First up in today’s episode, we tackle the topic of Singleness. Often, without realizing it, the church can become very marriage and family-centered – to the point where singles in our midst can feel like they’re somehow less than what they should be. Aidan, CJ, and Pastor Matthew talk about how we can be mindful of singles – and that doesn’t mean setting them up!
In the second segment, Pastor Rob and Pastor Matthew look at some “misused” Bible verses – verses that get taken out of context or quoted as though they say one thing when they actually might say something different than we think.
If you have a question or a suggestion for something you’d like to hear us talk about, let us know with an email to media@stmatthewgr.com.
Transcript
welcome back to Everyday disciples, I'm Pastor
Matthew Starner:Matthew. Thanks for joining us today as we explore how our
Matthew Starner:faith and everyday life intersect. First up on today's
Matthew Starner:episode, we tackle the topic of singleness. Often without
Matthew Starner:realizing it, the church can become very marriage and family
Matthew Starner:centered to the point where the singles in our midst can feel
Matthew Starner:like they're somehow less than what they should be. Aiden, CJ,
Matthew Starner:and I talk about how we can be mindful of singles in our midst.
Matthew Starner:And know that doesn't mean just setting them up. In a second
Matthew Starner:segment, Pastor Rob, and I look at some misused Bible verses,
Matthew Starner:those verses that get taken out of context or quoted as though
Matthew Starner:they mean one thing when they actually might mean something a
Matthew Starner:little bit different than what we think all this and more head
Matthew Starner:on everyday disciples.
Matthew Starner:Well, once again, I'm sitting here with Aiden and CJ, let's
Matthew Starner:talk a little bit about faith and life coming together here in
Matthew Starner:another topic that the three of us I think, are maybe uniquely
Matthew Starner:situated to talk about. And that's we, you know, we had a
Matthew Starner:brainstorming session a little while back where we, we had a
Matthew Starner:whole bunch of topics and this was one that I think all of us
Matthew Starner:kind of resonated with, was this topic of singleness in the
Matthew Starner:church. All three of us here, not married. And we've all maybe
Matthew Starner:had, I don't know what the experiences you guys have had as
Matthew Starner:a single person in the church now. I'm a little bit older than
Matthew Starner:you guys. And at my age being a single guy, people start start
Matthew Starner:to go like, Oh, something's wrong with him. He's broken. And
Aidan Hunt:which isn't true. Matthew. Starner is a catch and
Aidan Hunt:a half. I should find that out right now. This man in the row
Aidan Hunt:mercy Yeah. Oh, my God. Hope diamond in the rough even. Keep
Aidan Hunt:that in Adam.
Matthew Starner:So I don't know what experiences you guys have
Matthew Starner:had, like, I know growing up in the church, and being around all
Matthew Starner:sorts of because because churches predominantly married
Matthew Starner:people just always seems like wherever you go. Before long as
Matthew Starner:especially even coming here to St. Matthew, where I'm at now.
Matthew Starner:It didn't take too long for people to realize like, oh,
Matthew Starner:you're a single guy. Well, I've gotten I've got a nice I've got
Matthew Starner:a granddaughter, I've got the like the list just started
Matthew Starner:appearing. I had people who wanted to give my number to
Matthew Starner:people like I met them one time. And they already wanted to give
Matthew Starner:give me give give numbers to me or my number away to somebody
Matthew Starner:and it's like, Okay, we're ready to hook you up. Because we can't
Matthew Starner:have any single people around here. So it must be wrong if
Matthew Starner:you're single. I've no one has ever said that. To me. I've
Matthew Starner:never gotten that verbatim from somebody if you guys ever
Matthew Starner:experienced something similar you have you guys have similar
Matthew Starner:stories or how has it been being a single person in the church
Matthew Starner:for you guys?
CJ Geluso:Well, a few years ago, it kind of when I started
CJ Geluso:getting on pastor Rob's radar, he tried to introduce me to
CJ Geluso:every single girl around my age and the church just every Sunday
CJ Geluso:after church, JC Yeah, come here. Come here. Come here.
CJ Geluso:We're gonna go meet this person.
Matthew Starner:I'm glad that I'm not the only one that that
Matthew Starner:Pastor Rob did that too.
