Born Again? Now What?

[00:00:05] Speaker A: So we had. Last week we had a beautiful Brit Hamim with Sarah Turner. The week before that. I'll take you back to where we were, which was plop down in the Valley of Despair. Who wants to go back there? [00:00:22] Speaker B: Who's excited about a message about despair and difficulty? Come on, let's do it. [00:00:30] Speaker A: We talked about that and how in any significant undertaking, any moment that requires real oomph, we often find that motivation dies and the voice in your head starts building an escape, escape route. And the thing that you're so excited about suddenly feels impossible. You remember that message. If you don't, you should go back and watch it because it's so relevant, this curve. My dad and Kelly and I have been talking since that message about quite mystically and esoterically about the recurrence of the sine wave throughout almost everything that happens in the world. But we won't talk about that today. But it is really remarkable how much of life functions on this up and down pattern. [00:01:28] Speaker B: But I told you something that may. [00:01:30] Speaker A: Have seemed counterintuitive because I said the Valley is not the problem. The Valley is where the real work happens. You can't avoid the Valley in anything that's actually worth doing. And the question is not whether you will face it, the question is what you'll do when you get there. But I want to address today something that's more fundamental and trust, trust me, trust me, trust me as you listen to that message and this one. All of this motivation and inspiration. [00:02:06] Speaker B: Might. [00:02:06] Speaker A: Not seem so spiritual or religious, but it's leading somewhere that's very deeply spiritual and that will culminate next week. So I want you to stay with me because what I've observed is that back to the Valley. Many people never make it to the Valley of Despair. [00:02:24] Speaker B: That not because they get stuck in. [00:02:26] Speaker A: It, not because they give up halfway through, but because they never even start. [00:02:31] Speaker B: They don't even start the journey. [00:02:34] Speaker A: They look at the thing that they know they should do. The difficult conversation, a career change, a move, the relationship that needs mending, the dream they've been avoiding whatever it is, physical, mental, spiritual. And they decide, eh, not worth even getting started on, that it's not worth beginning at. They stay comfortable, they stay safe. They stay in the life they know, even if it's not the life they want. Listen to that phrase. [00:03:01] Speaker B: They stay in the life they know. [00:03:05] Speaker A: Even if it's not the life they want. Last message about the Valley was about perseverance. But today maybe is more important because it's about initiation. [00:03:20] Speaker B: And I maybe make. [00:03:22] Speaker A: A humble admission here that I might. [00:03:24] Speaker B: Have gotten these out of order. [00:03:25] Speaker A: I possibly should have started with initiation because perseverance and, you know, but today. [00:03:33] Speaker B: Really lighting the fuse, initiating things, that's. [00:03:36] Speaker A: Where it really starts. So maybe should have flipped it. But the way we're going to approach it today is quite fitting, considering where we are in the Torah portion. And we look today specifically at Parsha Bo in the Book of Exodus, about. [00:03:53] Speaker B: The Exodus, an incredible journey through the. [00:03:58] Speaker A: Valley of Despair and beyond. An incredible story about initiation and perseverance, which we'll talk about later. [00:04:06] Speaker B: But because understanding the valley never means. [00:04:09] Speaker A: A thing if you never take one step toward it. And I'll be honest with you about this fact, I am a master procrastinator. I have always struggled with procrastination for much of my life. And given the number of things that are on my schedule, it's a really, really bad, bad habit. Writing sermons and books and meetings to have and conversations that need to happen, it's pretty detrimental when I fall victim to it. And, you know, even in writing this message, I struggle with it because there's this great idea. We love the Shabbat, right? The Shabbat, the beautiful rest, the wonderful time. It's a time to relax and learn and study. But in ministry, church or synagogue, there's this phrase that I once learned from a pastor who'd been doing this for quite some time, the relentless return of the Sabbath. You finish one, start another one, and you better get something