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Join host, Tuck Choate, and executive pastor, Bennett Holloway, as they discuss Temple Church's Sunday sermons in more detail, explore everyday application of biblical truths, and answer listener questions - all to help you strengthen you in your spiritual walk. Expect meaningful conversations that will encourage you in your faith journey.
Tuck Choate 0:08
Welcome temple family and friends, we're so glad to have you joining us for another episode of Temple talk. This podcast aims to engage our faith community through thoughtful biblical discussions centered on God's word. Our goal is to explore Scripture together to discover the wisdom that has for our lives. In this podcast, we'll be diving deep into God's truths and discussing how they impact our daily living. We're eager to unpack the riches of the Bible with you all our extended church family. And now here's welcome temple family and friends. Back to Temple talk. I'm here again with our pastor Ben Holloway. How are you doing this week?
Bennett Holloway 0:45
Oh, I'm doing well. I'm doing well, I think slowly, but surely our voices are coming back and getting over this change of weather and our body's inability to recalibrate, to a little bit colder weather.
Tuck Choate 0:59
So just in time for the time change. Yeah,
Bennett Holloway 1:01
just in time for the time change. Yes, but I'm doing well. We had a good week. And yeah, I'm really excited about this week. And what we have in store,
Tuck Choate 1:14
I mean, to I'm excited about this lesson, I think there were a lot of good things in here. And we don't have a lot of notes. But I think that the things that are going to come out of this are going to be really beneficial.
Bennett Holloway 1:27
I feel like and I think that's something that we're trying to grow in, in terms of the podcasts and kind of what it looks like. And what it needs to look like is as time goes, we're gonna continue to evolve, and, and I guess, sharpen this craft, of podcasting. And so we'll have show notes are going to be posted that allow references to Scripture, or any surveys or any books that we may reference throughout the podcast. But it at least gives another tool for people to take it home, or to jump online and observe it. So in our show notes that we may be pointing towards, or we may be revising and editing as we post it, to give a little more clarification on something that we say during the podcast is going to be something that's going to be available.
Tuck Choate 2:13
Absolutely. We are working our way there. And we have a wonderful producer, Mr. Tony, who has been helping us through all of the technical pieces, and it is going to be helping us with all the show notes and all those kinds of things as well. He doesn't want to talk but he's not. Alright, so one of the things that hit me right off the bat about this sermon, as Dr. uer is talking is his quote that said, if we have conveniences That's grace, and he mentioned how the gospel isn't growing in North America, like it is anywhere else in the world. And I feel I felt that spiritually, because I see that I see the the ease that we have here, the comfort that we have in our homes and in our lives. And it's that feeling that I don't need God necessarily, because I can provide for myself, I can provide for my family here, where he was mentioning in a lot of other countries, they need God for their sustenance, their daily living, there is a a need, there is something missing in their life, that we don't always feel we still have that need. We still have that void, but we've we can fill it with so many distractions and other things, that it's easy to say, oh, no, I'm fine.
Bennett Holloway 3:39
Yeah, and that. So church growth and revitalization is something that I've been studying deeply over the last year, and this is this isn't less. So let's just break it down real quick. Because I want to make sure that we understand the grace that we get to live by, and the opportunities that we get here and how we are stewarding that grace. Okay, so he said, if, if we have conveniences, that grace, another thing that he talked about in his message is if we have choices, if we even have choices, that's great, because the majority of the world is living in a situation where one, some areas don't have the freedom to worship God, or to gather, or Christianity is highly persecuted. So even the mere risk that is attributed to believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, there is something there that demands a certain level of faith and willingness to go all in
Tuck Choate 4:51
and he said, a lot of churches or a lot of places in the world you don't have an option of which church do I go to it? Do I go to the group that is worshiping
Bennett Holloway 5:03
Christians in my area that are meeting in the basement of their home? Like is it Do I go. And so this this thing that we have, that we abuse, right in the Western Church is this idea of, of I don't like this year, if I don't like that there, and we kind of see the church as a as a as a Golden Corral, as this restaurant that I think needs to fully satisfy the needs of my family. So if they don't have all the things out there on the menu, that don't meet the needs about I need, I'm just gonna pick up my stuff and go somewhere else. The whole problem with that dynamic, and that mindset, that choice that then creates this worldview, is that that is me centered. That's not Christ centered. So the decision of where I choose to attend is more built around what I want to get from something, not what God's wanting to do through his bride. And so there's this balance, talk that, that that I wrestle with, as a pastor, when it comes to, I believe that I believe in the Ephesians four model of the church, that, that, that, that when Paul talks about that each people, each member is a part of the body that is equipped, that contributes, that that edifies the church towards maturity in Christ, right. I think that people that attend a church, they need to recognize the value that God has on them, and in them for the purpose of that church. So when I think about choosing a church, the way that I try to teach people in the process is one have a definite intentional standard of theology, right? Let us not compromise on the authority of the Word of God, or who Jesus Christ is, and who God is, and what sin does, and the desire towards repentance, and overall sanctification, let us not compromise on these standards.