CJ Geluso:Yeah, so that went on for over a year, too.
Aidan Hunt:So when I got hired here, I remember, Matt, I think
Aidan Hunt:it was you gave me the warning of like, Hey, I think I did a
Aidan Hunt:blog on this. So I was
Matthew Starner:here when I when I had my announcements at
Matthew Starner:staff. To which one have I done more than one? So for a little
Matthew Starner:while at staff, we we filled out sort of like an updates thing as
Matthew Starner:part of the agenda. And on mine, I think it was after a time when
Matthew Starner:Pastor Rob had he was he was all like, ready to go to have me
Matthew Starner:married with off to somebody. And on my staff update sheet. I
Matthew Starner:just put one up I did wasn't going to talk about it. Just one
Matthew Starner:little bullet point that just said, I am I think I said like
Matthew Starner:I'm perfectly content with my relationship status, no
Matthew Starner:intervention is necessary. And that turned into a whole thing
Matthew Starner:at staff. One time that might
Aidan Hunt:have been before I was performing. I wish I was
Matthew Starner:because everybody saw it on the sheet
Matthew Starner:and they were like, Okay, we got to talk about this.
Aidan Hunt:What is what is Matthew bride price? I think I'm
Aidan Hunt:broke, Adam. So when I first started working here, I think
Aidan Hunt:Matt, you gave me that warning. And I think I kind of just
Aidan Hunt:played my cards close to my chest like I was new to town I
Aidan Hunt:just get like just graduated college a month before had just
Aidan Hunt:gotten out of the long term of this ship like a year and a half
Aidan Hunt:before. So I was like I'm not really in the in the space to
Aidan Hunt:like, de superseries right now especially like I don't want to
Aidan Hunt:get set up with people in the church. I have feelings about
Aidan Hunt:setting people up and like that's a whole other podcast
Aidan Hunt:segment. But yeah, it was kind of prepared and I think you gave
Aidan Hunt:me a good warning. So I I've gotten a few not as many as you
Aidan Hunt:but I think I've kind of kept not people at arm's length, but
Aidan Hunt:I think I've kept that conversation pretty distant. And
Aidan Hunt:I'm gonna keep Keep it that way, especially now.
Matthew Starner:It's always a challenge because you know,
Matthew Starner:people mean, well, yeah. And it's always, at least in my
Matthew Starner:experience, it's always coming from people who are married. And
Matthew Starner:so you'll clearly they see the value of it. And we do sort of,
Matthew Starner:I think, in our culture today have this today, I always have
Matthew Starner:this sort of image that marriage is an ideal to strive for.
Matthew Starner:That's, that's part of the American dream, right? It's the
Matthew Starner:house, it's the marriage, it's the 2.5 kids and the dog and the
Matthew Starner:cat, the minivan that goes along with it or whatever. Like,
Matthew Starner:that's just part of that picture of what we think of life being.
Matthew Starner:And yet, there are a lot of people in life who, for one
Matthew Starner:reason or another, just don't ever get married. And the church
Matthew Starner:can be a place where that's okay. Where that doesn't have to
Matthew Starner:be a weird thing. So maybe that's the first thing the first
Matthew Starner:first suggestion that I would have for folks is get to know
Matthew Starner:someone before you before you try to set them up, before you
Matthew Starner:start handing out phone numbers and, and lining up blind dates
Matthew Starner:and those sorts of things to know whether whether or not
Matthew Starner:that's something that somebody is actually looking for wood
Matthew Starner:welcome.