going for what's coming after that. This is the relentless return of the Sabbath. And it's easy, believe me, to procrastinate your way through it and come to Thursday and be like, ah. [00:05:37] Speaker B: What do you want me to say, God? [00:05:42] Speaker A: It has taken intense discipline and accountability and intention to understand the value of taking action. Now, for me, as a matter of. [00:05:55] Speaker B: Fact, there's a purple sticky note. If you come in my office, I've got a little plastic Jesus standing on. [00:06:01] Speaker A: The top of my computer. [00:06:02] Speaker B: And right under that is a purple. [00:06:04] Speaker A: Sticky note that says, future Damien. [00:06:07] Speaker B: No, I don't think I'm gonna be Jesus. [00:06:10] Speaker A: They're two different concep. [00:06:13] Speaker B: But the future Damien sticky note. When I see a task, I don't want to do, something uncomfortable, boring, tedious, difficult. I look at that sticky note and I ask myself, yes, I talk to myself, how is future Damien going to feel if present Damien does this uncomfortable thing right now? [00:06:38] Speaker A: And the answer is always the same. [00:06:40] Speaker B: Future Damien is relieved. Future Damian isn't carrying the weight of the thing that remains undone. Future Damien can rest easier, can move on to the next thing, engage more fully with whatever it is that's coming next. Why? [00:06:57] Speaker A: Because present Damian pushed through the discomfort. I have this conversation a lot, but this isn't really about me. And it's not about small things like preparing a sermon. I'm talking about big things, life changing things. [00:07:15] Speaker B: The things that we circle around for months or maybe years again, personal, maybe spiritual, maybe physical, maybe relational, whatever it is. But I read something this week from. [00:07:27] Speaker A: A guy that I like. [00:07:29] Speaker B: He's a student of the Stoics. His name's Ryan Holiday and he wrote. [00:07:35] Speaker A: This phrase that's been sitting with me as I've thought about, yes, the new. [00:07:41] Speaker B: Gregorian year and trying to figure out how to help. [00:07:44] Speaker A: You have a powerful launch into this upcoming year. [00:07:48] Speaker B: Not an optimistic one, a sustainable one. [00:07:52] Speaker A: And here's what Holiday wrote in this email. [00:07:55] Speaker B: Now. Now is certain. Later is a lie. [00:08:01] Speaker A: It's only going to get harder the longer you wait. Now is certain. Later is a lie. It's only going to get harder the longer you wait. [00:08:12] Speaker B: Later will come. [00:08:13] Speaker A: That's definitely true. That's true. [00:08:16] Speaker B: But not necessarily for you. And what makes you think that if you can't embrace now that you'll embrace later? Now is certain. There is a reason that the Proverbs writes cute little things like this in 22. The sluggard says, There's a lion outside. I'll be killed in the public square. [00:08:42] Speaker A: It's a reasonable excuse, isn't it? [00:08:46] Speaker B: There's a lion outside your front door. There's danger out there. It's not safe. It's better to stay put. [00:08:51] Speaker A: But the writer of Proverbs sees through that. Why? [00:08:55] Speaker B: The lion is not real. The lion is imaginary. The lion is a made up justification for inaction. It's the story we tell ourselves to make staying comfortable, feel responsible. [00:09:13] Speaker A: Hear that? And here's what I've learned about this. [00:09:20] Speaker B: The longer you tell yourself that story. [00:09:22] Speaker A: The more you believe it. The more you believe it, the smaller your world becomes. Do you know what that is? That's you. [00:09:33] Speaker B: Can't you see yourself? [00:09:40] Speaker A: This is you right now. This is your circle of light. That's what you can see with certainty. That's what you know. That is other ways phrased your comfort zone. [00:09:54] Speaker B: All that black space around you, that's the unknown. That's what you haven't experienced yet. That's who you haven't become yet. That's the territory you haven't yet explored. And for many, many, many People, there is a beautiful comfort staying right inside. [00:10:14] Speaker A: That little white lighted circle. Because the future has uncertainty. [00:10:23] Speaker B: I may not be as happy as I think I could be. I may not be living the life I fully dream of. I may not be the disciple I know God's made me to be. But there is certainty here. I know generally what's coming. I can navigate it even with my deficiencies. It's like driving an old