Tuck Choate 7:08
And you mentioned that on our previous episode, if you don't believe in what the church is doing, you need to go somewhere you do,
Bennett Holloway 7:16
right and so but if you don't know what the church is doing, or the church is in a process of discovering that there is this moment in time, like we have here, where it is a beautiful opportunity for the people of God, to come on board, fix their hearts and their minds on what God's wanting to do. And then just say, Here I am, Lord, use me. How are you wanting me to become a part of your story through your church at this time, and that in and of itself, the fact that we get to choose that is grace. That is something of God's riches at Christ's expense that we get the privilege of benefiting from here. Now, if you look at the country as a whole, he said, that isn't growing in North America. And this is a sad fact, as we look at that maybe less focus on Protestant churches are closing their doors at a faster rate than churches are being planted. And when you look at just general attendance across our country, there's a Gallup poll that shows that, that right now, about 47% of American adults are members of a church. Whereas back in 2000, it was more around a 70% of adults in America were members of a Protestant church. And so this decline in general attendance, while also the churches are dying at a faster rate than they're being born are clear indications that things are getting worse. And that there is a detachment towards the value of the local body. So as the church is, is shrinking, and turning more self focused, and the people are being more me focused. In our country, the opposite is happening, where the choices aren't there, right. And so when whenever we open our eyes and look outward to the rest of the world, and we're seeing the persecuted church and China flourishing, and growing, when we see in the Middle East, and when we see in Africa, and we see in South America, we see these people that they don't have the options, but they have the only option that provides all of their needs through Jesus Christ. And so faith and Christianity is growing in other areas. And that's something that is one. It's sobering for me, it breaks my heart for a lot of the people that I know and love. And the problem that I have, personally, is that that same statistical data for the country is directly applied to within a 10 mile radius of our church here Newbern. Right. And so we did research about that, right and so About 73% of adults within a 10 mile radius of our location, acknowledge that they do not participate in church activities. And therefore our default understanding there is that they're unchurched that they don't see value in it, they don't understand it. They may acknowledge there is a God, but there's no discipleship, there's no accountability, there's no encouragement, there's no support, the benefits of being in a church is not being received by that many people. And so it's something that is real. But what's awesome on the other side is that we have an opportunity to make an impact with where we're at, with our hope. And so if we can come to a point to acknowledge that all of these things that we take for granted is actually grace. Given that the sovereign God, even waking up this morning is a measure of grace, that we have the opportunity to be here to listen to this, to read His Word, to go to church, all of this is by the grace of God. Maybe hopefully, it'll shift our perspective and how we steward those options.
Tuck Choate 11:08
And I think it speaks to something that we can do, because it's so easy to look at mission trips, which are important that go abroad. But there's, we don't have to be a part of that, in order to do God's work.
Bennett Holloway 11:27
We don't have to be on a mission trip to be missional. Right, right. And so the very same thing that in the Great Commission, He tells us to go do, he's even meaning in Acts one eight, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. So starting in your backyard, starting across the table, starting in the checkout line, starting with the people that you cross paths with today. That is our battlefield, right, that is our mission field. And so it is important to send missionaries, it is important that people are gifted and sent and supported by our church to do that. But the other side of the coin is, we have to recognize every single one of us are sent to here right now, where we're at with that same mission.
Tuck Choate 12:09
One of the things that I had heard before is, people don't care what you know, until they know that you care. And so one of the things you're talking about is reaching across the table reaching to your neighbors, the people that know us and know how we live our lives can sometimes be the people that will be the most receptive because if I just go to a random person and start preaching to them, maybe that'll help the person at the Food Mart or whatever, but the person that knows me knows how I live and knows that I care about them will often be the most receptive to Hey, you should come to church with me or or something like that Yeah.
Start with your brother.
Bennett Holloway 14:16
Start with that
Tuck Choate 14:49
one of the other things that I thought was really important is the doctor you were brought up the leaders committing to God's law first and foremost, and then kind of spread dig that out. And so how does that work here at Temple, that solidarity of the leadership and then kind of moving then to the members?