Aidan Hunt:Pardon me kind of thinks it was actually a recent
Aidan Hunt:conversation with a friend of mine. But like, a lot of
Aidan Hunt:churches don't know what to do with the single people. Because
Aidan Hunt:it's like, you can't be part of like the marriage small group,
Aidan Hunt:you can't be in the single single small group is always
Aidan Hunt:just like, Okay, if we're banking, all of them, dating
Aidan Hunt:events, right each other. But then we also like, they have to
Aidan Hunt:go to the young adults ministry, but they're not young adults
Aidan Hunt:anymore. And they don't like and it's it's this weird thing of
Aidan Hunt:like, they don't know how to minister to these people. But
Aidan Hunt:it's very clear. It's just like, oh, yeah, you're supposed to
Aidan Hunt:treat them as image bearers just like everybody else. But it's,
Aidan Hunt:it's come to this point where it's like your second string, if
Aidan Hunt:you're not married, and like, why is that the case? Because
Aidan Hunt:Paul was single, maybe have been, you could make the
Aidan Hunt:argument. Was he a widower? That's a whole other I've heard
Aidan Hunt:that argument. by Paul, a single Jesus of Nazareth, right was a
Aidan Hunt:single guy. Yeah, the ideal human.
Matthew Starner:Yeah. Who in every way lived a full life and
Matthew Starner:was fully human in ways that we even because of the the sin that
Matthew Starner:impedes us, we are not fully human. Jesus was single. And so
Matthew Starner:I mean, we can we can, we can talk about how marriage and
Matthew Starner:family are one ideal. How singleness can be another ideal
Matthew Starner:and that they don't have to be competing. You know, I don't
Matthew Starner:think they're competing values at all. As if one is better than
Matthew Starner:another. I know married people who, who, who say, man, you
Matthew Starner:know, there's some appeal to being single and then and single
Matthew Starner:people who man just want so bad to be married. And so some of
Matthew Starner:that is just you know, figuring out as a single person. Which
Matthew Starner:which camp Do you fall in? Is this is this something that you
Matthew Starner:are embracing that you maybe feel feel called to or feel that
Matthew Starner:this is what God has for you right now and you're okay with
Matthew Starner:that? Are you someone who you know, is just me and I can't
Matthew Starner:wait for that day that I'm married. You know, figuring that
Matthew Starner:out and, and, you know, maybe talking through that with
Matthew Starner:Christian people around you and friends and people that you look
Matthew Starner:up to, to kind of sort that out.
Aidan Hunt:I love this quote. We read a book in youth group
Aidan Hunt:last year called Love ology by John Mark comer. And this is a
Aidan Hunt:great quote on his in the whole chapter about singleness where
Aidan Hunt:it says this life doesn't start. When you get married, it starts
Aidan Hunt:the second you fold your story in the larger kingdom and follow
Aidan Hunt:Jesus forward. And I just think the most important decision you
Aidan Hunt:make in your life is not am I going to get married, or it's
Aidan Hunt:not even when you say I do, the most important day of your life
Aidan Hunt:is the day you decide I'm going to follow Jesus of Nazareth as
Aidan Hunt:my Lord and Savior, and I'm going to live my life for him.
Aidan Hunt:My one like this is unrelated to that. But my one piece of
Aidan Hunt:advice, as just as a follower of Jesus is married people, like be
Aidan Hunt:friends with single people in the church, single people be
Aidan Hunt:friends of married people in the church, the married people can't
Aidan Hunt:just hang out with other married people in school people can just
Aidan Hunt:say, Oh, they're single people, like, there's so much beauty and
Aidan Hunt:joy, and just the body of Christ being made up of such a just
Aidan Hunt:very different and diverse group of people who all just bear the
Aidan Hunt:image of God in very different ways. And so don't limit your
Aidan Hunt:friends to who is the same relationship statuses you like,
Aidan Hunt:gosh, make friends with with your congregation isn't anyway
Aidan Hunt:and that's exactly the point that I wanted to bring up was
Aidan Hunt:that you know, the church. One of the metaphors and there's a
Aidan Hunt:lot of different metaphors that get used for the church in
Aidan Hunt:Scripture, but one of one of the best ones for this is that a
Aidan Hunt:family the church is a family And this is the place that
Aidan Hunt:church should be the place for all the single people among us
Aidan Hunt:to feel like this is their family, or can be for the place
Aidan Hunt:for you know, the couple who maybe wants kids but can't have
Aidan Hunt:kids for one reason or another.