rattle trap car that you're not sure it's going to make it, where it's going, and it's rattling and smoking and doing all this stuff. But you know, basically you understand how to navigate it, you can handle it. We'll just keep going and hope it all works out. [00:11:08] Speaker A: If you choose a new lifestyle, a new way of being, who knows what might happen? You can't predict how your new self will handle things. [00:11:17] Speaker B: You can't see ahead to what that life would be like. What if the new road is actually harder than the old one? What if it's filled with anxiety? What if you fail at something? Simply put, people have all kinds of complaints about their lives, but it's easier for most and more secure to stay. [00:11:37] Speaker A: In that circle of certainty. But that's not what it means to be born again. It's an important term for disciples, being born again. Is being born again. [00:12:04] Speaker B: A birth? It's a beginning, it's not an ending. If you think about born again like a baby, what is the value of staying your whole life as an infant? Not crawling, not walking, not speaking, not tackling difficult things, not growing into a maturity, into maturity. There's a spiritual encounter version of this that I hear from people sometimes and says, I'm not going to strive, I'm not going to strain. I'm a new creation in Christ. I am complete in him. This is it, man. [00:12:42] Speaker A: And I understand where that comes from. [00:12:44] Speaker B: Paul says it, if anyone is in Messiah, he's a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. That's a profound reality. It's beautiful, it's wonderful. But here's my challenge with using that truth as a reason to stay in a circle. To those people, that's not what the metaphor means. That's not what it means. Being a new creation is about having new life breathed into you. It's about becoming something that you weren't before. But that becoming is a process throughout your life. There's a moment of born again rebirth, and then there's the entire walk of. [00:13:28] Speaker A: Discipleship that follows it. [00:13:31] Speaker B: When I hear new creation, I imagine going back to the original creation, where God took this dust and earth, Adamah, and he formed this man out of it. This lump became Adam. I picture us born again means God took that lump and through Yeshua, he just invigorated it. It's energized clay. After you're born again, it's a whole new lump of clay. But clay gets formed. It continues to be formed, molded throughout your life. The choices you make reshape you. New experiences remake you. The challenges you face, they forge new capacities in your ability to live life. This is an ever evolving form of clay, even as a new creation. [00:14:30] Speaker A: The Hasidic masters have a great teaching that I love. [00:14:34] Speaker B: A person should carry two slips of paper in their pocket. [00:14:39] Speaker A: Someone in the room knows it. What does the one slip say? I am but dust and ashes. What does the other slip say? The entire world was created for me. The wisdom is in knowing when to reach for which one. But here's what's amazing and striking about that teaching. [00:15:03] Speaker B: It assumes that you're doing something. It assumes that you're in motion, you're reaching, you're making decisions, you're not static, you're stepping out. And even the question of which pocket do I, which pocket do I get into? It requires engagement in the world, presence in the moment. And the person who just sits still, who refuses to engage, who stays in the circle of certainty. They never have to reach into either pocket because they're never confronted with anything. Those kinds of confrontations are good. They never have to wrestle with their humility. [00:15:42] Speaker A: They just exist. [00:15:43] Speaker B: And existing is not becoming. [00:15:49] Speaker A: Through being born again, we're invited to a growth journey. Elevation is my favorite word. That's how I see life. [00:15:59] Speaker B: You are not done becoming ever in life. In 2013, a group of Harvard researchers. [00:16:10] Speaker A: Uncovered something that is called the end of history Illusion. They studied people across all age groups and found something very interesting. [00:16:20] Speaker B: That at every stage of life, people believed that they had changed a lot in the past, but expected very little. [00:16:29] Speaker A: Change in the future. The 20 year old looks back at who they were when they were 15. [00:16:37] Speaker B: And thinks, I was so different then. I have grown so much. What do you expect for