Bennett Holloway 15:10
Yeah, I think that overall, when it comes to leadership, we are at a place to where you can't take someone where you haven't been. Right? You can't lead anyone, somewhere that you haven't been yourself. And it requires a unified leadership, to walk in Dysart. One discern what God is saying, I think it's healthy. In Numbers, we see that pattern throughout acts and the Epistles with the plurality of elders and leaders as they come together and affirm what God's saying, in their decisions that they're making. But here at our church, we're doing that same thing, we're being slow to react, and and we're believing wholeheartedly in the solidarity that's required as leadership as we walk forward, and then ask our church to come alongside us because the end result that we deeply desire, talk is unity. Its unity, in alignment with what God is wanting to do here. And so as leadership, I immediately I keep going back to Scripture, and we see in Acts chapter two, this, this display of a unified people alongside each other as the early church has been established, and the all things are in common and, and they are unified. We see in John chapter 17. When Jesus is doing his high priestly prayer, one of the main drivers in verse 20, and 21, is a desire for unity amongst the bride. Right now. I'll read it to you. It's in verse 20. It says, I'm not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in me through their word. And so Jesus is praying for His disciples before this, let me say not only for the disciples, right, but for all of those who believe because of what the disciples will be sharing. That's us. That's us. So he's praying for us in this moment, which is incredible. And so he says, That they may all be one, just as your Father are in Me and I in you, that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that You sent Me. And then we see in First Corinthians 110, Paul's writing the church in Corinth, he's saying, Now, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there'll be no divisions among you, that you may be made complete, in the same mind, and in the same judgment. So there's a level of discernment that's required by leadership to recognize we have to recognize that it takes unity amongst the believers, that as leadership, you can't take anyone where you haven't been. And that the Holy Spirit often affirms the discernment of the will of God through multiple people that are seeking his face. And that as we work through decisions, there's a significant level of grace, that's a part of it. But the ultimate desire really is for the unity of the church, and the impact of the church to glorify Jesus Christ, and to make Him known. And so that's our desire that we've seen. And so in Nehemiah 10, as he's walking through it, the leaders were unified and committed to God's law. Now that piece was set. And then all the sudden the different other people, groups that were part have started, like committing themselves to the very thing, the very covenant that they have resigned and committed themselves to his leadership. And that unity is a beautiful picture in Nehemiah 10.
Tuck Choate 18:42
So you mentioned they're actually physically signing a document. I think that's awesome. Because it it is a physical representation that I think we need a lot of times just being physical people, sometimes it's, it's hard just to do it all in your mind. And to have that physical, I am signing this, there is my name. We don't really do that nowadays, but I kind of want to bring it back up some sort of a physical commitment to God and to each other. I think it makes it real to us.
Bennett Holloway 19:18
Yeah, tucked in. And this this, this isn't something that really, in practice hasn't fallen away from the church. But I think from the outside looking in, it is something that slowly been diluted, and something that's decrease in its value. And so what that comes to is church membership. And so that's something that I actually work with people often as we talk through what it means to be a member at our church. And there is a pen to paper moment where they look at this covenant of this, of these expectations, not only of the person that's joining, but also of the church that's receiving this new member and, and so We do kind of have something like that. And so as the leadership signed it, in Nehemiah chapter 10. And then as the as the different people groups that we see fall underneath the leadership and they commit themselves to it, we see this parallel, I immediately feel this parallel between that, and that of the local church membership. Right. And so as as an opportunity that we have at our church, is we have a church membership covenant that really affirms what we believe that that brings in, intentionally is built upon the standards of Scripture that clearly identifies the vision and heart of our church. And it gives an opportunity for a person to put pen to paper and say, Yeah, I'm willing, and I desire to be a part of this. And so that's something that is interesting. But it's, it's been, I guess, it's it's lost its popularity, because it's lost its value in the eyes of many people. And so it shifted to I attended this church is a lot easier and more palatable than I am a member of that church.