Matthew Starner:Or that like the the retired couple whose
Matthew Starner:grandkids don't live around here, like for this to be the
Matthew Starner:place that feels like family for them, the kids of the church
Matthew Starner:here are in an extension their kids or their grandkids or their
Matthew Starner:their nieces and nephews that they kind of get to, to walk
Matthew Starner:along with and feel like we're all family here. And I know, you
Matthew Starner:know, different churches do that better than others. There's
Matthew Starner:dynamics of size, and all that sort of stuff that come into
Matthew Starner:play, in how many people you can know and have good relationships
Matthew Starner:with, but to always be on the lookout for, who can I who can I
Matthew Starner:be a friend to here at church? Single are not? What what, what
Matthew Starner:do they need? How can I come alongside them as a brother or
Matthew Starner:sister in Christ and support them and walk alongside with
Matthew Starner:them.
CJ Geluso:I had a youth pastor when I was younger, explained to
CJ Geluso:me kind of like running that race of life for Christ. And how
CJ Geluso:you kind of consistently want to be at a full on Sprint towards
CJ Geluso:Jesus, if that makes sense. And then he told me, you'll know who
CJ Geluso:your spouse is, when you look to your right, or you look to your
CJ Geluso:left as you're running that full sprint, and that female is what
CJ Geluso:is there with you running that sprint, if that makes sense. And
CJ Geluso:so I don't think it's a do or die thing to get married or not.
CJ Geluso:I mean, a couple weeks ago, we talked about knowing God's will.
CJ Geluso:And we talked about a blueprint. And essentially it's, it's it's
CJ Geluso:your choice to make, um, it's part of your blueprint. That's
CJ Geluso:part of the gift from God and freewill. So that's, that's my
CJ Geluso:look at look on it.
Matthew Starner:Yeah, no, and I think I think that's, that's
Matthew Starner:really good to remember that. Connecting that back with what
Matthew Starner:yeah, what we talked about a couple weeks that, does God want
Matthew Starner:me to be married? Or Does God care more about who I am as a
Matthew Starner:spouse or who I am as a single person wherever I am. That's
Matthew Starner:what God cares about. So I guess, I guess our message to
Matthew Starner:the the married folks out there is don't feel like you have to
Matthew Starner:set up all the signal people you know,
CJ Geluso:and single people just continue to run that race
CJ Geluso:for clip for Christ. Remember what our calling is and who we
CJ Geluso:are, what our identity is, and and where we find that peace?
Matthew Starner:Well, good. This has been a good, good
Matthew Starner:conversation. And again, I hope it I hope it helps you look at
Matthew Starner:the people that you do worship with and do life with around
Matthew Starner:church, or wherever you find yourself to kind of open your
Matthew Starner:eyes a little bit to those around you.
Matthew Starner:Alright, welcome back for another segment here on everyday
Matthew Starner:disciples. I'm sitting here talking with Pastor Rob. Today
Matthew Starner:we're looking at the topic of misused Bible verses. I thought
Matthew Starner:that'd be an interesting one to get your take on some of these
Matthew Starner:pastor Rob. verses that people love to kind of throw around as
Matthew Starner:like a life verse, or, you know, we're coming up on a
Matthew Starner:confirmation season here at church, as kids are picking
Matthew Starner:their confirmation verses, verses that mean a lot to
Matthew Starner:people. And I've always sort of, on one hand loved Like, like,
Matthew Starner:breaking people's hearts when it comes to like that verse doesn't
Matthew Starner:mean it really means. Now, that's not just to leave it
Matthew Starner:there. But like it actually means something better than
Matthew Starner:damage gains. So I'm not like a psychopath or anything, but so I
Matthew Starner:thought maybe we would share a few of those that versus that
Matthew Starner:people like to, like get thrown around, usually a verse like a
Matthew Starner:single verse pulled out of context sort of that, that we
Matthew Starner:think means something. But really, I think it means
Matthew Starner:something better than that. And when as soon as I mentioned the
Matthew Starner:topic to you, you had one right off the top of your head. So how
Matthew Starner:about we start with yours?