the future? Not much. I pretty much got it all figured out now. I figured out who I'm basically going to be. And at every age we understand our. [00:16:56] Speaker A: We underestimate, I should say, our future capacity for change. [00:17:00] Speaker B: And in some sense this becomes human justification for the little white circle. [00:17:10] Speaker A: Don't even get me started on people say who. [00:17:12] Speaker B: People who say it's just who I am. [00:17:18] Speaker A: But when you take action, when you choose to enter the narrow gate that we've talked about, when you decide to begin the journey instead of avoiding it, when you do the difficult things instead of putting it off, here's what happens to your circle. Ready? It just magically expands. It's not magic. It's from hard work. That's what happens to your circle. [00:17:44] Speaker B: The light shines into the darkness. You become someone different. Not fundamentally different. [00:17:50] Speaker A: You're you. [00:17:51] Speaker B: You're still the new creation, but you have a circle, but more of who you were made to be, More capable, more formed, more refined. And every step you take into that black space, every hard thing that you choose to do, all of them, you step toward the thing you've been avoiding. The circle expands. Light, light, light. Light overtakes the darkness of uncertainty. [00:18:20] Speaker A: I love another thing I read from another guy who's in his 30s, who inspires me more than almost anyone else that I ever read these days. His name's Sahil Bloom. I've mentioned him before. [00:18:32] Speaker B: He wrote, the core mistake is assuming that today's version of you will have. [00:18:37] Speaker A: To shoulder tomorrow's challenges. It won't. Now listen to that. I'll read it again. [00:18:45] Speaker B: The core mistake is assuming that today's. [00:18:48] Speaker A: Version of you will have to shoulder tomorrow's challenges. It won't. [00:18:53] Speaker B: In this model, tomorrow's challenges are not going to be faced by that Marcus. As you walk through the challenges, you expand, you grow, you become more capable. The version of you that faces the difficulty on the other side of the valley is not the you who entered the valley. This is a profound spiritual truth. And this is where we are in. [00:19:28] Speaker A: The Torah and what I mentioned, with. [00:19:30] Speaker B: This parsha, Moses is standing before Pharaoh again, delivering the word to Pharaoh. The locust, the darkness, the death of the firstborn. This is Moses at like the height of courage and bravery, orchestrating the exodus of an entire nation from captivity. And where did he start? In the tiniest white circle you could imagine. You remember him at the bush, tending sheep with a speech impediment, Hiding in Midian, having run from challenges, working for his in laws. [00:20:09] Speaker A: That's tough. [00:20:13] Speaker B: When God called him what he said, who am I? And I used that voice not to. [00:20:18] Speaker A: Make fun of Moses, to make the point. [00:20:21] Speaker B: What do you want me to do? Who am I? I can't do this. [00:20:28] Speaker A: He wanted to retreat. And we find little Moses there. That Moses had a very small light. He did. [00:20:45] Speaker B: He had a big, big, big, big. [00:20:49] Speaker A: Internal light that God could see, but he couldn't see it. And so he lived in. In a very, very small circle of light. [00:20:57] Speaker B: He could see his quiet life. [00:20:58] Speaker A: He could see his limitations and his sheep. [00:21:01] Speaker B: And he wanted to stay there. And the black space beyond was terrifying. Now, if you had told that Moses, little white circle Moses. If you had told him, dude, you're not even gonna believe what you're gonna do. You are gonna stand in front of the most powerful man in the world. You're gonna do miracles. [00:21:24] Speaker C: Move. [00:21:24] Speaker B: Millions of people are going to follow you. You're going to go up to the top of a mountain and you're going to meet God yourself. You are going to lead these people in an unbelievable way. People will write books about you. They'll talk about you forever. What would he say? Got the wrong guy. [00:21:50] Speaker A: I can't do that. [00:21:52] Speaker B: I'm not capable. [00:21:54] Speaker A: And he would have been right. [00:21:56] Speaker B: That Moses was not capable of Mount Sinai. [00:22:04] Speaker A: But he didn't stay that Moses. Now God got really mad at him. That was part of it, you know, he did have to get a. He did have to get a holy spanking from God at the burning bush. But that