Tuck Choate 21:10
Well, and a covenant is between two parties, where both sides devote themselves to do something, right. So in in this church membership, what are you know, we have the side of the church, we have the side of the member, what are we asking each side to do? Well, or what are they committing to then
Bennett Holloway 21:30
it depends on the church, right? It depends on the church. But there are a specific level of expectations of being for the unity of the church, being committed to financially steward yourself in a way that glorifies God into the local church, that you're committing to. It talks about desiring and intentionally pursuing, really the seven virtues that you'll you'll worship God with the way that you live. This understanding that you will not forsake the gathering that you'll meet, you'll meet together, that you will be a person built on prayer that we we live by the Bible, the Word of God has an authority over our lives. And it also is the foundation of how we understand the revealed character and nature of God that we share together, which I talked about with stewardship, and that we we serve others that we have this desire to be outward focus, not that inward focus that we are consumers of a thing, that we are contributors. And so that the end, then that we are going to commit to obeying the Great Commission that we will make Jesus known. And so that's why we have these Kingdom virtues that we are trying to make sure that we understand that when it comes to being a disciple of Jesus Christ, it comes to living out these virtues in the context of a local church, we will see God do incredible things that's on that side, on the other side of the church, it's it's born line the same way it's we're going to care for, we're going to make sure to create the safe environment that allows you to come in and to freely engage in worship, we're going to be intentionally disciplined at studying the Word and communicating the word. And so hopefully, what churches are doing is, it comes back to this high level of fear of the Lord, and respect to how God has created this beautiful what Jesus Christ died for, as he's launched this bride, the grace that is available, and also the care in difficult times. And so this this, this people, that this church tries to disciple, while this people that are being discipled are key components of the life of the church. And so, this relationship, and I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but whenever, sometimes when we're living in sin or in ignorance, we're almost blind to it, or we're numb to it. And there are things that may be it needs someone else speaking into us with a desire and a care for us that far exceeds our comfort or happiness. But they know that sometimes difficult conversations need to take place, because they know that we believe and desire God to be glorified in us and through us. And so that's a church. That's what they're committing to, to say, Listen, when we have to talk through this, and we have to navigate conflict, we're going to do it in a way that glorifies God, because that's the priority in your life and in mind, and so the church side it looks like that. So, overall, if you're if you're not a member of a church, I would I would drive you to ask the question, why, why why are you not a member? Well, what is the thing that's holding you back? Because the thing that's likely holding you back is one that church isn't good. Right? That your discernment is, you don't believe what they believe. or two, there's a level of a lack of understanding of the value of what it means to be a part of a church. And so if we're outwardly focused if we're recognizing the virtues of Kingdom seekers, and if we're living this out, then the natural byproduct will be that you want to join our church, and you want to join the church that communicates the gospel and glorifies Jesus.
Tuck Choate 25:25
Well, and we've talked before the importance of community, and attending church service, especially just on a Sunday morning, at a church, especially of this size, is it's easy to get lost, you go, you sit, and you leave. Whereas actually joining being a member and living life with your community, especially in small groups, but finding those people that you can live life with, makes church go from something that you attend to something that you are doing on it on a daily basis. I mean, think that's where you're trying to get to, is, in order to be a full member of a church requires you to live that life. And in order for someone to be able to speak into my life, I have to have people that know my life, and what I'm doing and how they can speak into it. Otherwise, it's the person that says hi to me on on Sunday, and I say hi, and then we walk away.
Bennett Holloway 26:32
God created us to be to be relational. And so whenever we take that off the table, it's something that oftentimes don't even realize what we're missing. And you don't realize what you're lacking, until you get a taste of it. And you can read it in scripture. But there's this level of experiential knowledge that takes place in the context of the Bride of Christ, that will change the way we see things. And so as we, as we pledged to, to, as they pledged to God, and as they honor these relationships as we desire to, to glorify God and Aven be Lord and and King, over every area of our lives over our marriages of our businesses. Tuck, how often from your experience, can that end up being something that distracts, or we miss prioritize for God's purposes today, all with good intention, all good things. But we're the ones that mess it up. How often do you struggle with? And do you see that being a difficult dynamic to navigate,
Tuck Choate 27:41
it's not about a certain percentage of time, it's a win my heart is. So when when God is not at the center of a relationship, I see that drifting away. And I don't see in the time, but I look back and I see that, oh, that's why that went wrong, is you know, in, in my relationship with my wife, we have church in the center of it, we have God in the center of that. And so that relationship goes well with my children. I try and teach them and bring them alongside me in in God, to church, as we're believers, and training them. And I see that going well. It's when I have a relationship that is just a friendship, or a work relationship, where I forget who I am as a Christian, that I get focused on the job, for example, or whatever I'm working on, that I see that drifting slowly but surely away. And that's when I find that those aren't beneficial relationships. To me. They don't, they're not necessarily bad, but they don't add to my life in a way that I want to be added to.