Rob Appold:Okay, well, the one that came to my immediate mind,
Rob Appold:but when you said confirmation verse, there's and will chime in
Rob Appold:on that. But the one that came into my mind was first
Rob Appold:Corinthians 10, verse 13, and it talks about God bringing relief
Rob Appold:to us or God giving us a way out. Okay, that's the that's the
Rob Appold:part people latch on to, but it talks about and if you I'll read
Rob Appold:it out loud here. It says No temptation has overtaken you
Rob Appold:that is not common to man. God is faithful. He will not let you
Rob Appold:be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will
Rob Appold:provide the way of escape so that you may be able to endure
Rob Appold:it. And this I'm not sure the mental jump that happens in
Rob Appold:people, but they apply it to Have a problem in life that
Rob Appold:they're facing. And you can bear up under this problem. So the
Matthew Starner:way that I usually hear this one get get
Matthew Starner:taken is to mean that usually it's it gets rephrased as God
Matthew Starner:won't give you more than you can. Yes. Right. And this is the
Matthew Starner:verse they point to to back that up that God won't ever give you
Matthew Starner:more than you can handle. So whatever you're going through,
Matthew Starner:like God must think you can handle it.
Rob Appold:So which isn't crushing for a person who's
Rob Appold:right, you know, over, burdened,
Matthew Starner:right. But when you're and I love to bring up
Matthew Starner:this verse for folks, because like when you go to the
Matthew Starner:beginning of First Corinthians where we're at the beginning of
Matthew Starner:Second Corinthians, where we're Paul is saying, like, look,
Matthew Starner:we've been through all this bad stuff, like we thought we were
Matthew Starner:going to die. Oh, there were so much that we were oppressed by,
Matthew Starner:we really fully expected to die, which sure doesn't sound like
Matthew Starner:God thought I could handle it. You know, we relied on God
Matthew Starner:through this. He's the one who got us through it. And so
Matthew Starner:clearly, Paul is not echoing those words that God won't give
Matthew Starner:you more than you can handle because Paul got more than he
Matthew Starner:could handle
Rob Appold:right? on his own. And the whole context is he's
Rob Appold:talking about the children of Israel and their walk through
Rob Appold:the desert, which was an abject failure for them. Yes, they
Rob Appold:succumb to temptation at every turn. But he is he's telling him
Rob Appold:you can you can withstand temptation, because you're
Rob Appold:standing in Christ. That's where the relief will come.
Matthew Starner:Right. Yeah, this is clearly talking about
Matthew Starner:temptation. Not not just struggles that we're going
Matthew Starner:through, but temptation. And I love you know that with the
Matthew Starner:temptation, he will provide a way of escape. So not a way to
Matthew Starner:not a way to push through or power through the temptation,
Matthew Starner:but a way to get away from it.
Rob Appold:Yeah. And maybe it's just, you know, the MIS use is
Rob Appold:just the last, what six words there, you may not be able to
Rob Appold:endure, so that you may be able to endure it. And maybe that's
Rob Appold:what people are just, I can I can endure this right? Or God
Rob Appold:won't give me more than I can handle.
Matthew Starner:Right? Which takes me to the the next
Rob Appold:well, can I just add one more thing. And the Bible's
Rob Appold:full of people who who are crying out to God, I can't
Rob Appold:handle this for romance. And, you know, the Psalm 40. are all
Aidan Hunt:just God,
Rob Appold:I need. So very good. But yeah, we can go to
Matthew Starner:the IC, which brings me to the first one that
Matthew Starner:came to mind for me and I was talking, I led a few weeks ago,
Matthew Starner:the the sixth grader confirmation class here. And we
Matthew Starner:talked about this very verse Philippians, 413. I told them,
Matthew Starner:and so maybe you can, you can prove me right here that that at
Matthew Starner:least one of the eighth graders has this as their confirmation
Matthew Starner:verse. I was like, I can guarantee you one of those kids
Matthew Starner:in there has chosen this as their verse because it's such a
Matthew Starner:popular one. That just simply says I can do all things through
Matthew Starner:Him who strengthens me. And I think a lot of times, we know
Matthew Starner:I'm not accusing any of the confirmation kids of doing this.
Matthew Starner:But I in popular culture, we pull a verse like this out,
Matthew Starner:especially when you're like in high school, and you think I can
Matthew Starner:do all things through Him with strings, so I can ace that test.