Moses who stood at Mount Sinai had been forged through the journey. He had wrestled with doubt. [00:22:23] Speaker B: He had failed. He had learned to trust. He'd been reshaped by every step. That Moses at the top of Mount Sinai was not that Moses. He had become someone capable of something that he couldn't have imagined. He took the step. Anyway, speaking of circles, I have this great Christian book that I read a long time ago called the Circle Maker. And within it is a line that I've quoted to you so many times by the author where he said, Moses knew if he didn't take the step, he would forfeit the miracle. [00:23:07] Speaker A: I mean, Moses did some pretty amazing things. If he had stayed comfortable, predictable, God could have found somebody else. I'm sure of it. But what would Moses have missed out on? [00:23:21] Speaker B: And then you think about at the. [00:23:22] Speaker A: End of Moses life, you know, when he. [00:23:27] Speaker B: You don't become that Moses. You don't become that Moses who did. [00:23:33] Speaker A: Those things staying in Midiant. [00:23:38] Speaker B: And years later, when his time had. [00:23:40] Speaker A: Come to an end, what he said to Joshua, standing at the edge of his own unknown territory with a circle of light surrounded by darkness. What did Moses say? Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid, Joshua. Don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged. God will go with you. [00:23:57] Speaker B: He does not say, hey look, I've done this thing. Here's a detailed map of everything that's going to come to You, Joshua, I just want you to be prepared. [00:24:05] Speaker A: He says, be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid. [00:24:08] Speaker B: God's going with you, and that's what you need. [00:24:10] Speaker A: When you step into the black space, you need to know it's not about certainty or outcomes or about what's ahead. [00:24:18] Speaker B: It's certainty about presence. That God goes with you. [00:24:26] Speaker A: Even in the valley of despair, God goes with you. [00:24:31] Speaker B: The light that illuminates the darkness isn't. [00:24:34] Speaker A: Just your capacity expanding. It's also the light and presence of God going before you. Now, here's why this matters. At the beginning of this year, whether you call it a resolution or not, I don't care. Most of us start this Gregorian cycle with some kind of new intention or idea or something. A decision, a life move, a change, a conversation, an intention, something that needs to happen. [00:25:01] Speaker B: You've been thinking about it, praying about. [00:25:02] Speaker A: It, maybe avoiding it. [00:25:04] Speaker B: You're standing at the edge of your little white circle. You're looking at all that black space, and the voice in your head is saying, uh, uh, nope, not yet. Not the right time. I'm not hearing the calling of the Lord. I haven't been released. [00:25:20] Speaker A: I'm not making fun of that. It's true there is a time when God speaks. But a lot of people I know use that as an excuse. Holy, holier than thou people. Reminds me, this is way off topic. [00:25:36] Speaker B: No, I can't do it. Darn. [00:25:38] Speaker A: I want to do that. [00:25:43] Speaker B: Maybe next month. [00:25:44] Speaker A: I'll give that a shot. Step out of the circle when things settle down. [00:25:50] Speaker B: I just got this thing. When I get past that, I am going for it. [00:25:55] Speaker A: But, buddy, you watch me. Most people don't say that because that introduces another word into it. That's called accountability. That's another message. Here's what I want you to hear. [00:26:07] Speaker B: Now is certain later is a lie. [00:26:14] Speaker A: It's about to be your moment, and you'll have to come back next week to understand why it's about to be. [00:26:21] Speaker B: That sounds completely contradictory to what I. [00:26:23] Speaker A: Just said, but I'm talking real soon. There's a point it will line up powerfully. [00:26:30] Speaker B: Not because the calendar flipped over to January, not because it's a new year. [00:26:34] Speaker A: And we're supposed to make resolutions. Not that, but because God has made it this way. [00:26:40] Speaker B: God has made it where? The time for growth. The thing you've been avoiding, the big. [00:26:46] Speaker A: Thing, the thing that keeps coming back to you. [00:26:50] Speaker B: That's not random. [00:26:51] Speaker A: That is the spirit of God nudging you, getting your attention, reminding you, putting. [00:26:59] Speaker B: People in your Path, doing things. That's a lot more