Bennett Holloway 28:55
Yes, I can relate with you on that. And the way that I describe it, when I talk to other people is for me, it's balance when when it comes to relationships and priorities, so making sure that I have a healthy balance of priorities in my life relationally, but also in my calling and my purpose and what I'm doing. And so when I look back at seasons, where my I'm out of balance, that I have missed prioritized relationships and responsibilities that have led me to a way of thinking that is contradictory to God's sovereignty, or his goodness, or his faithfulness. And so it has led me to a way of thinking that needs to be realigned, that needs to be rebalanced, and that typically is the pathway of repentance that typically is through conviction, that typically is through correction. And so what I've experienced in my life is is as I've grown in this understanding of the past The aura T 's that are based on an understanding that the kingdom of God is available today. And it will be in fullness at the end that it has shifted what I believe God is doing and wants to do. And as my priorities more aligned with his priorities, it changes the dynamic of those relationships. So oftentimes, as I sit down, and I think through the priorities of relationships, or the impact that relationships have, or the authority, I give relationships in my life, as I think through that, the number one relationship that I need to have that gives absolute authority, it actually isn't my wife. And it definitely is not my children. It's not a church member. And it's not my parents, it's not my brother or sister, it is 100% must be God. That is the primary relationship that is more significant than any other. And then as I work my way through the prioritization, that next one is my wife, and my marriage. And so first, it's me and God, Lauren's not even a part of that. It's me and God, and then it's me, and God and my wife, and then we bring in the children, because I'm first a child of his and then I'm a husband, and then I'm a father. And sometimes we miss prioritize. And some people that come in, or we go through seasons, where we put at the highest priority, our role is mom, or our role is dad. And our identity is wrapped up in these things which when empty nesting takes place. There's this unknown understanding of who we're sitting across the table from, which is why divorce is at such a high rate, whenever it comes to that point, in that stage of life in America right now. And there's this disconnect, because of a lack of balance because of a mis prioritization, because God isn't ruling and reigning, the first and foremost, and then building building it from that. And so when it comes to relationships, and balance, I think that a big accountability partner in my life has been spiritual disciplines. It's been the spiritual disciplines that I see Jesus doing. It's the word of God that has authority. And it ends up leading me towards worshiping him praying, living by the Bible sharing joyfully, meaning together, serving others, and making him known bringing him glory, because of how much he's done in me, and who gets all the credit for all things. And so as as the Lord cultivates in me his character, and as the disciplines that we see, in Scripture, they create rhythms, that reinforce a level of balance, that keep things rightly prioritized, that allow us an opportunity to consistently be worshiping Him through all relationships and responsibility.
Tuck Choate 33:03
One of the best illustrations that I've heard about that is, if you can picture in your mind, a bucket, and you've got some rocks, and some pebbles and some sand, if you put in the rocks first. And then you pour in the pebbles, the pebbles kind of sift themselves around the rocks and settle in. And then you can pour in the sand and the sand filters down into everything, and you've got a full bucket. But if you do that out of order, and you put the sand in first, it stacks up on the bottom, and you try and put some pebbles in and they go right on top of it, and you have filled up your bucket without having any room anymore for those wrongs. Because they're not fitting in the way that they need to the sand. It just takes up as much space as it wants to. And it's a good illustration that comes up in so many times in my life, whether it's work, but most importantly, the prioritization of putting God into my life first. Whereas if we can take those big rocks, those important things and put them first, like you were saying, if I can put my relationship with God, first and foremost, above my wife above my children, which sounds crazy to the world, to say that I've got something above my family. But if we have that correctly, in our lives, it puts everything else correctly into a perspective to where it makes those human relationships that much better. So looking at going back a little bit to the relationship that we have with our church. You mentioned that and Dr. Ewart mentioned that as well. One of the responsibilities that we have as members is financially supporting the church. And I know that in our small groups as well, quite a few of the small groups we've been going through the treasured principle and I Want to talk about that? Because I know there are a lot of questions I've seen in our small group a lot of questions that come up around our responsibility to the church financially. I think the biggest one that comes up is how much should I give. And there's that that word tithing, which means 10%, which I believe comes from the Old Testament that talks about they were to give 10%, to the Levites, to care for the temple. And we've kind of brought that forwards into the New Testament, is that something that we should be following as a general rule.