Matthew Starner:Because Jesus is going to let me do I can make more free throws
Matthew Starner:than anybody else on the team, I can, you know, run faster or get
Matthew Starner:a better time and then than anybody else, because Jesus is
Matthew Starner:the one who strengthens me. And so when I talked to the sixth
Matthew Starner:graders about that we kind of we looked at this and said, Okay,
Matthew Starner:so is that what this is really saying? Yeah. And I love when
Matthew Starner:you look at the context of it. You know, Paul has come through
Matthew Starner:talking about in just the verses immediately preceding the the
Matthew Starner:concern that the Philippians had for him. He says, You're not,
Matthew Starner:not that I'm speaking of being in need right now. But I've
Matthew Starner:learned that whatever situation I'm in to be content, I know
Matthew Starner:what it is to be brought low. I know what it is to a bound. In
Matthew Starner:every circumstance. I've learned the secret of facing plenty
Matthew Starner:facing hunger, facing abundance and need so like, Paul's not
Matthew Starner:talking about going out and doing tremendous things because
Matthew Starner:of Jesus. He's saying I can I can face whatever comes my way
Matthew Starner:because of Jesus so I can endure suffering because of Jesus. Now,
Matthew Starner:I don't think many people probably not many confirmation,
Matthew Starner:students are saying, No, I can handle the suffering that's
Matthew Starner:going to come my way because of Jesus. Which I think and I pose
Matthew Starner:this to the sixth graders, and they agreed, I think This is a
Matthew Starner:better understanding of this verse like to say that, you
Matthew Starner:know, it's not about me doing great things, but it's about me
Matthew Starner:being able to go through whatever fazes me, because of
Matthew Starner:Jesus,
Rob Appold:and I'm gonna do the things that God would want me to
Rob Appold:do, no matter what the external circumstances are. Mm hmm.
Rob Appold:Because God will strengthen me. But you're right, we'll have
Rob Appold:this verse in one of our confirmational I'm sure and have
Rob Appold:had
Matthew Starner:I bet there I bet I know another one. Jeremiah
Matthew Starner:2911 Is that going to be one of them?
Rob Appold:I'm not sure but okay. Definitely been used. So
Rob Appold:that's
Matthew Starner:that's another one of those verses that I think
Matthew Starner:it's can get misused by some folks. Jeremiah 2911 Which which
Matthew Starner:says For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD plans
Matthew Starner:for welfare and not for evil plan to give you plans to give
Matthew Starner:you a hope and a future what one that everybody loves to hold on
Matthew Starner:to and and like, those are some great words from God plans to
Matthew Starner:prosper you prance plans to give you a hope for the future. But,
Matthew Starner:but what I always try to remember remind people is Who's
Matthew Starner:he talking to? What what's the context of those words, put it
Matthew Starner:put it into, into its place? And so, Pastor Rob, you remember the
Matthew Starner:context of what's going on there.
Rob Appold:Definitely written to the people of the exiles
Rob Appold:coming back, isn't it?
Matthew Starner:To them when they're getting there, isn't it?
Matthew Starner:Oh, when they're getting there, or who are in Excel now? I think
Matthew Starner:Yeah, cuz if you back up to like around verse four and five, so
Rob Appold:Oh, yeah, it's Jeremiah die heading is Jeremiah
Rob Appold:is letter letter to the exiles.
Matthew Starner:And like in verse five, so he's so this is
Matthew Starner:the word of the Lord, to the exiles, you know, build houses
Matthew Starner:and live in and plant gardens and eat their produce takes
Matthew Starner:wives and have sons and daughters take wives for your
Matthew Starner:sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons
Matthew Starner:and daughters multiply their do not decrease. So like you are
Matthew Starner:being carried off in exile, get comfortable, because you're
Matthew Starner:gonna be there a while. You're not coming home anytime soon.
Rob Appold:And serve there, instead of pining about, you
Rob Appold:know, if I only could get back to Jerusalem, then I could
Rob Appold:really serve
Matthew Starner:rod, right? And he's saying, No, do that. Now.