probable than you getting a phone. A phone call. And the caller ID says, God. [00:27:22] Speaker A: Nudge, push, kick to the edge of your circle. God kicks. You know, sometimes it's softer than that, but it's still a. Toward expansion, toward becoming. And I want to empower you to take that step. And if you're not thinking in terms of growth at all right now, I. That's also another message. But I want to encourage you to start. That's important for disciples to expand your circle, your light. [00:27:56] Speaker B: Yeshua was the light of the world. [00:27:59] Speaker A: Remember what he said, though. [00:28:00] Speaker B: In this life, you will have trouble. Trouble you will have things you're going to have to overcome. Expect it, face it, embrace it, because it's growth. And how does that verse end? [00:28:16] Speaker A: Fear not. [00:28:17] Speaker B: That's what he says. Fear not. And we are not a fearful group. I don't think we're people sitting in the corner, cowering weaklings who won't tackle life. But I'm talking to you about big things, big decisions, moves that maybe you hesitated to do and to see yourself and understand that all that space around your circle, all that black space is waiting for you to take a step. Paul wrote it. I press on. Not looking back, I press on. I do not consider myself brothers to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind, straining toward what is, I press on toward the goal. [00:29:07] Speaker A: Paul. He's not done then. He's still not done. He's coming back, but he's not a. [00:29:19] Speaker B: Perpetual baby born again. [00:29:22] Speaker A: But staying in the crib, he's pressing on. So here's what I want you to take home today. The words I said. Yes, I want you to take those home, the lessons. Yes, I want you to take those home, the application. But here's the little thing that I want you to take home. And I was just reminded of something else. Oh, and I still have it. I got a little gift for you here. I'm circulating. You can pass. You can pass. Where's Dave? I'm doing it much quicker than Dave. There you go. Pass those. Have those. Dave will get the rest. You know what that is? [00:30:14] Speaker B: It's a bookmark for you. Or it's wherever you're going to put it. Use it as a bookmark. You remember this message from the High Holidays? [00:30:29] Speaker A: Remember what it was about? [00:30:31] Speaker B: The dog laying on the nail on. [00:30:34] Speaker A: The porch and just howling. And the farmer was asked, why is he howling? [00:30:40] Speaker B: He's laying on a nail. [00:30:42] Speaker A: Well, why doesn't he move I guess it doesn't hurt bad enough. [00:30:46] Speaker B: Okay, that's fine. [00:30:47] Speaker A: That's still relevant. That's good. That's called initiation. [00:30:50] Speaker B: But you know what? There's a lot of life off the porch. It's not enough to just get off the nail. [00:30:57] Speaker A: You got to get off the porch. And the porch needs to represent your little white circle on your card. When you see that card, what are you thinking of? [00:31:11] Speaker B: Initiation, Expansion. Growth. Becoming. [00:31:17] Speaker A: And you can talk to future you. [00:31:21] Speaker B: Have you met future you? [00:31:23] Speaker A: You should meet future you. All that darkness, it's not something to fear. It's territory waiting to be illuminated in every step. And all the hard things and all of that, what you've been avoiding instead of, you know, staying put, don't do that. Your light expands. You don't have to see the whole path. And when your light expands, You don't have to see the whole path. And the version of you that faces tomorrow's challenge is not sitting in that chair. You're going to grow into what's required. That's how it works. [00:32:06] Speaker B: Be strong. [00:32:07] Speaker A: Be courageous. Do the hard thing. Future you will be grateful to you. And next week, we'll put the icing on this as we talk about timing and seasons. And in honor of all things, the trees and tu bishvat and how much they can teach us at this time, Shabbat Shalom. [00:32:30] Speaker C: I'm Darren with Shalom Macon. If you enjoyed this teaching, I want to ask you to take the next step. Start by making sure you subscribe to our channel. Next. Make sure you hit the like button on this video so that others know it's worth their time to watch. Last, head over to our website to learn more about Shalom Macon, explore other teachings and events, and if you're so inclined, contribute to the work that we're doing to further the kingdom. Thanks for watching and connecting with Shalom Macon.