Bennett Holloway 35:34
So when we talked about this, I want to talk about stewardship as a whole, because I think what we end up doing is we end up pigeon holing ourselves into thinking a certain way that's more transactional. Or I want to do this, so I am in good standing with God, where my desire is to come more at the heart. And when it comes to stewarding our time, our talents and our treasure, each one of these things have a unique purpose and role in the context of the local church in 21st century today. And so the first thing that I would do is I want to walk through, I've already addressed it to an extent, but this consumer Christianity mindset, and so we're teaching stewardship and multiple different arenas here at our church, right, we're teaching it through our small group model, through the treasurer principle through understanding what it means to steward our financial resources. But then on the other side, we're also teaching stewardship and our spiritual gifts, training that we have in service training and placement opportunities here. And so one of the one of the examples that we have in that comp, the illustration that in the service course that we have that I love, is when it comes to the church, some people see it more as a cruise ship, where they're out here, enjoying it consuming, having a really good time being a part of the church, but what it needs to be as more of a battleship, right, so you don't pay to play, you don't come in here, you swipe your card, you give some you can just take take take take take. But But we got to recognize that it's more about having a specific position on the ship, ready to engage in the warfare that is very prevalent in our area. When we keep saying the 73% we're acknowledging the thing that needs to happen in our area. And it cannot happen, unless our church recognizes that each one of us play a key part in that. So how we steward our time, our talents, and our treasure, our finances, is key to making this happen. So first consumer Christianity, some of that has to be attacked, and we got to stop and say, Well, Lord, is this something that I do? Am I a consumer? Do I think about me and my opinions at a higher priority than what you're wanting to do? And how you're leading us? And so that's the first step. Now, whenever you're asking specifically about finances, this is what I love about old covenant and New Testament. When it comes to finances, yes, we do see it throughout the Old Testament, the establishment of the tabernacle in the temple, and Jewish law. But the concept of giving your first fruits and ties actually came in Genesis before all of this took place through Abram, right. And so we see, Abraham who becomes Abraham, we see him giving 10%, right. And so what we see in that process before the laws even created, what that teaches me is that that's something that far exceeds just a command by God. Okay. And so what I this is the way I see Old Testament, I think Jesus did not come to shut down the Old Testament, He did not come to diminish it. Most of his teaching that we see, Jesus is actually speaking to the Old Testament and then raising the standard raising the bar. If you look at the Sermon on the Mount, he's using the context of you have heard it said, You have heard it said he's referencing the law, but then he's elevating the standard. And so what is important for us is that we don't just throw out all the things that God taught his people in terms of behavior, or a disposition. In the Old Testament, we don't just throw that out because we're in the New Covenant, because Jesus has ascended, and we're waiting for a second coming. But we recognize that there is something to what Scripture says, in the Old Testament. And if we can come to a place to prioritize the lordship of God, even over the way that we see this a moral thing called money, then then what's going to happen? It is we will continue to see him move in a powerful way and our hearts towards it will shift to where it's now a tool that can be used for him, rather than a thing that I earned based on my work. And so that's the testimony of really financial stewardship in my life. And so when I, when I have seen that take place, the tool in which he did that, for me is through the discipline of the ties. It's through giving to the point to where I'm investing into the local church, not para ministries, I'm not sending it out, I'm investing in the Gospel expansion efforts of the local bride of Christ, that I'm benefiting from that I'm sitting under the teaching, and that my children are being discipled. And all of these things are taking place. I'm investing in this because I believe and desire for what they're doing to continue and reach the 73. Right. And so when it comes to this biblical living of how money is prioritized in my life, through the discipline of stewarding and tithing, I see it right, I get it. And when I struggle with that, when I struggle with not tithing or not being generous or sharing, joyfully, typically God's revealing to me that I'm idolizing something more than him, it suddenly turns into a Am I sending because I don't give a certain amount, it changes it to, I'm sending, because I'm seeing something that he gave me, I'm seeing in his mind. And so it reveals in my heart and issue, and I've had to repent, and I've got to come back to him. And I've got to receive that mercy that he gives and acknowledge the grace and the generosity of him. And I'm going to invest in things that glorify His name. And if you're at a point and you're at a church that, that you don't think investing in that church is doing that, then you need to go to a different church and stop taking from them. By consuming. You need to go somewhere where you can allow the Lord to be the Lord of your wallet, you need to go somewhere where you can reap the benefit of testing him, like an Malikai, of knowing and experiencing the freedom of what could be bondage of idolizing money. Because you'll be much happier there, I promise you. And if you're not giving, because of the idealization of money, and there's a reprioritization, I say, man, just go to the Lord, ask him, because we are to be good stewards, we are to provide for our family, we are to live within our means. When I say that, though, I prioritize tithing as a part of my first fruit means. So that's the significant aspect of my calculation on what we can and can't afford. So when it comes to financially, that's, that's my soapbox. And that's where I'm at, when it comes to applying Old Testament truth, to New Testament, New Covenant living, because we don't throw it out. We don't throw it out. There's some biblical truth there that is applicable today. That we need to do, because he needs to be lowered of every aspect of our lives. And typically, the reason that we justify not giving is because he's not
Tuck Choate 43:27
on the other side of that. Dr. uer spoke about canceling debts and resting the land,
Bennett Holloway 43:33
yes, the Sabbath year.