Matthew Starner:Do that where you are. Because you're, you're often exile and
Matthew Starner:it's not going to end anytime soon. That skipping down a
Matthew Starner:little bit to verse 10. For us as the Lord when 70 years are
Matthew Starner:complete for Babylon, I'll visit you and I will fulfill my
Matthew Starner:promise to bring you back to this place. So you are being
Matthew Starner:carried away nouns for 70 years settle in. And then it goes on
Matthew Starner:to the for I know, the plans I have for you. And so it's in
Matthew Starner:context, it's a reminder to the people of Israel being carried
Matthew Starner:off in exile. God's got a bigger plan in mind here, but it's
Matthew Starner:gonna take 70 years, 70 years. And you know, some of you may
Matthew Starner:not make it back. So have kids and get them married off because
Matthew Starner:them or their kids are going to be coming back. And when you
Matthew Starner:when you look at it in that context, wow. I mean, that's,
Matthew Starner:that's a little bit different than, like, I'm going to have a
Matthew Starner:perfect future because God loves me.
Rob Appold:Right. And I should, I should have this perfect
Rob Appold:future in my reality right now. Otherwise, I'm somewhere outside
Rob Appold:of God's will. And goddess, I know, it's going to be seven
Rob Appold:years, some of you will never make it back. I like verse seven
Rob Appold:out of that, chapter two. And I think it has a lot of
Rob Appold:ramifications, because, you know, we live in a world that I
Rob Appold:think, in our brokenness, we'd say, we should kick it out of
Rob Appold:here, right? Wish I could leave. God says to those who were in
Rob Appold:exile, seek the welfare of the city, where I have sent you into
Rob Appold:exile and God did it. Right. And pray to the Lord on its behalf
Rob Appold:for in its welfare, you will find your welfare, huh? Yeah.
Rob Appold:And when we serve our community, we're we are benefiting not get
Rob Appold:away from our culture. I did think of another one if you're
Rob Appold:Yes, yeah. Yeah, I was gonna say one other was have you this one
Rob Appold:is more of a pastor one, but maybe people who have read
Rob Appold:leadership books, there's the it's from Proverbs and I not
Rob Appold:going to find the verse. And you'd have to go through the
Rob Appold:King James version because the King James says, without a
Rob Appold:vision, the people perish. Have you heard that used? And it's
Rob Appold:designed to tell pastors, you need a vision for your
Rob Appold:congregation, and come up with your B hags big, hairy,
Rob Appold:audacious goals though Word, you know, and those are all great.
Rob Appold:No, I'm not knocking that at all. However, that's not what
Rob Appold:that verse means. The vision there is.
Matthew Starner:Proverbs 2918 is the verse there? Yeah.
Rob Appold:And what do you what is it in? Do you have? What
Rob Appold:translation? Do I got the ESV pulled up here? Okay, what does
Rob Appold:that say?
Matthew Starner:Oh, wow, the ESV renders this a little
Matthew Starner:differently where there is no prophetic vision. The people
Matthew Starner:cast off restraint
Rob Appold:there. Yeah. And the point was that I was going to
Rob Appold:make is, yes, this is that not the vision of man, but without
Rob Appold:the vision of God without the prophetic vision, people will
Rob Appold:perish or languish. And yeah, but through off restraint,
Rob Appold:they're all going to go their own way. Right? Which is not a
Rob Appold:good thing. You don't want people doing their own thing.
Matthew Starner:Well, how about we look at one more here?
Matthew Starner:Another one that our culture likes to throw around a whole
Matthew Starner:lot? And that's Matthew chapter seven. Oh, thank you. Seven,
Matthew Starner:seven, verse one, I believe, okay. Yeah, seven, verse one,
Matthew Starner:everybody loves to throw this verse around. It's probably the
Matthew Starner:most quoted verse in like, all of our culture, and it's simply
Matthew Starner:judge not that you not be judged. Mm hmm. Man, people love
Matthew Starner:to, to quote that today. usually use this like, Who are you to
Matthew Starner:tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing? Or, or, and
Matthew Starner:nobody can
Rob Appold:say, this is right, this is wrong, because, hey,
Rob Appold:that's being judgmental. Yep.
