Ep 106: A Whole Lot of Nothing

1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,200
What can a church sign teach us 
about our spiritual work ethic? 

2
00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:05,400
Let's talk about that. 
Welcome to the show. 

3
00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:08,520
I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for 
your Sunday morning drive. 

4
00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:11,440
We're the short podcast with the
goal of providing some 

5
00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:14,480
motivation, Dr. and 
encouragement on your way to 

6
00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,800
worship and helping you re 
center your mind on those 

7
00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,600
spiritual things on a hectic 
Sunday morning. 

8
00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,000
We are brought to you by the 
Ministry League network of 

9
00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,480
podcasts. 
Ministry League has a brand new 

10
00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:27,520
app. 
It's been totally revamped and 

11
00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,760
you can check that out on both 
Apple and Android devices. 

12
00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:32,159
I hope you're having a great 
day. 

13
00:00:32,159 --> 00:00:34,720
I'm excited about getting the 
show on the road this morning, 

14
00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,360
so let's go ahead and do that. 
This is episode one O 6. 

15
00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:40,880
A whole lot of nothing. 
Let's go to church. 

16
00:00:47,840 --> 00:01:01,720
Are we there yet? 
Several years ago now, I was 

17
00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,519
driving past the Washington Ave.
congregation here in Evansville,

18
00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:10,200
IN and as was my custom, I would
read the message on their side. 

19
00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,400
This particular week it read 
once you get started doing 

20
00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,280
nothing, it's hard to quit. 
And it gave me something to 

21
00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,440
think about on the drive home, 
much as I hope this podcast does

22
00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:23,000
for you on your drive this 
morning. 

23
00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:25,680
But isn't it true? 
Once we get started doing 

24
00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:30,720
nothing, it's hard to quit. 
In other words, once complacency

25
00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,640
sets in, we can get stuck. 
And while I've been building 

26
00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,360
this week's episode, I've been 
doing some thinking about that 

27
00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,600
sign. 
And I wonder if in the world 

28
00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,920
that we live in today, if it's 
not that we're doing nothing, 

29
00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:46,480
but that we're too busy doing 
many things to do anything of 

30
00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:48,880
significant spiritual 
importance. 

31
00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,680
You know, I was reading through 
John Mark Comer's relentless 

32
00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,480
elimination of hurry. 
He quotes Corey Tenboom and 

33
00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,840
saying if the devil can't make 
you sin, he'll make you busy. 

34
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,680
And he continues by saying this.
There's truth in that both sin 

35
00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:06,360
and busyness have the same exact
effect. 

36
00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:10,759
They cut off your connection to 
God, to other people, and even 

37
00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:14,160
to your own soul. 
And this train of thought and 

38
00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,160
the sign that inspired it 
reminds me of what Jesus says to

39
00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:22,080
the church at Sardis in 
Revelation chapter 3 verses one 

40
00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,320
and two. 
He says, I know your deeds, that

41
00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,800
you have a name, that you are 
alive and yet you are dead. 

42
00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:32,080
Be constantly alert and 
strengthen the things that 

43
00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:36,320
remain which we're about to die 
for I have not found your deeds 

44
00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,600
completed in the sight of my 
God. 

45
00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,960
This certainly gives the 
impression that the church at 

46
00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,280
Sardis at one time had it 
together, that they were on fire

47
00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:48,960
for the Lord. 
But that was then, and it wasn't

48
00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,800
their present state. 
They had grown cold, but they 

49
00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,160
were caught up imagining 
themselves as still in the glory

50
00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:59,240
days, in better times. 
Jesus tells them to get to work,

51
00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,080
to strengthen what remains 
before it's too late. 

52
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,120
Do we know congregations like 
that? 

53
00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:08,000
Are we a part of them? 
Are we those kind of Christians?

54
00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,680
Do we maybe look back at a 
heritage that we didn't build 

55
00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:17,040
and we feel satisfied with a 
living name, but instead possess

56
00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,240
a dead example sort of zombified
spiritual existence? 

57
00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,120
Have we started doing nothing 
and found ourselves unable to 

58
00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,160
stop? 
Or have we fooled ourselves into

59
00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,680
thinking that we are too busy 
and we are so caught up in our 

60
00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,080
busyness that we're effectively 
doing nothing? 

61
00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,800
Well, it's something I think we 
all struggle with and I think 

62
00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,200
there's another aspect of this 
that sometimes we have allowed 

63
00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:46,640
the devil to make us afraid of 
being active. 

64
00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:49,280
So instead we take the path of 
doing nothing. 

65
00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,680
For example, maybe we are afraid
of success in the Lords harvest.

66
00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,880
We don't plant the seeds or 
water them because we're afraid 

67
00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,640
of things changing or we're 
afraid of growing pains once God

68
00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,640
gives the increase. 
Maybe we're afraid of ridicule, 

69
00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,400
so we just don't tell others 
about Jesus. 

70
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,320
Maybe we're terrified to be out 
of our comfort zones, so we just

71
00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,000
tell ourselves that a 
Christianity defined by 

72
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,240
attendance on Sunday is what God
desires instead of adding those 

73
00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,560
things that are spiritually 
significant. 

74
00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,640
And because of that, we end up 
feeling good about the 

75
00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,360
nothingness of it all. 
We feel satisfied Christian God 

76
00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:32,080
deserves our devotion and the 
Bible proclaims as much in James

77
00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,320
122. 
Scripture tells us. 

78
00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:39,840
But prove yourselves doers of 
the word, and not just hearers 

79
00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:44,440
who deceive themselves. 
The good news and there is good 

80
00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:48,640
news is that the cure for doing 
nothing is fairly simple. 

81
00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:52,440
Do something. 
And friends, there are so many 

82
00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,960
somethings we can do. 
Listen to Jesus when He desired 

83
00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,920
a host of someones to do an 
abundance of some things for the

84
00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:04,080
Kingdom of God. 
In Matthew 937 and 38 He said to

85
00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,840
his disciples the harvest is 
plentiful but the workers are 

86
00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:10,000
few. 
Therefore plead with the Lord of

87
00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,560
the harvest to send out workers 
into His harvest. 

88
00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:18,640
My encouragement to you this 
week is find something to do in 

89
00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,640
service to the Kingdom every day
because once you get started, it

90
00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,840
might just be hard to stop and 
you might just find that there's

91
00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:28,040
nothing to it. 
Well, those are my thoughts for 

92
00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,160
your Sunday morning drive. 
Now it's time, as always, for 

93
00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:33,320
you, to share yours. 
Our discussion questions for 

94
00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:38,080
this week are what fears are 
holding us back from truly being

95
00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:39,920
committed to the work of the 
church? 

96
00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,720
What do we tend to make 
ourselves busy with that we can 

97
00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,520
cut out of our lives? 
And are the acts of service that

98
00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,840
we're involved with just busy 
work, or are they truly 

99
00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:53,520
impactful for the Kingdom? 
Thank you for listening. 

100
00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:55,880
I hope you have a fantastic 
week. 

101
00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,400
Do something this week for the 
Kingdom. 

102
00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,320
Start small if you have to, but 
don't stop there. 

103
00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,640
Thank you for listening and I'll
see you Sunday.