Tuck Choate 43:36
So I really wish we have that provision in our lives now. But not having that how what can we apply to our lives this idea of resting the land, giving back trusting and God,
Bennett Holloway 43:52
what whenever whenever we look at what is required by these people that worked the land, and in verse 31, of chapter 10, it says, As for the people, the land who bring wares and the grain on the Sabbath day to sell, they will not buy from them on the Sabbath or holy day, and we will forego the crops, the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. So there was this debt that was forgiven, but also this work that wasn't taking place. And as a farmer, every single season is incredibly important, right, even as employees a year of work, it's how we are provided for them. So the level of faith and dependence on Jehovah Jireh as as their provider that they have saying, I will rest on the seventh, and I won't even collect debt on the seventh because of I have faith and understanding of His provision that the six will carry me through the seventh and even into the eight that we replant. And so, what the personal discipline that we can take that and apply it today, it is an honest assessment on whether or not we participate in Sabbath. Then when you look at creation, when you look at Genesis when you look at how God created the heavens and the earth and formed the world, and and then ultimately created man and, and woman in His image, as He created man, the very next day was rest. And so some people think that rest is just so that God can be worshipped. And so we check a box, but we fail to understand that, that we were created for rest. And then it's from that that rest that we've had with God, that Sabbath thing that takes place that we are provided for. And so not only is it an aspect of faith that we need to Sabbath every every week that we need to that we need to give him a day. It's faith independence that he will provide. But it's also this other side of recognizing the major aspect of why we were created to enjoy Him, and to experience him as our shepherd. And so that discipline of Sabbath thing. We see it here in Nehemiah 10, with the Sabbath year. And then we also recognize it in our personal lives and through the commandments. And through Old Testament law, which we can then also recognize is something that can be applied and lived out today as a biblical practice. And that is one that is fruitful, regardless of what covenant we sit under.
Tuck Choate 46:49
And it's almost like he is trying to get us to see that we need to slow down and to listen and to see him on a weekly and a yearly. Throughout our lives kind of a basis. Yeah, that's right. Absolutely. So I have a few listener questions come in, that I wanted to run by you and see if you could kind of help shine a light on on a couple of these.
Bennett Holloway 47:16
So you'll be answering these two.
Tuck Choate 47:20
So the first one says, tuck mentioned on a previous episode, the difference between a full life and a busy life, but mine just feels busy. I'm especially burned out with kids sports schedules interfering with church and family time. How do I keep priorities in order? And what does a balanced life look like?
Bennett Holloway 47:38
So what would you say that person that references what you said,
Tuck Choate 47:42
what it sounds like, what you were just kind of talking about of having that Sabbath having that time. And, and it doesn't just happen, you have to make it happen. I hear a lot of times people say, I can't find the time to do something. And instead, we need to be making the time and planning time for certain things. And it sounds like a lot. What you were just saying is to schedule that Sabbath time, whether or not that's a Saturday, whatever that day is, to be able to make time, intentionally to be with your family to be with God. However, that looks like. I think a lot of times it will require a sacrifice from us whether that is getting up early, before the kids get up to study and worship. Whether that is setting aside time, a specific day to say we are going to be doing this as a family. But it is it's difficult when your life is busy. It requires stepping back, and reprioritizing where we were talking about those big rocks, it sounds like a lot of Sam has filled up in the bottom of the bucket, and is not leaving a lot of room for some of those big things that you want in your life. And it, it's not just going to happen, you have to make a change, to put those rocks in first, somehow to be able to reprioritize some of those smaller things in life.
Bennett Holloway 49:20
You know, two things that Dr. Ewart has been teaching me is one, the discipline of why. So and the significant, important importance of assessing. So if you're if your life just feels busy. The first question is, what aspects of it just feel too much? And why are the things that are on your plate on your plate?
Tuck Choate 49:47
So in business, we call that adding value, right? I'm doing a lot of things, but what about it adds value? That's right.
Bennett Holloway 49:54
And sometimes you have to do things that don't add value, right? Not everyone's job descriptions perfectly out Like everything that adds life, some of them have difficult things that just need to be done. But if we can sit down and we can look at ourselves and look at our time and look at our responsibilities, and look at our priorities, and ask, you know, assess appropriately, why do we do what we do? I think that it can come to the ultimate conclusion of praying and seeing the Lord appropriately prioritize things as we're worshiping Him, as we're praying continually, as we're living by the Bible, as we're sharing joyfully, as we meet together and serve others and make Jesus known as we do these things as we live out these priorities, then, that's the beautiful, that's the beautiful thing is that God ends up working some things out and correctly prioritizing our heart, which will then allow us to see things rightly. And that's the shift from busy to full.
Tuck Choate 50:53
Then the next question I have says, I'm in college now. But I graduated high school during the COVID lockdowns. I feel depressed. And I don't know how to move forwards from feeling like I lost multiple key years of my social life. How can I overcome this?
Bennett Holloway 51:09
So you and Chelsea, you guys are launching this college ministry we are. And so I'd be very interested to hear you navigate, because this is going to be the testimony of a lot of students that you have in your ministry.
