: feet under you.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super die is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio. He loves you so much.
S2: We got to get rid of this old ogre. Lord
S2: it over looking, you know, like gods. You know, he's
S2: a hammer and everything looks like a nail. Kind of. God,
S2: you got to get out of that funk, man.
S10: It's dangerous. It's so dangerous.
S2: All right, I'm play. Fill in the blank here.
S10: Okay.
S2: Play. Fill in the blank.
S9: Plays like. Ooh. Yes! Games.
S2: Is blank. A proper motivation for fasting is blank. A
S2: proper motivation for fasting?
S7: Am I supposed to fill it in?
S9: Yeah.
S2: Not yet. Oh, okay. Because I think you know the punchline.
S9: Well, I'm.
S3: No, I'm trying to think of possible answers.
S2: Well, what are some possible answers?
S3: I remember when I was a and I was a teenager, I.
S9: Would have.
S3: Filled it out with. Is losing weight a proper motivation?
S9: Oh, exactly. There's the first one. That's good.
S2: That's a.
S9: That's hilarious.
S2: Is hooking that dude a proper motivation for fasting?
S9: Like, no, that's to impress my.
S3: Youth group.
S9: Leader. A proper motivation. Well, now I want.
S2: To be careful with that. It's. And I'm not talking
S2: about fasting because I guess men don't do this a lot,
S2: but I guess women more so almost starve their bodies right,
S2: of nutrients to try to get things in.
S9: Oh, boy.
S2: That's that's horrible. Uh, but bringing some things in line
S2: is one thing, but that's not generally fast. And so
S2: the resolving resounding answer to you, Ali, is no, no.
S9: No it's.
S2: Not. But is blank a proper motivation?
S9: How about religious performance?
S8: Like law? Church law?
S10: That one? Definitely no.
S2: Well, but hold on.
S8: See?
S10: Religious performance.
S4: There's a.
S11: No no, not not.
S2: Religious performance. What's the other thing you said? Uh, church
S2: law or church law or. I'm going to go with
S2: precept or teaching. Can we can turn into a young
S2: thunder thinks I've gone.
S9: Wait a second.
S10: I was like.
S9: Whoa, wait, wait wait wait.
S10: Didn't know we were doing a legalistic bit legalistic.
S9: Wait, no. I mean.
S2: Here's here's the problem. So God's laid down precepts galore.
S10: Yes.
S2: We can turn them into legalisms or something else.
S10: Yes.
S2: All right. So we debunked that one. If you're listening here,
S2: we are not into angry.
S9: We're checking them off.
S2: So we got to clarify okay. Is blank a proper
S2: motivation for fasting? We'll give you that answer straight ahead.
S2: It might surprise you. It's a binary choice. Hang on.
S1: You can take them out of Alaska, but you can't
S1: take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: All right, little fill in the blank action here, man.
S2: Those of you going back to school, fill in the blank. Oh, no.
S2: Do they have any options for me here?
S9: Multiple choice.
S2: Please give me those four that I can choose from.
S2: I can usually eliminate the knucklehead one. And then you
S2: really decide between like two and a half. It's like, oh, boy.
S4: Show your work problems. We're the worst. Like, you know,
S4: on a math. On a math test, you'd be like, oh, good.
S4: There's some multiple choice here. And then he'd look right
S4: below it and it's like, well, check that box, but
S4: then show your work as to how you got that answer.
S2: And I was like, oh.
S4: You're looking for me to fail, aren't you, teacher?
S2: Algebra. And me praying. Praying for the rapture before I
S2: was saved.
S9: Exactly.
S2: Oh, boy. Ally was algebra. Woman. I remember.
S9: Things.
S2: Yeah, you loved it.
S3: Trigonometry? Not so much, but algebra I liked.
S2: I'll take Trig and Geo any day over algebra.
S9: Algebra.
S4: Trigonometry.
S2: One whole page of writing only to get.
S9: Well, wrong.
S2: Well, where'd that go wrong? I was out of here.
S2: I got to go to track and field practice. See ya.
S2: See ya. Prof. I'm gone. Okay. Fill in the blank.
S2: Is reward a proper motivation for fasting? You know what
S2: I think most people would say? No.
S4: I would agree with that sentiment. Most people would say no.
S2: Most followers of Christ would say no.
S12: No, no.
S3: You shouldn't fast to try to get rewarded. Get rewarded.
S2: AU contraire Pierre, pure. Pop it off wrongly again. And
S2: when you fast, Jesus says in the sermon on the Mount,
S2: do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure
S2: their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly,
S2: I say to you, they have received their reward. Whoa!
S2: So it's a shallow reward. You got people that could
S2: care less about you going, huh? He's fasting. But that's
S2: your reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and
S2: wash your face. That your fasting may not be seen
S2: by others, but by your father who is in secret.
S2: And your father who sees in secret will reward you.
S2: Oh my goodness. How do we miss that in that passage?
S2: Right right there. How do we miss that, Ali?
S3: Well, when we think about fasting, we think about the
S3: discipline that's required, the withholding of food or the abstaining
S3: from food. I mean, it's it's difficult. And I think
S3: the difficulty of it keeps us in this mindset of, okay,
S3: just got to get through this. I want to discipline
S3: myself to fast, but I think we miss the reward.
S2: Why is the notion of God's reward being a proper
S2: motivation for fasting? Why do we resist that?
S4: I think because when in this passage I think we, we,
S4: we take one part of it and we don't listen
S4: to the rest of it, which is.
S9: Yeah.
S2: I wonder if that's true.
S4: Jesus talking about the Pharisees. And he goes, you know,
S4: they're looking to be seen. You know, they get their reward.
S4: You do this in secret. And so we kind of
S4: think about the humility it takes to do it in secret.
S4: And so and when we think about getting a reward,
S4: we think about it in the, in the human sinful
S4: terms of doing it with pride. But we're not fasting
S4: with pride. We're fasting in secret with our father, and
S4: he rewards us, and it's a good reward. He tells
S4: us about the reward because he wants us to know
S4: about it and want to have it.
S2: I mean, we got to take this at face value.
S2: It's a binary choice. That's what Jesus says. You can
S2: either get rewards from people that it really doesn't matter,
S2: because all you're going to get is a little bit
S2: of hand clapping, but they really don't care about you anyway.
S2: And they're kind of mocking you for doing it publicly. Yeah.
S2: Or you can get reward from your father who sees
S2: what's done in secret. But reward is there is reward
S2: a proper motivation for fasting. And the conclusive answer is yes.
S2: Now what those rewards look like, Ali? We don't know.
S3: We don't know. And you have to think it's not
S3: a gold star. It's not a trophy. It's likely the secret,
S3: hidden things of the father that are worth fasting for.
S2: Like peace, joy, comfort, direction. Hearing his voice go after
S2: the reward.