Matthew Starner:Which if there's anything our culture
Matthew Starner:hates, it's being judgmental. Even though I guess that's a
Matthew Starner:judgement statement in and of itself to, to do that. But when
Matthew Starner:we look at the context of this one, I this is where I just you
Matthew Starner:know, Jesus is such a masterful teacher. So, Jesus, these are
Matthew Starner:Jesus words all in red here and my Bible judge not that you not
Matthew Starner:be judged. And then he goes on, for with the judgment you
Matthew Starner:pronounce, you will be judged with the measure that you use,
Matthew Starner:and we measured. Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye,
Matthew Starner:but you don't notice the log in your own eyes? So you know,
Matthew Starner:there's all this hypocritical stuff going on? How can you say
Matthew Starner:to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when
Matthew Starner:there's a log in your own eye? You hypocrite. This is where
Matthew Starner:Jesus like, does this nice pivot, you hypocrite, first take
Matthew Starner:the log out of your own eye, then you'll see clearly to take
Matthew Starner:the speck out of your brother's eye. So first deal with your
Matthew Starner:own, then you can judge. So like, Don't Judge Jesus says,
Matthew Starner:but then he goes on and says, Here's how to judge Mm hmm. And
Matthew Starner:I just love that because he, he kind of puts he holds the whole
Matthew Starner:chair in your tracks for a moment. But then tells us like,
Matthew Starner:we are supposed to judge we're supposed to help our brother
Matthew Starner:take that speck out of their eye. You can't do that without
Matthew Starner:judging, but he's going against that hypocritical, self
Matthew Starner:righteous judge at the point where I just ignore what's going
Matthew Starner:on in my life. And I just look at you.
Rob Appold:And he clearly is, I mean, verses 15. Same section.
Rob Appold:He's talking about, yeah. Discerning, teaching and
Rob Appold:discerning, you know, right from wrong or truths from error.
Matthew Starner:Right? How are you going to tell a false
Matthew Starner:teacher from a true teacher, you have to judge them. You have to
Matthew Starner:judge their teaching. So yeah, it's, it is one of those, we'd
Matthew Starner:like to look at that little bit in a vacuum. And so maybe
Matthew Starner:that's, that's the kind of the thing to pull away from all of
Matthew Starner:these that we've looked at here so far, as to not look at them,
Matthew Starner:or be wary, at least of looking at a verse in a vacuum, without
Matthew Starner:the context around it. That's how we get the meaning from
Matthew Starner:what's being said here. Because you can pull a phrase, you can
Matthew Starner:pull a couple words out, and make it say, kind of whatever
Matthew Starner:you want it to say,
Rob Appold:Yes, I had a teacher that said, Tell me what you
Rob Appold:want. And I'll find you but tell me what you want to say. And
Rob Appold:I'll find a Bible verse to your point. Sure, whatever it is,
Rob Appold:yep.
Matthew Starner:The, the the example that one of the
Matthew Starner:professors I had used was, I can't remember the verse
Matthew Starner:references off the top of my head, but two different verses
Matthew Starner:that you can stitch together where, you know, Judas went and
Matthew Starner:hanged himself. Jesus said, Go and do likewise. And also you
Matthew Starner:can you can take two different phrases from the Bible and make
Matthew Starner:it say whatever you want to say if you're just looking at them
Matthew Starner:in a vacuum there, but so, I guess our takeaway from today is
Matthew Starner:we're looking at these these verses that oftentimes have a
Matthew Starner:what we think is a surface level meaning to them. That meaning
Matthew Starner:might not be what we think it is, but the deeper meaning from
Matthew Starner:the context from what Scripture is really saying is often so
Matthew Starner:much better than what we think.
Matthew Starner:Thanks for listening to everyday disciples, everyday disciples as
Matthew Starner:part of the online ministry of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in
Matthew Starner:Grand Rapids. We're striving to be followers of Jesus wherever
Matthew Starner:we are, and we hope you'll join us on that journey. if you found
Matthew Starner:this podcast helpful in your spiritual journey, we'd be
Matthew Starner:honored if you would rate us and review us wherever you listen.
Matthew Starner:It helps people find us and get the good news about Jesus out
Matthew Starner:there to the world. If you've got questions or suggestions for
Matthew Starner:things that you'd like to hear about on everyday disciples, let
Matthew Starner:us know with an email to media at St. Matthew gr.com.