Tuck Choate 51:21
Yeah, I mean, this is a very real thing. COVID disrupted lives for the entire world. And I can't imagine being in that stage of life that is so centered around community, and having it all of a sudden turn into you by yourself on the screen. I didn't have to go through that. I mean, my life was already on a screen with work. But to have that shift is is wild. So that's one of the reasons that we are starting our young adult ministry. It starts on October 26. And if you know, if you sent this in or you are feeling that describes me, I would highly encourage you to make time to come join our small group, because the biggest thing that this is yelling out to me is I need community, I lost community, and I don't know how to find it. And that's a very, very real thing. In this age group, whether you are in college, or just out of college, as you are learning to be an adult, those relationships change, because back in high school, and even some in college relationships were easy. It was the person you sat next to in class, it was the person that you were assigned to live with in the dorms. And as you move away from that, how do you build relationships, and the biggest thing that I would say is get in a small group, get in a community group with your church. And automatically, you have those ways to build bonds, because you have that priority of God, and whether or not this person you might interact with on a regular daily life outside of this, you have one of the most important things in common right off the bat. So I would say to you, you need community. And I would suggest, let us be part of that community. So October 26, you can look on the temple dot church website, we should be on there as far as how you can find the small groups, how you can contact me specifically and my wife to get set up for that. That'll be Thursday nights. We will start with going through John, the book of John, but also in that we are trying to say, This is who you can do life with we would like you to do life with us to build that community and to make those relationships
Bennett Holloway 53:59
and to give a little bit of hope. Because as we look through Old Testament, and we look through the people of God that lost they now COVID was something that I wouldn't say people like caused right and so I didn't I don't I didn't deserve COVID Were the people of Israel whenever they ended up being dispersed or they were rebelling against God. So the fruit the consequences of their actions led to captivity, or the promised land being taken from them or them being overtaken by surrounding enemies, you know, that kind of stuff. And so, but there is something too in Deuteronomy chapter 30, that gives hope to the nature and the character of God. And it's in verse three, it says, Then the Lord, your God will restore you from captivity and come and have compassion on you. And we'll gather you again from all the peoples for the Lord your God has scattered you. So there is a desire and a nature of God to be the restore And so when we think through things that we've lost or seasons of, of stuff that we've gone through, I think that there's a level of hope that we can have, that God will restore the very things that we believe are taken from us. And so this heart disposition towards him, as our Father, in this pursuit of him, that we desire to receive this love that he has, and this this sacrifice that he's made for us, but also in the establishment of His church. That is something that I think that we will experience that restoration in our lives, but also in our past, and in the things that we've gone through, and even the things that we've missed through COVID. So there's a level of hope, that I would just encourage you with, for whoever answered that, or requested that, or had that question and submitted it. That being our God is a good God, and He is faithful, and he is sovereign. And there is some good thing, there are some good things ahead for those that seek His face, and wait upon him, for he is the Restore.
Tuck Choate 56:08
And then Luke, it says to us give and it will be given to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be given to you, I think that's that, that idea that you were talking about is, as we give ourselves over to this, he's not going to just give us what we missed, he's going to make it bigger and better than we could have imagined.
Bennett Holloway 56:29
Because we need and what we desire is him. And so the more that we experience Him, the more that we recognize His provision is far greater. The grace is far greater than we deserve. And also than we could have ever, ever imagined if we thought of everything ourselves. So God is good. And I appreciate that question.
Tuck Choate 56:54
Ben, and thank you so much for your time today, as we're wrapping up, what is one key takeaway that you would like to leave us with as we go through this week?
Bennett Holloway 57:02
Man, my one key takeaway is constantly coming to a point of personal assessment, asking your question, asking, Why do I do the things that I do? Why do I interact with the local church the way that I do, and Lord, search my heart, give him space, to convict to correct, but also to give you vision and passion for the very things that He desires to do through his church, through you in the local body. And so that's my prayer for the people of our church. And that's my prayer for even me, myself, and my family. And that's my encouragement towards all of us that are listening, that we seek His face in those matters.
Tuck Choate 57:48
And well, thank you all for joining us on another episode of Temple talk. We will be back next week. Thank you for joining us for another episode of Temple talk. We hope that Digging into God's Word together has enriched your perspective and broad encouragement. If you have any questions or topics you'd like to hear discussed on the podcast, feel free to email them at Temple talk at Temple dot church. You can also visit our website at Temple dot church for more resources. We pray God will continue to bless you and your loved ones as you seek Him in Scripture. We'll see you next time on Temple Talk.
Bennett Holloway 58:33
Year of Jubilee